Beer by Night, Crepes by Day
After checking in to the Canadiana Backpackers Hostel, we drop out bags in our “cozy” private room (with bunkbeds!) and head over to a bar across the street for a beer.
Lori shows off our cozy digs.
The Fox and the Fiddle is one of those noisy pubs with dark wood and a decent beer selection. We hang out and chat/yell for about an hour until the day’s fatigue sets in and we head back to the room for the night.
Canadiana has free pancakes in the morning, but we sleep in too late to get any. No matter, because we already know what we want for brunch – crepes.
We head over to the subway to take the train to the Yorkville neighborhood. The Toronto subway system is ridiculously easy – one line, going north or south, is all you have to choose from. We buy a daypass, which looks like an oversized lottery ticket.
Lori had read about Crêpes à GoGo on the Web, where it got great reviews. The restaurant is small, which a counter where you order and four tables. The staff mostly appear to be native French speakers (though they speak perfect English, of course) and you get to watch as they make your crepe. The food is fantastic and affordable – a perfect brunch.
Afterwards we walk around for about an hour, taking in the neighborhood. Then we take the train to Dundas and try to follow the PATH, an underground walkway. It appears to be one large shopping center, filled with stores that you can go to in the U.S. Not too exciting (though we did make a detour into H&M).
Me in one of the malls on the PATH.
Once back outside, we pass by the Old Toronto City Hall and take a rest at Osgoode Hall’s grounds, where we see a bagpiper taking a break and a ton of black squirrels.
We make a stop by the room, then walk ove to the CN Tower to see if we can go up to the 360 Restaurant for a snack (and also to skip paying the ticket price to go up to the observation deck). It’s already full though, and we’re super hungry. We walk back toward the hostel and have a leisurely dinner at Urban, complete with wine and good bread.
Our after-dinner plan is to go to the room and rest for an hour or so, but a film we want to see that’s part of the festival is screening in 30 minutes at the theater around the corner. “Les Chansons d’Amour” is described as a “musical sex romp”, but turns out to be a lot more than just that. It’s an enjoyable little film.
Earlier in the day, we saw a stage being set up near out hostel. When we come out of the theater, we see that a concert is about to start starring… Hillary Duff! We watch her lip synch for one song, then squeeze through the crowd to get out. We find out the next day that she only played for 10 more minutes after we left.
We finish the night at a local bar/restaurant with peach bellinis and spinach artichoke dip. Then it’s off to bed, because tomorrow is Virgin Fest!