June 31, 2003 WUSA TV Washington DC

“Toronto is Wonderful and Safe”

We took an intense weekend excursion to Toronto, Ontario and what a wonderful surprise this turned out to be. I’d move to this great city in an instant - well at least for the six warm months! With two hour non-stop flights from National airport it easily qualifies as a frequent weekend destination for us. Actually four hours with one stop isn’t too bad either and often at a lower price. Another bargain idea, for those with more time, is to take Southwest on their special $39 each way from BWI to Buffalo, NY and rent a car. Discover the upstate New York 1000 Islands area (see our new report on Sackets Harbor) and then cross the border for the quaint and picturesque first capital Kingston and finally over to sleek sophisticated Toronto.

I had done reports on Toronto and the worldwide SARS situation for WUSA TV in Washington with enough investigation to believe it was probably overblown by the media. The cases seemed confined to the hospital and as it turned out not once in any location, including at concerts with thousands of people, did anyone have a face mask. Perhaps there was a bit of tabloid embellishment with the news shots of people wearing masks and I’m wondering about the declarations of the World Health Organization and was this just another example of statistical magic? My doctor mentioned it might be wise to consider always wearing a mask on planes as part of ones normal travel regime. I always figured flight attendants must have incredible immune systems.

Needless to say the adverse publicity is to your advantage and now is the time to visit Toronto for a non-stop summer and fall of entertainment and outstanding hotel packages. We stayed at Canada’s largest hotel, the beautiful Delta Chelsea with 1590 rooms and six restaurants, conveniently located right in downtown. The lobby was always packed with conventioneers, regular tourists and other groups. I was briefly mistaken for a librarian! The famous and entertaining, Yonge Street, purported to be the longest in the world, is on one side and it’s just a block or so to the Eaton Centre. A perfect location in this city for those of us that enjoy exploring walks or if you’re the spouse of a conventioneer and have a little extra time.

The Delta Chelsea has a new 130 foot 4 story indoor corkscrew water slide encased in a glass tower that even leaves the hotel and then comes back in! Part of the plan to provide family entertainment. In spite of the properties giant size and magnitude of features, everyone was very patient and nice, our rooms were extremely quiet and the hotel was immaculate. I do recommend calling as their website is difficult to impossible to navigate.

The hotel participates in many charitable and civic programs through “Delta Cares” together with Delta Hotels throughout the country. Josef Ebert, the personable Regional Vice President and Managing Director said that “Over the years, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of families who require accommodation while their loved ones receive treatment at one of the cities outstanding hospitals and we wanted to help ease their minds by providing accommodations that are both comfortable and conveniently located”. Families may apply through a designated representative at the hospitals to receive full complimentary or significantly reduced rate lodging at the hotel.

We had such a good time and as always the Canadians were kind and friendly, eager to assist and happy to chat as we wandered around one of many festivals on a downtown square soaking up the low 80’s temperatures and sunshine after what seems like our 25 years of continuous rain here in the mid Atlantic. I was able to load up on real maple syrup and check out the various jewelry stalls.

Toronto has 80 different ethnic neighborhoods like Greektown, Cabbagetown and Little Italy, over 6,000 restaurants and more than 13 museums to get one started! All seasons provide a full cultural and entertainment venue for every taste and budget. 

One glorious evening after a concert at the Air Canada Centre featuring Barenaked Ladies, Diana Krall and a cavalcade of Canadian stars we boarded a large dinner boat for a late night cruise that ended with a brilliant fireworks display over the river.

It’s harder for me to write about a trip that I really really enjoy because it seems a little fake-y but this was a fast moving entertaining weekend without any dud moments, so bear with my gushing, and realize I’d go back once a month if I could.

We were able to take a few hours and travel out to Niagara Falls for a ride on the helicopter over the falls and also “Maid of the Mist” getting very close to the falls. After which, is what I was – Maid drenched in Mist. Surprisingly it was raining and quite a bit colder than in Toronto and many of us ”supposed” expert travelers were not prepared getting fairly wet and chilled.

I always think the famously photographed sites like Niagara Falls and the Eiffel Tower may turn out to be a “ho hum big deal” but it was quite exciting and a beautiful location for not just honeymooners but anyone. The surrounding Niagara parks system, trails and other features would be well worth exploring.

The intensity of the wind and “mist” on the Maid of the Mist boat ride was a little powerful for a few of us lightweights and especially some of the very small children with their families. I would advise one to hang on to small, weak and/or elderly as it gets wet, windy and a bit choppy. The blue plastic “capes” fly up in the wind and it helps to tie a knot at the hips to make them tighter. Also roll up your pants. Pretty exciting and well worth it though even for us old water babies. 

The Niagara Helicopter Rides provide another thrill with their six passenger Bell 407’s offering a great view but not inexpensive for about 15 or 20 minutes, it may be a bit of a luxury for some. You fly back and forth over the area in a pattern that allows all the passengers equal viewing time of the falls as well as the adjoining countryside. This award winning company also offers trips to wineries and in-flight weddings.

