The Ultimate Shopping Destination-Vaughan Mills

It's Shopping Time!!!!!!

Hi Friends, Hope you all are enjoying reading week.If you are getting bored at home than nothing is like going for shopping.Especially for girls shopping is a stress-buster.Am I right Girls!!!There are many malls across Toronto which you can go for shopping like Woodbine mall,Westwood mall,Albion mall,Vaughan Mills,Yorkdale shopping centre,Toronto Eaton Centre,Square one,Bramalea city centre, Don Mills and many more.

Out of these so many shopping destinations.The one I have explored are Albion Mall,Square One, Bramalea City Centre and Vaughan Mills.If some body would ask me to rate these malls.I will put Vaughan on the top and Albion mall at the bottom in terms of variety and affordability.For  the students like me we always look for best collections and sales.This place is perfect for the keen customers like students.

The Bramalea city center and Square One mall are also one of the best malls to look for.Last weekend, I went shopping with my aunt and cousin to Vaughan Mills.After half an hour drive, we reached the mall.We all were excited and thought there would be huge rush in the parking.But for a change we got to park right in front of the entrance.

Vaughan Mills is a huge mall with "n" number of fashion outlets of leading brands,dining and entertainment options.It is located at north of Downtown Toronto.You need a whole day to explore such a big and beautiful mall.Although there were not huge sales in the stores but it was not even disappointing. In some of the stores, end of the season sales were going on.

The mall is full of one of the leading brands outlets around the world.Some of the stores are Urban Planet, Ardene, Fairweather, GUESS,Calvin Klein, Adidas outlet store,American Eagle Outfitters,Bluenotes,The Body Shop,DKNY,Disney Outlet Store,Joe Fresh,HMV,Home Outfitters,Old Navy,GAP,Suzy,WINNERS,Childrens planet,H&M and many more. According to me for girls the best options are ARDENE, URBAN PLANET, H&M and OLD NAVY.You get clothes and other accessories at reasonable price in these stores.

In the mall, we come across the best collection at best price at GAP store.The whole store was on 50% off sale.We took this sale too seriously and bought seven hoodies, four tops,two t-shirts and five scarfs.

Time flies when you are shopping and that happened with us also.We spent six hours shopping in the mall.Shopping while walking in the mall was really the best exercise. After six hours of walking, we got exhausted and hungry.So, we decided to go to Vaughan Food court.It was good to see the food court with such a big sitting area.The sitting area is surrounded by food outlets.Some of the food outlets in the food court are Subway,KFC ,New York fries,Burger King and many more.In the food court there is sitting area for more than 600 people and there is separate sitting area for kids as well.

Not only for shopping but Vaughan Mills is the perfect family outing destination.In Vaughan Mills,there is everything for everybody.In addition to leading brands outlets the Vaughan Mill also have entertainment section as well.The main entertainment attraction areas are Pro Hockey life, LEGOLAND discovery centre,Hollywood's Lucky Strike Lanes and many more.

For making visit to Vaughan Mills a memorable one and stress free.The Vaughan Mills provides a lot of guest services options.Some of them are guest services kiosks,gift cards, wheelchairs,motorised scooters,hand driven carts for kids.

Lastly, I would like to talk about a retail store which enchanted me a lot being a Business Marketing student- The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.According to me this store is the best place in the mall.I have never seen something like this in any other mall so far.

You can buy fishing,hunting,camping equipment ,clothing and outdoor gears.The store was having water features inside and so many statues of animals like bears and other native animals.People were clicking photos with these statues.At the entrance, I saw many people watching fishes in the water tanks.The concept used by this store of selling goods is really unique and is really fascinating.Even if you don't want to buy you will still go inside and have a look at their merchandise.

On the whole,Vaughan Mills provided me the best shopping experience along with fun and entertainment.If you haven't seen it yet I will strongly suggest you to experience it on your own to believe it.

Lifelines of a student- Bus & Coffee

  It is been more than one year in Canada. It looks like that yesterday only I started my college. Now I am almost at the end of my student life. Just two more months and I am done. From first day of college until now I have enjoyed everyday of student life in Canada. The two things which I will never forget about my student life, one is running after buses and other is coffee of Tim Horton. These two things are inseparable part of every student life.

  The journey of my student life like any other international student also started  by bus. It was orientation day for which I came to college on January 5, 2014. My aunt dropped me to college on that day by car. It was very generous of her. But that was the first and last time that I got the luxury of coming by a car. After that I become the permanent member of Brampton Transit. 


 I never thought that even travelling by bus would also be a different experience for me. But guess what I was wrong. Travelling by bus here and travelling in India is altogether different.


