Jet-setter: Windsor, Ontario - May 1 - 4, 2015

I spent this past weekend in Windsor, ON for a wedding! I had never been to Windsor before, so I took a bit of extra time and toured around a tiny bit. I had wanted to try and make a vacation of this trip and head to Guelph, ON to visit some family (like I did at the start of 2014), but it didn't work out that way. It's so expensive to fly within Canada that I like to take advantage of the times I book flights and do a lot in between, but I had two new roommates moving in on Sunday while I was gone and May is a very full month, so I decided to just make it an extended weekend instead.

On Friday I flew in to Windsor via Toronto. The Toronto-Windsor leg of the trip was in a pretty small propeller airplane with only nine rows of seating. I can be easily affected by motion sometimes, although I've never truly gotten sick, so I was kind of worried it might be a bumpier ride but I am happy to report that it felt the exact same as a larger airplane. Windsor is right across the river from Detroit, and it happened that I was on the right side of the airplane to catch a pretty spectacular glimpse of Detroit from the sky before we landed. Also, the view from above reminded me so much of Saskatchewan, with the patchwork quilt appearance and flat lands.

I rented a car and then checked in to the Hampton Inn & Suites on Huron Church Road, one of the hotels that was recommended for the wedding.

I really liked how each door number had a different black and white photo beside it - I got the lucky horse shoes!

Next I looked on the bride and groom's wedding website for an idea of where to go to grab a bite to eat, I settled on Taloola Café in the Walkerville area of Windsor, not far from the river front. It was super tasty!

I then wandered over to an abandoned building across the street that had caught my eye through the
window while I was enjoying my late lunch. It was so sunny, so I didn't get a great photo, but the building is overgrown with ivy and windows on every storey of the building were shattered and boarded off.

After that I went back to the hotel before going shopping at a nearby mall. After a bit of window shopping I went back to the hotel once again and I had a relaxing night in, complete with a visit from my boyfriend's sister, her husband, and their two children, who were also in town for the wedding. I love traveling alone, but it can sometimes feel lonely - this was a nice trip that combined solo travel with still having people I know around.

Saturday was wedding day! If you'd like to see photos from the wedding, check out this post by Laura-Anne, their very talented wedding photographer! (And an absolutely wonderful person too!)

On Sunday I joined my boyfriend's sister and her family at Mass where we were able to see and say goodbye to a few of the wedding guests. That afternoon they took off and I was alone in Windsor once again. I took a nap (the king-sized bed was oh so comfy) and then went in search of a restaurant for supper. I found Ciao Pasta Bar online and it had pretty good reviews so off I went. It was delicious as well! I don't think I tried a single bit of food this weekend that I didn't seriously enjoy. Since I had napped in the afternoon, I was definitely not ready for bed so I ended up working out and taking advantage of the pool and hot tub at the hotel. For some reason I rarely ever take advantage of these amenities when staying at a hotel, I guess I rarely have extra time because I'm usually visiting for a specific reason.

 

My final morning in Windsor was Monday and I woke up to a cloudy, grey, and drizzly sky. It was actually a welcome change from the absolutely beautiful and hot weather during the rest of the trip. I had wanted to go for a walk along the river once I had checked out, but the rain was pretty constant, sometimes letting up to a drizzle, but mostly just pouring down, so I just went to the river for a tiny bit. I didn't want to miss out, no matter the weather.

Have you ever been to Windsor, ON? Where would you recommend to visit if I get the chance to go again?