Figuring out how to fit in Toronto to our plans was actually quite a challenge originally. It seemed logical to try and move across North America from East to West, but this created a real problem in terms of the North to South aspects of the country as well - especially when we were still trying to fit in Florida. Getting rid of Florida was necessary, but getting between Washington and Toronto still seemed a challenge until we discovered Megabus did an overnight bus direct from Washington to Toronto, and when we initially looked it up its price was very reasonable. We weren't 100% on which particular day we'd be needing to go there, so we didn't book at that time. When we did go to book, we discovered that the bus was now very expensive - very expensive. The problem was, that was the only direct means of ground transportation between the city. Any other bus went via New York or more other places, and took far longer - and its not like it was a short bus journey anyway. But this was a real problem, because although cheap, it meant almost an entire day of travelling and in many cases quite a bit of backtracking. Even catching an Amtrak train would take all day - and no less than 3 trains too. It too was not cheap.
We'd originally looked at flying, but the cost vs the original cost of the overnight bus was quite big gulf. Now that the overnight bus was really expensive, we went back and ran the figures on flying. It was still costly, but it was easy and saved us a lot of time - a real lot of time. And what's more - the new cost of the night bus was 2/3rds-3/4ths the cost of flying. Faced with either almost literally 24hrs of travelling, an expensive overnight bus ride or flying and gaining more time - we chose flying. There was $5 difference between flying with Air Canada, or a smaller airline called Porter. Porter was the slightly cheaper one, but it also came with a difference - it flew into Toronto City Airport, right next to downtown Toronto City as opposed to Toronto Pearson Airport, the big airport on the edge of the city. That was much more useful to us - and so we went with the slightly cheaper one, Porter.
We caught a bus from downtown Washington out to the Airport as they haven't finished extending the Metro system out to the Airport, but works are under way and we could see that. Upon arrival at the airport we did a side trip to the Air and Space Museum based near the airport, as recounted in the previous post. After that, back to the Airport and then check-in for our flight - going to the museum meant we'd allowed a lesser amount of time for check-in than we normally do. We rocked up to the check-in counter and joined the end of the line, and I don't remember anyone joining the line after us. Check-in went fine until we were asked to show our Visas for Canada - we said we didn't need them with out passports. The airline staff said yes we did. No, we don't. Yes, you do they replied. We wouldn't be allowed on the plane without proof we'd at least applied for the electronic visa's, we could apply on our phones, pay the fee and they'd be in the system and granted by the time we landed in Canada. Only issue - we had to log into the airport's wifi (took a few goes), and we each had to do it simultaneously on our respective phones as we had to get it done before airline check-in closed. We got it done, they gave us our tickets but now we needed to race to Security to get through in time. After we'd joined the security line, one of the counter staff came and found me and handed me my passport wallet - in all the fluster, I'd left it at the check-in counter!
So what was the story with the Visas? Turns out we did indeed need visas - because we were arriving by Air. We didn't need them if arriving by land, like we'd originally planned and it never occurred to us to check if arriving by air changed the requirements. The fact that we'd gone to so many countries, and run the gamut of their visa/no visa requirements it was almost embarrassing that the last new country we would be entering this trip we'd mess up on!
The flight itself was quite pleasant. It was a Bombardier Q400/Dash-8 propellor plane, and we boarded it through a jetbridge strangely enough! I had the window seat under one of the wings, and on our flight I spotted Niagara Falls out the window. Landing at Toronto City Airport was a bit strange - we were flying over water, coming abreast of Toronto's big skyline and then when you thought we were about to touch down on the water, at the very last second a runway appears. The immigration side of things was pretty easy, and because the visa side of things was all electronic (and yes it had been granted) there was no stamps in the passport. On the bags side of things though - our black rucksack bag, which had been checked in at Washington appeared on the carousel without its blue strap around it, and without the blue combination lock on it. We discovered a note inside from the US's TSA saying the bag had been inspected, and it seems in the process they'd neglected to put the lock back on as well as the blue strap! Rather annoying all round. We waited ages for the free shuttle bus to central Toronto, then made our way into the Metro system and travelled our way to where we were staying.
