toronto

Best Toronto date spots to keep warm this winter

/ Samantha Durnford / 1 Comment

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Being back in the big city of Toronto has been so amazing, especially since last year we totally skipped winter! While most people are dying to escape the cold winter months of Canada, Luke and I actually missed it a lot when we were half way across the world.

One of our absolute favorite things about winter is being able to try new places and explore the city. Toronto has so much to offer and there are so many hidden gems! Expedia.ca wanted me to share with you some of our favourite spots to stay warm in the city, just in case you were planning on visiting or looking for some new ideas if you already live here.

FullSizeRenderSnakes & Lattes

This place is so great on so many levels. Perfect for a first date, or a 100th date, we love spending an entire evening amongst the games and incredible atmosphere. The Annex location is our favorite, with cozy lighting and friendly staff. I personally love going for a Nutella latte (a MUST try) and getting a bowl of candy to share. We’ve actually ate a lot of the food on the menu and can highly recommend their sandwiches and salads as well if you end up staying for a few hours.

What’s also great about Snakes & Lattes is that they have Game Gurus who will help you choose a game based on your interests and then explain to you all the rules (and even some strategy, if you’re lucky!), so you can start playing right away and try something new.

Friday Night at the ROM

IMG_0697Walking through the ROM and checking out all of the cool exhibits is high on our list as something we like to do in the winter, but the ROMs Friday Night Live series is extra special. While the events aren’t held every single weekend, you should definitely keep an eye out for these parties. Opening the ROM up 7pm-11pm, they have DJs playing with drinks and food served throughout the entire museum.

Dancing next to a giant T-Rex fossil, or grabbing a beer amongst the dinosaurs, the Friday Night at the ROM series is so, so cool. Another thing we really love about it is trying all of the food, since they often bring in local food truck vendors, adding to the experience and keeping things close to home.

Quantum Coffee

Not just a regular coffee shop, Quantum Coffee is so aesthetically pleasing to exist in and serves up to-die-for coffee. The design of this place is so drool-worthy, I crave getting to go there to work on my projects and just bask in the atmosphere. Luke and I love taking our time and having a good ol’ coffee date, sipping on a well-crafted latte.

I think sometimes, coffeeshop dates are reserved for first-meetings or quick blind dates, but we have learned to really cherish gushing over a well designed place to relax, with friendly staff, and a killer espresso. Taking time to slow down together and appreciate the small things is so important! And, what a better way to keep warm?

SPiN

A little friendly competition is great for any couple, and SPiN Ping-Pong Social Club is perfect for rolling up your sleeves and battling it out on the ping-pong table. You can reserve a table for the night and square off in a one-on-one game or meet another couple there to really up the ante. With music blasting and cool lighting, it’s great on a weeknight or weekend. They serve beer and have an incredible winter menu as well, so make sure to take a break and fill up!

Cibo Wine Bar

Being huge foodies, I had to include a restaurant on this list! Cibo Wine Bar has three locations in Toronto, but I recommend the King St. W location as my favorite. With dimmed lighting and wines everywhere, you really feel like you’re in a cozy wine cellar. The staff is amazing and they make all of their bread on-site, which you get free when you order (and, they let you ask for more! But shhhh don’t let that secret get out too far).

Serving up mouth-watering Italian food and perfect wine pairings, this Cibo is romantic and doesn’t break the bank. We love going for appetizers and wine and a random weeknight, or going there for a full meal and dessert for a special occasion. It’s the perfect place to cuddle up in a booth and spend all night talking.

Winter time can be cold, but our city offers so many things you can do with that special someone to bundle up and stay warm. Whether it’s good food, good company, or a good game, there’s no need to stay inside watching Netflix! Looking for more great date ideas in Toronto? Expedia.ca has the blog post for you! Read it here.

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A taste of nightlife in Bangkok

/ Samantha Durnford / 1 Comment

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Arriving in Bangkok for the second time during our trip, we vowed to do things differently. For starters, we were dying to hear some decent music. For anyone that doesn’t know us — we are massive electronic music fans. Having traveled over much of North America to music festivals and having lived in Toronto, a city blessed with a rich electronic music scene, it’s been far too long since we’ve heard the thumping bass of techno and house music pounding through speakers. We knew Bangkok was the solution to our dilemma.

On our last trip to Bangkok we stuck to Khao San Road and the wats, but consequently found ourselves surrounded by backpackers at all times. This time around we left the hostel region behind and explored some of Bangkok’s darker side — both the good and bad. Many of Bangkok’s clubs were in the Sukhumvit neighbourhood, also home to the infamous Soi Cowboy and red light district. We decided to check things out for ourselves.

