A while ago I started my study abroad recap series with a post about Torontonian neighborhoods. Another post followed with links to my posts about tourist sites I got to visit during my time there. This post is all about food! I am a major foodie and spent many Canadian dollars to feast on foods that are unavailable (or very rare to find/expensive) in Europe. I did not provide a link to all the food I ate, so you will have to check out my daily blogs if you are curious to see everything I ate there (including homemade meals, lol).
maandag 30 september 2013
maandag 23 september 2013
Study Abroad Recap II: Ultimate visitor's guide to Toronto (Tourist Sites)
A few weeks ago I started my study abroad recap series with a post about Torontonian neighborhoods. Today's post is about some of the tourist sites I was able to visit. Be sure to click the links if you are planning to visit Toronto to get an impression!
dinsdag 27 augustus 2013
Study Abroad Recap I: Ultimate visitor's guide to Toronto (Neighborhoods)
This is my first study abroad recap post in which I show you an overview of the most prominent neighborhoods in Downtown Toronto I visited. Click the picture captions to get a visual impression of the area and on the map to enlarge it!
vrijdag 16 augustus 2013
Study Abroad Day 51: Cronut burger lush
Today it was time for The Ex! The Ex is also called the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), and it is an annual fair located at The Exhibition Place. I knew a lot of weird food would be there (e.g. bacon with chocolate, fried kool-aid), so I could had been waiting for weeks! But of course something was doomed to happen that day... I forgot my lactase pills and painkillers, meeeh! Darnit, lol. This meant I could not go all out trying out stuff unfortunately. But I was excited for the experience nonetheless!
Before meeting with friends to go to the fair, I got up early to visit the U of T bookstore one last time for some souvenirs. I tried out some tops, and I really liked the one with the maple leaf on it, but the price was a bit steep for my liking! I eventually bought a mug and a few pencils and pens.
I quickly went home for some light lunch and to get ready!
When I arrived I felt like I entered a combination of an amusement park, a carnival, and a zoo. We first checked out the farm building full of (smelly) animals. I found it pretty disturbing that the sign in front of the cows said "beef" and the sign in front of the pig stalls said "veal", lol.
I was so damn hungry walking around in the farm building, I could not wait to get to the food building.
I was on a hunt for (1) a cronut burger, (2) Nutella fries, and (3) a corndog. I also wanted to try out some friend chicken and waffles, and red velvet pancakes. Pretty much anything we do not sell in Amsterdam, lol. But because I had to protect my bowels, I was very selective and ended up trying only a cronut burger and corndog. The C$10 cronutburger consists of a cronut—aka the lovechild of a croissant and a donut—and a beef patty.
Although the price was pretty steep, the burger tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before. It was de-li-cious! I love the combination sweet and savoury in my food. The burger was topped with some maple bacon jam, and it tasted very good (although it might sound a bit off). I heard a few people got food poisening from the burger, but luckily I was one of the lucky few that did not!
The corndog was a major disappointment! I did not expect for it to be covered with soft dough. I thought it would be chewy almost textured like bread. So that was a bummer... Unfortunately the fair would close down soon and I did not have anyone to join me with eating, so I could not try any more dishes. Because my stomach was feeling fine, I decided to have a scoop of cherry flavored icecream to end the night in terms of food.
Because the buildings were closing in a bit we rushed over to another building where clothes and other stuff were on sale, before the exhibition would close for the night. This hall really reminded me of the Dutch 'Nationale Huishoudbeurs' (household exhibition). I bought a black top with a sheer back for C$5. After that it was already time to go home, boohoo. No rides on the rollercoasters thus unfortunately...
Although it was shortlived, I really enjoyed my time at the CNE. Unfortunately we arrived at the fair too late for us to be able to take our time exploring the entire exhibition. I was actually planning to go there earlier, but I felt so tired from the previous days that I decided to sleep in a little and meet up with the rest later. Anyways, my main reason for going there was to try out weird foods, but like I mentioned earlier I forgot my pills so I had to limit myself.
I took the streetcar and subway back home! Tomorrow will be my last full day in Toronto :(
X
Sefanja Rubina
Before meeting with friends to go to the fair, I got up early to visit the U of T bookstore one last time for some souvenirs. I tried out some tops, and I really liked the one with the maple leaf on it, but the price was a bit steep for my liking! I eventually bought a mug and a few pencils and pens.
I quickly went home for some light lunch and to get ready!
