I could get used to a two day work week! After a fabulous long weekend in Toronto, I’m packing my bags for a trip with my family to New York City…it’s a fun week!

I’m not usually one to extol the wonders of Canada’s largest city — I’m a Habs fan, I could never love Leafs city! — but I’ve had some really great visits in TO this year and I think it’s growing on me a bit.

Some of my best girlfriends and I got together for a weekend full of good drinks, good food, good dancing, good patios, and really good times. It’s hard to get the four of us in the same place these days with school and travelling so it was extra special to have a whole weekend to catch up.  We were able to take advantage of the 10th edition of Summerlicious, a summer food festival where many of Toronto’s top restaurants offer three course fixed-price menus for $45 or less.  We got dressed up and headed over to l’Auberge du Pommier for a really lovely dinner, and I think one of my favourite nights of the summer (so far!).  Feeling fancy with wine pairings for each course, we were pretty much thrilled with the atmosphere and our delicious (filling!) meals. We’d probably never make reservations here on our student budgets, so the promotion was a lot of fun.  I’d highly recommend l’Auberge!
(Thank you, Dylan, for being the camera-lady in the fancy restaurant! xo)

Since starting university, when I visit Toronto we usually see the Eaton Centre, a couple bars, and my friend’s apartment (which is lovely!), so I was happy to play tourist for a little bit and explore.  If you have a night in the city and want to laugh go see The Second City, it isn’t too expensive and is great entertainment. Some pretty darn awesome comedians started here and the current show was a riot. Grab a drink and enjoy the show. Get to the beach, stop by the Steam Whistle Brewery for a sample and a tour, wander the downtown area, go to the museums, have a nice dinner (Amuse is swell), look up at the CN tower and enjoy the hum of Canada’s metropolis.  Whether it’s the city you love or the city you love to hate (but hate’s a pretty strong word…), you can’t be bored in Toronto.

Holy moly, I just noticed the amount of parentheses that I used above (sorry?!)…I can’t stop myself.
Any Toronto recommendations for the next visit?