Visiting The Great White North (that’s Canada
I never say no to adventure, so when an early morning text from a friend came in inviting me on a spontaneous trip to Toronto, I started packing. I do lots of intercontinental traveling, so I felt pretty ignorant about our neighbors to the north. I had to actually look up which coast the city of Toronto is on. It’s on the east-ish side of the coast in the Ontario province, right by the Great Lakes. While curating my last-minute itinerary, I planned to bike along the lake, visit the amusement park on Toronto Island and enjoy rooftop dinners. When I called to make reservations, I was reminded that I would be arriving in winter, and it was snowing. The kind concierge informed me that icy sidewalks and bike riding for snow newbies were not advised. Being from LA, I completely forgot that while I was enjoying the weather in the cool mid-sixties, everywhere else was being dumped on with snow or a deluge of rain, possibly both. I had to check my weather privilege. I figured what better place to wing it than a country where people spoke English and carried the stereotype that everyone is painfully nice. Best decision ever.
Unlike visiting other countries that don’t speak English, I never had to worry about misreading signs and getting lost. I also didn’t have to pretend not to be American (which I always do in France). There wasn’t a huge rush for tourist must-see attractions, so I didn’t have to worry about tour tickets booking up. Also, everything is extremely pretty, and clean, yet calm. I stayed on the waterfront near the financial district but walking around I actually met more people in hockey jerseys than I did finance bros. It reminded me of a utopian LA if we all took a year to detox from stress, toxins, and traffic to live peacefully in the present. While in Toronto, I never had FOMO. I felt grateful not to have to worry about absolutely anything. Upon reflection, it actually must be what a yoga retreat feels like.
Because I stumbled upon everything, I’m listing what I did and what time or day I should have visited to get the biggest payoff. Overall, Toronto was a breath of cool, crisp air that humbled me every time I walked along the icy sidewalks praying I didn’t fall. I never did, but even if I had, I don’t think any of the Canucks would have laughed, they really are that nice.
Toronto Itinerary
Food:
The Michelin Star restaurant is listed as the best Italian restaurant outside of Italy. While I couldn’t get my rooftop dinners, this is better because the restaurant sits on top of the Westin Harbour Castle on the thirty-eighth floor and gives you a spectacular view of the CN Tower (CN stands for Canadian National), which is like the Toronto version of the Seattle Space Needle. I had to make a reservation three weeks out, and while everything was booked, they managed to squeeze me in for a late dinner seating. You could order by plate or get the chef’s eight-course menu. When in Rome as they say, so I went for the whole experience and the tiny plates added up. I had to wobble out of the restaurant and the overall bill cost me $300+. That’s just for me and I wasn’t even mad. The attention to detail when it came to plating, the mixture of ingredients that further blended with every turn of your fork, and the spectrum of seafood, pasta, beef, and dessert plates were artfully spaced out. You get what you pay for.
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I grabbed a dim sum lunch at this Chinese restaurant located right on the waterfront, on that particular sunny day, the sunbeams beautifully reflected off the water. I think the sunset would also be a spectacular sight there. This was my second favorite restaurant there. The service rivaled that of a Michelin-star restaurant for a fraction of the price. I knew my way around the menu, but the host was available to offer suggestions gladly. Dim sum service is essentially ordering several different little plates to share, which can range from dumplings to soups and rice and meat plates. We stuck to various dumplings, garlic eggplant, and cutter fish. Everything was savory and served piping hot, all placed on brilliant white tablecloths. This set me back about $80 per person.
This is both a typical Toronto pastry and a restaurant. I kept getting that mixed up. These are a chain of dessert shops that remind me of the Cinnabons you see at the mall. A Beavertail is a dessert made of oval flat deep-fried dough with syrup on top. You can also eat it with ice cream. It takes like a flakier funnel cake. I split one with my friend, and I’m so glad because the second I bit in, I knew I could have gobbled that whole thing on my own.
Chef’s Hall
This is similar to the Public Market in downtown LA where you can find dozens of food stalls with various cuisines. This was half the size but definitely more upscale. You can sit at a beer hall table to make friends with strangers or sit at the bar top and become besties with the bartender. I chose the latter and was rewarded with a parade of drinks that looked and tasted like a shrunk-down version of a magic show in a glass. My favorite was this purple one you added a beaker of lemon juice to make the cocktail look like a glittering kaleidoscope.
