Closet Canuck's Great Big Canadian Train Adventure DAY 8: Toronto's Frank Gehry & the Jersey Boys

It was unseasonably warm in Toronto during my two-night stay. As the fifth largest metropolitan area of North America, the Greater Toronto Area is a hefty 5.1 million (and there are three million publicly owned trees). Officially created in 1834, you can hear 128 dialects and languages on the streets of Toronto -- 46% of its population are immigrants.

I continued my overnighters with Fairmont, staying at The Fairmont Royal York. Now 80 years old, it has hosted some legendary guests, starting with Winston Churchill in 1929. The hotel has also been used as a movie set -- scenes were shot here for Chloe, Amelia, Grey Gardens and Take the Lead. I didn't spot any celebrities, but did have a nice chat with a former Attorney General of Canada in the hotel's Library Bar.

The Art Gallery of Ontario, looking somewhat like a beached whale on Dundas Street West, is Toronto-born Frank Gehry's first building in Canada and marks the very place where he made the initial connection between art and architecture.

AGO Bistro is the name of the restaurant at the Art Gallery of Ontario. I enjoyed lunch in the casual yet chic resto, which has modern Danish decor and a contemporary installation of Frank Stella's work, along with other art work. It's closed Mondays, along with the museum.

Photos by Sue Frause

Day 9 - Ontario's Niagara Falls + Dan Aykroyd Wine