DAYS 1 & 2

Creme de la Creme Tour - May, 2018

NOTE:  For additional trip pictures and videos go to Facebook , search for Sunrise-Canada Creme.

DAY 1 - Travel to Marshall, MI. 
               The bus travelers departed St. Louis on their journey to Toronto, Canada spending the night in Marshall, MI known for its world famous Schuler’s Restaurant.  The guests were quite pleased with the tasty menu offerings and raved about the delicious bread pudding.  

                Sunrise Tours is extremely accommodating to its guests as travelers can choose to take a scenic bus ride to their destination or for those who prefer the fastest route, for an additional fee, they have the option of flying.

DAY 2 - Travel to Toronto, CA

               This was a very busy day for the “Wanderlusters”, my nickname for our tour group as the bus riders and flyers all rendezvoused at the conveniently located Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre.   I thought the hotel lobby area was stunning, especially for a Holiday Inn.

          While several of us flyers, including me, had some harrowing airline adventures en route to Toronto, ranging from cancelled flights to mechanical issues, we all managed to make it to the hotel in time for a flavorful Italian dinner at The Badali Bar and Cucina, located right in the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment District.  The service was prompt, the food choices quite appetizing and the scrumptious tiramisu was the best ever.

               From there it was a quick ride to our evening’s entertainment, the play ‘Annie’ shown at the historic Ed Mirvish Theater.  While Annie is the named star of the show, the true highlight of the evening was the renowned actress Lesley Nicol, famous for her role in Downton Abbey, playing the deceiving Miss Hannigan.  The show was quite entertaining with stunning stage sets, well-designed era costumes and exciting dance numbers.  We all enjoyed a fun-filled evening.

DAY 3-City Tour-Toronto Highlights

MORNING

We had such a fun-filled day, that I had to divide it into 2 parts.  

After a filling breakfast at a quaint breakfast cafe, Chez Cora, we explored the highlights of Toronto, a multi-cultural city, bursting at the seams with growth.  Everywhere I looked was a booming crane creating an exciting modern sculpture next to a stately, historic-looking building.   The city is quite beautiful with a vibrant aura and vibe.   I’ve not been here since 1969 and at that time, I recall it having more of an industrial feel.  Our first stop was on the banks of Lake Ontario, looking back towards the picturesque skyline.  

Next we visited the world famous St. Lawrence Market which was quite interesting.   Not familiar with this Marketplace, I fully expected to see small booths of dresses, jewelry and knick-knacks.  What a shock!  It’s an electric feeling market bristling with merchants selling everything from meats, sea food and bakery goods to the most colorful, mouth-watering fruits and vegetables.

It was a sensory delight.   You can further explore the highlights of this interesting Market at St. Lawrence Market

Here are some shots of the market and our group.      

Next we were off to THE PATH, which is a network of underground pedestrian tunnels, elevated walkways and walkways connecting the office towers of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is more than 30 kilometres long.   It’s billed as the largest underground shopping/business district in the world.  It would have been fascinating to explore, but with time restrictions, the group stuck close together.  It’s just too easy to get lost down there.   It’s very interesting too that the first level also has sculpture and art exhibits which I really enjoyed.   The ceiling is structurally stunning and illuminates the entire first floor.  

The other pictures are of buildings and scenery as we were driving Thursday Toronto, including the Hockey Hall of Fame and Casa Loma.  I love Casa Loma as it’s the first castle I ever visited.  I went there in 1969 with my friend Ruth Smith who is the Tour Director on this trip.

 

Pictures of Casa Loma

DAY 3-AFTERNOON 

We dined at the Hot House Restaurant which offered us several menu choices including char-grilled salmon, chicken marsala and New York Sirloin.  The service was prompt and everyone enjoyed the food.  I love how Sunrise Tours insures that all diners needs are met by offering several menu choices and accommodating special dietary requests such as for vegetarians or food allergies.

From there we went to the CN Tower which is a 553.3 meter high concrete communications and observation tower located in Downtown Toronto.  From the floor-to-ceiling panoramic window walls to the thrilling descent in just 58 seconds, it’s an exciting landmark to visit.  You’re so high up, that when looking out, you feel like you’re eye level with the jets flying by.  

Here’s some shots taken from the top floor of the tower.

      

SUNRISE TOURS:  Creme de la Creme Tour - May, 2018

NOTE:  For additional trip pictures, go to Facebook and ask to join the group Sunrise-Canada Creme, created for this trip.

DAY 1 - Travel to Marshall, MI. 
               The bus travelers departed St. Louis on their journey to Toronto, Canada spending the night in Marshall, MI known for its world famous Schuler’s Restaurant.  The guests were quite pleased with the tasty menu offerings and raved about the delicious bread pudding.  

                Sunrise Tours is extremely accommodating to its guests as travelers can choose to take a scenic bus ride to their destination or for those who prefer the fastest route, for an additional fee, they have the option of flying.

DAY 2 - Travel to Toronto, CA

               This was a very busy day for the “Wanderlusters”, my nickname for our tour group as the bus riders and flyers all rendezvoused at the conveniently located Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre.   I thought the hotel lobby area was stunning, especially for a Holiday Inn.

          While several of us flyers, including me, had some harrowing airline adventures en route to Toronto, ranging from cancelled flights to mechanical issues, we all managed to make it to the hotel in time for a flavorful Italian dinner at The Badali Bar and Cucina, located right in the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment District.  The service was prompt, the food choices quite appetizing and the scrumptious tiramisu was the best ever.

               From there it was a quick ride to our evening’s entertainment, the play ‘Annie’ shown at the historic Ed Mirvish Theater.  While Annie is the named star of the show, the true highlight of the evening was the renowned actress Lesley Nicol, famous for her role in Downton Abbey, playing the deceiving Miss Hannigan.  The show was quite entertaining with stunning stage sets, well-designed era costumes and exciting dance numbers.  We all enjoyed a fun-filled evening.

Sunrise Tours -

Hi fellow Wanderlusters
      Wanderlust can be defined as “a deep, almost uncontrollable desire to hit the road and travel, by whatever means possible, to explore and enjoy the world.

Wanderluster so aptly describes me because in my 50 plus years of traveling all over the world I’ve been to 27 countries, 45 states and hundreds of cities. I truly have ‘wanderust’ in my heart because I love the entire process of traveling.......from the research and planning stage, to actually taking the trip and then coming home to tell all my friends and family about it.

      That’s why I’m excited to announce that I’ll once again be traveling with Sunrise Tours and Blogging about my adventures on their upcoming Creme de la Creme tour which will take us to Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal and Niagara Falls.  Check out the trip details at:  https://travelsunrise.com/saint-louis/tours/destinations/1401-2/

        On a Sunrise trip, you can be assured all your travel needs will be anticipated and met.  Each tour will cover not only the highlights of the area, but in addition, there will be ‘surpise’ treat for the tour group......like in San Francisco when we  went on an unscheduled cable car ride.

To view their complete schedule for the rest of 2018, visit their website at https://travelsunrise.com/saint-louis/tours/winter2018/