Originally, we were going to stay at Jeremy & Rachel's flat that they shared with their flatmates, sleeping in the lounge. Not long before we were boarding the QM2, things got a bit complicated - apparently one of Jeremy & Rachel's flatmates was causing issues and they weren't sure us staying in the lounge was such a good idea anymore, so we'd stay in Jeremy & Rachel's room and Jeremy & Rachel would stay in a nearby Airbnb. Either the day before our arrival or two days before, Rachel hit upon the idea of switching - we could stay in the Airbnb and they'd stay put in their room in the flat. This was a much more sensible idea for all concerned and it didn't phase the Airbnb host. We had a room downstairs in a nice house, about 2 blocks away from Jeremy & Rachel's house and it was all fairly self contained. A few days later we finally met one of our hosts, and during a long discussion we suddenly found out that we'd been on the same sailing of the QM2 together! Pretty funny stuff, and one night they were having a homecooked dinner and invited us to join them along with their family where more talk of being on the boat ensued. They were very lovely hosts and we had a great time there.
One time we caught up with Jeremy and it was pretty warm, so we headed out to Toronto Islands for a swim. Toronto Islands is a group of islands in Lake Ontario, very close to the Toronto waterfront and they are essentially a group of parks, that interlink between the Islands. The airport where we landed is actually one of these Islands too.
Just as we went to go into the water the sun dipped behind the cloud but we went in anyway and had a decent swim before deciding we'd had enough. It looked like the ocean, but its all fresh water - Lake Ontario is one of the "Great Lakes" in North America, and Niagara Falls flows into Lake Ontario. So it wasn't necessarily warm in the water either but still pleasant enough!
To get to Toronto Islands you catch a ferry, and we had to catch it back to the "mainland" also. It was quite scenic on the ferry as you get a good view of the Toronto skyline, and there's the planes flying overhead for the airport - they get low on approach for landing! On the trip back, the sun started setting behind the skyscrapers of the city also - could not have picked a better time to go across!
We did a day trip to Niagara Falls - it was a sub-2hr trip from Toronto, so we had to do it! Jeremy & Rachel had provided us with a lot of trip information and ideas about going there which all was really helpful.
There are trains and buses which go directly from Toronto to Niagara Falls, but actually the best way timewise and money wise was to catch the GO Train from Toronto to Burlington and change to a bus there. Both the double deck train and the double deck bus were quite pleasant to travel in, and as per Jeremy & Rachel's suggestion we got off the bus one stop before the end because that stop is actually closer to the falls than the last stop. A short wander later, and we were by the river and staring at the Falls.
From each side of the river departs cruises that go up to the Falls. One is called Maid of the Mist, it leaves from the US side, the boats are smaller monohulls and they go up a way into the spray of the falls. The other is called Hornblower, it leaves the Canadian side, and its boats are larger catamarans which get closer into the spray than the Maid of the Mist does. We decided on the Hornblower one, bought tickets, and then proceeded down to the river's edge ready for boarding. You get given a bright red disposable rain poncho (Maid of the Mist ones are blue), we didn't have much of a wait before we were herded onto the next boat and while everyone seemed to want to go on the far side of the boat with the view of Americas Falls visible, we stuck to the dock-side of the boat as I told Sasha that would be better all round. It was - because although we missed the view of American Falls as the boat sailed out to Horseshoe Falls, the boat turned so that it was our side of the boat which got closer to the falls and further into the spray. And boy did we get sprayed, even with the poncho's on! On the way back, our side faced American Falls so we got a better, closer view of it. Afterwards we had a drink at the Hornblower cafe in the covered tent area, and ate our pre-bought Salads for Lunch.
Rachel suggested we should check out this locally produced Theatre show while in Toronto and get tickets before we'd arrived, but it wasn't until we were in Toronto and heard Jeremy & Rachel describe what it was about that we actually thought it might be something we'd like to check out. There were no seated tickets left, but they put out standing tickets on the day - standing for a long time is a problem for Sasha with her reconstructed knees, but the show was only going to be 90 minutes so she was willing to give standing a go. We managed to get two standing tickets, and went along to the afternoon performance of this show.
In a nutshell, the show is about a small Newfoundland town off the coast of Canada who had a large airport left over from the era when planes could barely cross the Atlantic on a tank of fuel before needing to fuel up. Suddenly one day - 11th September 2001 to be precise - American airspace is shut down, and a huge amount of planes are diverted to this town's airport and the locals are suddenly faced with trying to accommodate, feed and clothe many plane-loads of passengers who outnumber the population of the town, who can't get to where they need to go nor easily contact loved ones for many days. There are many high points and low points, funny moments and sad moments - one particular moment did have me shedding a tear, I'm not ashamed to say. And its all based on a true story - that really happened, which makes it all that much more poignant. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend others seeing it if they get the chance. As for standing up - we both coped alright with it, it certainly made the tickets at a nice price point (which as budget conscious travellers was definitely something of interest to us!) but I don't know if I could do 2+ hours standing up without a break and even then, maybe not!
