Our day started with a walk to Yonge and Wellesley Street where we got on our bus for a tour of the city!
But this was no ordinary bus! It was a bus that came all the way from England ... so yes, the steering wheel was on the wrong side but even better... it was a DOUBLE DECKER! We all sat in one big clump on the top of course!
We had a tour guy on the bus named Andy who talked about all of the sites in the city that we drove by. Some of the highlights were:
1. The CN tower! It was the tallest freestanding building in the world until a few years ago when a tower that is 800 metres high was built in Dubai. There is an edgewalk that they recently added where you get a harness and a special safety suit and you can walk around the outside platform of the CN tower! It sounds scary, but I think I might try it some day! One rule to follow though, I hate to tell you this because you might be very disappointed but... you can't bring your swords on the edgewalk. Sorry, guys. No swords allowed.
2. Casa Loma. It is a HUGE castle right in the city of Toronto! It was designed by two best friends (aka besties!) who went on a trip to Europe together because they wanted to find ideas to build their special castles. They saw two different types of buildings there and since they were best friends they both thought that they could just convince each other to do what the other wanted to build BUT they couldn't! They couldn't decide! So they compromised and combined both kinds of designs so now Casa Loma has two types of architecture and it's called a franken-castle! :D
The man who lived in Casa Loma was named Sir Henry. He had a secret passage way behind a fireplace that they named after him. He also was very, very unlucky (or very evil!) . He had a wife, his wife died. He had a son, his son ran away. He married again, his second wife died. So did his third wife. Then, people felt like he was getting to rich and needed to be stopped so they took his company away from him and didn't give him any money for it. He ended up in debt to the bank for millions of dollars. People were deciding what to do with Casa Loma. Some people wanted to tear it down and some people wanted it preserved. They have now turned into a visitor centre. There's a guest book in the castle and the very first person to sign the book was ..... SIR HENRY!
3. After our quick stop at Casa Loma, we got on a new bus and toured the city some more. We drove through an area that Torontonians affectionately call the Gaybourhood. It's an area where many gay people have settled. I think it's neat that we are now living in a time when people can live pretty freely and are accepted for who they are.
4. We saw the Church where Elton John was married.
5. We saw the Hippie district where Gordon Lightfoot used to play music.
6. We saw Queen's Park. It looks different from the top of a double decker bus!
7. We saw the University of Toronto buildings. Some of them are really pretty!
8. We saw a very cool subway stop in the district where the University residences are and it looks like a house! You go inside the house and go down the stairs to catch the subway! It's really cool!
9. This one is BIG. BIG BIG BIG BIG! Hello! THERE IS A SHOE MUSEUM HERE!!!!!!! A museum. Full of shoes! FULL. OF. SHOOOOOEEEESSSSS!!!! Do you know how much I like shoes? The shoe museum has 5,000 year old egyptian sandals, chinesse binding shoes, marilyn Monroes' red pumps, Justin Beiber's purple high tops and one of Shaquile O'Neil's size bajillion basketball shoes! My theory about why they only have one of his shoes? The other one wouldn't fit in the case! Shaq has GIANT FEET! I think the Bata Shoe Museum is a must-see while I'm here! Then maybe some shoe shopping...... .:D
Oh, the only ever successful theft there was by two guys who stole an Indian prince's ruby shoes with diamonds on them. They were proud of what they had done so they took pictures of themselves wearing the shoes and took the pictures to a photo printing place to have them printed. The man at the print shop recognized the shoes and called the police! Not the smartest criminals! :D
10. An archway at a hotel that holds a couch where people can sit. In the winter time, the couch is heated!
After our bus tour, we went to the Harbourfront to catch a boat tour! We all climbed aboard and toured around the Toronto Islands.
1. Did you know that you get a $10,000 fine and a night in jail if you jump off a boat into the harbour!
2. On one of the islands there are two beaches. You have to be really careful about reading the signs when you're there .... one of them says "CLOTHING OPTIONAL" :D Yikes!
3. Another island you aren't allowed to go on because it is a bird sanctuary and a place for anything that migrates to stop and have a break on their long journey south. In the water around the island I saw 28 swans! They were beautiful! There was a sign by the shore that says "make no wake" so that boats won't make waves to disturb the birds. There were also a TON of ducks and geese in the water.
The boat ride was VERY cold. It wasn't very warm out today!
When we were out on the water, it was hard to believe that we were in Toronto. It was so pretty and full of nature! I liked it!
By the time we got back I was so tired because we had had such an energetic day making new friendships and seeing the city together! It was AWESOME! Can't wait for next Friday!
---PeyThePEYge
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