Nakadia, a Berlin techno/house DJ, was playing at GLOW Club Bangkok, so we drank some Red Bull and hobbled over to the entertainment district for some much needed dancing. On the way, we wanted to see what the fuss was all about in the red light district (sorry mom and dad, stop reading now!).

The red light district in Bangkok is full of neon lights and girls in barely any clothes trying to get people to come into their respective clubs. It felt a lot like walking through a packed shopping mall, except half of the people you were passing were scantily clad Thai girls and the displays were dancing on poles. The shoppers? Older white men hoping to find the loves of their life and naive, but excited, young backpackers not knowing their wallet was about to be emptied. We managed to get through Soi Cowboy relatively unscathed, save a few dirty looks.

IMG_5103Five minutes later, we arrived at GLOW Club. The club is small but it made for an intimate atmosphere. When Nakadia came on, fans were cheering and reaching for handshakes over the DJ booth. She was smiling and bumping to the beat, happy to be playing for everyone. Her set was everything we hoped for and it felt so good to just dance with a crowd of people who were truly into the music, expats and locals alike.

We left just after 2AM and started the walk home. We got dropped off near Khao San Road and unfortunately, the scene there wasn’t nearly as pleasant. Backpackers with buckets of booze were throwing up on the street, hobbling home, and some had shirts off fist bumping to country music. We grabbed a crepe and made a mad dash for our hotel.

The night life in Bangkok definitely has something for everyone. The clubs are proper and if you want a taste of real nightlife, stay away from the backpacker haunts and dress up for the clubs.

Hello, Hanoi

/ Samantha Durnford / 3 Comments

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Our original plan for the last year was to travel South East Asia and settle down in Vietnam to teach English. This week, we finally made it to the place we’ve been dying to see: Hanoi, Vietnam.

The city is more than we expected. Busy streets, incredible food, everything you could ever want or need being sold, and beautiful lakes.

Actually, when I said the streets were busy, I think that’s a tad bit untrue. The streets are insane. They’re more than insane — they’re bursting with people, motorbikes, cars, buses, vendors, bikes, cats and chickens. Our hotel had a notice that stated: “To cross the street, remain confident and walk at a steady pace”. Every street crossing is a brush with death, but I think we’re getting the hang of it.

The people are very friendly here. We’ve taken to eating a lot of street food and almost every time we sit down with a new bowl of something, the staff will butt in to help us figure out how to eat it. I suppose we’re not fooling anyone here.

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Can you spot Samie?

We’re getting into eating Pho, which is a traditional Vietnamese soup with broth, noodles, meat, and herbs. Back in Toronto, we pronounce it “F-oh” but here, when you ask for it like that, people look at you like you have three heads. It’s pronounced “Fuh” here (thank you, Google).

We went in search of “The Best Pho in Hanoi”, which is next to impossible. Hanoi is renowned for Pho. It’s being sold nearly everywhere. You get it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can get it with beef, chicken, pork, or just tofu. You can dress it up any way you like it with sauces and chilis. It’s pretty damn good and for some reason, we never seem to get sick of it. The other plus? It usually costs about $1-2.

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Pho at 49 Bat Dan

Our favourite place so far was a small spot at 49 Bat Dan. It was packed full of people, and you got to see the entire soup-making process happen right in front of you. First came the butcher, who endlessly chopped and shaved her way through racks of salted beef. Next, a serving of white noodles was tossed into your bowl, the beef was added on top, and some raw beef was put on the other side. The man with the boiling broth came next, and he blanched the raw beef, then put a big handful of greens on top. It was an efficient chain – from the slab of meat to the finished product took about a minute flat.

Another great thingIMG_3352 about Hanoi is you can get anything you want (knockoffs, of course) for super cheap. Want fake Toms, Nikes, or Zara clothes? They’ve got that. Need a broom? Oh, there’s a woman with a cart walking past your house right now with 10 different kinds. Phone cases, suits, purses, sporting goods — they have it all. And before you go knocking knock-offs, it’s become a sport to try and ‘spot what’s missing/wrong’. With a lot of items, we’re hard-pressed to tell the difference.

The weekend night market is also jam packed. People line the streets selling just about anything, and on the side streets people cram in, sitting on small little stools frying up their dinner.

We decided that Hanoi is the place for us to settle down for at least six months, and we decided to find ourselves an apartment. We’ll save some pictures of our new place for once we’re all moved in! For now though, we’re heading south to Hoi An – be patient while we drop off the grid for a week or so!