Big city time
Survived a day in Toronto. I say that like it was an effort. But it's amazing that all places have their own vibes, but there is such a Canadian vibe. And there is a really distinct business feel to Toronto. Edmonton is really working class compared to here.
With the Toronto film festival on right now hotels seem to be extra expensive so I'm staying on the outskirts. And thought that instead of driving through downtown and paying a small fortune for parking I'd take the subway. It worked quite well actually. Had to pay a little more for parking but even just walking around the downtown was a little intimidating from a drivers perspective. Lots of crazy roads and tons of road construction. But unlike home, very few trucks and large SUVs. The subway system is really easy to figure it out. There is a u shaped like with a straight line through it.
My first stop was the royal Ontario museum. It's a museum. I guess that with all the travelling I've done I've seen a variety of museums. And the Canadian ones feel like they are trying really hard. Dinosaur exhibits aren't as good when you've been to Drumheller. The Greek sections aren't as good when you've been to Greece! But it was worth spending a little bit of time there.
Then I caught the hop on hop off bus. It was okay. The first guy was really good. He had some enthusiasm and knowledge. The second guy not so much. But I went around about 2/3 of the route to Eaton Centre. It's a big mall and busy but mostly with people using it as a shortcut or eating. Not a lot of people seemed to be doing serious shopping. I wonder how busy the place is after hours. All the books were so excited about shopping there but it has all the same stores as west Edmonton Mall. The food court was really good. Lots of different options that we don't have at home. And oddly enough they use a lot of plastic dishes and cups instead of everything being disposable. And the food court was crazy busy, you had to share tables for the most part if you wanted a seat.
Across the street from the mall is Dundas square. It's very much like Times Square, except filled with people promoting the fallsview casino in Niagara Falls. Really only spent time there while waiting for the bus.
Then I caught the bus around for a bit and then made it down to the Ontario Parliament. I did the tour. Was only me and another lady from Toronto. The tour was okay, didn't really show much. They were in session so we had to make our way up on our own to see the room, but I didn't feel like it was worth the effort. The building was much larger than many others, but I think that Edmonton's parliament building is much nicer.
Then I headed down south to the CN tower. I decided to walk, you don't really get to see a lot from the bus and it had stopped raining by then so why not. I walked down through hospital row. It is an entire street of hospitals. To put the population into perspective they have a maternity hospital. There were a lot of different hospitals. After all that excitement I arrived. It's easy to find the tower! It's less than a minute to get to the top. And they have glass panels in the elevator floor. No I didn't look! They also have the glass floor on the observation deck. Also wasn't brave enough to walk across that! I looked, it's incredibly far down... You could also pay more to go even higher. Or for 170$ they will give you coveralls and attach you to the side of the building and you get to walk around the edge. You could even see them out there from below. The idea of that terrifies me a little.
Right beside the tower is Rogers arena, where the Blue Jays and the Argos play. There is a baseball game tonight so there were a ridiculous amount of hot dog stands set up around the arena. I'd say at least 8-10 of them.
One thing that has been sad and awkward is the tourist photos at all the really touristy places, you know them, the ones where you stand in front of the green screen and then they put you in the picture. It's just sad when it's me. CN tower did them, as did journey behind the falls in niagara, and a few others places. I looked at one and it was sad, nothing I'd buy and take home and frame!
With the Toronto film festival on right now hotels seem to be extra expensive so I'm staying on the outskirts. And thought that instead of driving through downtown and paying a small fortune for parking I'd take the subway. It worked quite well actually. Had to pay a little more for parking but even just walking around the downtown was a little intimidating from a drivers perspective. Lots of crazy roads and tons of road construction. But unlike home, very few trucks and large SUVs. The subway system is really easy to figure it out. There is a u shaped like with a straight line through it.
My first stop was the royal Ontario museum. It's a museum. I guess that with all the travelling I've done I've seen a variety of museums. And the Canadian ones feel like they are trying really hard. Dinosaur exhibits aren't as good when you've been to Drumheller. The Greek sections aren't as good when you've been to Greece! But it was worth spending a little bit of time there.
Then I caught the hop on hop off bus. It was okay. The first guy was really good. He had some enthusiasm and knowledge. The second guy not so much. But I went around about 2/3 of the route to Eaton Centre. It's a big mall and busy but mostly with people using it as a shortcut or eating. Not a lot of people seemed to be doing serious shopping. I wonder how busy the place is after hours. All the books were so excited about shopping there but it has all the same stores as west Edmonton Mall. The food court was really good. Lots of different options that we don't have at home. And oddly enough they use a lot of plastic dishes and cups instead of everything being disposable. And the food court was crazy busy, you had to share tables for the most part if you wanted a seat.
Across the street from the mall is Dundas square. It's very much like Times Square, except filled with people promoting the fallsview casino in Niagara Falls. Really only spent time there while waiting for the bus.
Then I caught the bus around for a bit and then made it down to the Ontario Parliament. I did the tour. Was only me and another lady from Toronto. The tour was okay, didn't really show much. They were in session so we had to make our way up on our own to see the room, but I didn't feel like it was worth the effort. The building was much larger than many others, but I think that Edmonton's parliament building is much nicer.
Then I headed down south to the CN tower. I decided to walk, you don't really get to see a lot from the bus and it had stopped raining by then so why not. I walked down through hospital row. It is an entire street of hospitals. To put the population into perspective they have a maternity hospital. There were a lot of different hospitals. After all that excitement I arrived. It's easy to find the tower! It's less than a minute to get to the top. And they have glass panels in the elevator floor. No I didn't look! They also have the glass floor on the observation deck. Also wasn't brave enough to walk across that! I looked, it's incredibly far down... You could also pay more to go even higher. Or for 170$ they will give you coveralls and attach you to the side of the building and you get to walk around the edge. You could even see them out there from below. The idea of that terrifies me a little.
Right beside the tower is Rogers arena, where the Blue Jays and the Argos play. There is a baseball game tonight so there were a ridiculous amount of hot dog stands set up around the arena. I'd say at least 8-10 of them.
One thing that has been sad and awkward is the tourist photos at all the really touristy places, you know them, the ones where you stand in front of the green screen and then they put you in the picture. It's just sad when it's me. CN tower did them, as did journey behind the falls in niagara, and a few others places. I looked at one and it was sad, nothing I'd buy and take home and frame!
Those green screen photos are sad no matter how many people are in them! When we went to San Diego I refused to pose for them because I had no intention of buying. And they are terrible.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the rest of your trip!
Amanda