I am the resident travel planner but every couple of months, my friend Matt plans a trip to Toronto or Montreal and I go along with it and get pleasantly surprised.

Like Ritz-Carlton kind of surprised.

So, in the span of two weeks, I took off for a weekend in Toronto, had four interviews, three language exams and one exam for a job. I got into the car that my friends I and V were driving and wanted to bawl my eyes out. I do not do well with stress. So, when I asked Matt where we were staying, he didn’t give me a straight answer. Plus, the boys were late. So I didn’t even bother putting my new shoes in my suitcase. Because I can be petty like that.

We drove to the hotel. And it was the Ritz-Carlton. I won’t get into how Matt got a deal at this hotel but he did. Turns out, there is nothing better than arriving to a hotel and getting a glass of champagne handed to you.

After dropping off our bags, we went off in search of food and drinks and stumbled into Loose Moose. A little tipsy, we headed back to the hotel. Those plush hotel beds were calling our names.

The next morning, Matt and I headed out the brunch, passing by the hotel bar where we found ourselves among dozens of well-dressed guests. Turns out, the hotel holds a tea party on Saturdays for fancy people who didn’t wear their Blue Jays hats.

After brunch, at the Wayne Gretzky restaurant, we headed out to the baseball game. Since this was apparently a weekend of luxury, we sat in the seventh row. So close, I could really appreciate how hot the security guard was.

I mean, I did that. But we also got some great shots of José Bautista and Josh Donaldson.

After the game, we wandered back to the hotel to change and drop off our friend I before heading out once more to eat. Matt led us to the Amsterdam Brewhouse, located right on the lakefront so that we can sit, eat, and watch a hockey game. Now, I don’t remember which game in the series it was. I could probably look it up. But I’m not a big hockey fan. But it was an important one. And I developed a soft spot for the Ottawa Senators* during their playoff run. Because, as Bobby Ryan so eloquently put it, why not us?

The view was spectacular and we barely waited before getting a table on the second floor. It was quite nice and our waiter was from Czech Republic and adorable!

I’m pretty sure the Sens won so we headed out to see R at his apartment in the Distillery District and let’s face it, to check in to see if he had hung up his painting we had got him at the Great Glebe Garage Sale. For this, we brought beers up to his roof, and then walked up to the “roof, roof” and admired the view. Look, I call Toronto a garbage city but I cannot refute that it has some gorgeous skylines. I mean, look at this! Pretty fancy.

Fine. YOU ARE PRETTY TORONTO!

A night of drinking and chatting ensued and the three of us left in the early morning to head back to the hotel. Like I said, those beds were nice. Plus, the next day, I really wanted to shower in their gorgeous shower and watch TV while I brushed my teeth. I don’t have a TV at home, much less in my bathroom mirror. Small things. Maybe next time, I will try out their bathtub. It looked so good.

A pick up of a frappucino and we headed home. The drive was long, but the music was good, even though the boys nixed all my requests.

Aw well.

*Mostly Dion Phaneuf.

**All pictures taken by Matt because I don’t even remember this trip, let alone take any pictures. I told ya, I don’t handle stress well.