The temperature has dropped quite a bit, going from 82 on Thursday to 70 on Friday and the high today is predicted to be 60, so definitely heading into fall weather. As I walked around the neighborhood I’m staying in I realized that many of the large houses are actually duplexes, and often have completely different facades on each side!
I found a great coffee shop around the corner from where I’m staying, it also serves as the local bulk buying/reuse store where you can buy detergent, shampoo, liquid soap and more to take away in your own containers. It is strange to be back to hearing English all the time and that being the default language in cafés and stores.
I took the ‘GO’ train to downtown Toronto, which I found was faster and easier than the subway, worth the extra 65c it cost. I saw lots of hockey artwork as well as other sculptures and an adorable dog in a rainbow sweater.
As it was sunny this morning I decided to take the ferry to the Toronto Islands. It’s a short (and chilly!) ride with spectacular views of the Toronto skyline – CN Tower definitely stands out! Because it was fall not much was open on the islands, but it was a beautiful place to explore – lovely lagoons, deserted beaches, the oldest lighthouse in Canada and a hedge maze!
I after my time on the islands, I went to check out Graffiti Alley, stopping on my way to have a late brunch at the Peter Pan bistro where I got pancakes with fresh blueberries, and an espresso martini, Yum Yum. Graffiti Alley had some incredible artwork, and I even saw a couple of artists in action.
After spending the last two weeks putting in a lot of mileage on my feet (I’ve been averaging more than 20,000 steps a day), I was ready to get back to my Airbnb to rest and get repacked for my 4 day train trip. I won’t have internet or cellphone access on the train so I’ll have to wait to post about it when I get home. I finished the day watching a few episodes of the latest season of Lupin on Netflix (highly recommended!)
