I’m sorely late in recapping our trip to Toronto, but I don’t want to forget to do it! This was Ryan’s first trip – ever – to Toronto, and it was clearly Spencer’s, as well. It was also Spencer’s first time using his passport, which I think is both awesome and hilarious…mostly because his baby passport is valid for 5 years. Ridiculous! Anyway, we decided we were going to take a trip up to Toronto during Ryan’s block leave because my best friend, Karly, lives up there now as a NICU nurse in the city. I also have a friend that lives just outside the city in Barrie, and she’s a photographer! We desperately needed family photos done, so we did the whole “two birds, one stone” deal.
We did not, however, think about the Pan Am games traffic in the city, and it was a rough trip. Coming home was much easier because we did it after Spencer went to sleep. Let’s just say that 92% of our family photos include a screaming baby though. Whoops. Regardless, here’s a little snapshot of our trip to Toronto. Family photos will be teased later this week 🙂
We used Airbnb for our stay, and it was amazing! We were able to stay in a luxury high-rise flat in the middle of the city for a fraction of what a comparable hotel would have cost us. Plus, we had our own balcony and spectacular sunset views, which was so nice. We even managed a silly exhausted parents selfie before crashing…hard.
When Karly asked us what we wanted to do during our day with her, we had just one request…no car. Please. She obliged, and we explored the city by foot and made our way over to Centre Island just off the coast, where we narrowly avoided being trapped by a crazy rainstorm that only overtook us when we got back to the city.
Centre Island was the perfect escape from the craziness of downtown, and they even have a little amusement park and petting zoo for the kiddos, restaurants and a questionable, clothing-optional beach, which we avoided. Coming back though, we were able to see the city in its full glory, and it was fantastic.
It was so, so much fun (exhausting) but so fun. Friends, if you ever have a chance to visit Toronto, I highly recommend it. A few pointers though – exchange currency ahead of time, or use you Apple passbook because with the chip, it’s next to impossible to use your card, and you’ll get screwed on the exchange rate in cash. Also, go with a few people…the HOV lanes are the best invention ever.