  Back home in India, the buses used to have conductors along with the drivers who blow whistles in order to stop the bus. Here, it is different you have to press the stop button or pull a wire which is just beside your seat, in order to stop the bus. Sometimes stops are so near by that in fear of skipping the stop, I have pressed the stop button at wrong time. One day, I remember there was a small stop ahead of my destination stop that I was not knowing about. So, in fear of skipping the stop, I pressed the button and the driver stopped the bus. But, when he saw nobody getting out of the bus,he literally shouted and I got scared. God forbidden he didn't know who pressed it. Otherwise he would have killed me for that. Just kidding!I think so many newcomers will relate to this incidence of mine.


  The tapping of card inside the bus was also a new thing for me. While travelling by bus,I used to have problem of coins. One day, one of my friend told me about presto card. This card is very useful for the students as you just have to recharge card online or in person. Just tap the card in bus and enjoy the ride.


  The best thing about transport system here is that everything is online and systematic. Schedules & maps, transit fees, bus routes and many more. The bus stops at a particular stop at particular time and you can access schedule of every bus on your smartphones.

 Here in Canada bus will not stop if it goes ahead of its stop. It will not let you in once it has closed the doors and gone ahead of stop. This is the worst part because I have missed many buses just for this reason. So, it is always better to be at stop 5 -10 mins ahead of bus schedule.

  One more thing which is good to know for new people to Canada that different buses go to different areas and have different stops like Zum transit, 
Go transit, Brampton transit etc. You can't have every bus from every stop, so you have to figure out that which bus has which stop.



  The other thing that acts as a lifesaver for every international student is Tim Hortons coffee. Tim Hortons is the one and only place which is really affordable and available every where in Canada. I can't believe how many times coffee has kept me awake in class when I am really tired. The trend of having food on the way to work or college was also a new thing for me as I was not use to it. Tim Hortons provides so many breakfast options like bagels, panini sandwiches, oatmeals, coffees, fruit juices, ice cap and many more. They also have different drinks for different seasons like for summers there is ice cap, ice tea, ice coffee etc...
Even my college is having Tim Hortons inside it. There is always a never ending line of students in Tim Hortons there. This shows the trend of coffee in Canada in students as well as in common people. 

  

I hope this post will relate to most of the student's life. For newcomers this post will give you a brief insight of the students life in Canada. If you have any similarities don't hesitate to share on my post or comment.
 

Toronto Attractions

Chill Ice House

Where to go on Saturday night? You will get your answer here!

What could be best than spending your Saturday night at lounge made of ice. Ya! you heard it right ice.Chill ice house is a new addition to Toronto so may be you don't know about it.This place is all in one i.e bar, lounge and best place to hang out with family.                                 

You feel like that you went back in snow age.Everything  from tables,bar,seats,glasses,curtains and DJ booth is made of ice.The art work ,lightening and drinks make you fall in love with ice.You can enjoy this place with your family and it is open until 8 pm for all but after 8 pm till 2 am it only caters to certain age people. There are various ice models which are showcased in the lounge and will be changed from time to time as the year progressed . Some models on display right now are - CN Tower , Olaf (character of Frozen film ) and the Stanley Cup.You can also host your birthday,bachelor or any other party here.You can also have a sip of exclusive hard drinks in a VIP ice booth like- Glendfiddich Single Malt Scotch,Belvedere vodka.

For more information you can visit http://chillicehouse.com 

ST. Lawrence Market complex

           Best place for Food lovers!

St. Lawrence Market is one of the world’s best food market and shopping destination. This market place is having three big buildings – North market, south market and the St. Lawrence hall. Not only famous for food but this place also provides incredible experience of shopping. Out of these three buildings - the North market is known for its Farmer’s market which occurs every Saturday there. On this day you can find fresh and occasional produce of farmers of South Ontario for sale. This custom is been there for more than 200 years. On Sundays, the relic merchants showcase their products in the north market. So, for food lovers this is the best place to visit.

In the South market you can find restaurants providing you a unique food experience.The market galley of this building is full of specialties of Toronto and displays showing society and history of Toronto.If you are interested in cooking but don’t know how to do that then go for the cooking classes in the market kitchen. The third building -The St. Lawrence Hall which was built in 1850 with the Great Hall is one of the best site to rent for wedding and other occasions.

For more information you can visit http://www.stlawrencemarket.com

Canada's Wonderland

The perfect place for kids.This is Canada's largest park with more than 68 rides and around 200 other attractions.This place is located at Vaughan, Ontario.There are many rides there like thrill rides,family rides and rides for kids.There are many other things to do in this amusement park like splash works, dinosaur alive,shopping and dinning.

