Toronto

So, we survived our weekend in Toronto and are completely exhausted.

I cannot wait until the weekend when I will actually have time to sleep in and relax.

Friday
We headed out around 5:30pm after both of us finished work for the day and drove the long haul to Toronto. I drove the first leg, and Will drove the rest, as I hate driving in dowtown Toronto no matter what time it is!! We had just found our exit off the Gardiner Expressway (aka Don Valley Parkway - but past the CN Tower, Air Canada Centre, & Rogers Centre) and traffic practically came to a complete stop. We were all excited to find the exit and then all disappointed to see that it took 15 minutes to get to the exit. We arrived at my aunt's house after we had to walk up to a few houses to see the numbers. It was then we also discovered that her doorbell doesn't work, and I was worried that no one was home. Lucky for me, they were home and all ready for us!! We were a little tired from the drive, so we just chatted for a bit and then headed off to bed (after making somewhat of a plan for the weekend) to be prepared for the busy time ahead of us.

Saturday
We woke up and headed for breakfast at Easy which is right down the street from her house and then got ourselves a TTC daypass so we could venture around town by any form of transportation (even though it seemed like we walked more than anything else). They took us to the AGO - Art Gallery of Ontario - and it was pretty cool!! There weren't a whole lot of exhibitions open, but we saw plaster sculptures and paintings. We also picked up a little clear glass Christmas ornament in the gift shop as we are starting a collection together. After the AGO Will & I headed on the subway (Will was very excited for his first subway ride) and headed towards the Hockey Hall of Fame. When we arrived, there was a huge lineup as it was the hall-of-famers induction weekend and there were autograph signings, but Will really wanted to go, and he absolutely LOVED it!! He was like a kid in a candy store. We never ended up taking a picture with the Stanley Cup as they were cleaning up and we would've had to wait even longer after we had seen everything, so we decided to come back some other time (our next trip to Toronto, perhaps?) and get our chance with it next time. After the HHOF came the ROM - Royal Ontario Museum. We were doing all the indoor stuff as it was raining all day (including as we were travelling between places). At the ROM they had this exhibition of Italian Arts & Design and there was a lot of furniture that looked really funky!! It was so much fun, I wanted to take all the furniture home!! We also visited the Greek and African rooms before the museum closed. We picked up a souvenir at the gift shop as well, Venecian glass necklace. We started walking down Bloor street as it was night time and after realizing we were lost, popped back on a subway back into town and stopped in a cafe to figure out what was going on for dinner plans. We attempted to get into this Italian place, but there was too much of wait, so we headed down the street to a Korean restaurant and it was really good!! I was so exhausted, so we decided to call it a night and headed home (where apparently I was falling asleep on the chair).

Sunday
We headed for breakfast at The Butler's Pantry and had delicious French Toast with fresh fruit. We headed through Yorkville and checked out the chic savvy stores. It was a gorgeous day!! We headed up to the lounge of the Hyatt and got an amazing view of the city (including the CN tower and others). We were sent on our way to visit the Bata Shoe Museum which absolutely amazing and Will actually admitted that he enjoyed it!!! We headed for Queen Street to go shopping at the cute little stores, but didn't even make it past Spadina (which apparently where all the good stores are) and stopped for some lunch in a cafe called Lettieri. We would've done more shopping but on Sundays the stores close early and so we headed towards the CN Tower (as we wanted a night view). We made our way up (after getting security cleared - - the oddest thing ever) We got our picture taken - which we thought was for security purposes, but it ended up being so that you could buy the picture afterwards. We had to stand in this security cubicle where we got sprayed with air (still don't know why) which freaked me out. We went up the elevator and had our ears pop. We went outside at the top (after much coercion for Will to go out) and it was absolutely gorgeous!! All the lights (except for where there was water) would stream so far. We could see everything!! I wasn't so convinced about the glass floors, it looked cool, but I wouldn't walk on it at all. Will completely made fun of me. Apparently there is enough concrete in the CN tower to build a sidewalk from Toronto to Kingston. We went into the cafe and had a drink at the window table. It was really cool!! We headed down the elevator (with more ear-popping) and met my aunt's fiance for dinner at the Italian place we attempted to get into the other night. There was still a lineup, but we only had to wait like 10 minutes. It was a fantastic restaurant with the best, authentic Italian food. We headed home (after another exhausting day) and met up with my aunt (who had to work) and popped open the bubbly, until apparently again I was falling asleep in the chair. I also got to look at some photos of my family (great-grandfather, grandparents, aunts, my dad, etc...) and was so intrigued by the stories that my aunt would tell. I love family stories!!

Monday
We headed for breakfast at Mitzi's and the plan was to head for the rest of Queen St that we missed the other day for more shopping. We were actually taken down to the boardwalk (by the water) and checked out the outside of the Palais Royale which sits right on the water. We decided to walk a bit down the boardwalk and then head to Queen St. We walked and saw this gorgeous outdoor park (which is only open in the summer) with an outdoor pool. It's so classic and gorgeous!! We walked pretty far down and decided to postpone Queen until our next trip as we didn't want to be too worn out for the rest of the week and for the drive home. It was a nice drive home, and only a little bit of rain at the end. Steph even made us dinner (if you say ordering pizza is making dinner) for when we got home and we just collapsed and passed out.

A fantastic weekend and the house looks great!!!!!