On the fifth day of the Youth exchange, we started the day at Casa Loma. Before the arrival at Casa Loma we separated into two groups- one group took the scenic route and walked, while the other group took the TTC. We had a self guided visit, meaning we could explore the different rooms and buildings on our own. It was fun going through the long dark tunnels and climbing up the towers to get a good view of the city. We had a nice lunch on the terrace of Casa Loma with the most beautiful weather of the week!
After lunch, we all took the subway down to Ripley’s Aquarium. The aquarium, being a large attraction, is something that our visitors may not have experienced before. Once we got there, we split off into smaller groups so that we can all do what we wanted to do within the time we had. We spent an hour or two there to see everything the aquarium has to offer. Once we all met up afterwards, we walked down to the CN tower. Visiting the CN tower is also a Toronto exclusive experience and something that you must do while here. As we make our way up the tower, we all experience the view of downtown but it couldn’t beat the view we would all get at the top. Once we get there, we are greeted by this amazing view of Lake Ontario. One of the first thing we do is point out where our school is as well as some of the places we had visited already during their time here. This was not only a great experience for them but for us too.
At the end of the day, we went to VRPlayin to have dinner and play VR games. It was really fun due to the way VRPlayin is set up. We split into smaller groups so it allowed people who never used VR to have a better experience learning how to play it. For those who have played VR the smaller groups gave them a chance to play more complicated games allowing them to have a good time at their experience level. It was 2 to 3 people per booth and the thing about the booths is that they are using the full HTC vive (which is a virtual reality headset with body tracking). This is the most advanced VR system that is possible at the moment. All the booths could connect which enabled us to play a bunch of games together. It was a lot of fun to play a bunch of games with your friends which you couldn’t play anywhere else. Near the end of the night we put the hockey game up on one of the spare TVs and people started watching that as well. We were also able to donate leftover food to The Scott Mission, for which they were very grateful. All in all, it was a very good end to a good day.
By James, Peter and Shay
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