We made it to downtown Toronto around 9:30 a.m. instead. It was only fitting to end our entire last day in Toronto the way we started it -- spending it downtown finishing the 4 hour tour we started on Monday.
But before that, we had to find a post office so Pam could get some stamps. There was one near Union Station so we headed off in that direction. Found the post office and then found breakfast at Union Station. Pam and I found cinnamon rolls, while Melody and Tana tracked down McGriddles. It's a little strange to not have a McDonald's on every corner. It's all Tim Horton's and Wendys. Makes us wonder if Dave Thomas is Canadian. However, the answer to that question is that he is American. I totally just looked that up to see. Dorky, I know. However, if that question comes up on Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit, I'll know the answer.
We looked over the schedule for our tour and tried to figure out how to accomplish seeing the ROM, Casa Loma and the East/West Loop Tour. We caught the North/South bus over to the ROM. Going along the same stretch of the tour route we had already seen to get us to the Royal Ontario Museum. Along the way, we ran across the condos that we had seen on Monday with a young man sunbathing. This morning, there was a guy on one of the balconies looking out in his boxers. After waving back to him, he called his roommates out to the ledge with him. Funny way to start the morning, but can't complain about it. Tana attempted to get photos, but I don't think any of them turned out. Continuing along the way we saw many more popped collars here in Canada. Must be a new "trend." I don't recommend it boys. People are just so friendly up here. Then again, it doesn't help that Tana likes to wave to all the cute boys.
We arrived at the ROM and thanks to our city passes we were able to get in right away. Unfortunately, they made me check my camera bag into their coat check because they don't allow backpacks in there. Didn't so much like that aspect of the ROM. Melody wanted to see the Book of the Dead exhibit badly so we headed straight up to the third floor where the Ancient Egyptian items were being exhibited. The Ancient Egyptians were definitely intrigued and slightly obsessed with the afterlife. It was highly interesting and fascinating though. I might have to read up more on them sometime soon. Shortly after looking through the Egyptian exhibit, we went down to find the "bat cave." We took a wrong turn in the museum and ended up looking at these fake/stuffed animals that were set up in exhibits. Got to admit, those were very, very creepy. I shutter just thinking about it. We finally found the bat cave and enjoyed a walk through a fake cave featuring fake bats on the ceiling and some strobe lights.
We also played a game where you had to spin a wheel to figure out what life you could have on the "Wheel of Life." Pam ended up being an "Other Animal," Tana is an "Animal," Melody was an "Insect" and I ended up being "Fungi." Lovely, eh?
After spending about an hour in the ROM (we could have easily spent an entire day there, or at least a few more hours to see all the history in there) we hit to the bus stop to catch our bus to take us to Casa Loma. This bus was horrific. The driver was slow, running 10-20 minutes late already. We also set in the lower portion of the bus which smelled like gas fumes. The ride was only to be 5 minutes, but ended up being almost 15 instead.
We got to Casa Loma and flew through there taking in all the wonderful history of Sir Henry and his unabashed romantic nature. Casa Loma was bought by the city and has featured many movies being filmed there, like Chicago, the Tuxedo, X-Men, The Skulls, etc. Melody and I went all the way to the top of the towers through single step spiral staircases and over to the stables as well through a tunnel that is 800 feet one way. The only part of the castle that is somewhat disappointing is that the swimming pool was never finished so it's basically a cement hole in the ground. The castle featured many beautiful rooms and a beautiful garden area as well. There was even a couple posing for their wedding photos there. Apparently they didn't believe in superstitions.
After managing to go through the castle in less than an hour (another place that we could have spent hours at), we loaded the bus again for our trip back to the station. Finally we had a tour guide aside from Natasha that we could understand clearly and that had a sense of humor. Thank you Melody. Having 45 minutes to waste during the bus transition, we headed back to Union Station to grab a late lunch. We were eager to get happy meals from Mickey D's so we could have some Canadian toys, but they didn't serve happy meals at this location. Boo! We got our lunch and headed back to catch our East Loop meeting our new tour guide, Chris. Chris began the tour without a Canadian accent, but he managed to slip it in there from time to time. He told us a-boot the Toronto film industry while he took us past the sewer treatment centre and close to the "beach." Unfortunately, we didn't make it out to the beach, but we were taken through other various neighborhoods. Including basically all of the 5 chinatowns there are in Toronto; the Korean Business District; Little Italy; the ghetto; etc. Chris was by far one of the funniest and most entertaining tour guides we have had along the trip.
After all our daily outings we found ourselves back at the hotel contemplating keeping our evening reservations for an improv comedy show or just going to dinner. The Improv comedy show was located in the district downtown where a festival was taking place so we were unsure of parking and walking, etc. So we ended up going to a local restaurant here in Mississauga named "The Keg." The Keg was very yummy. Melody and Tana took the waitresses suggestions for drinks and ended up loving them. Melody's had some Mango/Orange Juice combination and Tana's of course had some sort of bananas (and whipped cream) in it. We definitely love this restaurant and it was kind of fun to get all dressed up to go out to dinner. Now, everyone is full and in bed. We've got to get up and leave in the morning to start our two-day drive home. I believe we are planning on stopping in Chicago at the Sears Tower. Another tower, yay (sarcastic). I think this trip is helping over come my fear of heights, but I have to admit that I still love the ground the best.
It's late, so photos will have to be added in the morning. G'night everyone and we'll be home in a few days.
ETA: Photos added.
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