The Great White North

While we were in Cleveland, we made a trip up to Canada for the weekend. We stopped in Toronto for a night and headed back on Saturday. We didn't take many pictures because we were too busy being disappointed by everything. Seriously. The hotel we stayed at in downtown Toronto was a "4-star", but had duct-tape holding up appliances and had random holes cut in the walls. We did not eat one good meal. And it was frigid. Eye-watering frigid. A lot of bad combinations that equaled me not wanting to ever go back to East-Coast Canada.

So, here we are mustering what we could out of the Great White North:

The skyline leaving Buffalo, NY and entering Canada. Niagra Falls is on the left and you can see the vapor from the falls if you look closely.

On our drive up we stopped at Tim Hortons, which is famous up there. You can't tell but Jake's smile is actually him gagging on the playdough-tasting doughnut. Seriously gross.

Driving into Toronto!

The fourth and last picture of the trip was of something maple. It was mediocre but I felt I had to capture my attempt at Canadian food.

Tips to survive Toronto:

1. Avoid Tim Hortons unless you like food that tastes like play-dough.

2. Do not eat at the first restaurant you find outside your hotel, even if it is moderately priced and has people inside. 

3. Just because there are a lot of Chinese people in the area does not mean the Chinese food is good or edible. 

4. Be prepared to be ripped off. The hotel we stayed at charges $27 parking for hotel guests. So if you book a good deal on priceline, it turns out to be way less of a good deal when you factor in ridiculous parking.

5. Don't drive downtown while being tired and hungry. You may end up feeling grumpy.

6. Drive very slow any time your exit may be coming up on the highway. The exit marks are sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, and sometimes non-existent. 

7. Don't expect any technology past 1982. If a 4-star hotel has a TV that is older than me, I can't imagine what a 2-star hotel has. 

8. Prepare to be extremely disappointed. Maybe if you go, you will end up loving the city. I hope that happens to you. But just in case, set your expectations low. Like, Detroit low.