Hello from Toronto (2) - Exploring Toronto's Waterfront by
Bicycle and Checking Out the CN Tower
Since my European visitors are quite sporty I figured that
renting a bicycle would be the perfect way of exploring the
city. So to join them on their first guided bicycle tour I
grabbed my bike and the 5 of us headed off to the subway station
to go to Bicycle Solutions near Parliament and Carlton Streets.
Getting outfitted with a bike didn't take long and the cost was
pretty reasonable at $70.00 for a whole week. Now all 5 of us
had a bicycle.
Our tour began in Cabbagetown, one of Toronto's historic
districts. We first explored Riverdale Farm which is composed of
a historic farm house, a number of stables and several corrals
holding a variety of farm animals. This miniature zoo allows
city kids to get to know farm animals up close. We then headed
to the entrance of Toronto's Necropolis. Established in 1850,
the Toronto Necropolis is one of Toronto's oldest and most
historic cemeteries. Its picturesque location, collection of
sculpture and Victorian buildings also make it one of the most
beautiful cemeteries in the city.
Riding through the gritty Regent Park neighbourhood on
Parliament we made a left to head over to the Distillery
District - Toronto's newest entertainment district. Founded in
1832 by brothers-in-law William Gooderham and James Worts, the
Gooderham and Worts Distillery eventually became the largest
distillery in the British Empire. Set on 13 acres in downtown
Toronto, the forty plus buildings constitute the largest and
best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture
in North America.
The Distillery is now a pedestrian-only village entirely
dedicated to arts, culture and entertainment. Internationally
acclaimed galleries, artists' studios and workshops,
restaurants, bars and cafes, as well as live music, all form
part of this new landmark cultural centre. In addition to the
history, arts and culture, The Distillery has been the location
for over 800 film and television productions in the past decade,
including Chicago, X-Men, Against The Ropes and The Hurricane,
making The Distillery District the most popular film location in
Canada.
Of course we had to stop at the Mill Street Brewery, one of
Toronto's fine micro-breweries. My Austrian visitors are great
beer lovers and I have been working on giving them a wide
variety of samples of Canadian beers, and we added the Mill
Street brand to our tasting tour.
>From the Distillery District we headed south to Lakeshore
Boulevard where we cycled west past Harbourfront, an area that
holds high-priced condos right next to the waterfront, where
highlights include speciality shops at Queens Quay Terminal,
art, theatre and cultural facilities at Harbourfront Centre and
a terrific lakeside walking trail. Cruises of the harbour and
ferry services run from here.
Our bike tour continued west by the water on the Martin Goodman
Trail, past Ontario Place and the CNE - Canadian National
Exhibition, which was in full swing with its rides and amusement
activities. We enjoyed the lake-front ride and were fascinated
by the Toronto Hippo Bus that was cruising on the water inside a
harbour basin.
Our turnaround point for the tour came at Sunnyside Pavillion, a
historic bathing pavillion dating back to a time when the
lakeshore was home to a large amusement park. We sat down and
had some refreshing drinks right next to a sandy beach on Lake
Ontario. Rejuvenated we started our ride back and stopped off at
a hot dog stand just outside the Princess Gates of the Canadian
National Exhition Grounds. My European visitors were fascinated
by the hot dog stands, particularly about the fact that you
could scoop all sorts of salads and condiments like sauerkraut,
hot peppers and even corn onto the sausages, and we simply had
to stop and sample some road-side cuisine.
After heading back through Harbourfront we took the ferry over
to Hanlan's Point with our bicycles and started exploring the
Toronto Islands on two wheels. We were all astounded by the
serenity of the surroundings, truly an oasis of green right in
front of busy downtown Toronto. We cycled all the way from the
west to the east side where we had another fabulous view of the
cityscape from an old abandoned pier.
Of course all this working out would necessitate a little
refreshment break and we cycled over to Centre Island where
there is a restaurant next to the ferry dock, unfortunately it
was closed. So we cycled back to the Centerville amusement park
area where there was a beautiful restaurant with a gorgeous
outdoor patio right next to a tranquil waterway and we had a
well-deserved rest., admiring the huge white geese that came up
to us to request some food.
After taking the ferry back to the mainland we followed the
Martin Goodman Trail east along the Eastern Beaches and had a
peak at Ashbridges Bay and the little peninsula right next to
it, one of the most scenic and tranquil spots in Toronto. We
then headed home on the trail past the Kew Gardens Tennis Club,
the hockey/ lacrosse arena and the lawnbowling facilities and my
European guests commented on how surprised they were that so
much of Toronto's waterfront is publicly accessible and not
fenced off as private property as is the case with so many
European waterfront locations.
A gourmet dinner capped off a beautiful day of exploration,
allowing us to rest up for the next day to explore the CN Tower,
just in time before the remnants of Hurricane Katrina were
scheduled to come into town. On Tuesday I joined my guests only
for a half day since I had to do some work in the afternoon and
we took the subway in to explore the CN Tower. There were
absolutely no lineups on Tuesday, which was great, since the
Sunday before we had noticed hundreds of people lining up to get
up the famous tower.
We enjoyed the quick 58 second elevator ride that whisked us up
to the restaurant level and we started to take in the panorama.
Toronto's most famous, most visible landmark, the CN Tower is
the world's tallest building. Built in 1976, the tower measures
553 metres in height. From its Look Out Level it offers a
stunning view of the city, especially at sunset. Daring visitors
can test their courage by taking a walk across the Glass Floor
113 stories above the ground, or travel higher up the tower to
the Sky Pod, another 33 storeys above ground.
We only went as far as the Look Out area and went one level down
to experience the Glass Floor. I stepped on the Glass Floor very
very briefly, the feeling of standing on a clear surface 113
floors above ground level was just a little too much and made me
a little squeamish. All of us really enjoyed the view from the
tower, even though it was a little hazy, but it really gave us a
great overview of the city. What amazed my visitors was that
Toronto looks so amazingly green from above, and they had
commented several times how unusual it is to see such a huge
metropolis that has so many green zones, parks and ravines,
something that definitely enhances the quality of life in
Toronto.
After having taking in the city, we zipped back down in the
glass-enclosed elevators and took a walk over to the Steam
Whistle Brewery, located at the former John St. Roundhouse, a
Canadian Pacific Rail steam locomotive repair facility that was
built in 1929. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the facility
to open and admired the beautifully renovated industrial
architecture. Once inside we got a free taste of Toronto's
premium pilsner. I am not a beer drinker myself, so I quenched
my hunger with a fresh pretzel, while my Austrian visitors
savoured their samples.
After the visit to the brewery I had to head back to my office,
but my visitors continued with a visit to the St. Lawrence
Market and a brief stop at the Eaton Centre. When they arrived
back at our place, I could tell they had spent another great day
exploring Toronto.