We didn’t really have any expectations or plans for Toronto. This could have meant disaster, as it’s a pretty big city (in hindsight we were totally unprepared and probably a quick Google wouldn’t have gone amiss)! Fortunately for us, my mate Stef back in Ottawa used to live here. So we were armed with a string of VERY useful WhatsApp messages when we arrived. Our first evening & first day were based entirely around this. ๐

For our first first full day we decided to head to High Park. I think the metro from our hostel would’ve taken about 10 minutes… but obviously we decided to walk.
(Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to wander round big cities & Etienne has definitely caught the bug… or at least pretends to, to keep me happy.)
We still didn’t have 4G but I’d picked up a map from the station, so we were all set. Lewis came with us as he wanted to see Tokyo Toronto. (Idk why but I keep calling Toronto Tokyo. ๐ฃ) Lewis thinks he helped us navigate, but it was mostly Etienne again really.
After our coffee, we headed further west along Bloor & down through the park. The NE corner was a bit gross & boggy. It smelled pretty bad. After that it was lovely though – we had a picnic under some trees (complete with a free ‘Fireball’ I’d got from Winterlude), meandered through the city farm & strolled around the pond.

Eventually, we made our way out & across a road to the shores of Lake Ontario. We wandered along and sat on the beach… Annoyingly I had to start work at 6pm, otherwise it would’ve been the perfect spot & day to watch the sunset.
(Deffo worth checking it out if you’re ever there. Well, that or the CN tower, as we’ve been told the sunset from there is pretty epic too – unfortunately my rota meant we never got to do this ourselves though!)
We headed to Roncesvalles Avenue*, with the hope of hitting up The Ace or The TukTuk Canteen, which had both been recommended to us. Unfortunately, The Ace isn’t open on Mondays & The TukTuk Canteen has now permanently closed. Instead we hopped in a nice looking bar (Round The Horn) where I worked my shift while munching some nachos and sipping (maybe a bit too much) cider. ๐ป
3 Hours later my shift finished & we headed off back home. (Walking again, of course) We stopped a McDonald’s for a cheeky top up snack and for some reason they gave us a free apple pie each. YAY! More freebies!!!! ๐
*Heads up on Roncesvalles Av. — the southern end isn’t great. There were roadworks at the main intersection & the first 500m was a lot of not-very-nice looking establishments. As you head north there’s some super cute boutiques & places to eat/drink though. (Just don’t come on a Monday!!!)


See the full Gallery
See the Map
Read more: Walking Tour of Toronto (Day 2)
Not sure if it’s a compliment that you’re so nice people give you freebies everywhere you go or if they think you need charity ๐
Hahaha not sure I even care which if it keeps happening! ๐