It's Canada's most populous province and is home to
Canada's largest city Toronto as well as thousands of kilometers
of wide open spaces. We are lucky enough to have family
spread all the province from Thunder Bay to Brantford to Niagara to Kingston to Ottawa and have spent time in many of these
places.
Click to see the city:
Toronto
Ottawa
Niagara
Toronto
This is an easy page to write after having lived in Toronto for 10
years. Quite frankly I think that there are few cities that are better.
Toronto is a multicultural city which is full of things to do and places to go. Best
of all it is safe. Except for the cold temperatures from October til May, it could
be the best city in the world. Of course they is a long list of places to see and
go to in Toronto, but I'll limit my choices to the best places.
Restaurants
Circo
General: The restaurant is often overlooked on many of the
"Best" lists in Toronto. It is one of my favorites. The food is
Mediterranean with a Portuguese flare (the owners are Portuguese). The food is
always good quality and their specialty is seafood. Their wine list is extensive and
has many varieties of wines that are not generally imported. It has a great decor
and a patio on top for those few summer days. Ask to see their wine cellar.
The cellar, believe it or not, is a great spot to have private parties.
Prices: $15-$20 Cdn. pp (not including alcohol)
Location: Elm St. at Bay St., Downtown
Xango
General: This great place has been a favorite since I
organised an office event there. The restaurant is Spanish and has a wide variety of
traditional Spanish meals. They also have killer margaritas and a traditional drink
made with moonshine. This place is classy yet laid back. It's decor is
beautiful and takes to you back to an island in the Mediterranean. There patio on
the second floor is my favorite spot to have an early dinner. But don't leave yet.
After 9 pm the main floor turns into a mambo lounge. So bring your dancing
shoes. This place is not to be missed.
Prices: $15-$20 Cdn. pp
Location: At the corner of John St. and Adelaide St., Downtown
Chiado
General: For that special evening...this it the place.
Don't let the neighbourhood fool you, this is what world class dining is all about. Owner
Albino Silva has done of wonderful job of making this place a favorite in the minds of
many. His loyal staff is knowledge and precise. The food is unbelievably fresh
and not your usual half filled plate...portions are generous. This restaurant is by
far the best in the city.
Prices: $30-$40 Cdn. pp
Location: College St. at Ossington Ave. West End
Toronto
Hemingways
General: This place is my favorite for breakfast. Not
only is it in a great neighbourhood (Yorkville) but its upstairs heated patio is wonderful
for those Sunday morning brunches with friends. The food is fresh and the mushroom
omelette is awesome.
Prices: $7-$12 Cdn. pp
Location: Belair Ave. Yorkville, Toronto
Sushi Bistro
General: Being a new fan of sushi, I haven't tried too many
Sushi restaurants. Althought I can't image sushi getting any better than this.
Sushi Bistro is in the city's eclectric district and is a great meeting place.
Reservations are a good idea.
Prices: $8-$12 Cdn. pp
Location: Queen St. W. between McCaul and Bay St.
Muse Bistro & Wine Bar
General: Excellent service and food and you never know when
a celebrity will show up! Tell them Carol Johnson sent you. Owner: Liebert
Williams Phone: 416.593.6494
Location: 369 King Street West
Contributed by Carol Johnson, Toronto, Ontario
Cafes
7West
General: 7West has been "the meeting place" for
the girls for a few years now. This old Victorian house has been converted to 3
floors which each have their own decor and type of music, and for that matter clientele.
It is best known for being jam packed at 4 am (it's open 24 hours a day) with
the overflow from the bars. They don't serve booze after last call, but it still
seems to be the place to go. The coffee and food is superb and and service is good.
Prices: $4-$10 Cdn. pp (not including alcohol)
Location: 7 Charles St. W. Just south of Bloor and Yonge
Letteri in Yorkville
General: If you would like a real taste of upclass Toronto
living, grab a seat at Letteri in Yorkville. The patio is small but well situated on
the corner of Belair St. and is a must spot for people watching. The coffee is good,
though their cafe au laits are the best. Well priced and great service.
Prices: $2-$6 Cdn. pp (not including alcohol)
Location: Belair St. Yorkville, Toronto
Chapters on Bloor
General: This place is where I spent some memorable Sunday
afternoons. This huge bookstore is one of the few I've been to that allows you to
buy a Starbucks coffee, walk around with it, pick up a book or magazine, read, sleep
on their comfy couches and never buy anything. Gotta like that!!
Prices: $1-3 Cdn. pp (for coffee not the books)
Location: Bloor St. West At Yonge
Bars and
Nightclubs
The Big Easy (Easy and the Fifth formally)
General: This is the hippiest nightclub in the city, but it
is not for everyone. Here is the low down: It is posh, expensive, full of
beautiful people and hard to find, the line ups start at 9:00 pm, the crowd is 22-30ish
with an attitude problem. But the music is good. Of course if you'r out to get the
babes in Toronto this is definitely the place to go. But it will cost you..$10 cover
at the door and average $5 a beer.
Prices: $10 at the door + drinks
Location: Just south of Richmond Ave. at Peter. St.
