Visit to Toronto, Day 4
I can't believe my vacation to Toronto is about to end, for the second time of all things! And I'll have to admit that this is a bit of a misnomer, because it was really only a half-day at best before I had to catch my early afternoon flight.
So, what is the first thing to do? Why, go to that quirky-looking coffee shop which advertises "organic coffee" and has the attention-getting name of Orange Alert. It is on the edge of Chinatown and is run by locals, so that makes it a bit of an odd concept in my mind - Chinese coffee? The young women behind the bar did not have perfect English but they were very nice and got me my coffee. I think I got a muffin or something, and a very interesting set of sweet rice cakes with bean paste. Suffice to say, I've never had anything like them before. They were spongy on the outside with a sweet, thick red bean paste in the center which almost reminded me of berries. They came in white, pink, or green. Not your everyday breakfast, but I really enjoyed them and wouldn't mind finding them again. (Maybe at Jungle Jim's or something.) The coffee didn't impress me at first but started to grow on me after awhile. I was the only customer in the store at the time. Plenty of people passed by, and some almost looked like they wanted to come in, but perhaps they were afraid of my beany rice cakes.
Now what? With the morning hours slowly slipping away, all that was left was to see the downtown sights. I passed by the Consulate General of the USA and thought that maybe I should pop in, but there was a guard posted out front and several signs that warned that visitors needed an appointment or else they should just GO AWAY. Another warm American welcome. I passed by Osgoode Hall, which I originally mistook for one of the city halls. It was surrounded by iron gates but no one yelled at me for walking through.
Next up was obviously one of the city halls in question, the Old City Hall. There were signs to remind you in case you were unaware. This amazing building reminded me a lot of my own city's City Hall, albeit on a grander scale.
Hard to believe the city almost wanted to tear it down. Just look at the gargoyles!
These days, the building houses courtrooms and law offices. I went in anyway to see it from the inside. As with all such places, I had to pass through the metal detectors and was warned not to take pictures. Such killjoys. That's why I can't show you what it looks like on the inside. I'm sorry!
My next plan was to stop by the Mackenzie House, a historic building near my hotel which is apparently something close to 100% haunted or what-have-you. Unfortunately, it was another case of "it looks closer on the map", and a quick look at my watch indicated that I had to get back to my room IMMEDIATELY to check out before the 12pm deadline. I dashed through the Ryerson University campus and managed to make it into the Delta Chelsea building, up the elevator, and into my room with mere minutes to spare. At least I was able to brush my teeth. I grabbed my stuff and dashed out for the very last time. Mackenzie House, and Casa Loma for that matter, would have to wait until next time.
I considered trying the Toronto transit system, but went the lazy way and purchased a ticket on the hotel's overpriced airport bus. Just sit back and relax, I thought to myself. Little did I know that we were at the beginning of the circuit, and I found myself on a sightseeing tour of every hotel in downtown Toronto. That part must have taken almost an hour before the driver mercifully merged onto the Gardiner Expressway. Lucky thing I gave myself a two hour lead. No hassles at the airport, and the flight to O'Hare went without incident. I spent about two hours in Chicago, which as everyone knows is the Second City twin of Toronto. Amazingly, my return flight left more or less on time without something really stupid happening. It was sunny at takeoff, but halfway through Indiana we passed over a massive cloud bank which stretched to the horizon and was impossible to see through.
It stayed this way until we broke through as we were approaching for a landing. The low hills of Kentucky came into view, and they were this amazingly verdant shade of green, almost like I was flying over Ireland. They must have gotten a lot of rain in the past weekend. Sure enough, it was cool and damp outside. The drive home was quiet, though it felt a little strange to be behind the wheel after the 3-day break. The best part about coming home is the approach on I-75 to the Ohio River, where downtown Cincinnati suddenly pops into view as you come around the corner on the way down the hill. It was small stuff compared to Toronto, really not much more than one of the metro sub-cities, but the surrounding hills make it look cozy.
So here I am, having just come home for the second time. My cats are happy to see me, of course. Almost as happy as chasing a laser pointer, though not quite. Once again I am grateful to my Toronto hosts for making my stay so much fun, and I'll be back there sometime, you can bet on it.