Toronto Day 4: CN Tower

After our visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame, we walked to CN Tower via Skywalk.

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Skywalk is an enclosed walkway connecting Union Station to the CN Tower and the Rogers Center. The skywalk makes the walk more bearable as it was really hot out in the sun.

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We stopped by the Brookfield Place food court to grab something to eat. Ben and I shared a Lamb Biryani from Tamarind the Indian Kitchen. It was loaded with spices and Ben likes it a lot.

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The CN Tower is the world’s tallest free-standing structure when it was completed in 1976. It serves as a communications and observation tower.

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View from the elevator.

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A replica of the CN Tower. (more…)

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Toronto Day 3: Lunch at Mezes, Danforth

On the third day morning, J dropped us at the Lisgar Go Train station on her way to work. We decided to stay in Toronto for shorter and ease of commute to the attractions we planned to visit. J&C, thank you so much for opening your home to us for the past two days.

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After settling down at the airbnb place which we got at the last minute, we walked to the St. Lawrence Market which is a short distance from our accommodation for lunch, not knowing that it is closed on Monday.

So, Ben changed to plan B. We took the subway to Danforth, the Greek town to look for a restaurant by the name Mezes for lunch.

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We picked Mezes because we just happened to come across this restaurant being featured in triple D before our trip.

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The restaurant was not very busy when we were there. The decor is quite rustic.

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We had the Kria Poikilia for our appetizer. It came with four dips which include homous (chickpea and tahini), tzatziki, taramosalata (creamy red caviar) and melitzanosalata (baked eggplant). (more…)

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Toronto Day 2: Dinner at Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse

We returned to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls for dinner.

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Ben suggested Copacabana Brazilian Steakhouse. We noticed a vast difference on the Canadian side of the falls compares to the US side which is a state park. There are lots of big hotels on the Canadian side.

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J & I really enjoy the salad bar with at least 20 items to choose from.

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My first plate from the salad bar. Ben advised us not to indulge too much from the salad bar before the real stuff.

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More from the salad bar, who can resist them.

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Each of us were given the above to indicate whether we still want the meat coming or slow down. (more…)

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Toronto Day 2: Niagara Falls

Our first destination in Toronto is Niagara Falls. J&C spent the day with us at Niagara Falls. We went to the US side of the Niagara Falls which resides in one of oldest state park in United States, New York State Park.

We were surprised to see a lot of Indian Restaurants here.

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It was an amazing site when we first saw the falls.

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The mist causes the rainbow effect.

Ben bought the Niagara USA discovery pass online. It comprises of 5 attractions. We picked up our tickets at the visitor center. Our first stop is the Adventure Theater where we watched the incredible stories and history of Niagara Falls. The next itinerary is the Maid of the Mist as we wanted to go as early as possible to avoid long line-up.

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The line-up for Maid of the Mist ride.

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A view from the upper deck where we were lining up. We have to take an elevator down to the dock.

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Sea birds swirling beside the falls.

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It was an awesome experience when the boat ventured into the thundering waters beneath the American and Horseshoe Falls. Beware of your camera getting wet. I know one can’t resist taking photos of the amazing falls. (more…)

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Toronto Day 1: Lunch at Rol San in Chinatown

Ben and I had a short vacation in Toronto and Ottawa on the last week of May this year. We take the opportunity to meet up with friends there.

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J&C picked us up from the airport and brought us to Chinatown for lunch.

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J&C brought us to Rol San which serves dim sum all day. Parking is very difficult here as C took over 20 minutes to find a parking after he dropped us off at the restaurant.

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The restaurant was quite busy even at late afternoon. Toronto is indeed a metropolitan city as there are a variety of people from different cultures dining in a dim sum restaurant.

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The table is lined with one time use plastic sheet for quick clean up.

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J did all the ordering. The above is deep fried wonton. (more…)

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Kamloops Trip: Denny’s – Breakfast

While in Kamloops, we had breakfast at Denny’s. It was the only restaurant we could find nearby which is opened that early. Anyway, Arkensen loves any breakfasts which has hash browns. When we were there, the restaurant were practically empty.

Did you know that Denny’s is largest full service family restaurant in North America? In Canada British Columbia, you can find Denny’s in almost every city and town.

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We sat down and ordered 2 coffees ($3.98 each) and 2 frothy hot chocolates ($2.80 each). There are free refills for the coffee.

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Since 1977, when the Grand Slam Breakfast is introduced, it has been a very popular breakfast at Denny’s. I ordered the ultimate Grand Slam — the Extreme Grand Slam Breakfast. This consist of bacon, hash browns, sausages and a choice of eggs. The price, $8.59.

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Kamloops Trip: Adams River Salmon Run

This year is what is known as a dominant-year of the salmon spawning run in the Adams River. During the dominant-year, there are substantial returns of Salmon to their spawning grounds which runs into millions. The dominant-year happens every four years (2002, 2006, 2010 …) occurring in October. Every year, the Salute to the Salmon Festival runs for about 3 weeks.

We stayed in Kamloops overnight. Kamloops is the largest town near Adams River. The first stop when we got there was the Visitor Centre, where we picked up the brochures and information about Adams River and Kamloops. Outside the Visitor Centre was a sculpture of the Sockeye Salmon.

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The Adams River salmon consists primarily of the Sockeye species. When we got there, we see a lot of birds feasting on the dead salmon. You see, Salmon are born in fresh water, migrates to the sea and after four years, they return to the very same stream to spawn and die.

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The Adams River Salmon Run is best viewed from the Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park. This park is created to preserve this world famous salmon run. There were a lot of trails running along the streams, ideal for viewing the salmon from a near distance.

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