Gareth Jones

I went on a brief trip to Toronto a few weeks ago and a friend of mine asked for recommendations on things to do. Here are mine - please make add any comments/suggestions

Things to do

• CN Tower: tallest building in the world and some fantastic views, try and go when it’s quiet though as there’s not much space to move around
• Toronto Eaton Centre: a large shopping mall that feels quite impressive and plenty of shops to wander round
• St. Lawrence Market: a really fun and interesting market with all kinds of food

Bars/restaurants

• Jack Astor’s on Toronto Life Square: a chain bar but pretty cool and this one has some great skyline views
• Arrabiata: a fantastic Italian restaurant on Yonge street with great staff, food and atmosphere
• Eggspectations: a fun place with an egg-related theme, very good for brekky
• Spring Rolls: a chic Thai restaurant right by St Lawrence Market with some amazing food and not too pricey

I’ve been to Italy a couple of times and recently a few people have been asking me for reviews/recommendations so I thought I’d throw them up here for all to see…

• Napoli [Naples]: Spent a night here, can’t say it was anything special but the pizza was yummy
• Amalfi: Accidentally spent a night here. Very expensive and touristy, wouldn’t recommend it but the coast around there is beautiful.
• Ravello: This is on the Amalfi coast and is a lovely little place. Not masses to do there but stunning and peaceful.
• Sorrento: Nice enough, we stayed in a suburb which was dirt cheap (accomodation, meals out etc) and felt quite Italian
• Capri: Lovely little island off the coast from Sorrento. Touristy in the town of Capri but much nicer in Anacapri. Very expensive though.
• Roma [Rome]: The best city I’ve ever been to. If you’re going to spend time wandering round a city, this is the one to do it in. Loads of interesting buildings/ruins round every corner and plenty of gelatarias to stop in!
• Pisa: Very nice little place but not much there apart from the obvious. Worth stopping in but you don’t actually need to spend the night (though it has some nice bars/restaurants if you do)
• Riomaggiore (Cinque Terra): I absolutely love Cinque Terra - 5 little towns on the coast only accessible by boat or train. Highly recommended.
• Lago di Garda [Lake Garda]: We loved it here too. Stayed in a place called Peschiera del Garda which is lovely. The town called Garda is a bit touristy so avoid that. Boat trip to the mountainous end and up the mountain is worthwhile, as is exploring places like Sirmione
• Verona: Another lovely city, great for wandering. Would definitely go back here.
• Milano [Milan]: Shopping is supposed to be good but didn’t really warm to the place. Not like anywhere else in Italy. If you go here, don’t buy dinner, you get enough free with your drinks in all bars!
• Firenze [Florence]: The place to be if you’re interested in art but we’re not cultured enough to appreciate it. Boboli gardens are nice.
• Venezia [Venice]: Well, we got engaged here. Really unique and fantastic place - not a car in sight. Love it.

Now these are just my limited experiences so they’re quite biased - don’t take it entirely to heart!

I love Winchester, it’s a great place to live. The Christmas lights are normally really nice - not too tacky, just elegant and tasteful. This year the same lights are in place and should look as good as always but for some reason it seems no-one thought to check the bulbs beforehand. There are hundreds missing and it really makes Winchester look a bit down at heel. Not that I’m a snob or anything.