Back in Toronto we toured the brand new and developing massive premier arts and culture destination the Distillery Historic District. With its cobblestone paths and 44 buildings comprising the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial architecture in North America this will be a destination unto itself. Even their website is overwhelming to navigate! Opened in May 2003, the festival and special events calendar is already chock full and currently there are 6 restaurants and bakeries, 19 galleries, retail stores, one Micro Brewery, live entertainment inside and out and loads of space for private parties and events plus continued expansion.

We attended a reception in Canada’s premier and the most spectacular glass gallery I can ever hope to see. Representing leading Canadian, American and International art the Sandra Ainsley Gallery has over 6,000 square feet of glass displays. You stand right next to Chihuly pieces running up to $200,000! The Distillery Historic District will be adding housing and ever so much more. Again a summer night of “velvet” air and we just couldn’t have enjoyed the total ambience more.

In addition to talking with tourism officials about the SARS situation, I’m always concerned with the general safety of tourists especially in large cities. One female official stated that she lived not far from the Distillery in another downtown historic district and felt perfectly comfortable walking at anytime of the day or night including the wee hours. I think a city this clean shows a diligence that goes into many aspects of maintaining a positive urban lifestyle. 

Toronto has a nice proportion of “in town” living and in my short visit we saw many existing condominiums and apartments as well as a huge number under construction. Along the river be prepared to pay $300,000 for a small unit on a lower floor. It was very evident that city dwellers support the restaurants, theaters, retailers and keep it vibrant seven nights a week. Police maintain a very low profile and apparently that is all that is necessary.

How could anyone visit here without going up the CN Tower, at 1815 feet, the world’s currently tallest building? In 58 seconds the six glass walled elevators climb to the observation decks, revolving restaurants and a scary glass floor that I was able to back out onto but not go forward. We also experienced the most professional security personnel and system I’ve seen in North America. We walked through chrome arches that looked like a spaceship entry and little puffs of air ran up and down the sides of your body. I asked a very competent looking police officer what they were for and he said explosive detection. Their web site tells great stories of stair climbers carrying up all kinds of things 1760 steps or going backwards or riding a motorcycle for charity or break Guinness records and performing human flies on the outside.

On another early evening we joined locals walking along the bays boardwalk watching ferries loaded with picnickers crossing to and from the cities recreational islands, then shopped in some very upscale stores, checked out a variety of restaurant menus and just enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere of the city. The entire waterfront is involved in multimillion dollar phased revitalization and this area was just a small portion of it. Today I can hardly believe we didn’t have time to step foot in one museum and we never rested! 

Check the Toronto Tourism web site for the entire calendar of summer and fall events. They have wonderful hotel packages and will be happy to handle or help you with booking and plans for your visit. Really a wonderful immaculate exciting city not to be avoided. Plus one of the few places today that your dollar goes a little further.

Sources in order of mention.

Red Carnation Hotels
www.redcarnationhotels.com
USA / Canada 
877 955 1515

Virgin Vacations
www.virgin-vacations.com/
1-888-YES-VIRGIN 
For Air only 1-800-253-8649.
www.virgin-atlantic.com/

Sceptre Ireland
Tel #: 516-881-0100
Fax #: 516-881-0105
info-sales@sceptreireland.com
www.sceptreireland.com

Liberty Travel
www.libertytravel.com

City of Kingston, Ontario, Canada
www.city.kingston.on.ca

Delta Chelsea Hotel
33 Gerrard Street W. 
Toronto (Downtown), Ontario 
M5G 1Z4 
Tel: 416-595-1975 
Fax: 416-585-4375
www.deltachelsea.com

Niagara Helicopters Limited
3731 Victoria Ave.
P.O. Box 636
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada L2E 6V5
Ph. 905-357-5672
Fax. 905-374-2856
weflyyou@niagarahelicopters.com

Maid of the Mist Corporation
151 Buffalo Avenue
Niagara Falls, New York 14303
716.284.8897
716.284.5446 (fax)
www.maidofthemist.com

The Distillery Historic District
55 Mill Street
Toronto ON
MSA 3C4
www.thedistillerydistrict.com
For tours 416 364 1177

Sandra Ainsley Gallery
The Distillery Historic District
55 Mill Street
Toronto ON
MSA 3C4
www.sandraainsleygallery.com

CN Tower
www.cntower.ca

Toronto Convention & Visitors Association
P.O. Box 126
207 Queens Quay West 
Toronto, Ontario 
M5J 1A7 
Canada
Phone: 416.203.2600 
Fax Number: 416.203.6753
General e-mail Delivery
toronto@torcvb.com
www.torontotourism.com

City of Toronto
/www.city.toronto.on.ca

Toronto Island Ferry information: 416-392-8193