We flew from Edmonton to Toronto on June 21st. Air Canada provided us with a comfortable flight and we were very impressed with the Pearson Airport to Union Station express train. Before we knew it, we had collected our bags and were in downtown Toronto.
From Union Station we walked a few blocks north to the Dundas Apartments and Suites, which is located on the corner of Dundas and Bathurst, just west of the Kensington Market area.
This Toronto trip was originally put into motion in order to see the rock band, U2. Ten years ago, we had tickets to see U2 in Australia. Although we made it to the land down under, the band unfortunately didn't and the concert was cancelled.
It was now the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree album and U2 was staging another tour to honour the album which has aged so elegantly. Friday June 23, had been circled in my calendar for some time and we arrived at the Rogers Centre early to soak up the preconcert atmosphere.
The dome was closed and the air was stuffy for the opening act; however, much to our relief, the roof was opened just before we heard the opening drum beats of “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” After so many years, I was finally seeing U2 live.
The band opened with a four-song set of classics on a small stage before moving back to the mainstage with their massive video screen. As the band made their way through the entire Joshua Tree tracklist, the screen displayed images of American desert landscapes and mountain peaks.
Bono praised Canada numerous times throughout the show and referred to the country as a magnificent, beautiful mosaic.
They played to over 52,000 people that night and gave the fans exactly what they were looking for.
The next morning, Jueun and I met my cousin Jeff for breakfast at Fran's, on College Street. The landmark restaurant has been serving it up since the1940's and as usual they more than satisfied our breakfast needs. After this, we left downtown Toronto and made our way north to Wasaga Beach.
Once we arrived at Wasaga Beach, we met our other cousins. Along with Mike, Tamy, Carly, Amanda, Elana, Kenzie, Oliver, Myles and Laura, we had a great day at the popular beach. We had fun swimming and playing volleyball along with other games.
It was great to hang out and we were so glad everyone could get together like that. Tamy prepared a great lunch for us all. The barbeque was delicious and we had built up quite an appetite after all the fun and games. After all the good competition on this day, we are now left looking forward to the Volleyball rematch next summer.
The next day, on Sunday June 25th, we made our way to BMO Field to see the Toronto Argonauts football game. We walked down Bathurst Street and towards the Exhibition grounds where we walked through the Prince's Gate and towards the stadium. After a brief shower in the afternoon, the sun came out, just in time for us to take in a little of the Argo tail gate party.
Besides driving us all around, which we really appreciated, Jeff managed to get us some awesome seats and along with Mike and Tamy we got to watch the Argos sail on to a commanding 32-15 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
On Monday, Jeff, Jueun and I contunued our Toronto fun time schedule by going to Canada's Wonderland. It was Jueun's first time ever and likely my first visit in about 25 years. The weather was cool and the the crowds were small so it made for short lines and lots of rides. At times we felt like teenagers, basically running from ride to ride. If there had been a "Back to the Future" ride we might have had the date set on 1992.
The next day, we took a walk around Maple Leaf Gardens, the Air Canada Centre and then around the St. Lawrence Market, before making our way back to the Rogers Centre. This time we were headed to see baseball.
We enjoyed the game; however, the Blue Jays were no match for the Baltimore Orioles. It's been a rough year for the Jays and this day was no exception.
On Wednesday, we headed out for a major walk around the downtown area. When we travel we always enjoy walking, whether it is exploring a city for the first time, or in this case, checking out the changes in a city we have known for years.
After breakfast, we headed north on Ossington Avenue until we hit Bloor Street. There we took a rest for awhile in Christie Pits Park before having Nangmyung for lunch at a nice little Korean restaurant in Koreatown.
We then headed East along Bloor, until we reached Sherbourne Street, where we turned South and made our way down to Queen Street. Here we stopped in at Kim's Convenience for some gatorade and a little chat with the real Mrs. Kim, in the store from the Korean flavoured CBC comedy. For obvious reasons this show has struck a humorous chord with us.
From there we moved on to the Indigenous festival at Dundas Square. We hung out there for awhile before we made our way back to Kensington Market to meet up with Carly, Faith and Zian for a a nice meal at the Pho Hung Restaurant.
By the end of the day our feet were a little sore; however, we were satisfied with the ground we had covered and what we had seen of "The Big Smoke." I wonder if the King of Kensington ever walked around the city that much.
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