23.2.16

Toronto, Niagara Falls and CN Tower // Traveling


Hi there, lovelies!

If you follow me on social media you might know that I went to Toronto this weekend. I went with some friends from my class, as we had a four day weekend from Friday to Monday. We only stayed in Toronto from Friday to Saturday, so I had the time today to do an English paper, clean my room, relax, etc.

Friday I had to wake up at 5:20 am, as the bus for Toronto left at 6:30. The bus ride is about 5 hours long, so I had plenty of time to sleep (but never did...). 

Anyway when we arrived in Toronto we got some lunch at Chipotle, then went shopping in the Eaton Centre and later met up with some people we knew for dinner – and that was basically what happened day 1 – But the following day at 5am was when all the adventures started!



Niagara Falls
The following day was the most exciting one. We had to wake up at 5am, again, as we had to take the bus to go to Niagara Falls. We were about 10 people who went, and the bus ride was about 2 hours long, so we got there pretty early in the morning + we saw Toronto waking up. The bus ride was seriously so beautiful, as we saw the sunrise over the water and behind the tall skyscrapers. 

Niagara Falls was BEAUTIFUL – We could see across the bridge to the NY side and how the water was half frozen. Ice blocks were surrounding the falls and snow piled up around it. The Canadian side is defiantly the most beautiful in my opinion. It was really beautiful and I will recommend for anyone going to Toronto – It's worth the 4 hour transport! There were few food outlets, where I shared some fries with some friends and that was literally my breakfast that day – besides from Oreos and spiced nuts. I got to take A LOT of pictures both on my camera and on my phone.

We spent approximately 3 hours at the falls, before we headed back with the bus, so we didn't get to do much in the city despite seeing the falls and eat. I bought a souvenir as well! It's like a wooden plaque with a copper-colored Maple Leaf and the text underneath saying 'Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada'. It's really pretty and I can't wait to hang it up back at my apartment.


CN Tower
When we got back to Toronto we divided our group of 10, where some wanted to go shopping again, others wanted to go back to their room and take a nap – I, along with some of the others, went to Starbucks to get some coffee before heading up the CN Tower. I got the featured Butterscotch Latte, which did not taste as I had expected, but it was good.

There was no line at the CN Tower AT ALL – It only took us about 5 minutes to get through security and less than 10 minutes to buy our tickets. We bought the general entry fee and paid $12 extra to go to the Skypod, so it ended up with $53.11 (incl. taxes). Then we went into this elevator that took us up to the base camp and the view was AMAZING. It's almost before the view over Toronto topped the view of Niagara Falls. It was literally one of the best things about the trip and worth the money. 


Fun fact – CN stands for Canadian National Tower, we didn't know that before... Well, now. 


In the Skypod we were 147 floors above the ground, the guide told us, and we could look down at all the skyscrapers, the highway, the small ants pretending to be humans – It was stunning. We could look across the water, the sun was about to set in the horizon and again A LOT of pictures were taken. We were only 4 of us, who wanted to pay that amount of money to go up the tower, but I thought: 'this might be the first and last time in Toronto, maybe in Canada at all' and also, it would be so nice to say 'This is the CN Tower, and I went to the top', when we get back to Denmark. I have a job to get back to, so I guess I will be alright. 

There was glass windows in the basecamp and in the Skypod, but there was also this part, where you could go outside and feel the strong wind and hear the distant noise of traffic – I also saw a person get pulled over by the police on the highway, which didn't seem fun. When we went in the outside section we could barely walk, because the wind was just pushing us back. It was amazing! I loved the outside part the most, because it felt so real – like I could feel the air from the 140th floor – In Toronto – In Canada – In North America. It's quite an incredible experience, but I don't know if it was just me.


Italian Restaurant
After spending about an hour in the tower (I could've spend more, but someone wanted to go down) we went to find the others we had parted earlier to get something to eat together. It was my group's last night in Toronto, so we wanted to find something good. After about an hour disagreeing about where to eat, we finally found a place where the majority wanted to eat and the ones who didn't left to find something else. 

We went to this fancy Italian restaurant where we all were completely underdressed and I got some amazing Risotto made from scratch with mushrooms. Loved it. They made it from scratch, so it took them 30 minutes to make it, but meanwhile we got some homemade Italian bread and bruschetta (it was included in the price). Everyone enjoyed their food as we talked about our day and shared stories, which was really nice.

When we asked for the bill, the waitress got really mad at us and scolded at us, because we were a big group and most likely wanted to split the bill and how difficult it was for her – But we didn't ask to split the bill......... We just asked for it and were willing to pay for it together and deal with it ourselves later. I'm pretty sure she only scolded us, because she saw us as a group of teenagers (where most of us were actually legally adults), who didn't now how to eat at fancy restaurants and stuff. I bet she would not have yelled at a man and a woman with a tie or dress, but anyway she then split our bill and gave it to us separately. I ended up paying $30, which is not that bad, when considering bread, bruschetta, water and the made-from-scratch risotto was included in the price. 


Vegan Brunch
On our last day, we went to a vegan restaurant/cafĂ© to get some brunch, because my friend is vegan. We all got nice pancake platters – I got with blueberry pancakes – with scrambled tofu and tempeh bacon. It tasted interesting – I really liked the scrambled tofu, but the pancakes were a bit dull and the tempeh bacon was just really really bad, but overall it was a good experience! 

The Blue-Hoodie Guy
After the brunch we went back to the Eaton centre to spend our last hours of Toronto. I bought a new journal and a 6-inch Subway sandwich for the bus ride. I was SO tired that day – also because I had to carry my suitcase and my big jacket, when it was literally 9C degrees outside (It's hot in Canada). Our bus was delayed, but we got on about 4:30pm and was back in Ottawa around 9pm, which was great. 

There was this guy who sat in front of me, with a blue hoodie, who seriously just pushed his seat back, so it hit my knees. Then he moves around, shakes the chair loudly AND THEN turns around to tell my friend and I to be quite. Not cool, mate, not cool. My friend and I could not stop laughing, because he was such a pain in the ass, but don't worry, we kept quiet and whispered and ate as damn quietly as humanly possible. The bus ride went by so fast – most likely because I had friends with me I could talk with + I had food – Food always help in every situation, and I also slept for about 2 hours.

~ · ~

Toronto was just such an amazing experience, and I am so glad I got the opportunity to go vists. I recommend everyone interested in going to North America to visit the city. I wish I could have gone to some museums and I heard that the aquarium is great, but there was not really a common interest in my group, let's just end it at that. 

Tomorrow school starts at 8 and ends again 4:30 – Hallelujah and wish me luck. 

Have you ever been to Toronto or Niagara Falls, or have you ever wanted to? Leave a comment down below if you have, or if you liked this post! Have an amazing day!


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Love you all! xx

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