Toronto and Niagara Falls, Canada

I ended up visiting Toronto twice on this trip, and both times it delivered. The first was a weekend trip down from Ottawa, staying at Shira’s apartment. The girls had dressed up in a Hunger Games theme for the night (the first film had just come out and everyone was obsessed), and we ended up at a pub called the Unicorn, which is exactly as fun as it sounds.

The CN Tower was the obvious first stop and it didn’t disappoint — standing at the top looking down through the glass floor is enough to make your stomach flip even if you’re not afraid of heights. From there we hit the Steam Whistle brewery, which was amazing. If you’re in Toronto and you like beer, just go. Simple as that. I also met a bloke called Matty B, who was apparently on some ABC kids show. I had absolutely no idea who he was, but he seemed like a good time.

We had dinner with Sam that night and then went to a small club afterwards. Nothing wild, just one of those solid nights out in a new city where you’re not trying too hard and everything just flows.

Saturday was Niagara Falls day, and I have to say, even after seeing Iguazu Falls in South America (which is genuinely one of the natural wonders of the world), Niagara is still pretty impressive. There’s a reason millions of people go every year. We were supposed to stay at this dodgy motel nearby, but one look at the place and we made an executive decision to upgrade to a Marriott. Sometimes you just have to back yourself. We hit the casino that night, which is the responsible thing to do at Niagara Falls when you’re in your early twenties.

Sunday was a more relaxed affair. Drove back to Toronto, had brunch with Shira’s uncle Andy, and did some shopping at Yorkdale. A civilised end to the weekend.

I came back to Toronto a couple of months later in June, flying in from New York. First order of business was another trip to Steam Whistle brewery, because apparently once wasn’t enough. I was staying at the Planet Traveller hostel, which served up one of the best hostel breakfasts I’ve had anywhere in the world — and I’ve eaten a lot of questionable hostel breakfasts.

The plan was to do the CN Tower EdgeWalk this time around, which is that insane thing where they strap you to a harness and you walk around the outside ledge of the tower. I was genuinely pumped for it. Naturally, the weather had other ideas and it was cancelled. I was fuming. Some things just aren’t meant to be.

To salvage the night, we went to the Tranzac Club to watch Matty B play a show. He was absolutely hammered on stage and it was brilliant — one of those gigs where the chaos is half the entertainment. Toronto’s a city I could see myself spending more time in. It’s got that big-city buzz without being overwhelming, and it seems like there’s always something going on.