Toronto

    To drive into Toronto you must take the grand Canadian freeway called the 401 Highway. If you are from a large city from different parts of the world such as New York, LA, Beijing than I'm sure it would appear small but for us Canadians it is the big Highway of Canada. There are eight lanes in the center for through traffic and additional side lanes (called collector lanes) for taking exits. It really is a great method to move traffic I thought, and as long as you have planned out your trip well than it flows quite easily. Luckily for us we had arranged to stay with a friend of mine for the three days in Toronto, saving us alot of money on accommodation. His townhouse was located in Port Credit, Mississauga (a suburb of Toronto) which is only a 20 minute train ride into downtown. My friend informed me that he would be out for a few hours and that he would leave the key for us under the porch to let ourselves in. We arrived at the address with all of our backpacks and laundry, and I must say we looked like gypsies coming down the street for sure. The front porch didn't have the small hole for the keys like my friend had mentioned so we ventured around to the back to find the back porch. At this point there were some neighbours who were peeking out from there homes at us, probably wondering what we were up to. We couldn't access the back porch because the gate was locked, so we were pushing aside the ivy to try to catch a peek to see if we could find the hole where the key was hidden. With no luck we went back to the front (with even more neighbours watching us curiously) and started searching for the spare key under the mat, in the flower pot and we even tried the front door. Feeling slightly frustrated at this point, I decided to give my friend a call and ask where the key was hidden when my fiance interrupted me and was holding up his IPhone. He informed us that according to his maps we were still two blocks away and even though we were at the correct address there must of been a small part of the address we were missing. We couldnt believe it! No wonder why the neighbours had been watching us and why we couldnt find the key, we were at the wrong house! At that moment we quickly gathered our bags and hustled out of there. What would of happened if we would of found a key and let ourselves in? We would of made ourselves at home and then a complete stranger would come home to us. Anyways, two blocks down the road we finally located the correct townhouse and hesitantly let ourselves in. We couldnt stop laughing! That evening we shared a good laugh with my friend about searching for keys at the wrong house.
    We decided to go to Canada's Wonderland the following day, which I had been anticipating for months. The admission was $45.99 online or $57.99 at the gate or if you are really organized it is only $39.99 if you purchase online 3 days in advance. The cost of the ticket for unlimited rides all day was WELL worth the money and I guarantee you will spin,drop, and rattle to your hearts content at this amusment park especially with the new addition of the Leviathan roller coaster. At 93 metres tall (306 ft.) and with top speeds of 148 km/h it is the fastest/tallest roller coaster in Canada and the 8th fastest in the world! It was so intense and when you look back at the track from the ground you wonder how you went on it. On the climb up the lift all you can think to yourself is why the heck you are on this thing and anticipating the drop. It was a fantastic rollercoaster that definitly gave you the fear and excitment!

   All of the other rollercoasters and rides at Canadas Wonderland were fantastic as well, especially the giant swing ride and the water rafts hidden in the cornwr of the park. We didnt leave until the sun was setting and once again we were all like children tired after a long day of playing.
    The following day was spent in downtown Toronto ( $10 for a return ticket on the GoTrain) starting with going up the CN Tower ($24) and admiring Toronto from above. If youre into heights, walking or sitting on the glass floor is exciting although I wish that there had been more glass in the tower to walk on.

    Next we wandered to the colourful Kensignton Market neighbourhood where you will find lots of hippee style clothing shops, funky cafes and interesting people watching. Its a great neighbourhood to wander around in for a couple of hours and possibly find something unique for your wardrobe. The next neighbourhood we rather quickly wandered through was Chinatown. Due to the large groups of people everywhere accompanied by unpleasant dried fish odours we took the express route. With the combonation of heat and hunger none of us were in any mood for crowds. We made it to Dundas Square, Toronto's 'Times Square', and found a wonderful rooftop bar to sit and admire the square below called Jack Astor's. They even had misters spraying on the patio to help with the afternoon heat! The green festivval was on that weekend so the streets were full of eco-friendly kiosks and there was a concert stand in the center of Dundas Square that we could watch from above.  Some other great things to check out in Toronto include: Queen Street (busy street with lots to see including Much Music), Younge Street, Snap some pictures of the architectual eye candy that is the Art School,

And just walk around and admire all of the beautiful boutique art galleries big and small showcasing the talented local artists (I particularly enjoyed the Bau-XI Gallery). There is endless sights to see in Toronto and even more if you venture into all the surrounding suburbs. I am happy to of spent a couple of days there and hopefully will be able to visit again and continue the exploring.