Creemore, a Day Trip from Toronto

This headline is a little misleading, because Mom and I didn't technically come from Toronto to visit Creemore (we drove from Barrie, which was a pleasant 30 minutes). However, you can get to Creemore from Toronto in a brisk hour and a half, which still makes it a great day trip from the city. 

The time between Christmas and New Year's can turn into a vacuum of blank, dead space where time is just slipping through your fingers and you start getting a little stir crazy. Cue blogTO's article (read here) which inspired Mom and I to get our butts off the couch and enjoy some of Ontario's natural beauty and one of its cozy towns. 

How to Spend A Weekend in Guelph

This past weekend, I spent a couple of nights in Guelph, a city about an hour and a half directly west of Toronto. One of my best friends from high school, Ellen, did her master's here. She's since graduated, found a job, found an apartment, and welcomed me over for a visit.

I've been to Guelph a few times before, but something about this last visit really made me fall in love with it. The cute cafes and vintage stores, the artistic/hippie vibe of the city, the stunning river that runs through its centre, its proximity to nature — all of these things tugged at my heartstrings and made me wonder if I could ever live here myself. Not sure if I'm ready to abandon TO just yet, but it did get me thinking.

Here are some ideas on how to spend a few days in Guelph and fall in love with the city yourself.

Explore Downtown

Guelph's downtown isn't huge, but streets like Wyndham, Norfolk, and MacDonnell have tons of stores that are fun to poke your head into. My favourites were The Bookshelf, On the Verge, Wild Rose, and The Patch. 

Legitimately coming back to Guelph in the fall to do all of my winter wardrobe shopping and buy some unique and cool Christmas gifts in advance. 

Spend Time in Nature

Visiting Elora Gorge was at the top of my bucket list this summer, but as luck would have it, the weekend I was in Guelph, thousands of other people were there too for Elora Riverfest. Ellen and I decided to meet up with one of her friends from undergrad instead, so we drove to Christie Lake, a (somewhat) halfway point between Guelph and Niagara.

After paying a $15 entrance fee to get into the park, both of us were surprised at how peaceful it was and the lack of crowds. There were free picnic tables! Space on the beach for us to set up!  

Such a stunning drive there and back, too. The farmland is green, rolling, picturesque, and looks straight out of a postcard. We (travelers? people in general?) are so excited about going outside our country that we often forget to look at the beauty right where we are too.

Eat Delicious Food Made From Fresh, Local Ingredients

Before moving to Toronto, I spent 9 years of my life growing up in Barrie, a city similar to Guelph in population. Chain restaurants outnumber unique and interesting restaurants 9 to 1. Food options are limited to Kelsey's, The Keg, Montana's, Boston Pizza, Jack Astor's, etc, etc. So I've always looked down on small cities, assuming their food scene was just as bad as Barrie's. 

Thank you, Guelph! Thank you for being nothing like that horrid place I spent my tween and teen years in! 

Ellen suggested we go to Baker Street Station for dinner after our day on the beach, and my goodness, I want to go back and try every single thing on their menu. For an appetizer, Ellen and I shared the beer-battered brie, served with a raspberry compote. I could eat these like candy!

Ellen got the Salmon Poke Bowl (I had a bite and it was deeeelish) while I went with the Donair because I'm all about that naan bread. They also have a very long list of craft beers here, so I would highly, highly recommend you make a reservation if you know you're going to be in Guelph. Or, you know, just make a day out of it and drive out here for those Brie bites. 

Guelph is a lovely, lovely city with a unique pulse of its own. Add it to your bucket list and let it pleasantly surprise you, as it did me. 

How to Spend a Day in Collingwood

Last weekend, M and I (and Zoey!) went for a day trip along with my mom. We were originally going to go to Tobermory, then to Algonquin, but plans fell through and we didn't feel like driving that far... so my Mom made an executive decision that we'd spend the day somewhere closer instead.

Blue Mountain is more of a winter destination (at least in my mind). As a skier, I spent nearly every winter on these hills, since it's only a 45 minute drive away from where my parents live in Barrie.

But since Intrawest took over and built "The Village", Blue has attracted some summer crowds. The last time I visited during the summer was 6 or 7 years ago. It was busy, but not an anthill. I have fond memories of letting our family dog run loose all over the hill, and eating dinner at the Firehall Pizza restaurant. 

This time around... it was like Blue Mountain had all of a sudden become Disney World (and I swear I haven't seen it on any BlogTo articles, which would at least explain its sudden surge into popularity). 

What had once been a quaint and cute ski town had turned into tourist central. 

I get the hypocrisy. I myself, am a tourist. But there's a part of me that remembers, and misses, what summers in Collingwood were like. And I think there's a part of me too that considers myself a local, and it breaks my heart when I see small shops and stores being driven out by corporations (our favourite mermaid-branded coffee chain!) and luxury brands. 

One of the reasons that Blue Mountain has become such a destination (at least in my opinion) is the truckload of activities they've created - a mini golf couse! zip lining! mountain coaster! helicopter tours! segway tours! You know a place isn't off the beaten path anymore when they start hosting segway tours, haha. 

Okay, enough of the hate. Blue Mountain is busy, the activities are a bit of an overkill, but the view from the top is killer, and if you hike along the top of the mountain, there are barely any other people there. 

Which meant we could let Zoey off her leash and let her have some fun. 

This seems like a weird thing to say, but to escape the tourists, we went... downtown. Yup. Downtown Collingwood with cute cafes and food places was a nice change from the crowds in the Village. 

