Shout-out to Drake, as I recently visited Toronto, Canada with some of my friends. We decided to plan our couples trip this year for Toronto because some of us had never been. Toronto has been on my bucket list for a while and my husband has always raved about how awesome Toronto is, so why not
Lodging
We decided to stay in an Airbnb since we were staying for several days. Our Airbnb host was amazing! The condo was in the center of everything. Literally, Scotiabank Arena was right next door, Grand Central station right across the street, CN Tower two blocks away, Ripley’s Aquarium three blocks away. It was perfect. But, what really set this Airbnb apart from others I have stayed in, was it had a grocery store (like a mini Walmart), Starbucks, cleaners, money exchange place, a bar, and multiple restaurants in the same building. Like I said perfect.
Restaurants
First night, we tried a Jamaican Fusion restaurant called Chubby’s Jamaican Restaurant. I say Jamaican fusion because it definitely wasn’t authentic Jamaican. Imagine having a Haitian American friend who has his mouth set on authentic Jamaica to be served subpar Jamaican. Epic Fail.
After our Black History tour the next day, our tour guide took us to Ritz Caribbean where there was real, authentic Jamaican food. And you know it’s good when the line is out the door and you are ordering from the steam tables. Oxtails falling off the bone, jerk chicken, rice and peas, and beef patties bigger than your hand. Let’s just say we were satisfied when we left this time.
Later that night we decided to try some authentic Asian food at Asian Legend in Chinatown. I knew this would be an adventure because most authentic Asian restaurants serve you the biggest portion ever. We all ordered different dishes and before we knew it our table look like we were preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything from Kung Pao Chicken and beef fried rice, to chicken soup and noodles galore. Just a ridiculous amount of food.
The next day, my friend and I decided to have brunch at School. The concept of this restaurant is so cool. Everything from menus to glasses were decorated after school supplies. I had a pineapple chili drink served in a beaker. I had the apple crumble pancakes and my friend had the krispy krunch french toast. We decided to share a white chocolate raspberry scone, fried chicken, and pan fried hash with jalapeno sour cream. Basically coma inducing food. So freaking good!
Activities
First day we roamed the city. We really didn’t have any plans. The next day we took a black history tour that I found on Airbnb Experiences. By the way don’t sleep on Airbnb Experiences. They are affordable and pretty unique than most big brand tours. I wrote a blog about everything we learned during the black history tour.
There was an indoor mall we found in Downtown Toronto named CF Toronto Eaton Centre. It was beautiful. It felt like we were outdoors although we were inside. FYI: Its normally cheaper to buy items out of the country than it is in the USA.
Outside of the mall were some beautiful buildings. I like that Toronto is a mix of old and new architecture. They have preserved alot of the buildings which is something we rarely do in U.S.
There was also an art festival right by the famous Toronto to sign. Vendors were selling everything from oil paintings to sculptures. Toronto is a walkable city for the most part and I really like that. After the art festival we walked to the harbour just to relax by the water and people watch. I really enjoyed watching everyone come together and have fun. No one was segregated. It was nice seeing people hang out without an agenda. Just friends brought together by friendship not because they are the same race. Being from the south, you do not see this a lot.
The next day was our girl’s day. We started with brunch and then a mini spa day. Afterwards we walked over to one of the most famous parts of Toronto, Graffiti Alley. It’s were artist from all over have painted the alley ways of some of Toronto’s streets. I am always looking for art when I travel and this was perfect. We had a photoshoot in the alleys and then headed all the way across town to create our own cinnamon rolls at cinnaholic.
On our last night we decided to go to the Rec Room. It puts you in the mind of a Dave and Buster, but cooler. There was an area to do virtually reality games (VR games), arcade games, two restaurants, multiple bars, dance floor, live DJ, fire pits outside, and private party rooms. Things became competitive between us. Competing against each other in basketball, and Mario kart. Yes, we are grown, but still kids at heart.
Overall our trip to Toronto was nice. We didn’t party much during our time, but enjoyed exploring the city and connecting with our friends. Toronto is definitely a city I would move to. The people are so nice and helpful. The city is diverse and the opportunities seem limitless. If you have a chance to visit Toronto please do. You won’t regret it.
