"Sometimes all you need are great friends and a mutual thirst for adventures”
—Unknown Author
Our tour guide’s name was Adeodata. She pointed to a cubed charm bracelet shaped like dice that was hanging over her dashboard. "It was given to her by a friend," she said. Sensing I was wondering what the origin of her name was, she added “It means 'God Given.’” She was charming, fun, a bit quirky in a good way, turned out to be an exceptional guide. She referred to her red Toyota as her “Red Rocket.” Our first stop was at the St. Lawrence Market, one of the world’s great markets. We sampled cheese, and coffee from Luba’s Coffee Boutique. We continued on to the Cathedral Church of St. James. Adeodata told us that Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world and that over 150 languages are spoken. Everybody gets along and that it is a safe city. She took photos of us in front of the Historic Romanesque Old City Hall. We saw the Gooderham Building, also known as the Flatiron Building in the Financial District that was completed in 1892. Any building over a 100 years old must be preserved, and in this case stands amidst the huge skyscraper office buildings. We went on to the see the iconic three-dimensional illuminated Toronto sign that spells the the city’s name at Nathan Phillips Square at the New City Hall. It was a great photo op. We then visited the University of Toronto public research university located on the grounds that surround Queen’s Park. Surprisingly, one of the most fascinated museums we visited was the Bata Shoe Museum which exhibits the 4500-year history of footwear ranging from Chinese bound woman’s shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut-crushing clogs and glamorous elevated footwear, and shoes of royalty, and religious orders, etc.
We visited synagogues including the Toronto Hebrew Congregation known as Holy Blossom that was founded in the mid to late 1800s by seventeen Jewish families from England and Continental Europe. We visited some castles (former horse stables) built for Sir Henry Pellatt in the early 1900s. A photo exhibit of Princess Diana is currently taking place there. The next stop was Kensington market, a walkable neighborhood, that has a wonderful eclectic and bohemian vibe, charming cafes, hipster hangouts, artists hubs and underground speakeasies. Adeodata then drove us to Dim Sum King Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown for lunch. Our final destination before we headed back to our hotel was Distillery District, formerly home of the largest distillery in the world, now a pedestrian neighborhood closed off to traffic. Adeodata took us to Soma Chocolate-maker, and had us pick out a chocolate confectionary of our choice before heading over to Balzac’s Coffee Roasters further down the street to order a coffee of our choice. Balzac's has transformed an 1895 Pump House into a very charming two story Grand Parisian style cafe. When we got to the hotel we thanked our guide guide for a wonderful tour. Nelson gave her an excellent Google review on our behalf which she gratefully appreciated. After a respite we had dinner at the Richmond Station, a Co-owned "Top Chef Canada" winner near our hotel.
