Toronto

My husband has been travelling a lot lately.  Me?  Not so much.  So when we had a four day weekend, we took a trip that was in some respects, a compromise.  We took advantage of the opportunity to go away for a few days, and then we took advantage of the privilege of being home for a couple more.

We took the more rural route to Toronto.   The drive was leisurely and it was warm enough to open the sun roof, a sure sign that spring has arrived.   When we saw a billboard saying that the 'most amazing coffee, two blocks left' in Madoc, well, away we went.  This little place delivered, and while it was really smooth latte, I think my husband makes a better one.  Still, if you are on highway 7, we recommend this for sure.

We stayed at this hotel, which just has so much to look at in it's historic lobby.  The room has high ceilings, big windows and a lot of space.  It had everything but a coffee maker, which frankly surprised me quite a bit.   No coffee maker?  Nothing to heat water?  What's up with that?  As much as I loved the hotel, there is NO way that I'm going to spend $7 to have two cups of coffee delivered to the room.  By that I mean, the $7 menu price, plus the $3 delivery charge plus the 15% service fee.  Good thing there were two Starbucks within a couple of blocks!

What I did love about the hotel, however,  were the doormen.  They were so much fun and they remembered us by name.  They were always laughing...and I appreciated that. Well done, guys!

We admired the history and architecture of St. James Cathedral.  We walked through the madness of the St. Lawrence market.  Our true destination was the Distillery District.  And Soma...without a doubt, my favourite stop.   The weather could not have been more accommodating and our day could not have been more perfect.  The people watching was great, and there was a young string quartet playing in front of this strange sculpture.  We had coffee, and freshly made hot cross buns...but the best part, was just being together.  He was showing me something that he had discovered, and there was something very sweet about that.

The Distillery District--now one of my favourite places!  And oh yes, he found a fixer-upper so he's happy too.