Toronto - Casa Loma

http://www.casaloma.org/

Casa Loma is one of those places that you really should see if you are in Toronto, and it is worth seeing. The exterior is beautiful, there's a lot of history and movie trivia that relates to is, you can go via an underground tunnel to the stables, and there is even a short film featuring Colin Mochrie.

It is also a place that brings up some mixed feelings. It is really too large. It could probably be just as beautiful being one story shorter, or by having the existing levels not stretch quite so far. In some ways it seems like a perfect example of hubris in the construction, and a comeuppance with the loss of the property due to back taxes. However, Henry Pellatt's financial difficulties came largely from the government expropriating not one but two large sources of income for him: his electrical power generating business and his airplane manufacturing business. Even if this expropriation was necessary for the war effort, you'd think they could have at least given him a large tax credit.

Therefore, it will be very easy to go and have a feeling that things are simply not as they should be, but that is not a reason not to go.

Toronto - Getting around the city and the Double Decker Bus Tour

http://citysightseeingtoronto.com/Toronto-DoubleDeckerTour.htm

I am not sure that the link is for the same company that I used, but it sounds right. I don't remember a harbor cruise, but it could be new, or I could have not had time to use it because of some other things I booked.

Even if it is not the same, it is probably close enough, and I found it very helpful. It hits the key sightseeing points, but more than that just taking that first ride around gives you the lay of the land, and then you can take advantage of the hop on/hop off feature.

I did end up often walking places, because Toronto is very walkable, but I knew what things were when I came to them, and where they were in relation to other spots, because of the tour.

I admit, I also ended up in a very good location with my hotel. This was not be design. I looked at Marriotts because I could get a discount, which put me in the one on Bloor, right by Younge. This was very central. That put me very close to Eaton Center and Dundas Square, which was where I would usually catch the bus and take my meals.

Obviously I was in Toronto for longer than the three days of touring, but for the attractions it takes you to, those can be done in three days, and this site can also get you packages for other places, like Niagara Falls. I had things I did not book through here, but it is still worth looking at.

There was one incident that bothered me, which was not their fault, but I want to mention it. There are tour guides letting you know about the locations as you go, of course, and I remember one family asking her to give less information. After being around a few times, you have heard it more than once, but it shouldn't be that big a deal. As it was, it really threw the poor girl, and then she had a hard time giving any facts. Yes, I am sure that part of it was that she relied on a pattern, and trying to go out of that messed with her rhythm, but also I think they really smashed her confidence, and she was fine. She was doing a good job. So don't be a jerk. If you don't want a tour guide, take the city bus.

I will just mention two other things that don't relate to the tour. I was not able to use every ATM. I use a credit union, which was part of the issue, but it does not hurt to check ahead and see what is around and whether it will accept you. This is important because it is generally less hassle to simply withdraw rather than look for a place to change your USD to CAD.

The other thing that was amazing to me was that the squirrels were black. A lot of the film I wasted was spent trying to get a good picture of one of them, but they were small and fast-moving and I didn't have a zoom feature on the Fun saver. Again, I am very glad to have switched to digital.

Toronto - Eaton Centre

http://www.torontoeatoncentre.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

Going over Toronto has been pretty educational in a way I did not expect. I am often not happy with my picture quality, but going back to a trip when I was carrying around Fun Saver cameras reminds me of how much better it has become.

Yes, simply being able to upload the pictures into the computer is better than messing around with the scanner, but I have wondered sometimes if it's bad because maybe we don't go back and review digital photo files the same way we do with hard copies. Well, I haven't looked at these printed photos for a long time, and their quality is much worse. I don't do a lot of fancy settings, but even being able to zoom, and to know whether or not you got a shot, makes a huge difference.

These next few posts won't have a lot of photos, and they won't be great ones, but it does make me grateful for progress.

Eaton Centre is the largest mall in Toronto, and it was built at a time when malls of this size were less common. I am sure I did not properly appreciate it, because I am not much of a shopper. However, there were three things about it that were cool for me.

One is that it had a Carlton Cards. While this looks like it is not very different from a Hallmark, it is based on American Greetings, and therefore it was easier to find Care Bear related merchandise here.

http://www.carltoncards.ca/

They have never been very common, but are less so now. The Eaton Centre location is gone now, but at the time it was there, and I was able to acquire Care Bear ornaments for my younger sisters, which for them was the most impressive thing about my trip.