When I arrived I felt like I entered a combination of an amusement park, a carnival, and a zoo. We first checked out the farm building full of (smelly) animals. I found it pretty disturbing that the sign in front of the cows said "beef" and the sign in front of the pig stalls said "veal", lol.
I was so damn hungry walking around in the farm building, I could not wait to get to the food building.
I was on a hunt for (1) a cronut burger, (2) Nutella fries, and (3) a corndog. I also wanted to try out some friend chicken and waffles, and red velvet pancakes. Pretty much anything we do not sell in Amsterdam, lol. But because I had to protect my bowels, I was very selective and ended up trying only a cronut burger and corndog. The C$10 cronutburger consists of a cronut—aka the lovechild of a croissant and a donut—and a beef patty.
Although the price was pretty steep, the burger tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before. It was de-li-cious! I love the combination sweet and savoury in my food. The burger was topped with some maple bacon jam, and it tasted very good (although it might sound a bit off). I heard a few people got food poisening from the burger, but luckily I was one of the lucky few that did not!
The corndog was a major disappointment! I did not expect for it to be covered with soft dough. I thought it would be chewy almost textured like bread. So that was a bummer... Unfortunately the fair would close down soon and I did not have anyone to join me with eating, so I could not try any more dishes. Because my stomach was feeling fine, I decided to have a scoop of cherry flavored icecream to end the night in terms of food.
Because the buildings were closing in a bit we rushed over to another building where clothes and other stuff were on sale, before the exhibition would close for the night. This hall really reminded me of the Dutch 'Nationale Huishoudbeurs' (household exhibition). I bought a black top with a sheer back for C$5. After that it was already time to go home, boohoo. No rides on the rollercoasters thus unfortunately...
Although it was shortlived, I really enjoyed my time at the CNE. Unfortunately we arrived at the fair too late for us to be able to take our time exploring the entire exhibition. I was actually planning to go there earlier, but I felt so tired from the previous days that I decided to sleep in a little and meet up with the rest later. Anyways, my main reason for going there was to try out weird foods, but like I mentioned earlier I forgot my pills so I had to limit myself.
I took the streetcar and subway back home! Tomorrow will be my last full day in Toronto :(
X
Sefanja Rubina
woensdag 14 augustus 2013
Study Abroad Day 49: Waving rainbow flags and peameal bacon
Today was a day filled with lots of fun, but also very tiresome! I wanted to visit at least two neighborhoods I had not been before, and a friend decided to join me. She picked me up and we walked south towards St. Lawrence market. I did not know what to expect there, but I knew I had to get me a peameal bacon sandwich. Every other tourist magazine recommends it! On our way there we saw some lights and camera's and found ourself in the middle of a movieset!
zaterdag 3 augustus 2013
Study Abroad Day 38 (Day 1): Carib-ummer
Hi everyone! Today I woke up dead tired from yesterday, but excited nonetheless, because it was finally the day of Caribana 2013! I woke up ahead of time to curl my hair and do my makeup. My fellow UvA'er and I decided to have lunch together and drink a glass of wine to get in the mood. After lunch we were supposed to meet up with one of my new friends and go to The Exhibition Place together to watch my other friend in the parade. Unfortunately, our planning went sour!
zondag 30 juni 2013
Study Abroad Day 4: Canadian gays ain't got nothing on the Dutch
Hi everyone! Today I went out without a clear plan. I mainly wanted to take advantage of the weather forecast, which claimed the day would be very sunny. Unfortunately when I looked outside of my window, everything but sun could be seen. I was about to give up on the day and planned to stay in and watch movies in bed all cosy. But then I figured, I have enough days like these ahead of me, I need to get my butt out and do something. So I decided to do a (requested) campus tour for my friends and family to see. Enjoy reading!
I walked around St. George campus to take pictures of the area near the dorms. As you can see on the map below, campus itself is huge (entire map). Starting at my residence hall, I walked down south to go Downtown for some fruit, via King College's Circle and Queen's Park.
zaterdag 29 juni 2013
Study Abroad Day 3: Wandering butterflies
Hi guys! Although today was supposed to be a day of slight rain and thunder, I managed to stroll around for quite a bit. Even now, while typing this, the sun is still shining outside! I woke up around 7AM with a pain in my neck and decided to go Downtown to buy some stuff. Because I felt so cold at night I wanted to march off into the centre with a hot water bottle on my shopping list. Mind you it is summer here, lol. I decided to leave early because of the forecasted thunderstorms. Enjoy reading!