514 equivalent: the Old Port (Place Jacques-Cartier)
After verifying that my location settings were accurate and that Google wasn’t outright lying to me by casually stating that the outdoor temperature in the middle of February, in a Canadian city was positive 14 degrees Celsius, I decided to head down to the harbourfront and synthesize some much-needed vitamin D.
I cannot state this enough, moving to a new city, at this latitude, in November is just terrible in terms of getting a proper sense of the place. I’ve made the mistake of visiting Halifax in April and, while the people were lovely (and served whiskey with breakfast, bless their hearts), the abandoned boardwalk had a distinct air of having known better days.
Friends and family often ask me how I’m liking Toronto and my answer is invariably: “it’s too soon to tell, ask me again in August”. It fares poorly to still fresh memories of a summer in Montreal so one must compare apples to apples. The skating rink is well worth the visit tough, be it during the day or DJ Skate nights (see previous post).
That being said, Toronto’s harbourfront looks like it would be a fantastic warm weather destination. Much like Montreal’s Old Port, there are tourist-trapy restaurants, boat tours, bike rentals, children’s activities, and amazing views of the city skyline. Another similarity is the lamentable state of the roadwork, specifically, bridges. Really, Toronto? 🙂
Unlike Montreal however, Toronto has immortalized what I can only assume is the never-ending construction of the Death Star.
I very much look forward to exploring the area in the summer, especially the island.
