Places we have been.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Around Toronto with our Friends

Our friends from Germany came over to visit us. Since they have a limited time to see Toronto and Niagara, I opted to go with them and showed them few attractions of Toronto.



During the week, we relied solely on the public transport and during the weekend we had our own. From where we live, GO Transit Bus Terminal at Square One Mall is just a few minutes walk away. GO Transit have trains and buses (called Train Bus) serving the Greater Toronto Area. http://www.gotransit.com/PUBLICROOT/en/default.aspx It is a very effective means of transportation.



GO train buses leave Square One terminal on specific timings. Schedule can be found thru their website above, thru their brochures and at the terminal. It is pretty convenient. If you have no ticket on hand you could pay cash in the bus. Tickets are available in their designated ticket offices/counter. One can buy individual or multiple tickets. One thing one must note though, buses and trains leaves on time. From Square One Mississauga to Union Station at downtown Toronto takes just 45 minutes, almost the same time you'll cover if driving a private car. After 4pm until 7pm, there are no buses commuting to Square One but train to Cooksville station. From there, one can take a normal bus to Square One by just paying 65 cents for the ticket showing your GO ticket to the bus driver.





One day when it was raining heavily, we took a taxi from Duke of York Blvd, Mississauga to Bloor Street downtown Toronto for around 60 dollars.





On the first day, we roamed around the downtown area: from the Union Station, to the old Toronto Area (St. Lawrence Market Neighborhood), then to the Financial District, to the Eaton Center, Nathan Philipps Square, down to the Entertainment District then we took the PATH (underground shopping complex) back to the Union Station..



The Allen Lambert Galleria, sometimes described as the "crystal cathedral of commerce". Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, it is one of the most photographed spaces in Toronto's financial district. As pictured above, the interior illustrates Calatrava's signature organic style, with a vaulted ceiling that is intended to evoke an avenue of trees.











Old Toronto Area: above is our apartment last year at Front St; right below is the St. Lawrence Market





Hard Rock Cafe at Dundas Square






with friends





Graffiti Painting at Dundas Square






At the Nathan Philips Square





Ray Thomson Hall






Canadian Walk of Fame






at the lobby of the Royal Fairmont Hotel




On the second day since it was raining hard, we decided to spend the day to visit the museums at the Bloor Street. We visited first the Bata Shoe Museum, then had lunch, went shopping and subsequently my friends went to the Royal Ontaio Museum.Since I have been there before, I opted not to go in but spend my time around the shopping area of Bloor while waiting for my friends. Not long after, they called me that the ROM was closing early that day. So we continued on scanning through the shops of Bloor St.

The Bata Shoe Museum






The Ancient Egyptian shoes
The Ancient Roman shoes
Ancient Chinese shoes


The space shoes

The Cinderella shoes


shoe sculpture




The next day, the weather was great. My friends went up to the CN tower and I went to the Broadcasting Building to see CBC mini-museum. Subsequently, we met up for lunch by the Harbour Front.






CBC Museum

Harbour Front

Linda Lou Super Yacht behind me. You can details about this in this website. http://www.charterbrochure.com/lindalou/



Later on we took the subway up to the Bloor St. for my friends to visit the Royal Ontario Museum (http://www.rom.on.ca/) and I went to the Gardiner Ceramic Museum (http://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/index.aspx). It is strictly prohibited to take photos inside the museum.



The Royal Ontario Museum



The Gardiner Ceramic Museum



The ceramic museum was awesome. There was an exhibit of the fine ceramic painting during the Renaissance period. I was in awe looking at the very fine display of items. I don't have a deep knowledge about ceramic paintings but just looking at those paintings on display really impressed me. The place is not that big but it took me a good 2 hours to complete the round. A tip to those who are planning to visit the museums in Toronto, if you have time it is better to go there in the evenings as they offer 50% discount on admission fees.



The posh shops along the Blooor Street









There are a lot more city attractions but we opted to see the few which interests my friends. Toronto City Guide booklets are available in the information centers around the city. There is also a bus sight-seeing tour around the city. Below is a link to the city visitor map http://www.toronto.ca/torontomaps/pdf/visitor_map_page1.pdf



Toronto Islands is also a nice place to see but at that time it was closed due to the city workers' strike but it is now open.

Posted by: Jernie

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