I have always been a little uncomfortable on the transit system in Toronto. I don't know why. I'm more comfortable on the Paris Metro and buses or London's or Barcelona's for that matter. I think it is because I am not a tourist in Toronto and should know my way around. After all it's all in English and I have a general sense of the layout of the city. Anyway I decided to try and treat Toronto as if I was a tourist when Chris asked me to come into Toronto and check out wedding venues. I opted not to drive due to the anticipated PanAm Games traffic.
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I drove to Aldershot and took the Go Train in to Exhibition. Chris met me there. |
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Next it was a streetcar to the waterfront. |
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This woman's job is to use the metal bar to change the switch on the track depending on which route the streetcar is taking. Seems a little antiquated. |
We ate on the waterfront and stopped in at a couple of the hotels to get information about group rates.
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Along the way I was a tourist, taking pictures of the animal sculptures outside Paws Place which Chris described as an "events facility for pets". |
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Next stop the ferry terminal with it's memorial to Jack Layton. |
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A fluffy puppy waiting patiently for the ferry. |
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Like Chris, I'm a sucker for the skyline. |
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From the ferry dock we walked out of the crowds and through the residential area of Algonquin Island, to the the Algonquin Island Clubhouse. |
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Chris was right. The view was impressive. |
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Across Wards Island for a glass of wine and shared chocolate mint truffle cake at a lovely patio |
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and then back on the ferry. |
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One of the things we like to do when I'm in the city as get a mani-pedi. This entailed another streetcar (this one was one of the new ones), the subway and a bus. We were pretty late by this time so Chris found a CAR2GO near the salon and drove me down to my Go station in a little Smart Car. |
So there you have it, my day in transportation: Car, Go Train, Streetcar, Ferry, Streetcar, Subway, Bus, CAR2GO, Go Train. Car. - Whew.
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The evidence of the PanAm Games was everywhere, not just in the decorated ferry, but I rode the Go Train with a volunteer and heard about her experiences, the blue and orange signs were everywhere and there were also extra information people at the stations and near the venues. |
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It was a good job all that help was there because I still found the signage in the stations and terminals to be minimal and confusing. The automatic ticket machine wouldn't accept my credit card so I had to walk quite a way to get a person in the ticket office. Luckily Chris had bought me a day pass so I just had to show that, after I met up with her, but she had her monthly pass on her phone and the turnstiles don't accept that yet (again, she had to find a person to show it to) |
Fun day anyway. I got a better sense of some of the plans Chris and Jason have for their wedding and Toronto has lots for a tourist to see.