Can you believe that summer is just around the corner? We are reaching the final stretch of midterms and nearing final exams. And with that comes travel plans and wanderlust and road trips to the beach. Thing is, wanderlust comes with a price that some of us just can’t afford; especially us college kids — we always seem to be stuck in a broke cycle but that doesn’t have to stop us. So shut up, put on some sunblock, and let’s go…
First off, how many coffee shops or restaurants or even food trucks are in your city that you’ve always passed by but never stepped foot in? Turn around and walk in. You may just find your new favourite drink. Check out some places near your house or school. If you’re a fan of sushi go to an all you can eat sushi buffet — there’s a lot. My best friend and I are slowly making our way through all the all you can eat sushi restaurants near our schools and so far so good — except don’t order the salmon skin roll it wasn’t all that great and the yam roll was too think and surprisingly fishy. Mango roll on the other hand was surprisingly really refreshing.
If you’re not into sushi try out Blaze Pizza (they have vegan options which are delicious) or a new cafe like Point One Cafe & Bar, Snap Coffee, Cora’s for brunch and many more (feel free to let me know any of your favourite places to go I’m always looking for something new).
Do you have a car? How about a bus pass? Visit a new area in your city or just go to a new city/province. The subway lines are so easy to use and so connected that you can easily go to a new part of town that you’ve never been to before and just explore. And if you don’t like it then, hey, what’s so bad about that? At least you got out of your house. Only six hours on the Megabus and you could be in Montreal. A half hour on the subway and you could walk down the Distillery District. Twenty minutes away is the cute town of Unionville where you could walk down the streets they shot the pilot episode of Gilmore Girls.
If you end up deciding against traveling some towns over what about looking around your own town? Have you ever been to any major tourist attractions near you? Have you ever walked up the CN Tower? Went shopping at the Eaton Centre? Looked around Dundas Square? Go to Wonderland and see how many times you can ride the Leviathan or have a funnel cake eating contest with your friends. When was the last time you really looked around your city and appreciated all that you could do there?
Do you or any of your friends have a car? ROAD TRIP
Road trips are great! Just always remember to stop at attractions along the way and have a good playlist or you might just end up wanting to kill each other. Some places you could drive to are the beaches or the great lakes. Did you know that you can apparently go scuba diving in the great lakes? We know what I’m gonna look into this summer. How about a road trip to Niagara Falls? It’s gorgeous to walk around the area — plus, apparently, you can go skydiving there? It’s insane and I want to go. I mean, come on, would you just look at the rainbow I captured. How couldn’t you wanna go?
Maybe you’re more into art. The A.G.O. has free admission Wednesday nights. Walk around Graffiti Alley and take photos in front of all the colours. Walk down Agusta Avenue, take photos of all the colourful graffiti before stopping by The Burgernator for some burgers or poutine (it’s halal with some great vegan options). I took my aunt there when she came to Canada for a visit but their air conditioning was broken and it was crowded so we had to sit near the windows which was a mess.
And a final tip that everyone must use is their student status. Do you know how many places a student discount can get you in? Try it out at the restaurants or cafes I recommended. See if some major attraction can give you a couple percentages off your ticket. When checking out a bus ticket see if they offer student deals. Most places will give you at least 10% off just for being a student. Use that.
Feel free to check out this video of some more suggestions I have for you. And with that I bid you happy travels. )