Toronto for a Short Stop Over

 4th October 2022

It is a bit overcast this morning, but nevertheless, the surise over the falls is stunning.

The drive to Toronto this morning is only around 1.5 hrs, so there is no hurry and we will just aim to park our car at the hotel, and check in when rooms are available. 

Breakfast was once again very good, with the omelette lady getting a good workout. By the time we had checked out, loaded the car and we on our way it was about 9.45am. The cloud has burnt off and it is another sunny day as we leave Niagara Falls on a great freeway to Toronto.

Unlike the last time we came into Toronto, the traffic and roadwork seems to be less of an issue, or perhaps the location of our hotel this time is more accessible. We are right in the middle of the Financial district at the Hilton Downtown, within walking distance of the waterfront.

Far too early to check in, we talked to the staff at the desk and they organised for our baggage to be stored until rooms were available, and for car parking for us.

With all of that out off the way, we had a few hours to fill in on foot exploring Toronto, or at least the vicinity in which we are placed.

The next few hours were spent exploring on foot, and of course having lunch.

Downtown Toronto

We eventually gravitated towards the waterfront, to Queens Quay and the Harbourside centre. Clearly the tourist season is over as there were many cruise vessels tied up alongside with no bookings, and only a few small boats taking customers out for a harbour cruise.

Lonely cruise ships

The tall ship did eventually go out

John and I checking out the waterfront

There are surprisingly few people around

We decided to have lunch at The Goodman Pub and Kitchen at Queens Quay. The food was great and the weather nice enough to sit outside. As usual, the craft beer was excellent.

After lunch we continued down the waterfront to find a small marina with a mix of yachts and powerboats, right at the city edge.

Back at the hotel by 3pm, we could check in to very comfortable rooms with great views of the city. We are only here for tonight before flying out to Vancouver tomorrow where we will spend 2 nights before flying home to Sydney.

View from our hotel room, over the Law Courts

Dinner plans are a bit loose to night, so we agreed to meet in the lobby at around 6 pm and discuss. The restaurant at the Hilton does not get a very good wrap, but there is a local restaurant 250 metres away that gets good ratings, so we thought we would try it out. 

When we arrived, the place was packed, and it is a big restaurant. They manage to get us in without a reservation, on a small round table with 4 chairs around it. The place is humming, probably because it is in the middle of the Financial district and at least half of the patrons are in suits either drinking or dining. It is pretty noisy, but we suspect this will die down when the drinkers leave.

Despite the frantic activity, and a few hiccups, like shortage of wine glasses, we settled in for a great meal. Even better, Tuesday night is half price wine bottle night, which explains why there was a shortage of wine glasses. John and I had a half rack of ribs and they were great. All of the meals were good.

The drinkers did leave and the noise levels dropped resulting in a most enjoyable meal, even though table space was a bit tight.