Saturday 13 August 2016

Hop On Hop Off Toronto Bus Tour

The ongoing saga of our Toronto/Muskoka trip!
We've taken these types of tours in other cities, i.e., Washington, Paris, and I thought it would be a great way to get a quick tour of the city. All this despite the fact that I lived in Toronto the first 25 years of my life!

 I love people watching, and the city sights, such as Casa Loma. This sight is used for movie locations, it hosts a museum, as well as private and public events. I've been, but when I was a teen and I don't really remember it!

Casa Loma

Sir Henry Mill Pellatt was famous for bringing Hydro to Toronto, Toronto Electric Light Company, although the company was expropriated. "The company was acquired by Ontario Hydro in 1922, after private utilities ended in the early 1900s under the order of Sir Adam Beck."

Casa Loma (Spanish for Hill House) is a Gothic Revival style house and gardens in midtown TorontoOntario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was built as a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed from 1911 to 1914. Casa Loma sits at an elevation of 140 metres (460 ft) above sea level.[2]



We did hop off and on, and had three different tour guides. Kate was definitely the best. Their jokes are pretty lame, but she had good, clear speech patterns, and articulated well. Part of the tour included a ferry ride around the Toronto Islands, more on that tomorrow!


There was a line up to get into the ROM, which hubby visited the next day, while I was in meetings. The new glass exhibit was amazing, he told me.


U of T tour!


This old news truck was recycled. The wheels spin!


'Mom's hotel', the Royal York. She worked here, for the Rotary Club, as a secretary for over 30 years, back when moms didn't work outside of the home very much. I was very proud of her. She learned to use a computer to generate her weekly newsletter, at the ripe age of 50. She worked hard and worked very efficiently.



This parking lot (below) was the site of the first capital of Canada, later moved to Ottawa.


Down Memory Lane

 It is a large city with much variety, a great night life, as well as historical or tall buildings, and parks. Transportation is amazing, with the TTC subway.

census data shows that
my foster aunt and uncle lived upstairs
We lived at Yonge & Summerhill subway
The homes in the background,
with our respective neighbours,
were torn down to build condos.
Uncle Dee, on the right,
owned our other half of the semi-detached house.
station. Mom and Dad bought the house from& his mother, Mrs. Walker, from whom they rented. Prior to this they lived above a bakery. The street was named after the family. He was an actual relative of mom's sister-in-law. Uncle Bill, on the left, as we called him! Mom and dad paid $20,000 for their semi-detached home in the early 50s. I checked, and the average asking price in the Annex, as the area is called, sells for $1.87 million!

25 Walker Ave.

25 Walker Ave. (right), I lived here for 19 years!
Postage stamp front yard
in downtown Toronto, the annex.

8 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

It seems like a good way to see a lot with minimum energy expenditure.

Jenn Jilks said...

I found it tiring, John! It was bumpy, and way too hot. Hubby wanted to get off at the market, but I didn't have the energy!!!

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Definitely the best way to see the most in the least amount of time; but yes, tiring! Some wonderful buildings, murals and installations... and history... YAM xx

eileeninmd said...

Hello, it looks like a fabulous tour. It is nice just not having to drive in a new city. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

The Furry Gnome said...

That's a lot of pictures! And great memories. We lived a block from Casa Loma for one of our years in Toronto. Love that truck, hadn't seen it before. But I remember the neat painting on the back of the flatiron building.

Red said...

I like the hop on and off bus tours. I took one in Washington D.C. I'd been at a conference and had one day to see the city.

William Kendall said...

Beautiful pics... and some familiar locales to me.

Ohmydearests said...

I think HOHO bus tours are the best way to get an overview of a city... we did one in London last year and it gave us a great feel for the city...