I put this blog on hold unintentionally whilst Spouse and I visited Toronto for a long, long, LONG delayed honeymoon. Alas, we are now back home and I have time to write a little bit.

In short, we had a terrific time! Yay! What did we do?

…rode trams, mostly 🙂

Spouse is a real “tram nut”. He loves and knows everything “streetcar.” We rode trams all over the city, just to ride.

During those rides, it became obvious to us how diverse the city really is. No one is a majority or a minority. There are people from all over the world, speaking dozens of languages. From business people to students to everyday kinda people — everyone comes from somewhere around the world to mix together and live harmoniously. Gay, straight, black, white, brown, red… you name it… diversity abounded and everyone was about the same — all a mix.

Have a question? Need directions? No matter how busy people seem to be, they will stop and assist. Give directions in complete sentences without using jargon or local nomenclature that a visitor may not know. Whip out their smartphone and spend time looking up information to inform you. Not only give directions, but take you by the hand and walk you to where you can see where they are pointing for you to go.

I have never, ever, experienced a visit to a large city and had people jostle each other to be the first to help. The genuine spirit of warmth and … yes, I have to say it… “niceness” … is evident everywhere.

We also did some other cool things. We went to a professional ballgame and truly enjoyed it. The seats were great, views of the game and the overall evening were terrific. Food was overpriced, but we were there on “Looneydog” night, meaning you could get a hot dog for CN$1, so add $10 for a refillable soft drink, and you were good for the night in under CN$14. (Thankfully, we don’t drink beer or we would probably have to take out a loan! LOL!)

We were tourists and went to the observation deck of the CN Tower. Great views of the fourth largest city in all of North America.

We walked a lot… a lot… a lot. Toronto is a very walkable city because it is mostly very flat. Few hills to speak of. No wonder there were so many bicycles. Canadians are rather healthy-oriented, from riding bicycles to offering the first “100% plant-based” sausage at a local fast food chain, Tim Hortons. (Tried it; it sorta tasted like sausage if you wanted it to be, but man did it give me gas!)

What boots did I wear? Two pairs of tactical boots good for hiking and walking. While each evening my feet were kinda tired, the boots worked great for all the walking we did.

We truly enjoyed our visit and would like to return sometime. The trip home was challenging, but that was due to bad weather back home — not the airline’s fault. It took seven hours to get back rather than the two we were anticipating.

Overall, thanks Toronto. You were great. We encourage everyone to visit your warm (in nature) and hospitable city.

Life is short: live life nice, as they do in Canada!