Hard Rock Cafe, Toronto

Hard Rock Cafe, Toronto

Jan 16, 2010

I am a sucker for Hard Rock Cafes. I know they are cheesy and lame but I still love 'em and I was happy to go to one in Toronto.

The CN Tower

Jan 15, 2009

The CN Tower: AKA The Space Needle-y Looking Thing

Ok, so that AKA is obviously not official. But as a West Coaster, that's all I could think of every time I saw this Toronto landmark. It was the world's tallest structure, even higher the the Empire State Building in NYC, but that title was recently taken by a building in Dubai. It was still very impressive. They take you up to the donut part in a little glass elevator for about $25 Canadian dollars. To go to the top is more, but the sites from the donut are impressive enough. This was the most expensive thing we did in Toronto but it was worth it see the sprawling metropolis in its entirety.

It is lit up with the colors of Haiti's flag to show support after the recent destructive earthquake.

Streets of Toronto, Ontario

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Jan 13, 2009

Toronto

Visiting the land of free healthcare and progressive politics, I still saw SUVs and bums. Not as many as grace U.S. urbania, but certainly more than I saw in Europe. The citizens still complained about the government. The city was, however, much cleaner than any U.S. metropolis. It's true also what they say; Toronto is incredibly diverse. Visiting Canada is always a fun experience. Kind of like visiting and alternate universe, if the US had just behaved itself and continued holding hands with Britain. The people ARE generally friendlier. It's always a fun time.

Toronto is thriving. There are oodles of museums, stores, restaurants and fun things to do. Especially if you have money. Our money flew away like Canadian Geese while we were here: $3 to ride the subway, $22 for museum entrance, $16 for breakfast, $10 for a hat, $7 for shampoo, etc etc etc. There are definitely free and cheap things to do here, however. The Royal Ontario Museum offers free admission on Wednesday evenings, for instance. Most of the museums have discount days or hours. If you know the area, you can also sniff out some pretty good happy hour deals, like at The Madison Avenue Pub.

We stayed for 5 days with Phil's family, saving us room and board, but we still managed to spend hundreds of dollars. Worth it!