So here it is, our last day in Toronto.
I knew the day would come, I just didn’t think it would be today. Alas, we never really plan these things out to the day now, do we?
My list of things that I will miss is exhaustive, so bear with me.
–First and foremost, I’m going to miss Dutch Dreams. We have been spoiled by this place. It really it a little piece of joy on the entire planet.
–Rol San for dim sum or eats at 4am.
–The whole of Forest Hill. If I ever move back here, it would be in this neighborhood.
–The entire St Clair West and Bathurst area. I’ve had the chance to see this place develop closely for 10 years. It’s come a long way. I was lucky to have landed here ten years ago, and if I had to do it all again, I would land back here again.
–The dream house on Strathearn Road.
–Richlee Restaurant on Avenue Road.
–The Cupcakes. Especially The Designer Cookie.
–The Live Motivators.
–Yonge and Eglinton. Or, as my uncle calls it “Young and Eligible”. Or, as we’ve come to coin it, “Young and Becklinton” because of the many Beckys we’ve met.
–Yorkville, Over the Rainbow, Hemmingway’s.
–The Sporting Life. 30+ years of business and still trucking along.
–The LCBO HQ store. I met Getty Lee there once. I thought I saw some other TV stars, but I’m always bad at faces and names.
–Mistura.
–The Silver Snail.
–The Fakers, the Talkers, the Hustling Backwards’ers.
–Our local Dry Cleaners Joe and Yee Jun.
–Casa Loma. I wish we would have had the chance to take Brooklyn there when they run their Disney Princess tours. Another day perhaps, or even just take her to Disneyland instead.
–The Ex. It’s exhaustive to walk the whole thing in a day, but try it with a two year old strapped to your chest. Still bigger than the CNE, but the CNE has the better roller coaster.
–Marcello’s on St Clair and Dufferin.
–The Parties that I snuck into at TIFF, the MMVAs, and all over the place.
–My Patio garden.
–The Harbourfront. I know, I know, I’ll have seven real beaches in Vancouver, but this place was still a nice mix of music, live entertainment, food, beer, patio, people, market, and a great view of the city.
– Rodney’s Oyster Bar.
–The thousands of little grocery stores and markets all over the city. Vancouver is such a residential city, there are no comparisons to the commercialism that makes up Toronto.
– Bymark.
–Our home Loblaws. They flirted with being open 24 hours, but now are just ‘extended’ hours. The people we’ve met there, and the way they keep taking my money are just awesome.
–Humewood Park. I really do hope that we find another playground that Brooklyn can enjoy every part of, and still be under shade.
–The Nike Outlets and the Nike Employee Store. Yes, I have been spoiled.
–Mirvish Village, Honest Ed’s, The Vintage Shops all in that one block radius. Pretty cool place.
–The Stockyards.
–The Hot Blondes.
–Vaughan Mills. Definitely will miss the Bass Pro store mostly. Holt Renfrew Last Call maybe.
–Yorkdale and still the highest dollar per square footage mall in Canada. And I though that Metrotown was the biggest mallrat capital.
–Lee’s Palace. I used to see it on TV and Muchmusic growing up. Being inside was still cool and saw some great acts go through there.
–Muchmusic. My first time inside the building I was greatly in shock at how small it was. The power of TV, I tell ya.
–Joso’s
–The Hipsters and Parkdale. In Vancouver we have hipsters also but we call them homeless people.
–Delica on Yonge St.
–The Sports. The Raptors, The Maple Leaves, The TFC, The Blue Jays, The Argos, The Toronto Rock, we have seen it all. I am going to miss being at live events, but I guess I will have to find another way to deal with that rush of adrenaline.
–Sneaky Dees.
–The Skate parks on Bathurst. Not the best in the city, but certainly entertaining.
–The Quirky Brunettes.
–Our neighborhood brunch spot.
–The familiarity with the routes and shortcuts to our creature comforts.
–Churrasco On St Clair.
–”Brapp Brapp” “Bloodclat” “Yuh Nuh” “U Zee Me” “GUY”.
–The Pearl Dim Sum restaurant at the Harbourfront. Nothing beats that view of the harbour, and the food is always good. Plus they still have the carts that go around the restaurant!
–The Shows that we saw The Producers, Les Mis, The Lion King, The Sound of Music, Annie, Rent, Wicked, Lord of the Rings.
–The Caliente Spanish Mamis.
–Pho 88.
–The Raq n Waq. It certainly is not what it used to be when it was a killer spot 10 years ago. Times change, management changes, personnel change, and then it all goes to crap. Circle of life, I guess.
–The Consumers and the Consumption of this city. Not the power outages, but just the way this city consumes everything. Pretty scary if you ever saw the numbers.
– AYYYYYYYYYYYY BLUUUUUUUUUUUE DRESSSSSSSSSS!
–The Overachieving Asian girls.
–The Jabronis.
–The Awesome Redheads.
–Dufferin Mall. Or, Sufferin Mall as it is better coined. You got a Walmar, No Frills, Winners, and H&M all under one roof!!
–My Local Starbucks. You can’t beat that the manager lives 5 doors down the hallway from us.
–Duff’s Wings on Tuesday Nights.
–The “Taste Of….” street festivals.
–Caribana. With no guns and no shootings.
–Bua Thai and their Green Curry Duck Breast special.
–The #ROJOM.
–Summerlicious/Winterlicious.
–This heatwave.
I’m sure I’ll remember more as I miss them in my memories.
And of course, you, the people I will miss just as well.
Toronto, I thank you for your hospitality.
Song of the Day: Building a Mystery – Sarah McLachlan