One of the few tourist-attractiony things we did do in Toronto was go up the CN Tower. As a kid, I knew of this tower through Jeremy - since Jeremy became tower-obsessed following that family trip to Sydney in 1999, I learned very quickly that the CN Tower was the tallest tower. It no longer holds that title - in fact it held the title of world's tallest free-standing structure until 2007 when the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was built, and since the Burj Khalifa is a building not a tower the CN tower held onto the tallest tower title until 2009 until the Canton Tower in China was built. Now, its the 3rd tallest tower and the 9th tallest free-standing structure. But its still the tallest structure or tower in North America - that's right, the US has nothing as tall as it and never has. Jeremy did tell me that there used to be a contention between the CN Tower and the Sears/Willis Tower in Chicago after that building got some aerials put on top, but the aerials don't count even by the American building's own admission.
All in all, it was a very impressive view and well worth the visit up to the top!
Just below the CN Tower was the old Canadian National Railway roundhouse, where the trains used to be stored once upon a time. Its only fairly recently been developed - with 1/3rd of the roundhouse now a Railway Museum. Its not the main railway museum of Canada, but its the only one in Toronto and had a few exhibits to see. To be quite honest, most of the interesting stuff to be seen was on display outside of the roundhouse, and the bit in the actual building (for which there was an entrance fee) was not that interesting to me. It did have some things about the history of the GO Trains, they seemed to be restoring a carriage of some description in the fenced off area and there was a diesel cab set up as a train simulator that I had a guided go on. I think its still a bit embryonic but its got potential!
I went to start off this section by saying there wasn't a lot to report on the Food & Drink front, and then I remembered there actually was. Quite a bit even. When in Canada you've got to have Poutine, and we had Poutine while out with Jeremy and Rachel for dinner the first night we were in Toronto. We had dinner with Jeremy & Rachel at least twice, at good restaurants chosen by Rachel. We caught up with Jeremy a few times without Rachel as well, since Jeremy's role at work saw him have free afternoons a lot, and the nature of Rachel's work at that time had her working long hours. There was also the dinner hosted by our Airbnb hosts, which was lovely and most generous of them; and we had lunch the CN Tower day at the Steam Whistle Brewery, located in 1/3rd of the Toronto Railway Museum roundhouse. Not to forget, there was also our visit to Niagara - not only the ice creams already mentioned, but for dinner Sasha got to try the burger chain Wendy's for the first time. Wendy's exists in NZ, but not Australia - and it was much the same as in NZ. For our last meal in Canada, we got some food from a market and took it to a park to eat - a little picnic of sorts!
However when I think of food, and drink in Canada, I think of Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons is basically a Canadian Fast Food chain, but most people don't go there for the food, but the coffee. Their coffee has a seemingly unrivalled reputation - I guess you could put Tim Hortons down as being some kind of cross between McDonalds and Starbucks. We had Tim Hortons for lunch fairly early on in our visit, having panini-like sandwiches or wraps for the food and going for an iced latte. Now unlike Starbucks which is also known for its Coffee, Tim Horton's range of coffee's isn't really super fancy and jazzed up - in fact its seemingly most popular product, the coffee was no more than filter coffee in a cup. We wanted to try it, but it was a hot day so we opted for iced latte's - very nice, but that coffee was punchy. I don't often drink coffee and when I do, its because I want the caffeine pick-me-up for maximum effect. That coffee had me buzzing for the rest of the day! We also got a glazed doughnut as our side, and from memory we ended up with an extra doughnut as a "thank you for your patience" because our meal had taken so long to come. While waiting for the food to come, in the food cabinets I spied another Tim Hortons speciality - something called Timbits, which are essentially the doughnut batter from the middle of a doughnut cooked separately and sometimes glazed separately in the form of a round ball.
We had Tim Hortons once or twice more, but never a full meal. We got some coffee and a bite to eat before going to Come from Away, and after a while we (or probably more accurately, I!) became obsessed with getting some Timbits to try - but quite a few times we went in to a Tim Hortons and found they either had run out or had run out of the varieties we wished to try. We did succeed eventually, almost at the last minute - we had a long wait at the bus terminal when leaving Toronto, and since it was an overnight bus I wanted to cool down so went a few blocks to a nearby Tim Hortons to get a cold drink and got some Timbits in the process. They're great - all the flavour and deliciousness of a doughnut, but just in a manageable size that didn't leave you feeling disgusting for eating too much and certainly much better for your waistline!
