laid back people, things to see, interesting shopping, Niagara Falls, good exchange rate
Disadvantages:
a lot of homeless people around, very weak coffee
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
My partner and I went to Toronto in July 2006. It was to be the first part of our holiday and then we were flying to visit my partner's brother in Albany, New York State.
We booked our tickets through lastminute.com and got a really good deal- it was a three legged journey; Manchester to Toronto, Toronto to Albany and then Albany to Toronto ,and Toronto back to Manchester. For 2 tickets we paid £1600. I did a lot of research on the internet before booking and this was what we needed. A lot of airlines did not meet our requirements.
We got to the airport and as we were going through to passport control I had a telephone call from Australia (my son was on a rugby tour with school) to say that he had had a little accident and had broken his nose- so he wouldn't be playing until he got to New Zealand in 10 days time. However, I was relieved that he wasn't more badly injured and was able to set off on my own holiday without feeling guilty. I knew he was going to be fine.
Air Canada flights are very good, in my opinion. We had plenty of room in our seats- admittedly we are both small, but even tall people didn't seem to have much trouble. The air hostesses were friendly and kept asking us if we were sisters- they wouldn't belive we weren't! The food and drink (wine or whatever you wanted) were excellent and plentiful. (for plane food) The flight was about 7 hours long but it didn't seem that long- there were 2 up to date films being shown and once the first drink had been served, the air hostesses kept bringing refills. Yippee! (I know you shouldn't drink a lot becasue it dehydrates you, but I hate to fly) I even managed a little sleep.
Upon landing at Lester B Pearson Airport (Toronto) you will see that it is big , new and clean and everything is well signposted. We decided to get a taxi from the airport because we had looked on line to see whether there was any public transport that we could use. Unfortunately there wasn't anything that would take us (as far as we could see) directly to our hotel. So as we hadn't been there before, we went outside and picked up a taxi easily. It cost $35, but it is a long way from the airport to Downtown Toronto.
There are some good public transport systems in Toronto and you can check these on line at the Toronto Transit Commission website. I think that having been once we would be confident enough to use these next time. There are buses and trains (the VIA system) -trains get into Union Station and you can go to other parts of the country and the USA from here.
Toronto is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario and you can see this as you get the taxi from the airport. You can't see the other shore! It's enormous! Well, it's a sea really, Isuppose. Toronto suddenly arises from the land- it's very flat and then there are loads of skyscrapers- impressive!
We had bought a pop up map of Toronto before we went and found this to be very helpful- and the Lonely Planet guide to Toronto was also invaluable.
So where did we decide to stay? I had researched hotels through the Tripadviser website and eventually booked the Holiday Inn Express Downtown. Our decision was based on location-convenience to the St Lawrence Market and other attractions, and on price. Toronto is not an inexpensive city to stay in regarding hotels, especially in the summer, and prices range from the very expensive to the reasonable. The Holiday Inn Express was as expected- it follows the same formula as other Holiday Inn Expresses- a large comfortable ensuite room with coffee making facilities and a mini bar, a large bed, a sofa, desk, table and chair and a very good continental breakfast of which you can eat as much as you like. And it's not too expensive. Was the COmfort Inn, previously, I think, but it has been completely refurbished and is of a very good standard.
The breakfast included coffee which was absolutely weak- it is not true that Canadians know how to make coffee. They drink it watery! But the hot cinnamon buns were delicious! In fact, come to think about it, Toronto people love cinnamon- they sell it everywhere and put it in everything! It came to be a little joke between us.
The desk staff were lovely and helpful- more of that later.
We arrived at lunchtime and dumped our things in our room and went down to the desk to ask about trips to Niagara Falls. I had done research back home and found out that there were small companies that arrange trips to the Falls or you can get larger more organised tours but they are a bit expensive. The man on the desk had obviously heard about the expensive ones and offered to get in touch with another company for us- so we said yes. King Tours offered a day tour for $79 and so we booked it- to leave from the hotel the next morning at 8am. We were set to save a bit of money by doing it this way.
That afternoon, we went for a walk up town -not very far from our hotel. About 3 streets further north the shops began and went on and on..a very good variety and plenty of recognisable brands and fashions. We had seen in the guidebook that there are walking trails that you can follow. Apparently in the winter it is so cold outside that people shop and socialise -in covered malls, underground. So we went to see where these led. They are well signposted and we followed one for some distance , down the mall and through some stores. We noticed that there were quite a lot of homeless people out on the street but people seemed to ignore them. That felt a bit out of place in such a seemingly prosperous city. I later read in a local newspaper that the city was trying to house them in hostels and houseing schemes but some really did not want to go- but numbers were reducing. One of the hotels was located near to our hotel but it was discreet and you would nothave known it was a hostel.
