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So after saying goodbye firstly to Mum & Dad (who were speeding (!) away to Quebec) and then to Lillian & David at the train station this was it - I was on my own & heading for Toronto- well for 24 hours anyway!
Once I arrived at Union Station I became a proper tourist by picking up my free map and booking on a hop on, hop off bus tour to see the city. This gave me the chance to learn some very interesting facts about Toronto
-It is a very Green City - there is one tree for every resident (not sure about Tourists)
-If you live in Forest Hill you must have a tree on your property
-You are not allowed to build buildings out of wood (there have been several fires) -There is only one wooden building left -it is now a Starbucks
-If the building was built after 1940 you are not allowed to change the exterior - you therefore have a house that looks like a Tram
-The lake depth near the city was originally only about 3m but by digging a lot of it up and placing it on the edge the city was "extended", Toronto Island was built and a harbour deep enough for boats could also be created. This is why Front Street is 3/4 blocks from the waterfront!
Whilst in Toronto I also got a Bird's eye view of the City by going up the CN (Canadian National) Tower. This was originally built to be used as a radio mast for communications between the trains, however is mostly obsolete now due to satellites. When built it was the tallest building in the world, however it is now only the tallest tower as a Skyscraper has been built in Dubai. You can have great views as far as Niagara Falls however it was too hazy the day I was there. There are several points of observation for the tower - the main platform (top of the donut structure you can see), the outside platform - the middle of the donut and the glass floor platform - you've guessed it the bottom of the platform! I also went to the Skytower - another viewing platform higher up! I got great views from all platforms!
After this I decided to take a walk through China town to get some dinner on my way to the hostel. I found a very nice Vietnamese Restaurant and sat down with a pot of tea to peruse the menu - only to be not impressed with the lack of alcohol on the menu! After a very nice meal I decided I needed a treat so thought I would stop for Ice Cream - however found non on the way back to the hostel so went to bed very disgruntled!
The next morningI was up early to see the rest of the City and make my way to Toronto Island. After some great views of Casa Loma (a place built by a wealthy business who went bankrupt when the state took control of the utilities!) I ended up at the harbour waiting for my boat. To my great joy there was an ice cream shop so I got to sample some moose tracks.
I then went out to Toronto Island to enjoy the great views of the city. I got an hour on the island to walk around some of it - unfortunately I didn't have time to go and see some of the great properties on the island. I spent most of my time in Franklin Garden - created in memory of the Children's Author Franklin (a bit like Beatrix Potter), which features a lot of the animals used in the stories.
Once back on the main land it was time to get my train back out to meet up with Jennifer and Ron. At the station I spotted a Dairy Queen - apparently it's a must - so that was Ice Cream no 2 of the day! I was however unaware thatJennifer & Ron planned to take me out for pizza followed by more Ice Cream. Oh well I'm on holiday right? And I'm a Campion? And I'm still inside Matt's daily limit? And I missed out yesterday?OK It's inexcusable and it won't happen again! (As I write this 10 days later I have only had 3 during that time!!!!)
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