Sights:
St. Lawrence Market
It’s a two-story warehouse that houses several mini-market stalls. The first floor is humble and looks like an open-air market, the second floor is more structured with larger areas for food stalls and places to eat on site. The palace is known for selling fresh-shucked oysters, but I went when it was snowing so I decided to go for the clam chowder and lobster roll. Both delicious. After you’re done, you can wander around to other stalls to pick up fresh bread, lavender, or even souvenirs. I came across a jewelry stand selling real gold pieces at great prices. You can save money by paying in cash. She was willing to take Canadian or American dollars but if you paid with a credit card, those transaction charges add up. Even if you’re not trying to buy gold, still bring cash here. Most of the places didn’t accept credit cards if the charge was less than $15 which was actually hard to reach because I kept buying small plates and munching on everything.
Kensington Market
This is a neighborhood, not just one place. So visit during the early afternoon when you have time to walk around to visit the shops. But not when it’s snowy because the streets get quite dirty. Not only was I afraid of slipping and falling, I feared taking a nose dive into a puddle of brown snow. The shops reminded me of the Venice boardwalks. There were lots of souvenir stores, gluten-free and vegan bakeries and thrift stores that also sold new items. I think the people make the neighborhood interesting so visiting on a Saturday would make more sense. I will note that they do sell lots of “Schitt’s Creek” items here, in case there are any fellow fans of the show which makes sense because they are Canadian.
I found this place by randomly searching for what was nearby on Google Maps. This was at a point when I unexpectedly encountered snow when my day was supposed to be centered on walking everywhere. I was outside and needed to find shelter until what felt like a blizzard (but I’m told was normal snowfall) passed. Casa Loma is the only castle in North America and at one point was the largest residency in Canada. It reminded me of the Hearst Castle but is more accessible because once you pay your admission of $40, you are free to go roam. I found secret tunnels and escape rooms. I even climbed to the highest tower through the attic to experience a snowy rooftop. Out in the gardens, I crunched my way over fresh snow to take in the massive view of the estate that has ninety-eight rooms. There was even a chandelier in the public bathrooms. The man who owned it, Henry Pellatt, co-founded the Toronto Electric Light Company, which was the first utility company to harness the power of Niagra Falls as an energy source, so he was very rich. Eventually, he made bad bets and lost all his money and the mansion is now a historic landmark. I spent over four hours here wandering around and was one of the best surprises I stumbled upon on the trip.
Toronto Islands
Everyone we spoke to told us that we couldn’t miss visiting these islands centered in the middle of Toronto lake. There were talks of an amusement park, restaurants, and a beautiful view of the Toronto cityscape and the CN tower. This all sounded marvelous, but in my explorations, I kept forgetting that it was winter in Toronto and this was the harshest reminder of what cold felt like. The amusement park was closed because of winter, and so was all but one restaurant. As for the views, yes they paid off, but the wind was absolutely cutting, and you couldn’t even smile without your teeth starting to hurt from the wind. I survived thanks to a North Face jacket and hand warmers but barely because on the ferry ride (it’s the only way there) back it started to rain. Highly recommend you go in the summer.
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Niagra Falls Tour & Ice Wine Tour & Maple Syrup Tasting
You can’t travel all the way out here and not go to Niagra Falls. The problem is that there are so many tour options, it’s hard to pick the right one for the right price that isn’t a massive tour crowd of people. I stumbled upon this Travelling Chicken tour group, and I was delightfully surprised. Our tour group was about eight of us and included hotel pick up and drop off. Yes, you can head to the falls alone, but the tour includes a trip to an ice winery, a maple syrup farm, and a waterfall hike. It was a whole day’s tour, and I was exhausted so I can only imagine how I would have felt having to drive to each location and then back to Toronto. When you get to the falls, always opt in to take the boat tour, and if you go at night, the falls have an epic light show but again do this in the summer cause it was cold during the day and I assume freezing at night. I also learned about how ice wine and maple syrup are made. It’s not some convoluted process that blows your mind, but at least you get to taste lots of each so by the end I was slightly tipsy and on a sugar high.
Overall, Toronto gave off small-town charisma that just happened to be in a bustling city center. I advise you to visit during the warmer months, but even though I was cold and did have to brave the snow, nothing was unbearable, and I could always pop into a cafe to warm up while walking around. I call this unplanned, last-minute trip a success and it’s the best place to randomly try absolutely everything.