We were actually very tired then, so we followed the map and left the trail.We went to a local shop and bought some water and snacks, and then went back to the hotel and ordered some take out (something i have never done before ) to be brought to our room. It was free delivery and very reasonably priced. We settled sown to some delicious ribs and spicy chicken wings and an hour later we were in bed. Shattered.
The next morning we had our juice and weak coffee, cinnamon buns, boiled egg and ham...and went to reception to await pick up. At 8am we were hailed by a smart chauffeur and carried across town in a taxi arranged by the tour operator. We got to see the area around the hotel in comfort-and it rested our feet!.
King Tours picked up up from a hotel uptown -there were 13 people in the minibus and I had to sit in the front with the driver (and owner) Kevin. But I didn't mind-my partner was in the back with 2 people from Holland, and the rest of the people came from Ireland. Kevin was a Srilankan with a Canadian accent -and told us that he hated being mistaken for any other race. He was entertaining and told jokes about all races but ours all the way to Niagara which could have been misinterpreted but were very funny- and he showed us the houses that he would have liked to buy.
On the way to the falls we stopped off at an Ice Wine vineyard where we all had a free wine tasing and some bought botles of this really unusual wine- it is a dessert wine and so so sweet!
Back into the minibus and onwards- we saw the floral clock, and then stopped for an hour at Niagara on the Lake. This is a beautiful little town built of painted clapboard in all colours- very scenic. You could imagine people coming and tying their horses up outside the stores. Cinnamon buns galore!
Niagara Falls is very tourist orientated there are a lot of hotels and entertainment facilities. parts looked a bit tacky but it was all part of the background that Kevin was giving us chance to see. We got to the falls and Kevin parked the bus and took the party to the ticket office for the Maid of the Mist boat tour. (included in the price) Down the cliffside and onto the boat and the boat then travels towards the falls. The noise is fantastic, the spray WET- but you are provided with a poncho to keep you dry.
After that you can wander along the clifftop to the Horseshoe falls, passing the American falls (the straight ones ) on the way. The water that rushes along the river towards the falls comes over rocks and boulders- it is white , but getting to the edge of the falls, it is so green, it's beautiful.
We were there in July and it was hot- so shade was at a premium...we found a spot under a tree and sat on the grass, watching the people go by and watching the water tumble over the falls. An experience I will never forget. Everybody semed happy and there were peoples of all kinds there - there was no litter or unrulyness, and given the number of people we felt that had this been England, it would not have been the same.
I can't say that I was impressed by the food that was on offer here- burgers etc or restaurants. Nothing in between. it was also expensive. So that was a bit disappointing. However this is a touristy place so we should have expected it.
The afternoon came to an end and we were soon on the minibus on the way back to our hotel. The falls were wonderful.
The next day we went to the St Lawrence Market, which houses delis, meat and a fish market, and other stores sell souvenirs and local produce. I have never seen such HUGE long crab legs in my life- they were Snow crabs, I was told. The produce was all wonderfully fresh and varied, and the delis were fascinating. Where have markets like this gone in our country?
Next door was a super pub, The Jersey Giant, selling local beers -we sat at the bar and listened to the locals chatting. It was very good to get out of the hot sun.
Afer some lunch we headed up to China town - to get there we had a walk along the lakefront - and along the boardwalk and then up University Boulevard which has very impressive civic buildings -and is so wide! Fountains galore.
China town is as the name suggests, full of Chinese shops and restaurants, lots of people and traffic. It has a great atmosphere and is very interesting. Would have been great to be able to buy lots of things but we had to think of the luggage allowance! And you can't take food into the USA, so we couldn't buy any.
The pop up map was great- and we found getting around very easy as the city is laid out basically in a grid pattern. We walked everywhere but it was very hot doing that...we needed caps and suncream!
The next day, we had to be out of our hotel room by 11, and our flight was at 3pm, so I had arranged for a taxi to arrive at 12.15. Rather than wait in receptioin for an extra hour, I went to the desk and asked if it was possible to get an earlier taxi. The man on the desk was (again) very helpful and sorted it out for us immediately. About 15 minutes later I hard my name called out and we followed the man out to the footpath. Waiting there was a stretch limo....we collapsed with laughter! So we took a limo to the airport and it cost us the same as the taxi on the way there. What a way to leave the city! The driver even took a photo of us next to the limo as a souvenir.
We certainly found everyone very friendly and I would absolutely go back there. I would love to go on the streetcars next time- they look briliant! We didn't do the CNN tower because we both hate heights and lifts ..but if you do, there is always that! We found shopping not to be so expensive as we had feared but we had an excellent exchange rate while we were there.
HOWEVER, to fly to Albany we found that there were actually very few people waiting for the plane. No wonder. It was a 16 seater plane and I nearly fainted.......I hate flying and only manage to do it because planes are usually big...so next time I might fly somewhere else from Toronto and then get the train from there-or even just get the train from Toronto. But I WILL be back!
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