Toronto_Niagra Trip Day 1

Toronto Day 1

Well, we rolled in late last night—like 1:30 AM late—so we slept in a bit and didn’t get up until around 9:15. Once we finally got moving, we showered and walked about 10 minutes to a spot called Eggspectation for breakfast. The weather was perfect, mid-60s, just right for a stroll. The restaurant had outdoor seating, which was AMAZING. I love outdoor cafés. We both ordered French toast with bacon and fruit, and it was delicious. The coffee was solid too—which, as you know, is critical. After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed our things, and set out for the day.

This trip is a little different. It’s the first sightseeing trip in over 20 years without Mama, and it’s also the only one I haven’t planned down to the minute. Don’t get me wrong—there’s a rough plan I had ChatGPT pull together—but in terms of research, I’ve done basically nothing. So the day was open for debate. The one thing I knew I wanted to see was the castle. Google said it was about two miles away, with lots of sights along the way, so we decided to walk. Best decision ever.

We set off with Google Maps guiding us. Our first stop was Nathan Phillips Square, home of the Toronto sign, City Hall, and Old City Hall. It’s a massive plaza framed by stunning architecture. We snapped some photos, wandered on, and found several beautiful churches along the route. The best surprise was St. James Cathedral—it was open, and we got to walk through.

We passed Osgoode Hall (closed today), then made our way to St. Lawrence Market before ducking into a café for a much-needed break. We grabbed a table outside at the café, which made it even better. By this time the sun was beating down pretty hard, so instead of coffee I went with a cool drink while we both took a break.

Back on our route, we drifted into an area that felt a lot like Times Square in New York, with big screens and billboards everywhere. By now it was about 2 PM, and I was cooked—hot, tired, ready for a reset. We still had a mile to go to the castle, so I called for a pivot. Instead of pushing through, we grabbed an Uber back to the hotel to cool off and recharge. We’ll still get to the castle tomorrow, but this time we’re driving—my feet can’t take that walk again.

We had 9 PM dinner reservations at the CN Tower, but Jack called and managed to move them up to 4:30. That gave us about an hour and a half to rest before we Ubered over. The dinner setup was incredible—we bypassed a huge line and went straight up to the rotating restaurant, where you get a full 360° view of the city from the tallest observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. The food was expensive, ridiculously so, but the price included access to the observation deck, which softened the blow. The service was excellent, the food was good, and the desserts were outstanding. My salmon wasn’t my favorite, but Jack enjoyed his pork tenderloin. Since I had mentioned on the reservation that we were celebrating our anniversary (a little over a month late), they surprised us with chocolate “Happy Anniversary” signs on our desserts, which was such a neat touch. Honestly, the view, the desserts, and that thoughtful anniversary surprise made it all worth it.

After dinner, we strolled around the area, admiring more beautiful buildings. The CN Tower sits near the rail lines, so there were historic trains and displays, which was fun to see. From there we walked down to the harbor for a bit before trekking about half a mile for a chocolate shake.

The shake shop was inside the main train station, and from there we hopped on a local bus back to the hotel.

All in all, it was a fantastic day.

Random Memories

• Squirrels here are black and furry

• We walked 8.8 miles today

• Rotating restaurants can give you a bit of a headache

• I don’t like crowds

Jack’s Favorite Thing of the Day:

Jack loved sitting and eating dinner while looking out over the city. There was an airport on one of the islands we could see, and watching the planes land was pretty cool.

My Favorite Thing of the Day:
For me, it was the randomness of the walk—stumbling across unique things along the way, like open cathedrals, beautiful old buildings, and spots we never would have planned for.