Aubrey
Welsh
12 hours in Toronto
In late September 2023, I flew into Toronto for my very first visit to Canada.
Of course, I flew Air Canada—a long-time strategy of mine to use the national airline of the country I am flying into. I had planned to stay for a couple of days whilst visiting the city, staying in some affordable accommodation. Another travel strategy of mine is to stay cheap (but clean and central) but when my research indicated that the 'average' cost of a decent hotel room was in excess of NZ$500/night, I drew the line—hence my 12 hours in Toronto.
'My' plane before take off at Heathrow
As a result of the incredible cost of accommodation in Toronto, I decided to just stay one night but still had to pay almost NZ$300—for just a single night.
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But I am an intrepid traveller so, after catching the airport train into the city, I checked into my accommodation then immediately set out to explore the city despite the late hour - 11pm!
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The city was bustling but I was able to find some quiet corners to take a few night shots to reflect what I experienced.
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​The St Lawrence Street Market is a famous venue but I suspected I would not have time to visit it during the day. I was also impressed with the St Lawrence Hall - an events venue which reflects a bygone era of sumptuous luxury. The Cathedral Church of St James (unusual moniker) was beautifully lit up but the doors were firmly shut - I tried them! And then the trees along some streets which were beautifully decorated with fairy lights.
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All in all, a very exciting and impressive start to my visit to Canada. But now I had to get some sleep.
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Well, fours later I was awake having not slept a wink.
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I discovered overnight that my accommodation was a 'love hotel' and the room was so unsavoury that I decided to lay down fully clothed and on a towel which I had in my suitcase. 'Nuff said.
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I had a quick shower and headed off to continue my city exploration. First stop - the famous Tim Hortons. With a latte and a doughnut (I think) in hand, I headed for Sugar Beach Wharf. The sunrise was pretty cool especially when I discovered that this area contained a sugar loading terminal - similar to Maydon Wharf sugar terminal in Durban which I visited often between the ages of 10-20. The smell of raw sugar stirred many good memories.
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A few gulls came to say hello - well, they came to partake of my doughnut, really. But we had a good chat as I drank my coffee.
The district around Sugar Beach Wharf revealed amazing modern buildings, mostly residential and called condominiums.
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I marvelled at the architecture, the design - so different from the skyscrapers in Hong Kong. Those were often lacking in detail, especially in the older buildings. But here, each facade seemed like an 'art installation' - but you can judge for yourself.
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Toronto is a megalopolis and I very quickly learned its true 'pronunciation' - that of 't-ronn-oh' with only a slight hint of a 't' at the beginning but really more of a 'd' and the final 't' which is silent. And it must be said extremely quickly! Or risk very quizzical looks from locals.
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A city population of around 3 million is surrounded by another 8 million in the adjacent area known as the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
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Once I had marvelled at the dawn, I headed back into the city to have a closer look at some of the more unusual sights.
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As I did so, I became aware that there was ever so slight a smell of marijuana in the air. At first I thought it might simply be the residual odour after the early morning washing down of the city with disinfectant but no, it really was the smell of the 'mary-jane'.
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There were the usual shops, cafes and department stores but I found one tiny little outlet which seemed to stock the most unusual Christmas tree decorations. The little socks in the bottom left hand corner are named 'Trash Panda'. This, of course, fascinated me and I learned that it was a humorous name for a raccoon, especially one which is raiding trash cans for food. Oddly enough it is also the name of a baseball team in LA!
I simply had to take a photo of at least one autumn maple leaf - go figure.
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By the way, zoom in and read my 'hotel' sign carefully.
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But all too soon I had to return to my digs, close my suitcase and make my way to Union Station to catch the 4-hour train journey across Ontario to Windsor. On the other side of the river from Windsor is the US city, Detroit.
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But I did have time to take a quick pick in the street looking towards the old Toronto City Hall and I was lucky enough to pass a theatre showing the musical 42nd Street.
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The entrance hall of Union Station is nothing short of magnificent and the station is the second-busiest station in North America after New Yorks' Penn Station.
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It was built in 1858 and has been 'revitalised' many times since.
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After getting 'lost' several times, I eventually made it onto the train to begin my adventure.
What a wonderful journey it turned out be with quite a few surprises along the way.
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Firstly, I had no idea that there would be so many mature rivers across Ontario. We know about the Great Lakes and Lake Ontario where Toronto is located.
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One of the major stops was a place called London. Yes, I know. And the river is called The Thames. But there was also: Aldershot, New Durham, Oxford, Mayfair, Thamesville and my final destination, Windsor. I felt like I was in England. The two sleeping beauties sitting opposite me were Spanish-speaking and they made lengthy prayers as the train left Toronto (at least 30 mins!)
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And in Windsor, I was met by the Van Der Merwe's - my niece Kelly, husband Jacques, daughter Zoe and baby, Colson (hidden in the pram).