I worry that each time I’m in Toronto, I only get the “best of” series because I am here for limited amounts of time and actively create my schedule for my visits. Anyway, suffice it to say, I had a lovely time in the city. There was a lot of smiles and laughter and I was mostly in very positive spirits, but I do admit that I did have some moments which ensured that I wasn’t on cloud nine the entire time. I’m learning that it’s okay to have a cry every so often and am trying not to be embarrassed about it. It’s better to let it out (and hopefully move on). But yes, for the first time in awhile, I felt very well-rested, content, and optimistic.
Toronto is fantastic. Here are some reasons why:
- International cuisine. I only scraped the surface by eating American, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Malaysian...and if it counts as a type of cuisine, brunch. Ha. I had intentions of having Caribbean and Vietnamese, but actually ran out of stomach space. In fact, the last three days I was in the city, I only ate one meal a day. After eating a lot, I tend to get into camel-mode and just stop being hungry. Standout food experiences from this trip include: Dandylion and Yasu Omakase Sushi Bar. I'll also mention Greg’s Ice Cream, because it's a classic and their Roasted Marshmallow ice cream is my favorite ice cream that I've ever had, and I can also say that I (waited in line and) ate Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake (tasted more like a cheescake-flavoured steamed egg thingy and was kind of meh). For some interesting flavours, I would recommend going to Kekou Gelato House. Finally, afternoon tea is always a wonderful experience too, and MoRoCo's isn't too bad.
- Street festivals. I stumbled across Toronto International Buskerfest while wandering the city. While I'm not sure that Toronto can compete with Montreal in terms of its festival scene, I do think that the festivals in the city are becoming larger and they are trying to place them in locations that will become known as spaces for events. I know many people who scoff at Yonge-Dundas Square, but I quite like it and appreciate what it's trying to do/be.
- (free) Outdoor movie screenings. I was happy to be able to take in part of TIFF in the Park 2015: TIFF 40 and watch one film while in the city. I have always been interested in seeing The Triplets of Belleville, because the soundtrack is so fantastic. The film itself is quite quirky and doesn't make my favourite movies list, but as I said, the music is phenomenal.
- Theatre. I'm a little surprised that when living in the city, I didn't attend shows. When traveling to New York and London, I would frequently attend shows, but never made it a priority in Toronto. On a whim (literally - I walked by the theatre, saw ticketholders entering, and decided to join them...it was just 10 minutes before curtains), I decided to see Newsies. Why not? The singing was great (I'm a sucker for good harmonies, and I was in an emotional space such that the right harmony or lyrics caused my to get teary-eyed) and the dancing was decent (I had very high expectations). It was a nice 2.5 hours and I feel fortunate to be able to have been able to take advantage of the situation that presented itself.
- People. Toronto peeps - you're the best of the best.
Prior to booking this trip, I was worried that two weeks would be too long. I didn't think I would be comfortable being away from Montreal for that long. Now that it's over, it went by too quickly. While I was able to do a lot, there is still a lot that...well, there's always more.
But, here I am, at the airport, waiting to head back to Montreal. Year 2. C'est parti!
