logo
I've been to bachelorette parties in spots from Hawaii to Las Vegas, but a Canadian city has been the best destination so far

I've been to bachelorette parties in spots from Hawaii to Las Vegas, but a Canadian city has been the best destination so far

Yahoo17-03-2025

I've traveled worldwide to attend bachelorette parties, but Toronto was an unexpected favorite.
The Canadian city had good food, luxe hotels, and exciting activities.
My favorite part was playing dress up (literally) and attending an opera.
I've been invited to more bachelorette parties than I can count.
They've all been a lot of fun and have given me an excuse to visit fabulous destinations around the world. I've been to Cabo, Napa, Puerto Rico, Palm Springs, India, Hawaii, Las Vegas, and more to celebrate dear friends who were getting married.
I'm typically excited whenever a new invitation comes in, but when I found out one of my friends was having her bachelorette in Toronto, I was a little disappointed.
I didn't think it would be an exciting destination for a girls' trip. However, to my pleasant surprise, I was wrong. The Canadian city completely blew me away.
We stayed at the beautiful Four Seasons in the city's historic Yorkville neighborhood.
To match the city's creative energy, local artists' works were displayed throughout the hotel. The lobby even had giant dandelion sculptures hanging from the ceilings.
The hotel was also located within walking distance of plenty of restaurants and cafés. I was blown away by the food offerings in Toronto.
Some of my favorite meals were the French fare at Café Boulud, al dente pasta and traditional Italian pizza at Spaccio West Terroni, Latin-inspired cuisine at Baro, and Michelin-starred dining at Alobar Yorkville.
Although lovely accommodations and great food are already pluses, the diverse activities available around Toronto really exceeded my expectations.
For daredevils, CN Tower's EdgeWalk is a must. There's nothing quite like walking around an outdoor platform that's 116 stories above the city.
It's an epic view, a great bonding experience, and a one-of-a-kind photo op.
If you're traveling with adventurous wine enthusiasts, I recommend the helicopter tour with Niagara Helicopters Limited, which flies over Niagara Falls and ends at a winery.
We also enjoyed a segway tour of the Distillery District, which was bustling with boutiques, cafés, breweries, and eateries.
For a more low-key afternoon, Toronto also has several noteworthy museums, but I can only speak to the unique experience at the Bata Shoe Museum.
It houses antique shoes from regions around the world, imaginative futuristic kicks, and unique artist exhibitions.
My absolute favorite part of the trip was renting dresses at The Fitzroy for a night at the opera.
The Fitzroy sectioned off an area of the store and provided us with bubbly and sweet treats during the dress fittings.
I'll fully admit that I was wrong about Toronto. It ended up being an incredible destination for a bachelorette party — and would probably be great for any old girls' trip, too.
I had experiences that would be considered out of the ordinary on any trip, like helicopter tours and a night at the opera. Plus, every meal was uniquely delicious.
The diverse activities, luxe accomodations, and memorable meals made Toronto my favorite bachelorette-party destination to date.
Read the original article on Business Insider

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Four islands, four approaches to Airbnb
Four islands, four approaches to Airbnb