Main attraction of this park is Leviathan ride being at 306 feet and tallest ride in the park. While getting a ride you get dropped at 80 degree angle which is kind of scary.Other rides include Behemoth ,Vortex, flight deck, psyclone, sky rider, orbiter, night mares ,wild beast, wind seeker and many more. Kids can also enjoy live entertainment here by visiting playhouse theatre having five live shows daily.

For more information you can visit https://www.canadaswonderland.com


Centre Island

If you want to take a break from the rushing life of the city than this place is most appropriate for you.The only way to go to this island is through ferry with charges around $ 6.50 for adults,$3 for kids and $ 4 for seniors.The charges are reasonable and affordable to all.This island is situated between Hanlan's Point and Ward's Island.You can also enjoy this island by renting and riding bicycles.This is a fun and healthy way to enjoy nature.

Another attraction point in this island is Centreville Amusement Park which is perfect picnic spot to enjoy with families and friends.There are many things to do in this park like water slides,Ferris wheel ,various rides and mini golf to enjoy.There is also option to rent your own kayak from shrubbery maze.

Apart from park there are also various restaurants and cafes like Shopsy's Island Deli Bar,Grill right,The Rectory cafe,Carousel cafe and many more.

For more Information you can visit http://www.centreisland.ca

So, friends weekend is coming so what are you waiting for just pack your bags and heads up to these places.Enjoy and Have Fun!

Keep reading my blog and be with me on this wonderful journey of exploring this wonderful country and understanding life here.

Hot Tourist Spots in Canada

Hi Friends, Hope you are enjoying snowy day! Although life is very busy in Canada and you hardly get time to go out and enjoy.But, one should take a break and go out.So, here is my post which will give you idea where you should go in your holidays .Hope you will like it.

Canada is loaded with attractions. It is very difficult to explain each of them.But I will try to cover some of the primary vacationer spots in Canada.I will start with some of the worth seeing places in Toronto.

GTA Attractions

Niagara Falls

If you have come to Canada and not visited Niagara Falls than you have not seen anything.One of the best traveler spot in Canada. It is an enormous waterfall situated between Canada and America border.I went there in summers. The first reaction of mine after seeing the waterfall was -Damn it is so GIANT! 

Niagara Falls is situated on Niagara river and is 12000 years old.There are two falls, one for the Americans and the other one for Canadians. You forget about everything after seeing such a wonderful waterfall.Apart from Niagara falls there are many places in town to explore like Skylon tower,Hornblower Cruise,Clifton hill,night clubs,casinos,wax museum,movie theatres and many more.One day is not enough to see everything in Niagara.So go for atleast 2-3 days and enjoy the natural beauty of the place.The beauty of Niagara falls at night with  fireworks in the sky is one of a unique experience which no one can ever forget. 

Apart from Niagara falls there are so many spots in Canada which are on my wishlist.In this blog I will discuss with you some of them .

CN Tower

CN Tower is one of the largest free standing structure around the world after Burj Khalifa. It is 1815 feet in length.There are so many options at this location like dining, Edgewalking and many more.There is 360 restaurant with revolving dining room.While eating exotic food in this restaurant one can have glimpse of the whole city from every angle. Edgewalk is another attraction point in CN tower.This edge walk is done at 356 m above the ground with safety harness attached to the people walking at the edge of pod around the CN tower.It is a lifetime experience walking at the edge of the world's highest full circle hands free walk. This costs you little bit more to have this experience like tickets cost is around $195 but it is a life time experience which is worth spending.

Toronto Zoo

It is one of the largest zoo in Canada.This zoo is home of almost 5000 animals with diversity from almost every part of the world like Australia,Canada,America etc.The whole zoo area is divided into various geographical regions and each geographical region has its native animals there.Some of the regions are Americas, Canadian domain, Indo-Malaya, African rain forests, Australasia, Eurasia and Tundra Trek. The zoo also have spots like waterside theatre, splash Island and Kids zoo.This spot is perfect spot for kids.

Wasaga Beach

In summers what can be the best spot other than a beach to enjoy with family or friends.Talking about beaches in Canada the first name which comes to mind is- Wasaga Beach.This beach is located at southern part of the Georgian Bay and is longest freshwater beach in the world.Apart from beach there are many areas in the Georgian Bay which one should not miss.Some of them are Collingwood & The Blue Mountains,Owen sound & area, Sudbury & Area Manitoulin Island and The Bruce Peninsula.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

In the southern part of CN tower there is an alternate vacationer attraction.This aquarium has both freshwater and marine aquatic species.This aquarium has water content around 1.5 million gallons of water.There is underwater tunnel in aquarium which gives you an opportunity to be up and close with marine life.This is the spot to get submerged endeavor with 16000 oceanic creatures around you.

In my next post ,I will tell you about other tourist spots. So keep reading my blog for more information.

To be Continued........