My Trip to Canada
Having returned from a five-day trip to Ontario in Canada with my family and boyfriend, I thought it would be fitting for me to write an article sharing some of the things I did, what I learnt, and my experiences here. Having only just a small amount of time, our days were really packed up, and we definitely missed out on doing a lot of things, but we also still got to do some amazing things so it was still a great trip. Overall, the point of the trip was to see my brother and his Canadian girlfriend get married, which we did!
Downtown Toronto
We attempted to visit and do downtown Toronto in about four hours and a half, which was of course impossible. To get here, we got the UP Express from Toronto Pearson Airport, which was only around 20-25 minutes and takes you straight to Union Station, very close to CN Tower. We then decided to get tickets for the hop on and hop off bus, and this was a mistake given the limited time we had. For those who do not know what a hop on and hop off bus is, the bus will have a route and stops. You can get off at any of the stops and get back on at any time. If you’re spending the whole day at downtown Toronto, I think it would be worth buying tickets for this, with these tickets even including a boat tour that we didn’t have time to do. However, with the limited time we had it was definitely not worth it.
Still, the bus took us to the Distillery District, a destination full of shops, including some quirky ones (my favourite shops), places to drink, and places to eat. This district is pedestrian only, so you won’t see any cars around when you get to it. I would definitely recommend going to see it!
We also got to see the CN Tower very close-up, which is pretty huge in person! We didn’t have time to actually go inside and up it, but it was still nice to see from the outside.
Enjoy my photo:
The only other stop we actually managed to do on the bus was Yonge-Dundas Square, and this reminded me of a mini Times Square with its lit-up advertisements and busy atmosphere. There are a lot of shopping destinations here, particularly as the Eaton Centre, a shopping mall, is located here, as well as Hudson Bay, a department store similar to our Selfridges here in the UK. Also located here were lots of places to eat, so we stopped off at a McDonald’s. It was here that I was astonished to find that they serve breakfast all day, only shocking to those in the UK who have the cut-off time of 10:30 am (now 11:00 am in some) to get their breakfast fix. They also served poutine here (also served in many other restaurants/stores), a Canadian dish of chips/fries with gravy and pieces of cheese that you should definitely try if you go to Canada.
And that was our short trip to Downtown Toronto completed.
Niagara Falls
Before I get started detailing what I did at Niagara where Niagara Falls is, I just want to say how amazing and spectacular it really was, both at day and night. The highlight of the trip was getting tickets to ‘Voyage to the Falls Boat Tour’, which took you right up close, meaning yes you got wet and felt all of the mist, but you were provided with a poncho. I also brought my raincoat for extra protection, meaning I didn’t finish drenched or anything, and my hair actually survived and didn’t go very frizzy (result!). Even to go down to the boat tour you get the funicular, which is a railway line down to it, and this provided some stunning views.
Here are some of my photos from it, including one of me in the mist!:
Our hotel room also had stunning views of the falls, and by the time we got to the hotel room, there was a rainbow, allowing a perfect photo opportunity!
At night, we went for a long walk to see the falls at night with its bright coloured lights that constantly change into different colours, and different patterns. Here are photos from that long walk:
Clifton Hill
Clifton Hill is a walk that is full of attractions and places of entertainment and is also very close to the falls. We purchased a Clifton Hill Fun Pass, and this included entry into the Niagara Skywheel, Zombie Attack, Wild West Coaster, Ghostbusters Dark Rider, Movieland Wax Museum and Dino Adventure Golf or Wizards’ Golf. For us, it was definitely worth the money because we saved a lot.
Niagara Skywheel
I chickened out of this one, literally sitting on and then getting off before we were locked in, but my boyfriend did this so he took some amazing photos of the views he could see on the wheel. Pictured on the left is the wheel and on the right one of the photos he took:
Ghostbusters Dark Rider/ Wild West Coaster
These two experiences were located in a huge arcade. The Ghostbusters Dark Rider was a ride where you have to wear 3D glasses and shoot at the ghosts which was fun. The Wild West Coaster was a 6D ride where you sit in a seat with glasses and your seat moves as you watch the screen.
Movieland Wax Museum
The wax museum definitely had some questionable waxworks of some actors/actresses/musicians, but also had some quite good ones. At the end of this museum, there is a wax shop where you can get your hands made into a piece of waxwork. My boyfriend and I did it together, and although it was very hot on my hand/lower arm, it was such a cool experience. This is the journey of the creation of it until the final product:
The Zombie Attack wasn’t running when we went, and the adventure golf we didn’t have time to complete, but we still saved money even though we didn’t do every single attraction on the card.
Overall, I had a great trip away and I hope you guys enjoyed reading about it!