Toronto

Saturday

Well, we made it to Toronto with no more delays. Our bags were outside our door on the ship on schedule at 10 PM last night. When we woke this morning, we were just docking. You have to be out of your stateroom by 8 AM so the room attendants (Girlie and Mark for us – they were great and got a nice tip.) could ready them for the new passengers boarding starting at 11 AM. We had breakfast and settled down to await the announcement that our baggage group was ready for pickup in the terminal. They were ready by 8:30. Disembarking can sometimes be a logistical nightmare. Today it was a piece of cake. We grabbed a cab and were at the Marriott Delta in our room by 9:15.

The Delta is nice hotel. We have stayed here before. We reserved and paid for Friday night as well as Saturday and Sunday nights so we could have our room ready early this morning. We are on the 45th Floor (maybe the highest hotel room ever?). The Marriott Club, which we are eligible to use, is on the top floor – the 46th. Views from the room including a look at the railroad station right below us forty-five floors down and the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel:

After a short rest, we headed out for a walk with the goal of having a fairly big lunch and then just appetizers in the Club in lieu of dinner. Here are pictures from the walk. The CN Tower is right across the street from us. And its just a few steps to go through the Lower Simcoe Street Underpass, famous for its murals.

Then we headed to King Street for lunch. Scenes along the way:

We walked along the Canadian Walk of Fame. Who knows who Gordie Howe is? One demerit if you don’t.

I got some exercise on a bicycle built for four along the way. Streetcars are everywhere. Toronto has a subway system, but I’ve never been on it. The public transportation system seems very good.

Lunch was grand! At Rodney’s Oyster House (Barb and Kris know it) is one of our all time favorites. I had a dozen oysters – three Eel Lakes, three Wellfleets, three Maine flats, and three Mere Points. OMG Good! I tried all the hot sauces too – all good but one was deadly. Then I had a bowl of Clam Chowder. While I slurped the oysters, Elaine had a cup of clam chowder and then a delicious Bronwen Special – grilled fish with fries and salad. We both had Musoka Beer. It will be hard not to come back tomorrow.

Then we walked back to the hotel for a nice nap, passing once again through the Simcoe Street Underpass (on the other side of the street). We also passed by Rogers Center, Toronto’s sports arena.

As planned, we had appetizers and drinks in the Marriott Club before retiring to our room for TV and sleep. The views from the club are a little different than the ones from our room.

Toronto is a fun city to visit. Not sure what we’ll do tomorrow. (Maybe the Ripley Aquarium?) We are vacationed out and will need the two-week rest at home (with minimal meals!) before we head out for Dingle.

I’ll be back tomorrow. (Usually I publish the blog in the morning for the previous day. Today I am doing it before I go to bed on Saturday.)