It's Christmas Time in the City

The first real blast of winter (technically still fall on the calendar) hit Toronto this weekend with 20 cm of snow.

Believe in Santa Claus

 
How can one not get into the Christmas spirit when watching the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street -- on the big screen!  Having seen this film dozens of times on TV, it was great to enjoy it with the reactions of a live audience at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The five-storey complex on King St. W. has five cinemas and other galleries and studios.



Christmas lights in Little Italy on College St.

Watching this movie on a Sunday afternoon took away the disappointment of visiting Little Italy on a snowy Saturday afternoon in search of Baccala (salted cod fish, an Italian tradition for Christmas).  I had called one market and asked if they had baccala. The guy said they don't carry Greek desserts.  So, trudging along College Street, I, and my friend Agnes, searched the shops. 

In the end, it wasn't a speciality shop that had what I was looking for. Thank goodness for Metro (a grocery store chain) for carrying salted cod from Alaska. A nice cappuccino at the Sicilian Sidewalk Café helped this situation.

Here are a few other random photos below to illustrate the winter weather and Christmas time in Toronto.

Holiday shopping at Eaton Centre.

King St. West after the winter storm.

Lake Ontario after a week of sub-zero temperatures. Ferry making its way to Toronto Island.

Eight weeks in Toronto

As we head into December, I am heading into my third month of living and working in Toronto. Here are some random photos and thoughts - in no particular order or preference - summarizing a few highlights of my first eight weeks here in T.O.


The ever-changing views of Lake Ontario from my 36th-floor window.

 

Christmas window at The Bay on Queen St. reminds me of the famous Woodward's windows in Vancouver.

ONroute stop on Hwy 401 between Toronto and Kitchener. These are "one-stop shop" locations on some of the highways in Ontario with services such as Tim Hortons and Starbucks, tourism info and gas stations. They're called "beacons of hospitality, convenience, innovation and safety." I think it's a great idea.

The Royal Canadian Curling Club on Broadview. My first on-ice curling experience in Toronto. This club deserves a full, future blogpost!

St. Paul's Basilica Parish. I've been to mass here a couple of times. Established in 1822, this is the first Parish of the Diocese. Located on the east side of downtown Toronto.

The Spadina Garden on Dundas and Bay.  I found a ginger beef and hot and sour soup lunch special. It was good, but my quest for this dish and soup will continue.

First snowfall of the season on Nov.23. The view from my window after a quick 10-minute snow flurry - or snow squall as they're called here.

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

As a former Eaton's employee, I have always enjoyed how department stores gear up for the holiday season.  So, I had to see the Toronto Santa Claus Parade today, which began in 1905 as the Eaton's Santa Claus Parade.


With 25 floats, 24 bands, 1,700 participants and 3,000 volunteers, the 109th edition of parade made its way along a nearly six-kilometre route in downtown Toronto.

It was great to see the community support for the event. And the parade was a welcome change from a week of  shenanigans at Toronto City Hall.

Yes, the Christmas season is definitely here!

 

Road to the Roar in Kitchener

For my first mini road trip in Ontario, I headed west of Toronto for 100-plus kilometers to Kitchener. I spent the day at the Memorial Auditorium at the Road to the Roar curling event. 

Twenty-four teams from across the country were in Kitchener this week in search of their Olympic dreams. Four teams from this qualifier bonspiel (two men, two women) will punch a ticket to Winnipeg next month in the Roar of the Rings Olympic Trials. That event will determine Canada's representatives in Sochi.

BC's upbeat Kelly Scott speaks to the media.

It was great to be back at a major competitive curling event.  I had a role to play, as a blogger for The Curling News. Here are my observations:

http://thecurlingnews.com/blog/2013/11/road-to-the-roar-2013-sunday/

http://thecurlingnews.com/blog/2013/11/road-to-the-roar-2013-saturday/





Over the years, I've had the opportunity to attend many major competitions including the 2001 Olympic trials in Regina and gold medal games at the Salt Lake 2002, Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

And I saw every game at the 2010 Paralympic Games as a sportswriter for the Paralympic News Service.

So, now it's time to stop writing about curling and actually get back onto the ice and throw rocks and do some sweeping. I haven't joined a team in Toronto but have put the word out that I'm available to spare!

