Touristing in Toronto
It's no secret that I love Toronto. Growing up as a small town girl, I always loved visiting the big city because there was so much more to do than just go to the theatre (the only form of entertainment in my town). Don't get me wrong, I loved growing up in my town, as I made some amazing friends there and my hometown is really quite charming, but I just can't help loving the busy feel of a city!
So, when a few of my best friends from my hometown told me they were coming to visit from BC and a nearby Ontario city, I was so excited! They wanted to make a day trip to Toronto to be touristy, as one of the girls has never been to Toronto, and I was definitely game! It worked out so well because I had to pick up my friend Jenna at the airport, who was making a Canadian detour on her way from Sweden to the States.
Reunions are always so sweet, especially when they involve a birthday. Before our day trip to Toronto, we had a celebration for my close friend Summer's birthday. We went out for dinner and drinks at my favourite restaurant, Beertown, before coming home to pop the champagne in celebration.
After a fun night of celebrating together, we were off for an adventure in Toronto for the day, and off to the airport to pick up my friend Jenna. But first, we had a huge breakfast of pancakes and berries to start our morning off right.
Once we had our pancake fix, I whipped us up some lattes to bring on our mini road trip. After picking Jenna up from the airport and managing to fit her luggage into the trunk, we were off to tour around downtown Toronto. It's always interesting seeing a city from an outsiders perspective.
Two of the girls in our group had never been to Toronto, so we decided to take a walk around the downtown core, spending some time at base of the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. There was even a Jays game playing at the time, but since they were deep in the sixth inning, we skipped out on the game that day. Our group split around lunch time, so we could all get in the activities we had planned. Jenna and I went off in search of food, while the others went for a ride in the CN Tower.
Since Jenna had just arrived from her year-long semester in Sweden, I decided to bring her along with me to the Fika cafe in the Kensington market. I had been wanting to visit there since I arrived home from my Swedish semester six months ago! The building the cafe is located in is an adorable, bright blue home that has a front porch seating area, where people were taking advantage of the beautiful and warm weather we were having. The cafe itself has seating throughout the front hallway area, a large table in the back area (perfect for doing work at) and the cutest backyard set-up, complete with small tables and chairs, as well as a hammock.
Since the weather was so warm, we both opted for iced lattes, complete with a mint leaf garnish. Along with our drinks, we each picked up a sandwich with a side salad. I decided on the grilled cheese with proscuitto and a tasty quinoa salad. It was all so delicious, and I can't wait to visit the cafe again!
Proscuitto Grilled Cheese & Quinoa Salad | Fika Cafe Toronto
We spent a couple hours having our fika, catching up on everything from the last six months, while enjoying our food and coffee. It almost felt like we were back in Växjö for a moment! Jenna and I spent the next couple days together, and I showed her around the city I live in. We visited one of my favourite bake shops, which I'll be posting about soon, so keep a lookout for that!
Overall, the day spent in Toronto was wonderful. From catching up with friends to walking around the city, enjoying the hot summer weather, we had a great time. It made me even more excited (as if that's possible) to move there next month!
Until next time,
Kaitlyn xo