M and I got an iced espresso from The Lethal Buzz Cafe, I highly recommend them, they were so sweet and kind, letting us order even though they were closing down for the day :) 

There are so many little nooks and crannies like the one above. Stunning design stores, and vintage stores, tea stores - an interesting assortment of places to wander in and out of. 

When I was young, my mom and dad and I always went to East Side Mario's for dinner, so Mom and I thought it would be fun to do that again. Shocker - East Side's closed down! There's a Pie Restaurant in it's place now, so the 3 of us just decided to go for it - and it was really good!

I know I can't expect things to always stay the same. Change is inevitable, and it's good for Collingwood's economy to rake in the dough from tourism. Restaurants close down, other restaurants open up. Mom-and-pop coffee shops are bought and rebranded and reopened as a franchise. That's life. But in my memories, Blue Mountain will always be a place where I ran through waist high grass soaking in summer away from the bustling city. 

Arts and Crafts Festival in Barrie

Every year during the Civic Holiday long weekend, Kempenfest comes to Barrie. And (almost) every year, Mom and I make a habit of taking a few hours to stroll around the artist booths, food stalls, and antique stores.

It was a cloudy day, but that made it perfect for walking around and taking in the interesting (and sometimes downright strange...check out that skull chandelier!) things for sale.

Since there's construction along the north side of Lake Simcoe this year, the festival was shifted entirely south. It didn't seem like a big deal, and it made more sense because the festival organizers grouped all the food together, but I had a hard time locating my favourite booths - where was the ukelele guy? those delicious dips by Deb? the handmade necklaces?

Despite not being able to find some booths, the vintage and antique section was in a better postion this year, in an area with more space and walking room.

When I eventually decide to own a home or apartment, I'm coming to Kempenfest and getting all my furniture here. How cute is that BAR sign?!

Want a stunning hand carved totem pole? Only $695.

Zoey was definitely a thirsty pooch. As the day went on and the sun started coming it, it got hot. HOT.

Mom and I thought we would be beating the crowds by showing up early in the morning, but there were already hundreds of people already there. Goes to show that Barrie is becoming *quite* the place to be. At least on the Civic Holiday when Kempenfest is happening.

Every Single Neighbourhood in NYC (almost!)

Thank you for your patience while awaiting the final installation in my three part series on NYC! It's been a busy couple weeks what with midterms, essays, and college applications. Now that I finally have some downtime (hoorah for Reading Week!) I can catch up on my blogging.

Warning: this post is very image heavy! 

Our last full day in NYC was a whole day whirlwind walking affair. We had planned to walk 14 km, but after 10 km, we gave up and took the subway for a bit. We did most of Lower Manhattan (as you'll see), but skipped out on NoHo and SoHo. You win some, you lose some. 

Clinton/Hell's Kitchen

We started the day at 50th Street and 8th Avenue and started walking south. This area is one of my favourites in Manhattan. It's quieter, for starts. There are fire escapes on every building. Delicious restaurants. We came here first thing in the morning so there wasn't any food stops to be had. But it was still nice to walk around, especially by the river. 

Chelsea

By far my favourite neighbourhood in the city. Why? Well, I really can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's the nice sounding name. The amazing architectural blend of old and new. There's tons of lofts, factories, and townhomes. There's a strong Victorian-era presence in this area. There are cool modern buildings. Most of them have rooftop gardens. 

If I could live anywhere in Manhattan, it would be here.

A cool part of Chelsea is that this is where the High Line starts. It's a 1.6km linear park, elevated above the city. It replaced the old train tracks that used to run into the city. Instead of NYC tearing down the elevated tracks, it decided to create this beautiful park. I definitely recommend coming here. The view of the rest of the city is very cool. At the end of the line, you can even catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. 

Milos was pretty excited about the cobblestone streets. Guess NYC isn't all concrete jungle!

Lower Manhattan

Here's where most of the main sites are: Freedom Tower, Wall Street, the Bull, ferries to Ellis Island to see the Statue, the Financial District, etc, etc. 

Some of these sights are extremely over-rated. Take the Wall Street Bull for example. People just need that iconic "postcard shot", and they are so intent on getting it that they'll wait in line for hours. 

Wall Street is fairly majestic in terms of the regal buildings. Once again, there can be a huge tourist lineup for that "perfect photo". Since I don't care much for waiting around in the cold just to get a photo, we moved on quickly. 

Chinatown and Little Italy

Another amazing neighbourhood of the city. Move past all the tourist traps and immerse yourself in the rich cultural areas of Chinatown and Little Italy. An entire new cuisine, cheap souvenirs, bright red lights - there is just so much to love about this area. 

The four of us had some delicious pizza slice at Grand Appetito. Having been to Italy before, I can truly say that this pizza was close to the original (thin, crunchy, full of sauce). 

Midtown

We got extremely exhausted (and cold) after our Chinatown and Little Italy excursion, so we skipped over a few neighbourhoods so that we could make it to the New York Public Library before it closed to the public. I realize that this could be considered a "touristy" place, but it really is incredible and worth a visit. 

Also worth a visit is Grand Central Station. Damn, these New Yorkers sure know how to do ceilings!

And of course, what visit would to New York City would be complete without Times Square?

I'm a big fan of How I Met Your Mother (who isn't?!). So when Jenny messaged me that a HIMYM bar existed, I knew we all had to go there. This is McGee's, just a few minutes walk away from Times Square. The writers of the show frequented this place often, so it was their inspiration behind McLauren's pub in the TV Show.

That's all for New York City, everyone! Thanks for bearing with me on this very drawn out series. Now that I've finally finished this gargantuan task (this post alone took me 3 hours), I can't wait to write about what I've been up to these last few weeks: Vietnamese food, Japanese food, Ethiopian food - all within driving distance in Toronto!