View from Westin Harbour Castle hotel over Lake Ontario
Liz Roberts – a Bermuda-based journalist – has enjoyed visiting New York for years. Recently she thought she would give Toronto a go…especially with the rates from Bermuda’s newest airline addition- WestJet. Here’s her Bermuda Abroad take on a city that is home for 2.7 million people:
I love New York. I may not actually own the tee-shirt but it’s right there in my heart. And every time I want to get off The Rock (Bermuda), that’s where I end up.
It’s got everything a female solo traveller could want – great atmosphere, great shopping, marvellous people watching and it feels quite safe.
Oh and NYC has a myriad of bars and restaurants where it’s perfectly acceptable for a single gal to sit alone reading a book without being considered odd (it is not possible to do this in Bermuda, trust me.)
But after at least ten trips to The Big Apple in the past four years, I felt like I was stuck in a vacation rut. When WestJet started flying direct to Toronto at super-cheap prices, it seemed a good opportunity to check out somewhere different.
So I got myself a ticket – just $224 including taxes – and booked a discounted hotel room through Hotwire.com at the Westin Harbour Castle.
This is a four star hotel in downtown Toronto, right on the shore of Lake Ontario. It has a great view, but I could have lived without the noisy party boats leaving the quay below my window at all hours of the day and night – in between ferryboats honking incessantly.
I don’t mind not sleeping in the “city that never sleeps” – but that was a bit much.
I order to escape the honking as soon as possible on my first night, I set off on foot to find a decent Thai restaurant for dinner. I love Thai food and without being disrespectful to Bermuda’s Thai restaurants, they just don’t cut it for me.
I ended up at Golden Thai (www.goldenthai.ca) on Church Street, and what a fabulous place it turned out to be. Statues of gods and goddesses everywhere, ornate chandeliers and tapestries, and a welcoming atmosphere. Installed at a corner table with a glass of vino and a good book, I was already pretty happy. And then the food came along. Delicious Tom Yam Goom soup with lemon shrimp, followed by the house speciality, Phad Thai. All delivered by efficient and friendly waiting staff – I couldn’t have picked a better place.
Fun Fashion in Toronto
I wandered back to the hotel down Yonge Street, checking out the locals decked out in their Friday night finery. VERY short shorts seem to be the thing for Toronto girls this summer – perhaps this is an over-reaction to having to wear snow gear for most of the year? Anyway, I felt way too underdressed to join them in any of the city bars, since I was wearing shorts that were at least four inches too long, so I headed back to the hotel instead.
The next day I hit the Eaton Centre (www.torontoeatoncentre.com), recommended to me as the best place to pick up all the essentials I had on my clothes-shopping list. I popped into several of the big-name chain stores (including H&M) and they did the trick – although I have to say that I found the mall pretty gloomy and soulless. Nothing like the buzz you get from strutting down Fifth Avenue in NYC with arms-full of bags.
So perhaps the mall experience is just not to my taste. Never mind, the following day I hopped on the subway to Queen Street West. This, I had been assured by my Canadian friends, is a funky area with great shopping. And indeed it turned out to be so.
First I popped into the Essential Beauty Bar for a mani-pedi, a snip at just $45. The salon is situated next to a shop named Condom Shack with a rather interesting window display… perhaps the idea is you get all your “essential maintenance” sorted at the beauty bar before heading next door to stock up for a weekend of fun?
Despite being intrigued by the window display (I’d better not describe it, this is not that kind of website) I walked on past Condom Shack, as pleasures of a different kind were in order for me next – namely delicious sushi at one of the many eateries along the road. These range from Japanese to Indian and from Greek to Korean. So much choice that I was starving hungry by the time I finally picked one.
Next, more clothes shopping, with plenty of big-name stores mixed in with
Go Green - a Community Project in Kensington Market, Toronto
some interesting independent places further along Queen Street West. I picked up a gorgeous vintage dress at Tribal Rhythm, and got my first taste of the attentive and friendly service that is so often lacking in Bermuda.
In addition to the choice of stores and restaurants on this street, there was even an outdoor pop concert going on. It sounded a bit like Miley Cyrus, so I gave it a wide berth, but enjoyed the accompanying fireworks going off in broad daylight.
On my third and final day I hopped on the subway again. This is a little expensive at $3 per single ticket but nonetheless the service is frequent and the trains are a little less grungy than in New York.
A poorly punctuated store in Kensington Market
I ended up in the Kensington Market area (www.kensington-market.ca.) after strolling through the exotic sights and smells of Chinatown en route.
The market is filled with food stores specialising in an immense variety of fruit, meat, and fish and – my favourite – cheese! Since I have such a weakness for cheese that I could happily eat it all day, I avoided that temptation and wandered in the direction of the Last Temptation pub instead.
This drinking venue has a chilled-out atmosphere and a little patio perfect for people watching. I had a drink there, but was put off stopping to eat after a trip to the bathrooms down in the incredibly stinky basement.
I spent the rest of the day exploring Kensington Market, which also boasts a number of hippie-style clothing shops – one of which is the brilliantly named Fairies’ Pyjamas. I was somewhat disappointed to discover it does not actually stock pyjamas for the little people at the bottom of the garden. However, it does sell hula-hoops (remember them?) and some interesting human-sized clothes including tutus and knitwear made from Yak wool.
My trip nearing its end, I couldn’t resist heading back to Golden Thai that evening for more delicious food (basil beef this time) before a nightcap in the hotel bar overlooking Lake Ontario.
Overall, I couldn’t fault Toronto when it came to good shopping, some interesting neighbourhoods and the feeling that it’s very safe to explore alone.
That said, it definitely lacks the soul and buzz of other big cities I’ve visited as a solo traveller such as Sydney, Buenos Aires, Singapore and of course – New York.
But with tickets selling for less than $250, it certainly offers a bargain weekend trip for anyone with a dose of Rock Fever…and a craving for some decent Thai food.
Robyn's Wanderings 
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