Travel Weekly

time6 minutes ago

  • Travel Weekly

Four islands, four approaches to Airbnb

Arnie Weissmann Of all the disrupters that have entered the travel industry so far in the 21st century, none has been as disruptive -- and ubiquitous -- as Airbnb. Hospitality companies that must adhere to strict local development guidelines and pay bed taxes have begged regulating jurisdictions to level the playing field by addressing unregulated vacation rentals. Communities that lost housing stock to Airbnb conversions have seen rents increase and the fabric of their neighborhoods thin. The residents of some cities blame the company for contributing to overtourism. Municipalities, even countries, have responded. This year Spain will implement regulations that include requiring that a permit be obtained before a property can become a vacation home. Oahu and New York have banned stays of less than 30 days. Amsterdam capped the number of nights a host can rent to 30 per year. Airbnb issues become more complicated for countries whose economies are tourism-dependent. This week was Caribbean Week, when tourism ministers and the heads of destination promotion bureaus descend on New York to raise awareness of their islands. In a series of back-to-back-to-back-to-back interviews with representatives of Caribbean islands, I found that they each looked at Airbnb's presence differently. Antigua and Barbuda was the most supportive of vacation rentals. "They are good for us," said the country's tourism minister, Max Fernandez. "We have seen a plethora of interest, and that means that a lot of people are getting involved in the industry. If you don't have people from all strata involved in tourism, especially in terms of ownership, then it's not sustainable, and sustainability is the key." To keep housing affordable as more properties convert to vacation rentals, Fernandez said the government is supporting a large-scale home-building initiative. "It's about creating a balance," he added. Airbnb serves another supportive role, Fernandez believes. "In economic downturns, the high-end is less likely to be affected. But at the same time, we believe that short-term rental properties like Airbnb can offer the kind of mix to make it balance out," he said. "That's the way we are looking at it." On Anguilla, vacation rentals are regulated for two reasons, tourism minister Cardigan Connor said. First, they are monitored to see if they meet required standards, and second, guest information is gathered to help keep track of where visitors are staying in case of a hurricane. "Anything that happens on the island is a responsibility of government," Connor said. "And as long as proprietors of the Airbnb properties understand that, then they know we're protecting each other as well as guests." St. Martin -- the French side of the island -- creates its balance by actively looking for unregistered vacation rentals but in some instances allowing them to operate in neighborhoods where they're not supposed to be. "We need 3,500 rooms," said St. Martin tourism minister Valerie Damaseau. "We see that there's a lot of purchasing of villas and vacation rental homes. They're listed [on Airbnb's platform] but are registered to us as their personal home. We know that some are not fully paying their taxes. "So we have several teams that visit these sites; they're just going to show up," she continued. "The situation exists, and we want to structure it. We don't want visitors who stay in these properties to say that they're not good, so we can assist the homeowner to make sure that the product is as renovated as possible and that it has the amenities that everyone is seeking." Many of the St. Martin vacation rentals are in areas where they're forbidden to be, but Damaseau is not shutting them down. "We're working on some text to try to regulate them," she said. "We need those rooms to bring [the island inventory] up to 3,500. We shut our eyes because those extra rooms have saved us over the years. We'll tighten the screws a little, but we need to find the right balance." "Villas are a tricky one," said Turks and Caicos tourism minister Zhavargo Jolly. "It's a catch-22. We're a high-end luxury destination, but we get six or seven people staying in a villa because it's less expensive than six or seven hotel rooms. But then they can't afford the amenities that generate the [per person] revenue we expect. And they complain about the affordability of the island." Paul Pennicook, CEO of Experience Turks & Caicos, added that it's one reason they are focusing on the travel trade, which doesn't typically attract the same clients as Airbnb. "Also, with the Airbnb scenario, we're not ever sure that everyone is paying their fair share of taxes. But I had a discussion with Airbnb and got a commitment that they were willing to collect taxes for us," he said. "But they're not prepared to give us the details about who they collected the taxes from; they'll just send a lump sum. My attitude is: just take the money."

‘Abbott Elementary' Season 4 Took Pains Not to ‘Phone It in': ‘We Want Every Episode to Be a Surprise'
‘Abbott Elementary' Season 4 Took Pains Not to ‘Phone It in': ‘We Want Every Episode to Be a Surprise'

Yahoo

time35 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

‘Abbott Elementary' Season 4 Took Pains Not to ‘Phone It in': ‘We Want Every Episode to Be a Surprise'

While 'Abbott Elementary' creator and star Quinta Brunson is a noted scholar of classic sitcoms, she does not envy the episode orders of yore. 'Some of my favorite shows had 30 to 40 episode seasons, which is insane,' said the Emmy winner, noting her respect for those older series' hustle. 'But I cannot tell you how hard it is to not make absolute garbage. You start going [into Episode] 22 like 'Honestly, I could phone it in.' We've seen other shows do it. We don't want to do that. We want to continue to make good television. We want every episode to be a surprise. We want you to not [say] 'I'm going to go back to the tired episode of the tired show.' We would like to keep it compelling.' In an event giving the audience a peek inside the 'Abbott Elementary' writers room, as part of IndieWire's Pass the Remote FYC series, produced in partnership with Disney, Brunson and executive producers Patrick Schumacker, Justin Halpern, and Brian Rubenstein, plus co-executive producer Brittani Nichols joined IndieWire's Awards Editor Marcus Jones for a discussion about the show was able to navigate several changes with Season 4, including more episodes, and a big change to the group dynamics. More from IndieWire 'Mountainhead': Jesse Armstrong Discusses the DOGE-Inspired Dark Second Act Turn and Surprising Final Scene 'Outlander' Creators Talk Season 7 Highlights and Reveal Why They Had to Make a Big Change to Jamie & Claire's Reunion Love Scene At the panel, which took place at the Vidiots Foundation in Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 20, Halpern shared that conversations around how much of the show should focus on the blossoming relationship between Brunson and Tyler James Williams' characters Janine and Gregory has been a bit of a tug of war from the beginning. 'From the very first time we talked about [the show] with Quinta, she was like, 'I don't want this to be the Janine and Gregory show. I want it to be an ensemble.' And let me tell you the notes that we would get sometimes from the executives early on was like, 'Can we get more Janine and Gregory?'' He added, 'They wanted it so bad, and we had to push back and be like, 'The show is going to be stronger in the long run.'' Despite the pair finally being a couple in Season 4, the show still managed to spotlight its other characters like Principal Ava (Janelle James) throughout its 22 episodes, an effort that is core to the show's DNA. 'You go back to the Bible of the show, of why you created it. And as we start Season 5, I in my head go, 'What is this show about? It's about teachers in Philadelphia trying to make the best out of what they have.' And so we couldn't let that change to 'This show is about Janine and Gregory', or 'This show is about Ava,' or 'This show is about Barbara.' When you have an ensemble, it has to continue to focus on each character,' said Brunson. The executive producers also highlight that one of the benefits of having a 22-episode season is how that inclusive ethos extends behind the scenes as well. 'It's really important to us to be able to give people their first opportunities, people who are generally looked over. And because we have 22 episodes, we have four assistants who are now on staff of the show, a writer's PA that gets to write an episode of the show, we have first AD's getting to direct,' said Halpern. 'Because we do 22 episodes, and a lot of other shows don't, we are able to actually bring people along and start a bunch of careers.' For instance, Season 4 saw both Schumacker and Nichols make their directorial debuts on the episodes 'The Deli' and 'Music Class,' respectively. While Schumacker shared that directing had been his initial passion, delayed by his writing duties alongside Halpern, Nichols revealed that she had never even thought about directing until she worked alongside 'Abbott Elementary' director and executive producer Randall Einhorn. 'I just was very talkative, and had a lot of opinions, and things that I wanted to get. And he just was like, 'Do you want to direct?' And I just said 'Yes' in the moment, and then we sort of built off of that,' she said. 'Truly, it starts with that question, of just someone being willing to see you, and put attention on you, and ask you the thing that a lot of people in this industry won't ask you. And that is how it came to be, truly, was just this old white guy being like, 'What's going on with you over here?'' As for how 'Abbott Elementary' continues to foster an environment where everyone is seen and heard, despite a rigorous work schedule, Rubenstein said, 'It starts from the top. These are the most generous people I've ever worked with … It sounds ridiculous, but it's true, everyone is so nice and amazing on this show, and it's just been the best experience of my career, and I love coming to work.' Watch the complete video of IndieWire's 'Abbott Elementary' panel above. More Pass the Remote panels are available as well on IndieWire's website and YouTube channel. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See

Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll Go on a Babymoon in 'I Don't Understand You'
Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll Go on a Babymoon in 'I Don't Understand You'

Yahoo

time38 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll Go on a Babymoon in 'I Don't Understand You'

Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll Go on a Babymoon in 'I Don't Understand You' originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Writers, directors and husbands David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano had one major stipulation after their comedic thriller I Don't Understand You opened to an uproarious response at the South by Southwest fest in March 2024: They wanted it to run in cinemas.'Our biggest takeaway … which is why we pushed so hard [for] a theatrical release, was the infectious temperature we got [from] seeing [the audience] react at the same time,' Craig says. 'I want other people to have that same feeling.'Star Nick Kroll agrees. 'The best movies to see in the theater are the ones that make you laugh collectively and get scared shitless collectively, and this film has both of those feelings in spades,' he says.I Don't Understand You, distributed by Vertical, hits theaters nationwide June 6. Kroll teams with Andrew Rannells as husbands Dom and Cole on an anniversary trip to Italy. The couple are anxiously awaiting the birth of their soon-to-be-adopted child. When they veer into the Italian countryside one evening, however, they experience a series of unfortunate misunderstandings — virtually all stemming from their inability to speak the native tongue. 'The first act of the film is sort of autobiographical,' Craig recalls. 'We were going on our 10th anniversary trip to Italy, and right before the trip we found out we had matched with [a] birth mother and that she was due in a couple weeks. We decided to make [the trip] our babymoon. And on the night of our actual anniversary, we were driving to this remote pizza restaurant, and Brian directed me off the side of the road and we got stuck in a ditch for about five hours.'Crano says they were in what felt like 'The Hills Have Eyes' section of Italy. Luckily, a local family rescued the pair and fed them pizza and grappa well into the wee hours of the morning. Still, the incident birthed an idea of how things might've gone horribly writing I Don't Understand You, Craig and Crano's real-life personalities naturally bled onto the page, though the pair say the film is a 'fun-house mirror' version of themselves. Kroll and Rannells immediately picked up on the couple's rapport. 'It was easy to see from the jump who was who in the script,' Kroll says. 'We were able to draw on that as we built our characters leading up to production. But also, being in production in a foreign country is its own adventure, with highs and lows. And being able to observe David and Brian individually and as a couple who were working together was very informative and helpful.'Rannells notes the intense location shoot with an entirely Italian crew helped him quickly adapt to the iconic surroundings, even though it was his first time visiting Rome.'When you have to casually walk by the Spanish Steps or the Trevi Fountain to get to work, you really feel like a local,' he in the film, as Dom and Cole cruise the Italian countryside, a familiar Southern California voice provides the soundtrack to their upcoming adventure. 'I had just watched a beautiful documentary about Linda Ronstadt, so she was most definitely on my mind,' Rannells explains. 'When David and Brian asked me about song ideas, ['Different Drum'] popped into my head. … It seemed like a good tone to set for our characters before things got unexpectedly intense.'Even in 2025, stories centered on gay men feel a bit anomalous, particularly when divorced from being presented as tragedies like Brokeback Mountain or It's a Sin'We wanted to depict queer characters [where] there wasn't something queer happening to them all the time — [that] we're not always victims,' Craig explains.'I think we contain multitudes,' Crano adds, then describes a scene that depicts 'gay joy' without the sting of something horrific — a scene that's so moving you'll have to watch the film to find out.'We need to expand the genre of LGBTQ films,' Craig says. 'I feel like we're finally at a place where we might not need that genre anymore, and we can expand ourselves into drama and comedy while having queer characters. I think we have the privilege to now make stories involving queer characters that aren't just about being queer.' This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store