Out and about in Downtown Toronto

Yesterday gave me an opportunity to visit Downtown Toronto a little! After mastering the local bus and subway system, we arrived at the CN Tower. The CN Tower is the tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere and is considered one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. As of 2013, there are only two other freestanding structures in the Western Hemisphere which exceed 500 m (1,640.4 ft) in height. Apparently there is a metal staircase which reaches the main deck level after 1,776 steps. This is four times the amount of steps I was used to taking descending from our community where I had my daily lunch at the Cupola in the Vatican to our souvenir centre adjacent to the Basilica! The stairs are not open to the public, except for two times per year for charity stair-climb events. So we took the glass elevator which is lined with glass, allowing for views of the city as it makes its way up the Tower. It is pretty amazing as you can see the view at your feet and at the sides. Thankfully my vertigo wasn’t too bad so I was able to enjoy the beautiful panorama which the visit offers. There are three visitor areas: the Glass Floor and Outdoor Observation Terrace which are both located at an elevation of 342 metres (1,122 ft), the Indoor Lookout Level which is located at 346 metres (1,135 ft), and the higher SkyPod at 446.5 metres (1,465 ft). I declined the later! Photo gallery

For the adrenalin seekers out there, there is also the EdgeWalk, an amusement in which thrill-seekers can walk on and around the roof of the main pod of the tower at 356 m (1,168.0 ft), which is directly above the 360 Restaurant. It is the world's highest full-circle, hands-free walk. Visitors are tethered to an overhead rail system and walk around the edge of the CN Tower's main pod above the 360 Restaurant on a 1.5 m (4.9 ft) metal floor. The attraction is closed throughout the winter season and during periods of electrical storms and high winds! No points for guessing why!

Part of the tour included a 3D movie called “Legends of Flight” which was really enjoyable. The movie scans across a century of aviation to explore the gravity-defying world of flight and to witness the unfolding of one of the greatest aviation projects, the building of the Boeing 787. The trailer can be seen here in 3D. The version we watched was so realistic, it had you reaching out and trying to touch the birds, the butterflies, etc.!

From there we made our way to St. Patrick’s Church. St. Patrick’s Church is an English and German speaking parish located in downtown Toronto and is also the National Shine of Canada dedicated to our Lady of Perpetual Help.There are many shrines of Our Lady of Perpetual Help throughout the world and each shrine has an authentic copy of the original icon of our Lady of Perpetual Help which is in the Church of S. Alfonso in Rome. Every Wednesday hundreds of people from all over the city of Toronto come to the Shrine to praise God and honour our Lady. We stayed in prayer for a little while, greeted our Lady and entrusted many intentions to the maternal heart of our Mother. The statue of St. Gerard caught my eye as my prayer has been occupied greatly with the Abortion Bill which is due to be passed in Ireland this evening. St .Gerard is the patron saint of expectant mothers, difficult pregnancies, motherhood and infants. It was lovely to see people come in and out of the Church to pray and invoke the intercession of Mary for their many intentions, just as we had. That’s all for now, folks! Photo gallery.