The start of a great Canadian adventure!

Amsterdam- Toronto

6.00 AM, The Netherlands. I am ready and waiting for my parents to bring me to the airport. After dropping of my suitcase (way to heavy of course, Canadian weather: prepared for everything) I am heading to Starbucks to get some coffee. I count down every minute and I am happy when I can board the airplane.

The coming 8 hours I am sitting next to two ladies who prefer to spend their time sleeping. I stare out of the window and watch a movie. One hour before we will set foot on Canadian ground everyone around me gets awake. I feel butterflies in my stomach.

After getting my suitcase I almost run through the door to see my BF 😊

With flowers and a big smile we get in the car and our first stop is the Canadian Tim Hortons. The evening we go to sport restaurant nearby.

Peterborough and Warsaw

The next morning, I woke up by the sound of squirrel that was trying to get in. Squirrels are like kangaroos to Australia; they are everywhere.

Our second day our first stop is Peterborough. The is a small city north from Oshawa. we started with coffee at the Silver Bean café. They have a nice view on the Otonabee river. People were canoeing and with the sunshine on our skin it already felt like a relaxed holiday. On our way back to the car I saw my first chipmunk (cute!).

Our next stop are the Warsaw caves. This is a conservation area and campground 30 minutes northeast of Peterborough. The name of the park is coming from the seven caves in the park. I could be part of movie set with the green moss and rocks 😊

After a quick look at the lake we left to go to the Kawartha Buttertart Factory in Warsaw. These sweet small pies are made with a lot of butter but are great if you are sweet tooth like me 😊 They also sell new Dutchies. I was wondering what these are. I asked the owner and she told me these are based on our Dutch “oliebollen” she tried when she was in the Netherlands.

That evening we visit my BF his family and stay for dinner. After a nice evening it I time to go.

Toronto

Monday, it is time for Toronto downtown.

We enter the city with a spectacular view of the skyline and make our way to the Distillery District. The district has 19th century buildings and cobble stones and is even designated as world heritage site. This district was once a big Whiskey distillery and is now house to art, hip restaurants and stores.

We get our coffee and iced tea at Balzac. Even tough this place has an interesting name is looks great from the inside. With industrial details and a nice chandelier.

After this we went to the most famous sign within Toronto. The red heart has probably been photographed so many times, but every love is unique so also we took our version of the heart sign picture 😊 Ok more than one 😉

Our last stop at the Distillery District is the SOMA chocolatemaker. We loved their Half-popped popcorn butter toffee chocolates.

As a Dutchie you can’t skip the Amsterdam brewhouse. Once started in 1986 by a Dutch expat now a great place next to Lake Ontario. We enjoyed our lunch in the sun and stare at the water. Lake Ontario is so big that it feels like sitting at a seaside.

Like New York, Toronto has a main square; Yonge-Dundas Square. This square has big advertisement boards and with so many people walking and sitting around the square it definitely feels like the main square.

We also visit the square with the “Toronto sign” and head to Uncle Tetsu’s Shop for this famous Japanese cheesecake. My BF loves these cheesecakes and I am curious about the taste. Compared to other cheesecakes this one tastes light and I love it!

We finished the day with a visit at the cinema because as kids the Lion King has been our favorite movie, so we had to watch it together.

Oshawa and Toronto Islands

Tuesday, we have breakfast at Cora’s in Oshawa. I order pancakes and Waleed eats an omelet and fruit.

Canadian breakfast contains often meat and is quite heavy compared to west Europe.

Because I have a bit of a jetlag, we relax a bit until the afternoon. Waleed surprised me a belated birthday gift and went for an early dinner in downtown Toronto.

After dinner we went to Toronto Islands. Toronto Islands are 15 small Islands south of the mainland of Toronto. We just missed the ferry to the main island but in the end it we were happy we had the second ferry; that was way less crowed and we were able to get a nice spot on the ferry to take pictures of the Toronto skyline with the sun setting.

When we arrive at the island, we search for a nice spot to take pictures because the sun is setting quickly. We ended up on the right side of the small harbor. Sitting on an old wooden table surrounded by mosquitoes we watched the beautiful sunset together. And of course, we took pictures 😉

After the sunset and many mosquito bites, we go back to the ferry. We watch the sky getting darker and arrive at the harbor again.

We drive back to Oshawa and visit two good friends of Waleed.

Niagara Falls

On the 14th I wake up exited because we are going to the Niagara Falls! One of the world wonders and a natural border between Canada and the US.

We drive 2,5 hours to arrive in Niagara. The main street reminds me of Vegas and a theme park with too many hysterical colours and lights. After a slice of pizza, we walk with many other people to the falls.

My first feeling is how beautiful and big the falls are from the Canadian side of the falls. There is a long board walk that’s take you to the main waterfall. With a burning sun and many people, it can be a bit overwhelming, but I fully focused on the beauty of the falls and had a good time with my BF.

Walking in my new favorite dress and celebrating my belated birthday makes me feel really happy.

As surprise for my birthday Waleed takes me to the Watermark restaurant which gives you a stunning view from above on the Niagara Falls.

With wine and my favorite person, I enjoyed the view.

With a smile 😊

Nicole

Ps. Next stop Banff national park