Beautiful Casa Loma, always a sight for sore eyes |
Entrance to the Distillery |
I was reminded of this when one tour guide, in an effort to boast about the high tolerance Canadians have to integration, (no doubt in an effort to tactfully criticize their neighbor which seems to be vocally intolerant of immigrants of color these days) declared that Mandarin is the most widely spoken language after English. He even reinforced this by asking passengers beforehand what they thought the answer was and most had correctly shouted French, but he said this was not so.
One of the man-made lakes on Centre Island |
Until recently too, I have always had 100% satisfaction from these tours, however, unfortunately, on my recent trip to Toronto, a badly trained guide marred their reputation somewhat.
I had told her I wished to get off at the Distillery to which she replied, "That's stop 16."
Royal Ontario Museum |
Shortly after, I heard an announcement; "We are at stop 17."
When I went to her, would you believe she never apologized for not stopping where I wished to get off until I raised my voice in disgust?
View from the scenic Scarborough Bluff |
Stupidly I took her advice but after walking a few blocks and seeing no sign of a distillery, went back to another hop on hop off stop. When the next bus arrived, I asked for the distillery and was informed it was stop 20!
(For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the Distillery, this is an interesting 19th-century district close to the famous St. Lawrence Market, which has been beautifully restored and boasts attractively restored buildings, excellent restaurants, galleries, bakeries etc.)
Lots for kids to do on Centre Island |
Anyway, after doubling back to the comprehensive tour on the bus and visiting attractions of interest to me, I returned to a place which brought back amusing memories, Centre Island and the harbor downtown on the large Lake Ontario.
I love water so much that I think I was a fish or mermaid in my past life.
Centre Island is one of the cays in the Toronto Island Park. These are around fifteen minutes away by boat from the Harbor Front. The ferries also run approximately every 15 minutes from the pier.
One of the reliable ferries |
These luxuriant cays which play an important role in bird life and preserving a healthy environment in general for Canadians, include Centre Island which is joined by a bridge to Ward island and is near to Hanlan island which has residences and an airport.
Pier at Centre Island |
Centre Island remains today a favorite among families as it has numerous rides for kids and remains a peaceful, clean, scenic place to visit.
Despite the modernization of the Victorian Toronto which I knew, I was still shocked to discover that on Ward island which has the best
beaches, clothes are now optional!
Yup, for me Toronto is now quite an attractive, interesting and fun place to visit, but only in the summer.
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