Good times in Toronto

Donna and I just got back from Toronto, where we spent the last vestiges of our vacation relaxing and enjoying the smog-filled city that is Toronto. We left Saturday afternoon, after my failed make-over attempt at the mall, and the drive into Toronto was actually quite good, not too much traffic or anything.

That night we had dinner at a local sushi place, all-you-can-eat, and I had, all-I-could-eat. Since I can't get sushi all the time anymore, I prepared myself (no lunch, liquid only in the afternoon to keep my stomach from shrinking) and then ate copious amounts of assorted seafood (they have a really good selection of sushi for dinner and a lot of cooked seafood as well) rice, and other tasty cooked food (chicken and steak, enough for two people really...). I wasn't sick later, but I was Christmas dinner full.

What happens when garbage men and elephants have babies.

Can't remember where this is, somewhere in Toronto

We went to bed fairly early as we were both tired, and wanted to get a lot done the following day. We met Donna's friend Tanya and her friend Christine for breakfast at this place called BOOM. Donna was delighted to see that you could get caramel-nut french toast for breakfast, complete with ice-cream and chocolate syrup.

What women all over the western world want for breakfast... dessert.

After that we started walking. First through Little-Italy, which I forgot is totally full of "pizanos," people who fit the stereotypical description of Italians (well dressed, real smooooth looking, sitting at local cafes sipping their cappuccinos...). There were lots of shoe stores and produce grocers interspersed amoung the cafes and restaurants.

Huh...ironic?

We then walked to Kensington Market. Its a combination of 3 or 4 square blocks where the street is shut down and there are stores everywhere. For you Vancouver people reading this, I thought it was a combination of Granville Island and Granville Mall - very alternative lifestyle type stores and people, combined with strange,eclectic clothing stores, eateries, and groceries. Lots of ethnic feel as well. Not really my thing, but definitely worth a look.

I really have no idea how these things stay on the road, but last time I saw the driver actually stop in the middle of the street, on his route with people in his car, get out and get a slice of pizza. The world is going to poo.

We then walked to China town, which is not so much an actual town, but about 4 or 5 blocks along Spedina Ave. Nothing much here except stores that sell small garments (to fit small Asian people) and restaurants.

After that we walked to the University of Toronto Bookstore, where Donna wanted to look at some medical texts. She complained that it was poorly organized and not set up as well as the UBC health sciences book store (what a surprise), but she did manage to purchase a book. Instead of splurging and getting the large book, she bought the smaller version that has size 2 font. Never seen size 2 font? Me either, it just looks like a blur and you pretty much need a magnifying glass to use it.

Coolest building at U of T, except for maybe the math building, but it was so cool we couldn't find it.

Then we walked through the university, up to Bloor St., and then Donna wanted to do some shopping, so we walked along the street and did a bunch of shopping. All-in-all, there was a crap-load of walking. Apparently when I was a kid I loved to walk, now not so much, at least not all day. We were staying with Jane and Richard, Donna's cousin and his wife, so we walked back to their place (yes, more walking, total distance walked 3617 km, or thereabouts). Along the way we stopped for a little sushi pick me up, and got a few pastries for desert. They cooked a delicious BBQ, which we enjoyed and then played a bit of Wii, before calling it a night.

Donna in front of the new ROM.

Monday dawned bright and early and we left when Jane and Richard left for work, which allowed us to arrive right on time T&T to do some shopping. But first we stopped for some dim sum. We were a little worried at first because although the restaurant had just opened, there was nobody else in the place. We sat down, and by the time our food had arrived, there were lots of other tables filled. The food was delicious, and we even had enough to bring home left overs (which I plan to enjoy in a few minutes actually). And at $1.87 per order, it was really cheap. We bought a good feed of Asian type food at T&T, and then made the drive home.

Dim sum, but we didn't have to cook it.

It was a really good weekend, and Donna and I had a good time.