Well - it's Saturday afternoon and I'm sitting on my couch watching the Nationals play game two of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals - which is a bit different from how I spent last Saturday! Last Saturday dawned bright and sunny and after a quick breakfast that we'd picked up from a bakery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, we made our way down to the streets of Toronto.
We purchased tickets for the Hop On/Hop Off Bus for the city of Toronto - which is good for 48 hours and takes you all over the city. However; after waiting for almost an hour for the bus to show up and then riding for an hour without really getting anywhere, we hopped off at the Eaton Centre (a five story shopping mall - I cannot begin to describe the immensity) and had lunch, while mapping out the rest of the day. We decided we'd be just as well served to walk back toward the things we wanted to see - and so off we went!
The St. Lawrence Market was our first stop and it was certainly a perfect spot to pop into. There is a farmer's market every Saturday with over 80 different farmers/fishers/growers/bakers/etc... coming to the North Hall of the market with their wares. Everywhere you looked were fresh fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow, wheels of cheese larger than my head, pastries in every flavor you could imagine, fresh fish and cuts of meat suspended from the ceiling and of course - fresh cut flowers to round things out. It should go without saying - there were also people everywhere!
Since we'd only recently had lunch and had plans for an afternoon snack, we just perused the stalls and took in all the colors, sights and sounds. I saw some of the biggest blueberries I've ever seen in my life and the most vibrant grape tomatoes ever...and don't even get me started on the cheese! *sigh* After we were done looking, we popped in a cab over to the Entertainment District to hop in an elevator and ride to the top of the CN Tower.
The CN Tower - CN stands for Canadian National - was built from 1973 to 1975 and stands 1,815 feet high, soaring above the Toronto skyline. The CN Tower is what makes the skyline of Toronto symbolic, is considered one of the eight modern wonders of the world and brings in over two million people a year. I am pretty terrified of heights but the elevator ride up was quick and once at the top, the views were stunning! You could see for miles and the blue skies just stretched on into the distance as far as the eye could see!
Having mentioned my fear of heights - I decided to be extra bold and not only stood on the glass floors 1,815 feet above the ground - I also plopped myself right down on them and sat for picture. Granted, the minute that shot was snapped, I scrambled off the glass floor and away from it, ha-ha! I think my Mom wouldn't have believed it happened if she hadn't been taking the picture and my sister asked for photographic evidence of the moment as opposed to taking me at my word! We even made a loop on the outdoor platform but with the wind whipping around at that height - it got quite chilly quite fast.
After we caught an elevator back down, we walked over into the Blue Jay Team Store and I contemplated getting a Jays shirt... not because I'm thinking of changing my loyalties (NEVER!) but because I love baseball and if I was going to get a t-shirt from Toronto, I figured one for the baseball team was just as well. I ended up passing on a Jay t-shirt because I honestly don't even wear t-shirts very much anymore and I think when I do, I'll probably be reaching for a Nationals tee! We walked two blocks down to the water front with one goal in mind....
Beavertails! We went on the hunt for a dessert option we'd seen on a tourism video and let me tell you - when we found them, we were absolutely not disappointed! A beavertail is flat cinnamon sugar dusted pastry that has a multitude of toppings that can be placed on it and while we didn't try all of them, I have a feeling that there isn't a bad choice among them. I got the Triple Trip, which was covered in Nutella, a peanut butter drizzle and Reese's Pieces - and it was one of the most divine things I've ever tasted in my life! My Dad chose an Apple Pie beavertail and my Mom got one topped with chocolate, brownie pieces and white chocolate chips - one of the most divine snacks ever!
We also purchased the City Pass and one of the items included on the City Pass was the Ripley's Aquarium, so after eating our beavertails we headed to peek at the fishes! The aquarium was really nice; even if it was a little crowded, but there were plenty of fish to see, a moving walkway that snaked through a coral reef filled with sea turtles, sharks and sting rays and we were able to see a sting ray feeding as we neared the end of the exhibits. My Mom and I even decided to be bold and reach our hands into the rays pool and pet them - they feel surprisingly slippery, not at all how I thought they'd feel.
We ended up walking something like - 5+ miles on Saturday and we were able to take in so man of the sights. We walked back over to our apartment to relax for just a bit before having dinner at a sports bar right across the street from the apartment - the food was very good, even if our server was less than stellar. We got absolutely tickled with the lead in to Saturday night hockey - I suppose their Saturday evening hockey program is akin to Monday Night Football in the US - there is a theme song and a hype video and everything. We enjoyed watching the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Montreal Canadians and we were actually so invested that we finished watching the game once we got back to the apartment - fear not though, I'll always be loyal to my Capitals!
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