Good curling.

Friday Night Lights in TO

A last-minute plan saw three TO2015 staffers head to the Rogers Centre to catch the last regular-season Toronto Argonauts game.  When I was asked late Friday afternoon if I wanted to go to the CFL game, I replied, "well, going to an Argos game is on my list."  With that, it was off to the stadium formerly known as the SkyDome. 

The stadium is holding up well, in my opinion, since it opened in 1989.  The stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

But on this night, the focus was football -- Argos vs. the Montreal Alouettes. It was the first CFL game for my American colleague Cecil who commented that "field is massive" compared to the NFL.

There was plenty of on-field marketing activities in a family atmosphere.


As for the game, in true CFL fashion, it was down to the final minutes to determine the score in a tight game.

The visitors beat the home team 23 - 20.  Here's the game summary:  http://www.argonauts.ca/article/week-19-recap

Next up for the Argos: hosting the eastern final on Nov. 17.

Looking at the lake

When I decided to relocate to Toronto for my stint with the TO2015 Pan/Parapan American Games, I wanted to experience downtown urban living -- something different from my house and neighbourhood on a residential street in East Vancouver.

I am in a 36th floor studio condo on the shore of Lake Ontario in a neighbourhood appropriately called "Waterfront and Islands."


According to the promotional material, the waterfront was a landfill in the early 1800s, then an industrial area with factories.  Now it's a mixed-use community with condos, recreational attractions and dining.  More info: http://www.waterfrontbia.com/index.asp

From my perch on the 36th floor, I have seen stunning sunrises, a rainbow and a full moon beaming down onto Lake Ontario.

It's certainly a big change from the grass and trees on my street in Vancouver.

Views from Toronto Island

Since the early 1990s, I've wondered about Toronto Island (or the Toronto Islands), when two characters on the old CBC TV show Street Legal (about lawyers in Toronto) lived on Toronto Island and commuted to their law offices downtown.

So, on Thanksgiving Day this week, I packed a few snacks and headed over to this Island. The old ferries with wooden benches and floors make the 15-minute journey to and from the Island each day. There are about 200 homes on the Island. 

It's a park with a number of recreational activities. Many of the kiosks and small amusement facility were shutdown for the season. But on this sunny afternoon, there were plenty of folks walking, cycling, roller blading and having Thanksgiving picnics, enjoying an early fall day.

 

 

On the Island, one can appreciate the size of Lake Ontario.

More information is available here: http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/

The Island provides great views of the Toronto Skyline. How many photos can one take of the CN Tower? The first of many to come, I'm sure.

 

A walk in Kings Mill/Magwood Park

After spending my first week in Toronto in the lower level of the Westin Harbour Castle hotel staffing the media centre for the Pan American Sport Organization General Assembly, it was time to venture out from downtown Toronto.

So, my former Innsbruck 2012 colleague Agnes and her roommate Roberto (an exchange student from Brazil) took the subway to Kings Mill Park, between High Park and Islington.

We were told that we may see salmon jumping along the Humber River, but all we saw was a dead fish along the river bank.

Still, it was a great walk in the park on a sunny morning to see the early fall colours and a piece of nature/wilderness just a few subway stops from the high-rises of downtown Toronto.

More information:
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/pdf/trails/DW_HumberRiver.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

  

Toronto - a city of neighbourhoods

Depending on who you ask or what publication one reads, there are more than two dozen neighbourhoods in Toronto. Perhaps the count is as many as 30 official neighbourhoods.

I intend to visit and explore as many as I can while I am here.  From The Beaches and Greektown in the east to Queen West and King West. 

First up, while I was searching for a  Mobilicity store, I stumbled upon Chinatown along Dundas.

Coming from Vancouver, Chinatowns are not new to me, but this Toronto neighbourhood was certainly busting on a Sunday afternoon. Of course, I had to try Chinese pastries at this bakery. I am pleased to report that the cocktail buns were fresh and as tasty as they are on the West Coast.

By the way, the Mobilicity store in Chinatown was closed. I had to walk back to Yonge and find a location along that street.

Watch this space for my upcoming adventures in Toronto