Traveling Toronto

This has been a day filled with firsts for the two of us.  We knew that there was a lot that we wanted to cram into one day of sightseeing.  We checked several websites and printed articles before deciding on the plan of attack for the day.  We bought two day passes on Toronto's transit system.  These passes gave us unlimited access to the subway and streetcars.  It worked beautifully.  Even with the subway and streetcar hauling us around, we walked a long ways today.  

Our day started at the St. Patrick's subway station.  Our first destination was Casa Loma.  Rather than try and give you all the history behind this beautiful castle, I'm going to give you the minimal version:  The former home of Canadian financier Sir Henry Pellatt, Canada's foremost castle is complete with decorated suites, secret passages, an 800-foot tunnel, towers, stables, and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens.  Self-guide multimedia tours are available.  Dave was not real sure that this was going to be something that he wanted to do.  (We hated our tour of Graceland when we were in Memphis.)  This place really changed his mind.  Not only was it incredibly beautiful, but the self-guided multimedia tour was outstanding.  The grounds were immaculate with beautiful flowers, a gazebo, and fountains.  My favorite spot in the house was the conservatory.  Dave's was Mary Pellatt's suite.  The most memorable part was climbing to the top of the Scottish tower.  We climbed up very narrow, steep and winding metal steps and ended up climbing up wooden stairs that were wider and didn't wind about.  It was spectacular and I am so glad that we did it.

Norman Tower at Casa Loma

Scottish Tower at Casa Loma

The Conservatory at Casa Loma

Kathi near the top of the Scottish  Tower

Cool seating at one of the restaurants in the Distillery District

One of the Distillery buildings housing 

studios, shops and restaurants.

We spent several hours at Casa Loma and it was time to make some decisions about how we were going to spend the rest of the day.  We opted to skip the tour of the Parliament building and surrounding gardens and instead head to the historic Distillery District.  This required another subway trip and a ride on the streetcar.  This is located very close to the Financial District.  (We rode past that on the streetcar.)  The Distillery District, according to what we read, is recognized as the largest and best-preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America.  It allows only foot traffic.  Although you could rent a Segway.  They even gave lessons!  We walked on beautiful brick streets and through great boutiques and shops and art galleries.  We ate lunch at the Mill Street Brewery.  The food was top-notch and Dave gave the beer thumbs up! 

One of the things that really caught our eye is the Sculpture Park.  We took some pictures so we could share it with you.


This is called Koilos.  It's a 14-ft tall sculpture constructed of hand cut sheet metal.  He sculptor, Michael Christian states that Koilos sits with its legs ready to move, pounce or play.  It was very cool!

This one is called It.  It rises 40-ft and is constructed of 12,000 pounds of steel.  It was inspired by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds.

This one is called Still Dancing.  It is 36 ft tall and is constructed of aluminum, steel and structural case resins.  It was designed by Dennis Oppenheim.

   

This last one was one we wished we had seen at night.  It is called Nightlights, but was originally called Successful House Plants.  These 3 metal 18 ft sculptures come alive at night offering a wide array of intense color.  These were also created by Michael Christian, the artist that did Koilos.

After we finished exploring the Distillery District it was time to head to the CN Tower.  This required another trip on the subway and then a brisk walk to arrive at our destination.  This thing stands 1,815.4 ft tall.  It was completed in 1976 and was for the next 34 years the world's tallest free-standing structure and the world's tallest tower.  The word "CN" originally referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower.  In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Not my picture. I left my luxury yacht at home. DL

We paid our fee, and started by riding a glass elevator to the top.  The floor of the elevator had several glass panels so that you could look down and see where you had been!  We exited the elevator and walked around a glassed in observation area where you had a 360º view of Toronto.  In fact, on a clear day, they say that you can see Niagara Falls.  We couldn't today.  You are even able to walk outside the tower.  This was really great.  Talk about windy!  It felt good though, because the inside of the tower was horribly hot.  We walked around and then came back inside and went to what is called the "glass floor."  I loved this.  Dave found it scary.  You walk out onto a glass floor and look all the way down to the bottom.  We both did this.  I did it twice so that I could take a couple of pictures.  The first one I included my feet, so you could get a better perspective of what was going on.  The second one you can see without the pleasure of my feet!

After all of this, we hiked back to the subway and then hopped aboard and traveled back to Dundas Square.  Then it was a short walk back to our hotel.  We stopped at the convenience store across the street to pick up a big jug of water for me and a couple of cans of diet ginger ale for Dave.  We stopped down to check on our car.  (Did I tell you that it costs $23 a night to park?  It's also the only option, so it was well worth it.)  The convertible was still sitting safely 3 levels below ground.  We deposited our jackets, grabbed some gorp for Dave, and headed back to our room.  We're done for the day.  Tomorrow morning we leave for Montreal.