I haven't been on a road trip in a while, and this was my first solo adventure. I decided to spend the weekend in Toronto, Ontario Canada. I drove up late on Friday and arrived early Saturday. I stayed in the Courtyard Marriott downtown on Yonge street, I asked for a room on a higher floor to see what kind of view I could get (to see the view from my room on the 11th floor, check out the Toronto video below!).
I went to the St. Lawrence Market after settling in at the hotel. The St. Lawrence Market is a covered market where you can find fresh produce, fish, meat, wine, and anything else your kitchen needs. I walked around for a bit and found it interesting that I was never carded. Some days I look a lot younger than I am, and other days I don't. I went to two wine stores and they offered free wine tastings and never carded anyone at all!
Later in the day I went to a restaurant called Signs. It's ran by deaf staff members. When I was seated I was introduced by my hearing hostess to my hearing impaired waitress. I was taught some simple signs so I was able to communicate to the waitress myself, and there was also a cheat book I could point to if I forgot a sign. The menu showed how to order your food in sign language, but if you didn't want to try that you could just point at the item.
I walked up and down Younge street, it's so huge! The hotel was close to the entertainment area, where there was a mall, movie theater, and more. After a while I went back to the hotel and went swimming and slept.
The next day (Sunday) I woke up early to get food at Eggspectation. I wasn't sure if there'd be a long wait or not, and I didn't want to chance it, so I checked out and went over to the restaurant. I had gotten up so early that there were only two other tables eating! That was perfectly fine with me. I sat back and relaxed with more than enough time before the Kensington Market & Chinatown walking tour.
Later in the day I went to a restaurant called Signs. It's ran by deaf staff members. When I was seated I was introduced by my hearing hostess to my hearing impaired waitress. I was taught some simple signs so I was able to communicate to the waitress myself, and there was also a cheat book I could point to if I forgot a sign. The menu showed how to order your food in sign language, but if you didn't want to try that you could just point at the item.
I walked up and down Younge street, it's so huge! The hotel was close to the entertainment area, where there was a mall, movie theater, and more. After a while I went back to the hotel and went swimming and slept.
The next day (Sunday) I woke up early to get food at Eggspectation. I wasn't sure if there'd be a long wait or not, and I didn't want to chance it, so I checked out and went over to the restaurant. I had gotten up so early that there were only two other tables eating! That was perfectly fine with me. I sat back and relaxed with more than enough time before the Kensington Market & Chinatown walking tour.
The Urban Adventurers walking tour was so fun! It was a smaller group than usual, but that meant we got to spend more time at the places we liked the best. The tour guide Mike talked about architecture and how the buildings and city layout has changed over time. We walked around Chinatown and Mike told us how this part of the city came to be.
Next, we went to Mike's own neighborhood; Kensington Market. He showed us where he does laundry, shops for food, and the best restaurants and cafes in the area. It's one thing to take a tour from a person who has been well educated on the content of the tour, and it's a whole other thing to take a tour from someone who lives in the neighborhood.
The guide isn't reading from a fact list, they're allowing you to experience what they experience daily. Mike was a great guide and you should check out the video so you can see all of the amazing street art and graffiti we saw during the walk!
After the tour, I walked around a bit more. Toronto is big and I barely got to see most of it. I'll have to come back when I have more time. It's definitely a city I'd visit again.
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