Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Toronto Trip

So after going to Toronto for the weekend I have some good recommendations.

  1. If you are going to stay downtown use the public transit system's all you can ride pass. The price is 10 Canadian dollar for 1 adult on weekdays and 2 adults on weekend. I think you can have up to 4 kids for free too (don't quote me on it).
  2. Stop by Caffe Volo in Toronto. We stumbled on to this cafe and the selection of local brew was fantastic.
  3. Caffe Volo is located in the pot heaven of Toronto. They sold everything but the seeds and weed. They had a section teaching you how to grow your own. Also we saw a smoking lounge where the rule is you can smoke here but you must bring your own weed...
  4. Stop by Casa Loma. It is worth the money. In fact going up the tower to see the Toronto skyline is worth it by itself.
  5. If you are afraid of heights like I am, you should visit the CN tower without getting the Skypod addition. It is way too scary up there. The glass is curved in so you can almost look straight down. Also, to exit from the normal viewing area, you have to walk by the glass floor. It was something I could have done without.
  6. Chinatown in Toronto is overrated. The food is decent. I personally think NY and SF has better food.
  7. Take a ferry ride. I wish we had done this. The water view of the skyline should be very nice.
  8. Go to Kensington Marker on Sundays. Very neat shop around that aread. http://www.kensington-market.ca
  9. Finally, don't use your credit card the fees are outrageous. Instead if you are a Bank of American account holder you can directly withdraw money from Scotibank's ATM at very good exchange rates. Listed below are some international banks you can use.
Bank NameCoverage Area
Bank of AmericaNorth America
BarclaysUnited Kingdom
BNP ParibasFrance
China Construction BankChina
Deutsche Bank 24Germany
Please note: International transaction fees are not waived at Deutsche Bank in Italy.
Santander SerfinMexico
ScotiabankCanada
Westpac Bank Australia and New Zealand