Hi Everyone again!
Since my last blog, I’ve been lucky enough to go on a few excursions around Ontario so I’ll give you a quick summary of what I’ve been up to!
Firstly, as promised in my last blog, I”ll talk a bit about my trip to Toronto. Now if you go exchange, Toronto is a MUST! There are so many things to see and do and it was a great way to celebrate end of January Exams!!! The trip was organised by Western’s Study Abroad Exchanged team through ‘isx Canada’ (a great company that organises a variety of trips across Ontario and the USA; would really recommend it!) so we got picked up from campus and we were soon on our way!
Our first stop was La Casa Loma. We didn’t actually go inside because of time but I would recommend going there; it has some really cool architecture and is one of Toronto’s historical landmarks!
After driving around a bit more, we stopped at the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum to take some pictures and have a wonder. Next it was time for lunch at Kensington Market! It was was full of quaint, little cafes serving a variety of cuisines. There was even a Jamaican-Italian fusion restaurant! Next time I go to Toronto I will definitely be trying that. We ended up going to ‘Nu Bagel’ which serves up fresh, wood fire bagels. They were delicious!!! I’ve definitely developed a love for bagels since going there!
Now it wouldn’t be a trip to Toronto without going up the CN Tower! The views of the city were spectacular. The picture below speaks for itself!
But my favourite stop on the trip was without a doubt the Distillery District. When you step into it you get transported back to the Victorian era with all the old industrial buildings, it’s amazing. It has a bakery, quirky boutiques; one in particular makes some of the most delicious chocolate I’ve tasted! It’s a little pricey, but definitely worth it. Needless to say that most of what I had bought was gone by the time we arrived back to halls! Then there was time for a bit of shopping at the Eaton Centre which has one of the biggest food courts I think I’ve ever seen! There were too many options. After grabbing dinner we headed back after what was a tiring, but great, day out! If you come to Western it’s only a couple hours away so definitely worth the trip. One thing I do regret not doing is going to see a Toronto Maple Leaves or Raptors game. But if I get the chance, it would be amazing to catch a Blue Jays game before I leave. We will see!
Reading Week
Now instead of getting 3 weeks off at Easter 🙁 we get 1 week off during February! But on the plus side, it means we finish at the end of April! So we get 5 months off for Summer Holidays! 😀
As reading week approached I was unsure about what I was going to do! I knew I couldn’t stay in halls for the whole week. My parents decided last minute to come over!! I was so excited! I was also turning 21 that week as well so it was great to spend my birthday with them! We stayed at a hotel in London and went on some really enjoyable trips. First of all we went to Niagara Falls. I would definitely recommend going in the winter; with the snow, cold mist and icicles around the edges of the falls it was very picturesque! But very cold! We couldn’t stay outside for too long. After getting the traditional Niagara Falls’ souvenirs we went and got….PANCAKES WITH MAPLE SYRUP (and a side of bacon) at IHOP. They were delicious but I was soon defeated and couldn’t eat them all! We then headed back and spent the rest of the evening chatting and relaxing back at the hotel.
On my birthday we spent the day shopping, had lunch at Denny’s and then dinner at Tony Roma’s during the evening. It was a really lovely day! We also went to the Blue Mountain Resort for a couple of days. I hadn’t been skiing since I was 11 and really wanted to give it another go! So, early one morning we made the 3 hour-drive to the resort. The journey up there was really nice; we had a lot of laughs and the scenery was beautiful. After a stressful check-in, we headed to our room, unpacked and then went to explore the resort! It has many little boutiques, restaurants and there is the mill pond skating rink in the middle of the resort. Me and Mum had a go at ice-skating….let’s just say there were A LOT of laughs and we had to use the walkers to help us around the rink!
In the morning we headed for breakfast before I spent the day skiing. If you go to Blue Mountain, you have to go to the Sunset Grill. I had the best and most probably biggest breakfast I’ve ever had! I could only finish half of it haha. I was slightly anxious about going skiing for the first time in ages, but actually found it okay! I guess skiing is like riding a bike; once you learn, it’s hard to forget. After an enjoyable day on the slopes, we packed up and then headed back to London.
The time went soo fast, and it was soon the last night before my parents had to head back to England. We had dinner at the Keg (great steaks-definitely a must to do in London!!!) and then they dropped me off back at halls. I really appreciated them coming over and had such a memorable time with them!
It was then time to get ready for the rest of my mid-terms. 🙁 🙁
That’s it for now guys, sorry it was so long! (I also just realised I spent a lot of my time talking about food haha) April is just around the corner which means I only have one month left here! It goes so quickly so make the most out of your time here! I’m looking forward to going to Florida in a couple of weeks to get some sunshine so will tell you all about it my next blog!
Polly xxxx