Travel Diary: My First Time Visiting Toronto | Labor Day Weekend 2018

 

Happy Sunday! As a lifestyle blogger who travels seasonally for holidays and also a few times a year for vacation, I decided to add a travel category to MIM – I think it will be a great addition to what I already write about, so here’s my first travel post about how I spent Labor Day weekend exploring Toronto with friends.

Everyone took Friday off of work. Cesar and I woke up around 6:30am and were on our way to Newark EWR airport by 7:45am. Our Porter flight was scheduled for 10am but was delayed an hour. At EWR, the only real restaurant in Terminal B is the Unusual Times, which is where we sat down and got breakfast before our flight. Once we finished breakfast, we waited only a little while longer and then boarded the flight.

 

On the East Coast, Porter Airlines has a reputation as a small carrier with great customer service. It operates out of Billy Bishop Toronto Airport located in the heart of downtown Toronto (on the Toronto Islands), and it was one of the most gorgeous descents into a city that I’ve seen. The flight itself was only an hour and five minutes – seriously faster than my commute to work! One minute we were taking off and the next we were landing – it’s been so long since I went on a short flight like this – definitely felt like a treat to arrive so quickly.

 

Once we got through the airport, we ordered a Lyft, which took us a few miles to our Airbnb home located in the Queens West neighborhood. This was my first time staying at an Airbnb, and we got lucky because our hosts only book their home as an Airbnb when they are traveling, which isn’t too often. The interior design of the home was so simple and elegant, I really appreciated the home’s style.

 

Marcus and Amber got to the Airbnb literally two minutes after we did. The hosts welcomed us into their home, gave us all a tour of their home, and also shared a couple recommendations for food and drinks then they went on their way. After getting settled in, Cesar’s cousin, Daniela came to the house with her 9-month-old son, baby Marco, and we all walked around the Queen Street neighborhood and got lunch at Smoque N’ Bones, a BBQ and Bourbon bar. I ordered a small plate of riblets and a side of cornbread and was too hungry at this point to stop for a photo of my food before eating it (#alwayshungry). The BBQ riblets were seriously delish, and they also served water in old Bourbon bottles, which was a fun touch to the ambiance. It was so nice to meet Cesar’s cousin, and they hadn’t seen each other in nearly 10 years, so it was quite the treat for him, too. 

 

One important note that we didn’t realize until we were in Toronto is that a lot of businesses will take American dollars on a 1-to-1 ratio when the actual exchange rate right now is 1 US dollar is 1.3 Canadian dollars, and because we didn’t plan ahead and exchange US dollars for Canadian ones, the first day of the trip we were paying a little more at cash-only places than we should have been.

 

After lunch, Amber and I relaxed at the Airbnb while the guys went to the store. They came back with some groceries for breakfast and also some Canadian Club whiskey, Canada Dry ginger ale, club soda along with some other ingredients for cocktails and a hilarious story about their trek around Toronto to find margarita mix (apparently it’s not really a common commodity there, and the guys learned that the hard way after going to a dozen different places looking for it).

 

We were enjoying the Airbnb so much that we ended up sitting outside in the backyard, catching up, and sippin’ on some cocktails until we headed out for the evening. Because the BBQ at lunch was so filling, we didn’t really have appetites for dinner. Instead, we bar hopped on College Street and ended up watching a live band at Nightowl Toronto, which has the most amazing mural of Candian musicians on its wall downstairs where the live music plays. Many of you know, Cesar grew up in a dance studio, so anytime there’s live music, he gets everyone dancing. We spent the night enjoying the live music and then visited a couple other hole-in-the-wall bars before calling it a night.

Ever wake up and feel like your stomach is eating itself? That was me on Saturday – I was ready for some brunch! By the time we got up and showered it was straight up noon and perfect brunch time. The neighborhood that we were staying in, Queens West is so walkable – we simply walked in the opposite direction that we did for Friday’s lunch to see what we could find for brunch. After walking a few blocks, we settled in for brunch at Death and Taxes Freehouse. Cesar and I both ordered the D&T Breakfast that consisted of scrambled eggs, fingerling hash, bacon or avocado (I got bacon, Cesar got avocado), sourdough toast, and a surprise portion of cut up watermelon. It was a lovely day so we chose to sit outside, and I’m so glad we did because there was a Canadian International Air Show happening at the CNE Festival, and the jets flew over during brunch, which was awesome to see.

 

After brunch, we hung out with our friends at the Airbnb then went exploring the Distillery District. The Distillery District is composed of forty-seven old, Victorian buildings that were declared a historical site, and in 2003 they were transformed into a village of unique, one-of-a-kind shops, restaurants, galleries, cafes, and more that marries the old, romantic Victorian architecture with a 21st-century design. I was in heaven while gazing and appreciating the design.

