This trip was the first time my passport’s been stamped since I went to Italy in 2013. I did a ton of international travel growing up with my family, so while I’d love to do more traveling abroad as an adult, it really just hasn’t been something I’ve felt the need to prioritize financially for the first several years after graduating from college. Now, I can’t even do that if I wanted to with covid-19. I’ve been to Niagara Falls, but somehow, I’ve never been to Toronto. Actually, I know why I avoided the idea for a few years, but that’s a different blog post entirely.

Firstly, Toronto is a SUPER simple drive from Pittsburgh. Four hours, no nonsense, not windy or mountainous. The time went by in no time. In fact, I would say it was even enjoyable. I also have my very carefully curated Drake playlist to thank for that.

The only part of the drive that wasn’t enjoyable was once we got into downtown Toronto. Now, I have driven many places in my day, and I’m not an anxious driver. I lived in Massachusetts, which is notoriously the worst state for driving. I’ve driven through the New York City area multiple times, unfazed. Toronto was the worst driving I have ever witnessed, ever. I don’t know if it was just coincidental, but every time we got in the car to go somewhere, we came very close to being blatantly hit. So that was stressful.

The stress quickly melted away, though, when we went to check in to the Thompson Toronto. Two thumbs way up for the Thompson. Immediately, the friendly staff at the front desk were able to easily rattle off recommendations for dinner. Reasonable price on the US dollar, and great amenities, including a rooftop pool and separate rooftop bar area. The older I get, the less I am interested in partying in club-like atmospheres, but the Thompson Rooftop was awesome and actually fun. Not just me looking cute and forcing myself to withstand my surroundings, but a great time. The people were also extremely friendly, which I think is potentially just a Canadian thing. There were also other international, European travelers at the hotel–a sign that this place has a good reputation. I probably could have hung out at the Thompson the whole time, but we had exploring to do.

Our first point of exploration was Scarborough Bluffs. This place is hailed to be one of the most Insta-worthy spots in Toronto. In my opinion, it is not. It’s just a place where bloggers have edited their photos an extreme amount to make them look cool. Technically, you’re not allowed to climb the bluffs, so you can walk along the flat walkways through the park and along the beach that forms around Lake Toronto. I’m not sure if Canadians just aren’t used to water formations and think this place really IS the shit, or we were being punk’d. Or maybe everyone scales the bluffs (which seemed very extreme and dangerous)? I’m still looking for answers here.

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If you’re REALLY looking for visual content inside the city of Toronto, Graffiti Alley is your place. I’m sure it’s probably considered basic and touristy, but, I have used so many of these photos on social media. And, the graffiti changes on a regular basis, so you can grab some unique shots. The area around Graffiti Alley also had some cute bakeries, cafes and shops. I snagged myself one of those classic Toronto beanies with stripes and a tassel on top–still the favorite one I have.

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We found ourselves walking along Queen Street throughout Saturday afternoon. Plenty of name-brand shopping along Queen Street; we didn’t really stop in much, except for one store I was very keen on entering: NYX. Holy mother. Us Americans don’t have NYX brick-and-mortar stores. The products are only available in Ulta and CVS, and product is often limited. Apparently, the Canadians have way more products than we do, and different shades?! I walked away with a charcoal cleanser, a nifty, purple under-eye concealer, and some new shades of my favorite matte lip creme. None of which made a dent in my wallet–hurray!

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Sautrday night, we struggled a bit with where to eat for dinner. Again, from what I’ve seen from Toronto Instagram, Momofoku seems like one of those required stops to make, so we decided to go there. To prove to you how little research we did, we didn’t even realize milkbar was inside Momofoku until after we got there. Momofoku was fine, milkbar was fine, service was meh. Again, I think it’s more the status of being at Momofuku and less about the quality of dining. The milkbar cookies we took back to the hotel were good hangover treats for our blood sugar the next morning, but *lowers voice to a whisper* they weren’t anything to write home about. Next time I’m back in Toronto, though, I would find a more outstanding place for dinner.

We needed to find an after-dinner bar spot, so I was doing some searching on Yelp while in Momofoku. Again, notice the theme of us having absolutely no plan here. What was nearby, looked trendy and up our alleys? Enter: Coffee, Champagne, Oysters (COC).

Where do I begin here? At face value, COC would have been delightful with the sparkling rose we had in the front room. Coffee, Champagne, Oysters is practically a damn MOTTO for us. We would have been happy if the buck stopped there, but we saw a tip on Yelp to “Ask the host or hostess for the champagne tour.” So we did.

THIS, my friends, is when social media research comes in handy. I don’t want to give too much away, but I highly recommend the experience. I still think about it on a regular basis. You won’t be able to take any photos, but you may be lucky enough to snag a Polaroid in the bathrooms. Good luck and God speed.

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I was on a hunt for avocado toast the entire weekend, we literally walked all over the city to find places that were either closed, nonexistent, or out of avocado toast. We finally got it on our last morning at Baddie’s.

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Do:

Graffiti Alley (and the shopping/cafes nearby)

Coffee Oysters Champagne

Thompson Hotel and Thompson Rooftop

Egg Bae

Baddie’s

Queen Street and NYX flagship store

Skip:

Scarborough Bluffs

Momofuku and milkbar (sorry!)

Driving in the city when possible

What I would go back for:

More hiking opportunities outside of the city

Niagara Falls and Niagara wineries

More COC and Thompson Hotel