Five Great Places to Explore In Toronto

Thanks to travel-pro Robin Esrock and Ford Canada, I’ve been entirely inspired to mock up an ongoing bucket list for myself. Having lived in Toronto for over 30 years, you’d think I’ve done it all in such a colourful, uber-busy city, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s kind of an impossible task; there is just so much happening at any given moment of every day in this much loved urban landscape. I have blindly chosen my adventures so far, and thus am finding that there are some experiences I continue to miss year after year, simply due to lack of planning. Up until last month, I had not once stepped foot into the St. Lawrence Market, despite it being a major tourist attraction. It might be because it’s a tourist stop that I hadn’t given it much thought, but Esrock and Ford went and fixed this error by having a group of us all meet there for lunch on a brilliantly sunny Saturday this past April.

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After a delicious meal (the hot dogs at Carnicero’s are awesome, yo,) we all hopped into some gorgeous eco-friendly Ford vehicles and made our way to Toronto’s Archives, through a more scenic route east of Yonge St; the Archives is something I’ve wanted to visit for years. I’m a geek for local history, and there are questions I want to find answers to of old Toronto. While we didn’t go digging through Toronto’s rich history at the Archives, we were treated to a truly inspirational talk by Esrock, and his experience with a bucket list. Did you know that Swarovski has a picturesque spa in Vernon, BC? The epically beautiful Sparkling Hill Resort, embedded within the Monashee Mountains, along Lake Okanagan is now on my Travel Bucket List (on Pinterest.) Particularly special for its Cryotherapy Cold Sauna, which according to Esrock, is cold. Where else could you walk into a -110 C cold room in a tee and shorts for $40, which supposedly has health benefits. If you thought this past February was cold, it would be considered rather balmy ‘compared to this cold sauna in the KurSpa!

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After learning Esrock’s journey, we left the Archives and took a short walk to Toronto’s Casa Loma, which was just up the street (a block or two north of TTC’s Dupont Station). It wasn’t a first visit for me, but I always learn something new whenever I visit! I had no idea that the Canadian Girl Guides first began in Mary Pallet’s sitting room, nor that one of the rugs in this room alone cost $250Gs (back then, in the early 1900s!) Also learned that top-secret sonar technology was built in the stables in 1939 (there really should be a movie made about this!) And the Sir Henry Pallet’s favourite horse, Prince, is buried underneath the stables (creepy!) Casa Loma is also home to some of the original Ford vehicles, which is always awesome to admire. It was a moment that I got to fully appreciate, since my camera decided to die two minutes before we made it to the stables. Doh.

After such a fabulous treat with some great peeps, here are…

Five Things on My Toronto Bucket List

1. Finally Step Into the Maple Leaf Gardens

   I’ve never once visited the Gardens. I’ve passed by it numerous times, both when it was an arena and now that its a Loblaws grocery store (that’s supposed to have an AMAZING wall of cheese!) You would think that as a Torontonian, one who grew up in a hockey family, that I’d have made it there at least once, but nope, never happened. Really should just drop by next time I’m in the area.

2. Visit Fort York

   Somehow, in all the years I’ve spent in school in Toronto, none of my classes made a trip to Fort York. Arguably one of the major hotspots that made Toronto what it is today, and alas no childhood appreciation for it. I’ll actually be going next week as part of a blogger event, so am looking forward to checking this location off my bucket list already!

3. Tour the Graffiti

   When you hear/read the term “graffiti”, you probably think of ugly calling cards and general defacement of public property. Anyone riding the subway between High Park and Dundas West stations know that there are some truly gorgeous murals and such found all over Toronto, and I would love to capture as many fantastic bits as I can with my DSLR.

4. Spend a Week at the Boathouse, Ward’s Island

   You may have heard of the Toronto Islands, particularly Centre Island/Centreville, where there are a ton of things for everyone in the family to enjoy on a day trip, including amusement park rides, BBQ/picnic, splash pad/wading pool, beach fun (including Toronto’s only nude beach at Hanlan’s Point!) Just north-east of Centre Island is Ward’s Island, which has quite a few B&Bs and other accomodations, including a small apartment known as the Boathouse. I would love to spend a week there with Jay, and get an idea of what its like to live on a Toronto Island. I would love to have early morning pictures of the Toronto skyline from the islands!

5. Camp in Rouge National Urban Park

   Over 40km², Toronto actually has a wilderness attached to it, along with the only over-night campgrounds you’ll find for the city. Jay and I have been talking about spending a weekend at the Glen Rouge campgrounds for well over a decade now. Really need to purchase a new tent (our old one got ripped to shreds by a raccoon, heh,) and get our camping on. I’ve been wanting to find a great spot to stargaze in Toronto, and have a feeling that these grounds would be a great place to bring our telescope.

This is just a tiny portion of places to visit in and around Toronto. Is there anything on your bucket list that has you Toronto-bound? If you’re planning on doing a trip throughout Canada you should definitely check out [easyazon_link identifier=”1771023015″ locale=”CA” tag=”geewitsty-20″]Robin Esrock’s book series of intriguing places to experience on your travels.[/easyazon_link] The dude is amusing, and I can guarantee that he’ll have suggestions you’ll never thought of. Has anyone ever suggested to you to stay overnight in a jail cell? Well, go read his books, and then you can say that someone has!

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Did you know that the Ford Electric Focus car doesn’t make a sound when you turn it on? Its kinda embarrassing on the kind of sign @AshleyMacnie and I needed just to know the car was running. Like a big neon sign that said “Power On”, it was SO quiet!