 

While exploring, we all got an appetite and decided to have dinner. There was a variety of trendy restaurants that had delicious-sounding menus, and we were all so hungry that we ultimately decided on a place with no wait time – Boku Noodle Bar. When you walk inside the restaurant, it has a very chill, sophisticated vibe – dim lighting, exposed brick and ducts on the ceiling with a surprising pop of green color on all of the upholstered chairs. I enjoyed it. Our party of four ordered the beef udon stirfry, the spicy salmon poke bowl, and two orders of the miso ramen. No exaggeration – the miso ramen broth was the best broth I’ve had EVER, and I’m a ramen connoisseur. Would totally go there again and order the same thing.

 

After dinner, we were all in a food coma and decided to explore more of Toronto on foot. From the Distillery District, we walked a mile and a half towards the CN Tower in the Entertainment District. While we were walking, I realized that Toronto reminds me of Chicago, mostly because of the architecture of the buildings and the fact that there are a variety of beaches along the lake, which are located in the center of downtown Toronto.

 

After we saw the CN Tower up close, we decided to stop at Sweet Jesus for some ice cream. I got a cookies cookies cookies & cream soft serve with Nutella, and it was exactly what my sweet tooth wanted. One of Cesar’s friends from undergrad just moved to Toronto a few weeks ago, and we started our evening out by meeting her out at El Patio, an outdoor hipster joint fueled by tequila and a taco food truck.

 

We continued to explore different watering holes and enjoyed the most delicious cocktail, called The Dark Detox, at the District Eatery. Made with activated charcoal, infused rum, fresh pineapple, lime juice, agave, mango, and mint, it was one of the smoothest cocktails I’ve sipped in a longgg time. One big plus is that this cocktail was only $8.75 Canadian dollars, which was only $6.60 US dollars (loved the conversion rate on this trip); way better than our typical $12-16 cocktails in NYC. We spent the rest of the night dancing at Fynn’s of Temple Bar, which had a rowdy crowd ending their night there, too.

Everyone got a late start on Sunday, having stayed out til 3am and then the guys stayed up a while longer. Once everyone was up, we all helped clean up our Airbnb by taking out the trash, cleaning the kitchen counters and dishes, and making sure everything was how it was when we first arrived.

 

Everyone told us to go to the CNE Festival, so we decided to spend our last day in Toronto there, and I’m so glad we did. The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Festival is an annual event that lasts from August to September and offers a wide variety of experiences that transcend language and appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. It costs $19 Canadian dollars for general admission, which includes all of the events, exhibits, shows, and demonstrations.

 

Right away, we went to the Food Exhibit and ate (I also got lost for about 30 minutes with no cell service and no way to get in touch with my crew, so I just stood at a table and waited for Cesar to find me, which he eventually did, haha!). Then, we went to the farm exhibit and were so excited to see alpacas! Cesar was freaking out, he loves alpacas. We also saw goats, cows, pigs, and lamas. We had to rush across the festival to get to the exhibit hall that had the SuperDogs Show: Happy Barkday, one of the most popular shows at the festival. Sadly, the show got to capacity while we were still in line for it, so we ended up browsing through the exhibit hall end ended up going to a wine & beer garden to listen to live music.

 

While listening to the live music, we decided to attend Quatro: Aerial Acrobatics & Ice Skating Show. Y’all, this was an exceptional show. Themed around the four elements: water, fire, wind, earth and the dynamic interaction between the four forces of nature, this show blew all of our minds from the very first minute to the very last second. World-class circus artists and ice skaters from across the globe perform this extraordinary show – definitely a must see if it’s offered at future CNE festivals. I actually found a recording of a performance from earlier this summer that you can watch below, although I must say nothing compares to seeing this performance in person.

 

 

Once the show ended, we walked around some more and caught the 5pm Aquarama Waterfront Show then ended up gambling a little bit with our left-over loonies and toonies (one and two-dollar Canadian coins) at the carnival. I won three rounds in a row while Cesar lost every round so I treated myself to a corn dog with my winnings. 

 

By then, we needed to start our journey back to the airport for our 8:30pm flight back to Newark. The airport was only about a mile and a half away from where we were, so the commute didn’t take long. Our friends dropped us off at the airport then started their four-hour drive back to Detroit. There were multiple flights to EWR on the screen, and the one before ours was delayed an hour, so it was leaving right around the time that our flight was scheduled. The ticketing agent got on the overhead speaker and asked if anyone without checked luggage wanted to switch to the earlier flight because the 8:30pm flight was going to be delayed 45 minutes, so we ended up getting on the other flight and got home exactly when we were originally supposed to.

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This was my first experience visiting Canada, and it did not disappoint – the food, walkability, currency exchange rate, hanging out with friends – everything was lovely. Another perk: staying in an Airbnb with access to the entire home with 3 other guests was so much more convenient and comfortable than being in a one-room hotel. I am converted! If you haven’t yet tried Airbnb, do it! You will get $40 off if you sign up using my referral link here (I’ll also get $20 for referring you).

How did you spend your Labor Day weekend? 

xx Marah Elizabeth