My Toronto/Vancouver/Our Four Suitcases

My Toronto

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"Our Four Suitcases" welcomes Shannon from Toronto. "My Toronto" is open to residents of Toronto, Canada to show their hometown spirit and love for their city through photos and their writing. Come visit Toronto with Shannon, through her eyes!

The Life of a Torontonian

Toronto is a city where people from diverse backgrounds and communities can come together and celebrate everyone’s differences. We celebrate with food festivals from around the world, Christmas festivals in the winter and events every week around the city. I was excited to take a very special tour of my own through the downtown core this year for the yearly Pride events.

Being able to see all of the love and smiling faces from my vantage point on a Pride float as it turned onto Yonge street, headed towards Dundas Square, I saw a city that’s filled with acceptance and open arms. It was amazing to see everyone come together to have fun in the rain. I met with tons of strangers who all had one thing in mind, to celebrate and share positive vibes. It was my first ever float experience. This is my Toronto. Let me take you on a tour!

The Canadian National Exhibition, often referred to as the "C.N.E." or the "Ex", operates at the end of summer for about 2 weeks. It is one huge carnival with tons of little shops and vendors. There are rides and face painting and carnival games for all ages. The merchandise booths are great and you can find almost anything from around the world. The food is worth the price of admission. For newcomers to Toronto, that find themselves at the "Ex" grounds, be sure to ride our huge Ferris wheel that over looks Lake Ontario and faces the Canadian National Tower. Usually, getting stuck at the top is the best as you get to see the beauty of this great big old city.

Your visit to Ripley’s aquarium offers probably the most beautiful experience. Jellyfish alley is my favorite. The aquarium is another location worth the price of admission. View various species of fish and other cool aquatic creatures. Learn more about these sea creatures and other fascinating aquatic life such as sea turtles The last time I visited, I got to pet an adorable baby tiger shark! They even allow you to touch a stingray. You can take a memory photo with family or friends at the end of your journey.

Right next to Ripley’s is the world famous CN tower which is one of the tallest structures in Canada. Standing over one thousand eight hundred feet high, the CN tower is what makes the Toronto skyline so special. I have been fascinated with the tower ever since I was a little girl. I have yet to experience what it’s beautiful interior would have in store for its visitors but to all daredevils and risk takers I say, "go for it!" There is the rotating restaurant, gift shop and the famous glass floor showing a bird’s eye view of the city below. The newest attraction, “The Sky Walk”, allows you to walk outside along the very top edges with a harness attached to you. Smile! You can have your guide snap your photo as you lean back over the entire city. Remember, you signed a waiver regarding your safety.

The Royal Ontario Museum, also known as "The ROM", has many things historical, cultural and artistic to offer. I visited once with my father, years before he passed, and it was so cool to learn and see new things. The dinosaur exhibit and learning about the vikings were my personal favorites. This year, they have over 7,000 species of spiders. With my arachnophobia there’s no chance I’d be checking that exhibit out. It makes me cringe thinking of it, however, if you love a huge variety of spiders then it is definitely an exhibit for you! #ROMspiders

I love visiting anywhere with water and we are fortunate to have the perfect blend of lakes and beaches in our city. I have gone to almost every unique little spot this city has to offer. Toronto has Woodbine and Ash Bridges Bay Beaches in the east end where every year they have a fire works display and jazz festival at the same time, for the Canada Day weekend. The fireworks alone are worth taking the grueling TTC service. If you have a car it would be a lot easier to get home or to where ever you're staying.

We also have Harbourfront where there are tons of powerboats, sailboats and little vendors. In the summer months, the views are beautiful with the CN Tower overlooking the water. At night, the tower's brilliant colors illuminate the surrounding area. Visitors can also take the ferry or water taxis available to go across to the Toronto Islands

There are three islands and visiting is reasonably priced. The first is Wards Island, which has two beaches and nice nature trails. All of the islands are walk-able. There is also Centre Island which is beautiful with fountains and flowers and a mini amusement park. Check out the petting zoo for kids. The third island is Hanlan’s Point where you can watch the planes fly into the nearby airport, as well as go for a walk to the old light house.

The old lighthouse offers a haunted walkabout where you can tour the most haunted parts of the city and also the island. The old haunted ferry has been rebuilt and is now used to get passengers on and off the island. The story behind this particular ferry is offered during the fall if one is to go through the island haunted tour which is really spooky and cool. Hanlan’s Point also has a nudist beach on the opposite side of the Island for those who enjoy a good skinny dip.

If you love nature walks there are several other awesome trails and ravines you can visit to enjoy Toronto's natural beauty. Rosetta McClain Gardens has a huge flower selection and overlooks the Scarborough Bluffs. There is a tiny park within the gardens with a fountain that people can sit at and enjoy any time of the year.

Edward Gardens is another personal favorite of mine since I grew up going there for field trips. It’s a vast conservatory park with more trails and a beautiful fountain and creek lookouts. There is also a gift shop for new comers. Shop T.O.!

Evergreen Brickworks holds a farmer’s market on weekends. You can enjoy activities such as rock climbing and participating in art workshops for kids. There is a little novelty shop that not only sells arts and crafts but also Canadian treasures like real maple syrup which they extract themselves. There are two trails, both with incredible views. My favorite view is from the top of the Governor's Bridge Lookout where you can see the entire park and a nice view of the downtown, right by the Davisville train tracks.

Allen Gardens is in the downtown core and it’s fairly quiet in the day time. It is a small park near two of Toronto’s beautiful churches as well as another park which boasts a conservatory with a beautiful walk-through housing a large variety of plants and flowers. This park is also very dog friendly. There are two dog parks connected together; one for the little guys and one for the bigger pooches.

High Park is the biggest park in the city, with massive trails, a park for sports and a park for kids to play and places for people who want to have a picnic or a barbecue. One of the most successful structures in the park was developed by art students. They created a castle for kids to play inside. A child can climb around and get lost in their imagination! There’s a bunch of swing sets not far from this little play palace. too.

Further into the park there is a mini petting zoo with bison, peacocks, horses, alpacas and even a range of oxen. When you are a tired from walking around this huge park there is a mini café to enjoy. A wonderful spot to enjoy a gorgeous summer day!

The GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is comprised of 25 municipalities. You can find the Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland just outside of Toronto, in Vaughan. Visiting Wonderland is worth every penny spent! I personally love visiting Wonderland, especially during the Halloween events.

A lot has changed within our big city. The Sky-Dome is now the famous Rogers Center, Maple Leaf Gardens is a two floor Loblaws grocery store with an LCBO, Ontario Place no longer exists and The Canadian Molson Amphitheater is now just called “Budweiser Stage”. However. as you can see, Toronto has more to to offer than just venue name changes.

My Name is Shannon, I am 26 years old and I was born and raised here in good old Toronto. This is my hometown, this is my Toronto, come visit!