Al Friscos
General: You'll usually find here the rejects that didn't get
into the Easy but this casual crowd seems to have a better time. The music is good
and the restaurant downstairs is acceptable. To avoid line-ups for the bar have
dinner or a snack in the restaurant and then stroll upstairs for a drink. Line-ups
start at about 10 pm.
Prices: Average $3-$4 Cdn. per drink, no cover
Location: John St. North of Adelaide St.
MFN
General: MFN stands for Middle of F--king Nowhere.
Indeed it is well out of the club district. This one year old club is strictly a
dance club. Don't take a date you want to get to know. The crowd is older than
your average nightclub, but the music is still as young. My favorite part of this
club is the pillow lounge. Off of the dance floor is a large area with a huge
mattress and tons of pillows, so if you get tired dancing you can go relax and watch the
pillow fights. Be careful... rumour has it that one of bartenders was been knocked
out by a pillow. Sounds like fun!!
Prices: Average $3-4 Cdn. per drink, cover some nights
Location: Adelaide St W. Just east of Bathurst St.
Indian Motorcycle
General: This newest addition to the Toronto bar scene has
been quite a success. The bar is long and there are lots of sofas and places to sit.
The dance floor is small but never seems to get too overcrowded. The decor is
cool, especially for motorcycle fans...there are 5 vintage Indian bikes throughout the
club. In addition when it gets too hot, which it often does, there is a 10 foot fan
at one end of the club. So you can cool down while you pretend to be Marilyn.
Prices: Average $3-4 Cdn. per drink, cover some nights
Location: King St. W. across from the Holiday Inn
Places to Visit
CN Tower
General: Ok, yes it is about as touristy as it gets but, you'll
have the best photos and be able to tell your friends who live in Toronto what its like,
since most have never been there. After all it is STILL the "World's Tallest
Free Standing Structure"
Price: $10 + to go up
Location: Can't miss it
The Theatre District
General: There are many theatres in Toronto, but this area has the
best ones. The buildings are beautiful and talent is astounding. If you're not
a theatre fan, as my other half isn't, drop them off at the NEW Sega city up the street on
John St. Tickets can be bought at any Ticketmaster.
Price: Various $25 +
Location: King St. W. at John St. Downtown
The Beaches (in the summer)
General: If you're not up north at the lakes on a hot summer
day, you're likely at The Beaches. The name is very misleading. There is a
beach, volleyball, picnics, ice cream etc., but no one but the insane have actually swam
in the water for over 15 years. But it still remains the fave for sunning your buns
in TO. The street just north of the water is patio heaven with lots of pubs and bars
to quench that summer thirst.
Price: Beach is free as is parking if you can find any
Location: Lakeshore Blvd. E. til it ends.
Queen St. W.
General: This place is not for the timid. Comparable to Soho
in New York, this is where all the hip people in Toronto hang out. It is also home
to our local TV Station "City TV" and our national music station
"MuchMusic". If you can get a tour of the station, do it...it is quite a
place. Of course there are all the funky clothing stores and record stores you've
ever desired. My favourite surfer type shop on this street is called "So Hip it
Hurts". They sell a variety of cool surf and snowboarder clothes, BUT if you
spend more than $80 Cdn. you get a complimentary shot of liquor or a beer. Not bad
eh??
Prices: Various, but good sales
Location: Cool area is Queen St. W. between Yonge Bay St.& Spadina
Ave.
Ottawa
Since we created this page my brother and wife have moved to
Ottawa so we've had the chance to spend a bit of time there.
There are a couple things you need to know before you go
there. First of all, every single person there works for
the government...if they don't then they are either a
pensioner living off the government, a student hoping to
someday work for the government or a tourist thinking Ottawa
would be a nice place to live if they could score a lucrative
government job.
The other thing you need to know is that Ottawa can be damn
cold in the winter. The temperatures don't generally go
as low as they do in other places, but there's this pesky
moisture problem, when combined with the winds, that blows
through whatever you are wearing and freezes your flesh.
Maybe I'm just a wimp but we were there once in the winter and
I froze my yeichies (not sure where these word comes from, but
it's what my dad calls them...) off while my brother was
trying to convince me that it was really quite a warm day.
Here's the tourist agenda for the winter months:
1. Go buy some better winter clothing
2. Go see the parliament buildings
3. Go ice skating on the canal and stop for a hot chocolate
along the way
4. Go find a pub and talk politics with the guy or girl to
your left
Here's the recommended tourist agenda for the summer months:
1. Go see the parliament buildings
2. Go find a pub with an outdoors patio and talk politics with
the guy or girl to your right
Niagara
You are right, it does rhyme with 'Viagra'! So the best
thing to do is find a partner, go to a glamorous hotel in
Niagara Falls and work that jiggy. When you get tired of
that then get a car and go exploring the Niagara peninsula
making sure to check out some of the wineries, the canals (and
the Olson Bakery) in Port Dalhousie, Niagara on the Lake, the
On The Twenty restaurant and Cave Springs winery in Jordan and
if you have time, make the day trip over the US border to
Buffalo for cheap beer and wings night.
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