Back to Canadaland first stop Toronto!!!

'Hank' the tank, was really hot after being left on the street for 4 days but all ready to take us to Toronto. 

The drive to Toronto took about 9 hours and both Marc and I took turns driving while the other slept, as we were super tired after Chicago. The drive was mainly all freeway, there was a huge bridge we drove over before entering back into Canada that was huge. The most impressive thing about this area of the world is the size of the lakes I guess that's why they call it 'The Great Lakes', every lake looks like an ocean but to know they are lakes is hard to comprehend especially coming from Australia.

We arrived at Aaron and Diane’s house around 7pm and were happy to have a home to stay at for a few nights. Aaron made some delicious sandwiches and we hung out with Sullivan the great entertainer (Aaron’s little 1 year old with a huge personality).  After some nightcaps made by Aaron we passed out on our mattresses on the floor.

Day 1: After a great night sleep we woke up with little Sully peering in at us asleep on the lounge room floor with a look of 'What are you doing there?'. After some breakfast Diane took Sully to daycare and we went for a run to try and stay fit... the run was good but it nearly killed Marc after all the beer he had consumed in the last few days he he he.

Marc fell in love with a 'Bacon' toy of Aaron's that says 'I'm Bacon' when you push a button. If anyone needs ideas for Marc at Christmas time this would be golden! 

Diane had taken the day off work to be our Sherpa around Toronto. To start we went to Kensington market and walked around the shops stopping for some delicious Mexican and Mr. Cream Ice cream.

 
We then made our way into downtown to try and get my iPod touch fixed at the apple store. The apple store was super busy as always and we made an appointment to see someone in an hours time so we went to the Beer Bistro where we had some beer and excellent stake frites! Afterwards apple advised they would replace my touch for free as we were traveling YEA!!

 
That night we went to Caplansky’s for dinner which was delicious, I had the Knish, smoke meat poutine and Marc had the smoke meat sandwich. It was really good and great to hang out with Aaron and Diane.



 

Diane took Sully home after dinner and we went to the fringe festival to meet Natalie for a beer. On our way we passed though some lovely streets and Toronto's famous discount store ‘Honest Ed’s’. Aaron’s brother Caleb served us some beer and we caught up with Natalie before heading back to Aaron’s place for the night.
 

Day 2: After another really fun morning with Sully. Marc and I ventured out to see Toronto by 'Bixi' bike (A shared bike network) with a packed lunch. After working out how to use the bikes we made our way down to the foreshore of lake Ontario to catch the ferry over to Toronto Island. The ride was loads of fun but also scary as riding with the city traffic can be a little crazy. 

The ferry ride was very short and the Island was a lovely awesome oasis. We ate our lunch and strolled around checking out centrevill and the other side of the island. After our walk we stopped under a tree for an hours sleep before heading back. 

 

Next we went to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Marc loved it and knew all about after being Canadian for the last 2 years. I just liked the old Jerseys and Face-masks it's really a crazy sport. After a photo with the Stanley cup we headed back to Aaron and Diane’s for dinner.

We went to Stockyards for dinner and ate some delicious burgers. The rest of the night we kicked back with some beers and watched toga Sully play the keyboard while I setup my new touch.

 


Day 3: In the morning we packed up our stuff and moved over to Natalie and James apartment for the last 2 nights in Toronto. After getting settled we made our way to Rogers Stadium to watch the Toronto Blue Jays play the New York Yankees. It was another really hot day at the baseball especially with not much relief from the sun. It was Sullivan and Natalie’s first game and I think they both really enjoyed it. The Yankees beat the Blue jays 4 -1. For dinner that night we went to Marben. Again more delicious food. It was a sharing menu so we ordered mainly everything and shared it amongst the 6 of us. To add to the experience Aaron and Natalie paid for us as a thank you for working with them for the last 2 and a bit years it was so nice I nearly cried. 

  

After dinner we went out for some drinks before heading back to Natalie and James for the night.

James made us some nightcaps at his bar before bed ‘Brandy Alexander’s’ another great end to a massive day.

 










Day 4: Natalie had some appointments on Sunday morning so we walked to the Kensington market where we met up with Aaron, Diane and Sully for lunch and to go and see the CN tower. It was a long walk but we checked out some of the shops on Queen street along the way. When we finally got to the tower it was an hour wait before we could go up, I didn't realize that it was so popular. It was well worth the wait though. The elevator ride up was sweet and once at the top the views were amazing and sully kept saying wow (little cutie). 

 Afterwards we made our way back to Natalie’s for a pizza dinner via Aaron’s place. On our way there Aaron’s car got a flat tire so we had to turn around and go back. Unfortunately this meant only Aaron could come around for dinner as there was not enough room in the car for Diane and Sully :(

After some delicious pizza and a few too many ports (I was very happy). James entertained as with his crazy vocabulary skills. 


That night and morning we had to say good-bye to Aaron and Natalie which was sad but hopefully we will get to see both of them and the family again at some stage in the future. We had an awesome time in Toronto all thanks to our great friends.