Road Trip To Cananda ~

Since the country of Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary, my friend and I decided to take a road trip there last weekend. Being in such close proximity to Canada, I had to make the journey. I’ve wanted to do this for the longest, and I was happy my friend Nell joined me.

The drive there was around seven hours from New Jersey. It wasn’t a bad drive at all with leaving the house at 4 am.  We finally crossed the Rainbow bridge around 11 am into the Canadian Province of Ontario where we stayed at an Airbnb in Niagara Falls for one day and Toronto for two more days. It was my first experience with Airbnb, and let me tell you; I have a love and hate relationship with it. It’s not for everyone! I would stay at one again, but it has to have certain things for my consideration, for example, my own bathroom! Besides that and amongst other things, overall, both of the Airbnbs were fine.

Niagara Falls and Toronto were so clean and beautiful. I was astounded by how clean the streets were! I hardly saw any trash or anything on the ground. It was crazy. Our trip was short, and it rained our first day in Toronto, but it was still fun. I would make the trip again in a heartbeat!

I have listed some travel tips and provided some amazing pictures of each place below. Also a video as always. Enjoy!

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Driving into Canada

Have passport ready. Once you cross the border, there is a money exchange place on the right. I recommend you exchange some currency. There are some places if you pay with American dollars, they will give you Canadian money as your change which is less compared to the American dollar.

Also, cellular service was obsolete for us, in which I was confused being so close to the US. We relied mostly on wifi and did an old school route by taking pictures of our map to use while driving and asked people for directions.

Niagara Falls

Here are few things you can do while in Niagara.

• Of course, view the falls and take pictures.
• Some boats can take you very close, and there are day and night cruises. Our tickets cost us around $30 (Canadian dollars) each for the daytime one. Warning: you will get wet, but they provide ponchos. If you do purchase a ticket for the cruise, it gets you a discount on other attractions.
• You can do zip lining by the falls as well.
• Plenty of places to eat. There is a tourist strip where you are sure to find something. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe.
• There are casinos too if you feel like gambling.
• At night, the falls are lit with different colors and there are fireworks at 10 pm. We only got to see two because of a malfunction problem.

 

Something else you should know, there is Niagara On Lake, if you are looking to get away from the touristy areas, and have a more laid back, fancier vibe. NOL has restaurants, wine tours, and a romantic lake to walk along in the area. Go between the hours of 6 to 9 pm. You’ll thank me later! 

Miriam and Brent (don’t know if it’s the correct spelling) who I met. They let me take this wonderful photo of them! 

TORONTO

Toronto, being the capital of Ontario, has a lot to do and this is just some of the things we did I have listed for you! Again, it rained on our first day but, we still made the best of it.

• Check out the City Hall. That is where you will find the Toronto sign in my picture below.
• Grab a bite to eat in the downtown area. We stop at a place called “Ginger,” a Vietnamese restaurant, on Yonge Street. My friend had grilled chicken with steamed rice and I had a hot and sour Pho soup. Excuse the picture of my soup. I already mixed mines with added spices. Ha, ha! They also sell the world’s largest bowl of Pho!
• If you like shopping, go to the Eaton Centre. It’s a mall full of stores.
• You can do a boat ride to view the city and the Toronto Islands. We paid $18 each for a ticket with Habour Cruises, but I believe there is a ferry for cheaper that takes you straight to the islands to walk around.
• Take a stroll in the Kensington Market, where I met my new Jamaican friend, Bushman, who was so kind and showed me all the cool art around his store. I love the picture we took together. There is also a Chinatown to explore.
• Royal Ontario Museum if you are into art.
• Catch a game, if one of their sports teams are playing.
• You can’t leave Toronto without checking out the iconic CN Tower! You are forbidden to leave if you haven’t! Ha, ha! My friend Nell didn’t want to go up with me because of her fear of heights, so I went alone. I paid close to $40 (Canadian dollars), a few extra dollars more for a fast track to the top. With a regular price ticket, you have to wait in line up to an hour and a half to go up compared to thirty minutes that I paid for. Once in the tower, it takes 58 seconds in the elevator to the top to witness the incredible view of the city of Toronto. It was marvelous! I will never forget when I stepped on to the glass floor staring 1,112 feet down to the ground. I still can’t believe I did it. The many children casually laying on it inspired me!