There was also an Yves Rocher. Yves Rocher the man was a pioneer in the use of natural ingredients for beauty products. Yves Rocher the company is really good about including free gifts in orders, and there was a time when I ordered a lot from them. The products really are quite good, I just built up a backlog. It was kind of cool to find a physical location.

http://www.yvesrocherusa.com

I had mentioned in a previous post that I did not go to Mr. Greenjeans. I thought about it, but the menu and prices did not seem that appealing to me, as it seemed like basically a grill, but one that would be fun, maybe with flair. However, the food court did indeed prove to be a valuable place for a traveler on a budget, as it was conveniently located to my hotel and the main stop for the double decker bus tour. That was handy.

Toronto CityPass

As much as I extolled the value of the Chicago CityPass, it was not the first place where I used one.

It did not end up being as spectacular for me, in that I only ended up using three of the five tickets. However, the price was still reasonable, and you might be able to use more.

First of all, let's get the two that I did not visit out of the way. They were for the Ontario Science Center and the Toronto Zoo.

The Science Center sounded rather like a Museum of Science and Industry, which I have a strange prejudice against, and I didn't really want to go that much. (That was the attraction we skipped in Chicago as well.)

I did really want to go to the zoo. I love zoos in general, and to make it even more intriguing, some penguins that were in transit from Atlanta to Toronto were on my flight. Chances are they would not have been on display yet if I had made it, but it was still kind of cool. (A zookeeper had them in a carrier in the back row.)

The issue with both was transportation. They were out of the way for walking, and they were not on the hop on/hop off tour that I had a two day pass for. The other three were. Getting to Casa Loma could be an issue too, if not for the tour, though the Royal Ontario Museum and the CN Tower are pretty easy to get to. In planning your trip to Toronto, you will need to think about transportation. 

I did think about taking a cab to the zoo, but I ended up getting pressed for time, so only used three of my tickets, but all three of those should be seen. The CN Tower is kind of just like the Space Needle or the Willis Tower - you ride an elevator up high and then look down - however, it is taller than either of those as the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. Casa Loma is iconic and interesting, and the ROM has a great collection.

I will spend time on those individually, but for now, at least consider the CityPass. Once you decide what you want to see and compare the admission prices,  you should see that you are better off with it than without it.

www.citypass.com/toronto/

http://citysightseeingtoronto.com/Toronto-DoubleDeckerTour-Maps.html

Toronto: How I was brought there by Paula Danziger and Richard Wagner

Toronto is the only time I have traveled alone. It worked well, so I am not against doing it, but there were downsides too.

Once upon a time I had subscriptions and memberships to the Portland Art Museum, White Bird Dance, Oregon Ballet Theater, and Portland Opera. Among other things, this meant that I would get invitations from all kinds of art companies, to attend their shows, or maybe even just donate without visiting. It kind of made sense when they were from Salem, Eugene, or even Seattle, because they aren't really that far away, but sometimes they were much farther. The only one that ever got me was Toronto.

It was a rather ambitious thing they were doing. They were building a new opera house, and they were kicking it off with Wagner's Ring Cycle; the whole thing! That is a rare opportunity. There was about a two year lead time, so I went for it and bought two tickets.

It is hard to understand now the optimism that made me think I should get two tickets, but I had always done that before, and have had all sort of different people go to various performances with me. It's been very enjoyable. It was the four performances in another city, in another country, that should have made me think. I do regret buying two tickets, but I don't regret going.

I now have seen the entire Ring Cycle, and not everyone gets a chance for that. Also, I have now been to most of the places featured in It's an Aardvark Eat Turtle World by Paula Danziger.

If I did not read all of her books when I was a a teenager, I came close. I was intrigued by the places she described in the book, but I didn't really think that I would ever get there. Suddenly, I was going, and I could use the book as a starting point in planning my trip. So much in the same way that if I ever go to New York City it will be influenced by Remember Me to Harold Square, or how if I ever make it to Woodstock it will be influenced by The Divorce Express and There's a Bat in Bunk Five, that was how I planned this trip.

It wasn't the only factor, because there was a City Pass involved, and things that I discovered on the hop on/ hop off tour, but yes, I have been to Casa Loma, and the CN Tower, and Eaton Center. I did not end up getting my picture taken in old-fashioned clothing there, or eating at Mr. Greenjeans - I thought about it, but decided against. Still, I saw some cool stuff, and that is what I will be writing about for the next few books.

Yours till Niagra Falls - no, that's the wrong author!