Toronto, Ontario

This was one of my favourite trips that I went on in 2023!

My family’s biggest highlight was, of course, the three Blue Jays games we went to while we were there. And two of those had giveaways so we stood in line for three to four hours, TWICE! It was well worth it though! We were also lucky enough to watch Jose Bautista be bestowed the Level of Excellence. It was a beautiful ceremony and we were so excited to see the newly renovated Rogers Centre. Though we didn’t win the series, it was a privilege to be there in the beautiful Jays community.

Now I do love the Blue Jays but oh boy was I excited to go to Ripley’s Aquarium! Living in a landlocked province, but being in love with the ocean, is a constant struggle I have. If I have a chance to learn about ocean conservation while looking at insanely cool creatures, I’ll take it! The aquarium was gorgeous, a beautiful building with a surprising amount of space. I saw my first Rainbow Mantis Shrimp, a larger cuttlefish, which I was thrilled about, and a moving walkway underneath a huge tank where the fish can swim above you! It was amazing, I was in so much awe about it. And I saw Schoona again, who was the Green Sea Turtle that used to live in the Vancouver Aquarium. I used to visit her a lot so it was great to see she was doing well!

We got up to a few other quick things on our trip like the Stranger Things Experience, which they did such a good job with, and a visit to Port Credit to look at the beautiful landscape, stop in a few shops, and eat some delicious ice cream. We also went to the Museum of Illusions which was a lot of fun! We usually take advantage of public transit and walking on our trips, and what did we run into on our way to the Museum but the infamous dog fountain! I’ve seen many videos about Berczy Park Dog Fountain and I was ecstatic that we just happened upon it. We took a few pictures but ultimately had to keep trucking along.

A few other highlights were the Square One Shopping Centre, Kariya Park to watch the adorable ducks, and a walk down Graffiti Alley. There was a lot of amazing art and I especially loved it when I saw an art piece with a camera or video camera! We also got a good look at the mural of Jose Bautista; it was breathtaking. It’s pretty close to Graffiti Alley so you can hit both! Paul Glyn-Williams did such a great job!

I’ll be thinking about our Toronto trip for years to come, until the next time we can fly out and fall in love all over again!