Today was my Couch Surfing (CS) host’s day off and, bless her, she spent the day with me. First up, washing …oh, excuse me … laundry. Now this may not sound overly exciting but when you’re moving every other week and living out of a backpack, clean clothes can be a sparkle in your day, reminding you that once upon a time, you too had access to an entire wardrobe of clean clothes and a washing machine that worked (usually) without inserting coins. So, laundry done and … we’re off.
So I was a little reticent about using the streetcars when I first arrived in Toronto. Mainly because, unlike the subway or buses, there aren’t many maps around showing the routes that the streetcars take or clearly marked stops. I have taken a couple but my CS host took me on a tour – navigating the city via streetcar.
Down by the harbour in a ritzy shopping centre is the Inuit Museum which I’m surprised to discover was only opened a few years ago. The venue was small but the exhibition was informative and some of the art for sale was so breathtaking that I almost spent my return airfare.
Next, on to the Lawrence Street Market. It reminded me so much of the food markets I went to in France when I was a kid. I had a peameal bacon sandwich (or a bite of one anyway) which is one of the ‘must do’ things in Toronto, according to Couch Surfing.
After a bit of a stroll past some amazing public art we caught another streetcar to the distillery district but no, this was no pub crawl. The place was what I imagine a Victorian street or ‘The Rocks’ in Sydney would have looked like in its prime. It’s no wonder that numerous films and tv shows have been filmed in this part of Toronto. Then my host showed me the most wonderful sight it the district – the Soma Chocolate Shop where they make their own chocolates on site. We grabbed a decadent hot chocolate and I made sure to sneak a few ‘take home’ samples.
After such a long, jam-packed day we headed home where my host made a roast and we kicked back and enjoyed some bad American tv. All in all, a fabulous day!
