Taking on Toronto

This little trip over the border was the perfect change of scenery I’ve been seeking. Walking around a new city, trying amazing food, and exploring the nightlife scene was a great way to spend a crisp fall weekend. My boyfriend’s fraternity has been planning this “away-weekend” since mid-summer, so I have been anxiously anticipating this tiny vacation for quite some time now. All of our little adventures were most definitely worth that long, grueling bus ride.

We arrived at the Double Tree Hotel, where we were greeted by a smiling staff with warm chocolate chip cookies in hand. Luckily, we got to Toronto just in time to have a late dinner before going out on Friday night, as we were absolutely famished after a nearly six hour long bus ride. We decided to try out The Carbon Bar at 99 Queen Street. The restaurant had a really cool, relaxed vibe with great food and drink choices. I ordered savory duck tacos and treated myself to a Moscow Mule to celebrate being older than the legal drinking age in Canada. I sampled Kevin’s perfectly cooked ribs and don’t even get me started about their baked mac-and-cheese. After dinner, we headed to Cure Night Club where we met all of our friends. This club was a little overcrowded and loud but it was a really fun atmosphere, with bottle service girls walking around with pizzas and sparklers. The high energy of the place made for a really crazy night.

The next morning we had brunch at The Maple Leaf Tavern at 955 Gerrard Street. Everyone cheers’d with mimosas and dined over tasty breakfast classics. The restaurant was more upscale and had an open kitchen where you could look in to see the chefs preparing your meal. After breakfast, we went exploring the city. We walked around Queen Street, a main road lined with cool clothing stores. The girls checked out the Brandy Melville store and met the guys at the coolest little pop-up shop called “The Disruptors”. Samuel Adams was sponsoring the shop by promoting Canadian small businesses and giving out samples of fun, new beer flavors.

We made our way to Kensington Market, a hipster little neighborhood with a ton of bars, pastry shops, cafés, and neat little storefronts. I tried the sweetest authentic Belgium waffle smothered with chocolate and strawberries. We walked into little boutiques and up to stands with cool little trinkets. A group of us stopped into Trinity Common, a craft beer hall, for some drinks. The place was crowded with long wooden picnic benches and people gathering around to watch sports. We continued to walk into Little Italy, where we stopped at Bar Raval, which reminded me of a little hobbit hole. My friends and I enjoyed specialty beer, sweet cocktails, and flavorful tapas on their fun outdoor patio.

My favorite part of the trip was our romantic dinner at the CN Tower. Many of you may recognize this immense building from Drake’s album cover. At the top sits an incredible, rotating restaurant. You step out of a lengthly elevator ride to find a very upscale scene, complete with jaw-dropping views. We had three remarkable courses. Kevin and I both started our meals with a steaming bowl of creamy Lobster Bisque. For dinner, I ordered the Fogo Island Cod with heirloom tomatoes, french beans, sliced potatoes, and a caper vinaigrette that had me scraping the plate clean. Kevin had a tender Pan Roasted Duck Breast, over a white bean and sage purée, spinach, and mushrooms. My mouth is watering just writing this. Our meal was complete with a great bottle of wine, raspberry sorbet, and chocolate mousse. After dinner, we walked out onto the observation deck to take in the views that stretched for miles and miles.

Right from dinner, we met all of our friends at the coolest club I’ve ever seen, Rebel. Kevin’s fraternity really went all out for our last night in Canada. We were VIP and had the coolest section upstairs overlooking the dance floor. The entire place was enormous. The light display and music were crazy, reminiscent of those wild spring break clubs in Mexico. My friends and I had an amazing time at Rebel and it was the perfect way to cap off our Canadian getaway.

I am so happy I got to travel here with so many of my friends. Experiences like these remind me how lucky I am to have met such cool people at Penn State. I loved this quick trip across the border, one jam-packed with good food, great friends, and even better memories.