My girlfriends and I tried planning a trip for years now and we finally made it out of the group chat! We took a quick trip out to Toronto a couple weeks ago and basically jam packed the two days we had together. This trip couldn't have come at a better time despite the reality of what each of us were going through back home.
I wanted to share a few things we did out there since the last time my sister and I visited back in 2018. I'm honestly so happy that this time around we were able to go with the rest of our girlfriends and I don't know why this happens but my sis seems to go to T.O during her breakup season so I mean, perfect timing, right? Lol.
I don't know what it is with going to TNT Supermarket but holy shit did we spend TIME in there. I swear, finding the best deals on instant ramen and pre-made onigiris is Charlie's favorite past-time. It was our first official stop after getting coffee at this Italian Esspresso Cafe (mid coffee I might add) that was just a ten minute walk from our airbnb.
Other than stocking our fridge up with food that could have easily fed us for the whole week, we also did some shopping. We don't have any fun retail stores in Winnipeg so being excited about going to Square One was just natural for us. Our Uber driver made a joke that Square One is so mediocre and he found it suprising that we had nothing else in mind. But, c'mon - You can't go wrong with their food district. Fresh sushi in the mall? Why not!
Let's just say that the first day was full of asian fusion and that all we wanted the next day was a classic B-R-U-N-C-H. So we tried out this place called Pur & Simple. I always recommend adding yourself to the waitlist online so that you can make it to the restaurant just in time for your table to be ready. We got seated pretty quickly but the overall service wasn't all that great. It seemed that they lacked servers so we tried our best to be nice considering that. But seriously - Who would wait up to 30 minutes for their bill? I am surprised we didn't just get up and leave at that point! The food was good though, I'll give them that.
We decided to take an Uber to downtown Toronto and wow - was that a mistake. I think we learned our lesson with not renting a car for the weekend and expecting Uber to be cheaper because clearly it wasn't. Uber is definitely an option if you're staying in one area. So for those deciding to save money staying at a bnb out of Toronto but plan to visit other areas, I say to just rent a damn car. Walking accessibility in areas that are out of downtown seem scarce as well. It's definitely a city where you have to drive from place to place.
We also got to check out The Museum of Illusions which was not what we were expecting and defintely not worth the price to check out. But it was something new that we wanted to experience. If I could give them any suggestions it would definitely be to reduce the timeframes and amount of groups that can go in at once. We couldn't take any pictures without someone getting in the way or feeling flustered to take a quick shot because someone else was waiting. Nonetheless, we got a couple of good photos and got the heck out of there.
One thing that I really enjoyed about this trip was that we were all down to do really anything. So we didn't have any actual set plans and sort of just went with the flow. After checking out the museum, we decided to do some walking, found this huge Toronto Market that had a lot of cheese, a lot of fresh produce, and a lot baked goods.
We walked towards the Eaton Centre, saw what we thought was a maple tree but wasn't, and checked out this place called Octo Zone which is a Claw Arcade off of Yonge Street. We walked by it and thought why not check it out - We spent our chump change and left.
I also went into my first ever adult store... At the age of 32 and boy was that fun to see, lol.
We made it towards the TORONTO sign, took a couple photos and by that time we were hungry so we took an hour Uber back into Mississauga where I finally got to try the infamous Kinton Ramen that my sister rages about.
Other than their fire alarm going off every 5 minutes notifying us that there was a fire in close vacinity (which obviously increased my anxiety level to an all time high), the food was actually decent with a handful of Vegetarian options. The restaurant had a quaint space with what seems like a fast turnover rate due to their quick and efficient service (you can't go wrong with that!).
I love Ramen, and I'm sure those that know me personally is well aware of that, so I do highly recommend this place and I would definitely go back!
We decided to spend our last night at a Kareoke bar called High Zone. From what we hear from the locals, it is one of the popular kareoke places in Mississauga. It was so fun to just sit, sing, and drink our hearts out. We haven't actually gone out to sing Karoke as a group so this one was a memorable one, and yes, if you are wondering - I did in fact. Cry.
As always, the trip came and went and now we're back to reality and routine. I mentioned in the beginning that each of us were going through some adveristy before landing in Ontario. So here I go again using this platform to express how freaking grateful I am to be supported by these 4 wonderul people. I urge those of you to keep your circle small and to give your energy only to those that spark it and nothing else. Being myself when I'm around them and being able to have those deep conversations are important; even more than I thought at my age. We've gained new friends, we've started new careers, we've stressed on our jobs, we've grieved, we've been in and out of relationships, and we've sufferred. There's so much that can happen and yet having the opportunity to take time off, even for a weekend, to reflect on those hardships with people that are there to listen and to give advice when it's needed is - I think - extremely important. So take those trips and make those memories, life is short. Get your group out of the group chat!
I hope those of you that are reading this can try out the suggestions I provided within this post! And for those in my personal circle, here are a few more photos to share! Enjoy!
Until next time,
Jree.
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