As we were scheduled to catch our "Canadian" train at 10pm tonight we had another full day to spend in Toronto. We left our luggage at the hotel and hopped on the "sightsee" bus to the waterfront where we had an included ferry trip around Ontario Island.
There is an airport on the island which requires a 90 second ferry ride to reach. Guiness has that as the shortest in the world. Only propeller driven planes are permitted to land there as jet planes are too noisy next to the city.
The island is a great place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, as there are no private cars there, just hundreds of pleasure boats and several yacht clubs. A martial arts class was in progress.
It is good for bird watching and we saw a big group of white swans and a flock of geese. Many of the houses built here have been demolished and the ones remaining have been put on a 99 year lease, so that eventually it will be all public land. There should be more of that done in Sydney. The remaining residents require an icebreaker to clear a path across the ice in winter. This is the Toronto Tower which was the world's tallest at 544 meters until that Dubai one. Next to it is the Baseball Stadium.
The island is a great place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, as there are no private cars there, just hundreds of pleasure boats and several yacht clubs. A martial arts class was in progress.
It is good for bird watching and we saw a big group of white swans and a flock of geese. Many of the houses built here have been demolished and the ones remaining have been put on a 99 year lease, so that eventually it will be all public land. There should be more of that done in Sydney. The remaining residents require an icebreaker to clear a path across the ice in winter. This is the Toronto Tower which was the world's tallest at 544 meters until that Dubai one. Next to it is the Baseball Stadium.
On our return we saw that there was a special weekend festival of Taiwanese culture, so we listened to an orchestra, a Senior Citizens' choir and a rock band right on the waterfront. The orchestra took a bow.
The Seniors followed their young conductor intently.
Then we bought a chicken burger on a steam bun and ping pong balls on a stick made from sticky rice for an unusual lunch.
The Seniors followed their young conductor intently.
Then we bought a chicken burger on a steam bun and ping pong balls on a stick made from sticky rice for an unusual lunch.
We bought a drink at Tim Horton's opposite the Rogers Baseball Arena, and listened to the roar of the Toronto Blue Jay supporters as they played their Saturday Afternoon game. Last night they beat a team from Detroit and they are on top of the ladder in the American League, we heard on the news.
We hopped on again, saw a bridal party as we passed the Old Distillery,
and hopped off at Yonge St to have another look at the buskers. Today the street was so crowded that it took us 10 minutes to struggle along the footpath past the crowd watching popular performers. The best show today was put on by an American fellow who had been full time busking for ten years and had perfected an excellent patter routine as well as riding a tiny bike, a tall unicycle and a large pogo stick which allowed him to break the world record for the high jump. A lot of people dressed up and looked swell but did not attract a crowd.
and hopped off at Yonge St to have another look at the buskers. Today the street was so crowded that it took us 10 minutes to struggle along the footpath past the crowd watching popular performers. The best show today was put on by an American fellow who had been full time busking for ten years and had perfected an excellent patter routine as well as riding a tiny bike, a tall unicycle and a large pogo stick which allowed him to break the world record for the high jump. A lot of people dressed up and looked swell but did not attract a crowd.
We rested on a seat near a hotel outdoor area and watched a wedding take place right next to us. They were Indian people but they used a Canadian white celebrant.
Eventually we tired of the crush and diverted to the old Town Hall where we sat on the steps and admired the sandstone blocks it was made from. The City Square has a nice pond and there was another bridal party there.
Eventually we tired of the crush and diverted to the old Town Hall where we sat on the steps and admired the sandstone blocks it was made from. The City Square has a nice pond and there was another bridal party there.
Toronto had hosted the PanAmerican Games this month and they imprinted their name on the visitors.
Our Concierge had advised us that many of the shops in Toronto are in the underground Pathway, so we descended at the City Square and navigated all the way back to our hotel through the deserted path. It was quite eerie to find another world with hardly a soul there after seeing the crowds at the baseball and the Buskers' Festival. These underground ways are very handy in winter when snow builds up in the city.
We still had five hours before our train was to leave so we sat in the Hotel Lobby watching two more bridal parties warming up for their noisy receptions. Big white wedding dresses are still in fashion.
We crossed the road to the station and found that our train was many hours late arriving from Vancouver so would be delayed. At 8pm we collected our luggage from the hotel, carried it across the road and checked 70% of it in for the luggage van. We were directed to the Business Lounge where all the passengers were offered sandwiches, pastries, biscuits and drinks because of the delay. We appreciated this because we had only eaten a light dinner. They filled in the time by making us queue up for half an hour to have our tickets verified and be assigned meal times.
We finally boarded the train at 12:45 and climbed straight into the waiting beds. The train departed at 1:20 and we were asleep quickly.
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