Adventures in Toronto 2019
We planned this trip with Bobby and Jen over lunch at Hyvee. It took all of 5 minutes for us to agree on a location and weekend and then book the deal. It was pretty similar to how we planned out Italy trip with them last year. Lex got a text asking if we wanted to go to Italy with them and 20 minutes later we were all booked!
It just so happened that one of the weekends that worked best for our trip was also over Labor Day which is our wedding anniversary. So this was sort of an anniversary celebration as well.
Bobby and Jen picked us up at 3:30 Friday morning to begin our adventures! We spent 4 days exploring Toronto and the Niagara Falls area and it was full of so many fun activities and moments. By the time we got to our car and were on our way home, we were all laughing so much retelling jokes from the weekend. It could have been from the exhaustion of walking over 50 miles that weekend or just that we had a really great time ;) I am going to go with the latter.
Honestly, it was another awesome trip with some of our favorite people. I thoroughly enjoy traveling with Bobby and Jen and cannot wait for our next adventure, wherever that may be :)
Here are some recommendations from our trip if you are ever interested in taking a trip to Toronto of your own! 10/10 would recommend.
Chelsea Hotel - This was our hotel. It was in a pretty great spot - easy to get to the train, near City Tour pick up spots, and surrounded by some pretty amazing restaurants. It also happens to be the largest hotel in Canada! One of the great things about staying at this hotel was that it got us discounts for several of our activities. It is possible that this could happen at other hotels, but definitely worth noting and looking into with the concierge!
Toronto Zoo - If there is a zoo nearby, we will be checking it out. We spent several hours on Friday exploring. It was ginormous! Brookfield is definitely still my favorite zoo but I loved exploring this for an afternoon.
Scaddabush - This was one of the best meals I have ever had. It was across the street from our hotel and we randomly decided to walk in. SO glad we did. We were seated in the back near the kitchen where we could watch the Chefs make mozzarella. They make their mozzarella, bread, and pasta (if not more) in house. Bobby, Lex, and I got pizza while Jen ordered ravioli. We also got some gnocchi. I would fly back to Canada just for this meal alone. At the end of dinner while the waiter was checking us out, he compared this place to Olive Garden in the states. He seemed surprised by how awesome we thought this restaurant was. Somehow I don’t think Olive Garden makes anything in house.
Niagara Wine School - The first stop on our Niagara Falls tour was to this winery school near Niagara. They bring in a select group of students from all over the world who want to learn how to make wine and run a winery. They also brew beer, have bees, and grow weed. Very progressive place. We stopped for a wine tasting and my favorite by far was the Ice Wine. Canada makes 80% of the world’s Ice Wine which I sadly had never heard of. And it was delicious! They harvest the grapes in the middle of the night so they stay frozen and press them. Because they are frozen, they can’t make as much wine which is too bad because it tastes like juice.
Niagara On The Lake - This was the second stop on our tour was here. It was one of the cutest little towns with some serious Michigan vibes. Lots of shops and restaurants. We stopped in at Soap Opera and picked up some locally made soap while we waited for our sandwiches to be made so we could eat at the park. We are already wanting to do another trip just out to here! It even had some incredible gelato which is always a must on a trip.
The Hornblower - This was a last minute decision. None of us said we HAD to do the boat tour at Niagara but honestly it was one of the best parts of the trip. Our tour guide from City Site Seeing tour that bused us out to Niagara said it was so worth it to do this and he was right. It was only a 15 minute boat ride but it was so cool getting up close to the falls!
Distillery District - This looked like my kind of place from the moment I researched it. It was this old industrial district full of shops and restaurants (theres a theme to my happiness). And on Sundays, vendors line up all over the district with their goods. Sign me up! It was pretty spitty at this point so sadly we only walked around a little but I probably could have spent all day here exploring.
Casa Loma - Bobby and Lex have been to Toronto several times before but have never gone to Casa Loma which was nice to have a first for all of us! It was a self guided tour of the castle which was a birthday gift from Siri Henry Pellat to his wife. I don’t think. it is possible to ever outdo that gift.
Kensington Market - This place was deinfitely not what we expected when we walked up. You can see photos of the neighborhood down below. Each building was super colorful and some were covered in street art. It was probably the most bohemian neighborhood I have ever been to.
The ROM - The Royal Ontario Museum was much larger than you expected it to be and it only showed 5% of its collection at once. The rest if either on loan or in secret storage facility outside of Toronto. It was incredible what they have but also a little overwhelming with how much there was to look at.