We also had a few beers - the place we met Jeremy & Rachel for dinner the first night specialised in craft beers, and we went back with Jeremy another afternoon. They had an interesting range, including some good sours. Naturally we had the Steam Whistle brewery's Pilsner while at the brewery for lunch - they only do the one type of beer, and that's it. It was a nice drinkable Pilsner, but nothing too standout overall really in my opinion.
The Metro System was fairly easy to use, though I think a strange quirk was of the two Subway lines we used, the trains went the opposite directions on the equivalent tracks. The PATH covered or underground pathway system in the city was really well done - cool and air conditioned in summer, but would be toasty warm when its freezing cold with snow and ice outside. I quite liked the fact we were able to catch the GO Train for our Niagara trip - the carriages were spacious and roomy, and when we were riding there seemed to be almost no one else in our carriages too. Interesting to see that a bunch of these massive carriages were built using riveted construction too rather than welded - unusual for carriages that were built in the 70's or 80's.
We visited Canada during a period where we were told that Cannabis or Weed had been made legal, and while it was true that the Government had passed legislation to that effect, it didn't come into force until October after our visit. Nevertheless quite a few people we encountered remarked upon how cheap weed had become, and it seemed quite popular. After our picnic in the park the evening we were catching the bus to the US, a young homeless man came up to us and asked for any spare change - we replied we didn't have any as we'd used it up and we were catching a bus to the US in a few hours (which was all true). He then said "Can I have your leftover weed then" - to which we replied we didn't have any because we didn't do that. His reply to that was a bit incredulous and words to the effect of "What on earth did you visit Canada for then?" - can you believe it!!!
The first night we were in Toronto, on our way to meet up with Jeremy and Rachel in the semi-dusk I spotted a large dark cat-like figure on the footpath nearby and naturally I started clicking and this big charcoal grey cat came over and got a few pats. On our 2nd-to-last night in Toronto, and the last night catching up with Jeremy and Rachel, we were saying our goodbyes outside the Airbnb down the street I see what seems to be the same large cat crossing the road about 3 houses down so I start clicking my fingers to get it to come over. When it was halfway crossing the street I notice the cat seems to have a rather humped back shape. About now I stop clicking my fingers and say "Ah... that's not a Cat, is it" I said out loud, to which Jeremy replies "No that's a raccoon". Jeremy then starts clicking his fingers to get the raccoon's attention, to which Rachel tells him to stop because it might attack us if it comes over!
Summing Up
I did like Toronto though, and what we saw of it. It seems to have made a good base and home for Jeremy and Rachel for their time in Canada - most other Kiwi's and Aussies seem to gravitate to Vancouver, and although Sasha and I had briefly contemplated doing the 2 years in Canada (at the expense of more time in Berlin at the time) we dismissed the idea before even thinking about which Canadian city we would most likely try to move to if we were to do it. I would say its probable that it would have been between Vancouver or Toronto, but for all I know Ottawa might have proven a contender. Post-travels the eligibility age for Australians for the 2-year visa has risen to match the NZ age at 35 yeas - so Canada is possible for us once again, but we're not really interested in doing that. What we are interested in doing at some point is a more comprehensive set of travels in Canada - ones where we really get to see a bunch of the country, and can truly feel like we've "seen Canada" which is not something I feel I can say for only having been to Toronto (and Niagara Falls). Niagara Falls was definitely a highlight of the trip too - and its funny to think that technically we visited Canada twice because we popped across the border into the US again, if only for 2 hours or so!
Would I go back? I think its probably inevitable, moreso from the fact that its a key entry and exit point of Canada from which to conduct further travels in Canada rather than as a destination on its lonesome but I would happily spend a few days in Toronto as part of such a bigger trip. It could be some years before such a bigger trip like that can be contemplated, but it will definitely happen at some point!
Before I round this off, I want to specifically thank Rachel and Jeremy for all of what they did with our visit. Circumstances might have been a bit trying and meant we didn't get to stay with them, but even so they did their best to accommodate us and spend as much time with us as they reasonably could while also carrying on with their own lives that they have in Toronto. They also provided us with a lot of helpful information and lists of things to do and see, as well as give us the transport cards for the public transport system which proved invaluable during our stay in Toronto.
So that was Canada - the last new country to add to our list for our big End-of travels, for next was going back to the US of A...