Have you ever missed a connecting flight? In another country? How did it work out? This happened to me and my husband on our way to our babymoon in Paris. Our flight was a little delayed out of LAX, then we sat on the tarmac in Toronto for 45 minutes. After running through the airport while pregnant (something I wished I hadn’t done, in hindsight) and being rushed through Canadian customs, we (and about 10 other people from our first flight) arrived at our boarding gate 1 minute after they closed the doors. Our airplane was there, but we couldn’t get on it.

Thus began our 24 hours in Toronto!  It wasn’t what we had planned for, and we had to alter our Paris itinerary, but we decided to make the most of it and enjoy the city while we had the chance. I’m happy to share how we decided to spend those 24 hours! (You’ll notice that my husband is our model for this post… I wasn’t feeling great that day – so thanks, Babe!)

24 Hours in Toronto (in November)

Lodging, Food, & Transportation

The airline (Air Canada) gave us several options. A few of them involved leaving for Paris a few hours later, but those planes were almost completely full, and my husband and I would have had to sit apart from each other in middle seats (this wasn’t an option for me, because I was pregnant and sick on the airplane; I wasn’t about to sit in between strangers, knowing I’d be sick!).

We opted to take a flight exactly 24 hours later. They put us up in a nearby hotel and gave us plenty of meal vouchers (more than we could use!). Our luggage hadn’t made our connecting flight either, so we were able to get our checked bag and take it with us to our hotel. While we waited for them to fetch our bag, we enjoyed a free meal at BUILT Custom Burgers at the airport. It was delicious (we were hungry!) and totally worked with my food allergies (and my pregnancy aversions too!).

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which was very comfortable. We got a kick out of the kids playing hockey in the hall outside our room the next morning – it felt very Canadian! After checking out, we enjoyed a free breakfast at La Brasserie, the restaurant connected to the hotel. Once again, it was delicious! It was also nice that were able to spend our meal vouchers on bottled waters and snacks.

We took the airport shuttle back to the airport, where we checked in our luggage. We had several hours before we needed to return for our flight, so we headed downtown on the UP Express. It dropped us off in the heart of downtown.

Booking.com

The Santa Claus Parade

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were just in time for Toronto’s annual “Santa Claus Parade”! The streets were all closed off, so we were able to walk around freely and enjoy Toronto’s beautiful architecture before finding a nice place to sit with a perfect view of the parade. Once we were settled, it started snowing! What’s more festive than watching a Christmas parade in the snow?! It didn’t snow enough to stick, but we loved it.

It was cold (much colder than Paris). I was very thankful for my winter jacket! If we had planned on going to Toronto, we would have packed warmer clothes. We were glad we were headed to Paris and not a warm, tropical location. We would have had to go shopping for warm clothes if that had been the case.

Tim Horton’s, the Flatiron Building, and the Metro

After the parade was over, we headed over to Tim Horton’s for a cup of coffee (for my husband). He drank it, and I held it in between his sips to warm up my hands (did I mention that is was cold?). The city was extra busy that day, so we decided not to venture too far in the crowds. We walked to Toronto’s Flatiron Building and took our time enjoying the streets.

We stopped at a supermarket called Metro for lunch. Their selection was great! We ordered a roasted chicken meal with potatoes and vegetables (perfect for my food allergies). Then I spotted individual slices of French cheesecake (aka crustless!). It might have been that I was really hungry, or that my pregnancy cheesecake cravings were through the roof, but it was literally the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. I can honestly say that I’ve dreamed of the piece of cheesecake almost daily since eating it.

At this point, we knew we needed to head back to the airport. Our time in Toronto was brief, but we made the most of it and loved participating in the Christmas festivities. We decided that we would never book an international flight with a connection in another country that has a layover less than 2 hours. It doesn’t allow for delays, lines at customs, etc. Lesson learned!

Have you been to Toronto? I’d love to hear about your experiences! I hope to go back one day. My first stop will definitely be for another piece of that French cheesecake. 🙂

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