So I was in Toronto from the 28th to the 1st of January. I'm roughly a four drive to Toronto from where I live in Upstate NY. I was going to take a train, but decided to just drive since the weather wasn't going to be that bad. Anyways I arrived at around 1600 to the hostel (The Planet Traveler) and parked my car with them for only 10 CAD a night. I stayed in a 6 bed mixed dorm for roughly 50 USD a night. Once I unpacked I tried the couch surfing meetup feature for the first time and actually found an event close to the place I was staying at. It was at a bar like a 5 minute walk from the hostel so at around 1930 I went to the meetup and met up with some locals, a couple of American chicks from San Jose, and a couple of other guys from Bangladesh I believe they said. After drinking for about an hour I headed back to my hostel for karaoke night. It was a blast, and the 3 hours went by really fast. It was also bring your own alcohol so most people were drinking. I sang about 4 songs and met a family traveling Canada for a bit from Mexico. A mom, son, and sister. The daughter and son were around my age so I really hit it off with them. After karaoke me and the brother went to a bar down the road for some wings.

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The next day I grabbed breakfast at this small restaurant located in a hipster area about a 5 minute walk called "Our Spot." I ate breakfast there the following 2 days as well, it wasn't the best breakfast I've ever had but it was good enough for me. I then went upstairs to the hostels rooftop and watched a bit of English football before going to the movies solo and watching "Free Solo." It was a really inspirational movie that I'd rate 7.5/10. Once I got back to the hostel I changed into some gym cloths and walked to a volleyball meetup I had found using the meetup app. It was a 2 hour long event but I left after 1 and a half. I got back to the hostel and showered and went to the rooftop of the hostel for pasta night. It was pretty good but I had some Burger King afterwards because I wasn't full. I watched some College Football and then met up with the Mexican family I had met the night before downstairs in the lobby area. At around midnight the son, daughter, and this Korean guy that we befriended went out to play some billiards. The bar also had ping pong and air hockey that we also played. On the way back to the hostel it began to lightly snow and made downtown look even more picturesque.

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The following day after breakfast I just watched a bit more television downstairs before taking an Uber and doing an escape room at the Casa Loma. I had already done one previously over a year ago on another solo trip and had so much fun. This time was no exception. I was paired with a whole family from Ontario for the game which was a bit awkward at first but they were really fun to play with, and reminded me of my chaotic family. We lost the game but still had a great time. Afterwards went back to the hostel and had dinner, watched some American football, and then eventually drank upstairs around from 2200 to midnight. There was about 15 people upstairs just chatting on the enclosed rooftop area which was chill.

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Finally it was NYE and as usual I had breakfast at my normal spot after getting some laundry done at a coin laundry place nearby. I pretty much then walked around Toronto taking photos for about 2 hours. Eventually took an Uber back to the hostel and chilled in the lobby for a bit before going out to grab dinner with a couple of random guys that were about to go get Korean food. The hostel was hosting a NYE event that night starting at 2000, but they were actually going to serve alcohol which meant to outside alcohol was allowed. They were honestly really chill about it though, and I'm sure anyone could of got away with drinking their own stuff. The hostel also had a DJ for the event which was cool. I had bought a concert ticket a few weeks prior to see an indie band but once I arrived to see them the line was a complete mess and a few minutes after finally getting in the venue I wasn't feeling it so I just said fuck it and took a cab back to the hostel. The hostel had an okay view of the Toronto fireworks from their rooftop, but nothing spectacular. Finally at around 0200 I went to bed, but was waken up by a couple of my roommates who were arguing with this other British guy a couple of rooms down from us at around 0400. They all clearly had too much to drink and they all finally went to bed after around 10 minutes of them trash talking to each other quite loudly. I guess I could of complained but it not really the hostels fault that two assholes are wanting to brawl. So the next morning I just drove back home and slept for another 3 hours once I got back.

Overall it was a great trip to Toronto in which I met a wonderful family that I will definitely keep in contact with and most likely see again. I spent roughly ~650 for those 4 nights including gas, food, etc. Not my best solo trip but definitely in my top 10 solo trips.