This weekend, I headed up to Toronto, Ontario to visit friends…
…and help Canada celebrate her 150th birthday.
To better explore the city, we took advantage of Doors Open Toronto…
…where 150 sites around Toronto (City Hall)…
…were open to the public (Design Exchange – the original stock exchange trading floor)…
…for self-guiding tours (Historic Don Jail)…
…guided tours (Toronto Necropolis)…
…and leisurely strolls (Riverdale Farm)…
…where you could check out the animals.
While in Toronto, I also made a point to head to the Harbourfront Centre…
…as the Barbados on the Water Festival was underway.
I arrived as the vendors were putting out their goods…
…of soaps…
…hats…
…Barbados memorabilia…
…and travel information.
The music was playing…
…the kids were crafting…
…and a special fish fry was getting ready.
But there was still plenty of Toronto to explore…
…and I tried to pay attention to the detail in the architecture…
…the creativity in the artistry…
…and the surrealism in the advertisements.
One of the more interesting neighborhoods was Kensington Market…
…where color filled the streets…
…and structures were painted with stars…
…or decorated with mannequins.
This was the place for tattoos…
…marijuana for medicinal purposes…
…all your tiki bar needs…
…and even things you didn’t know you needed.
Another favorite spot was the St. Lawrence Market.
Not only was there a farmer’s market with fresh fiddleheads…
…there was an assortment of vendors selling mealworm and cricket bolognese sauces…
…exotic meat sliders…
…pork galore…
…the world famous peameal bacon…
…which is basically Canadian Bacon rolled in cornmeal…
…and a delicious halibut po’ boy that I called lunch (Buster’s Sea Cove).
Eating was a highlight in Toronto, as my friends and I enjoyed butter tarts…
…homemade dumplings (Mother’s Dumplings)…
…various grilled meats (Gyu-Kaku)…
…and an assortment of shellfish (Rodney’s Oyster House)…
…which was really, really…
…incredible.
Along with these wonderful memories…
…I left Toronto with some Cherry Gin…
…hazelnut/vanilla spread…
…Big Mac sauce…
…and some special Birthday Cake Fruit Loops…
…for celebrating Canada’s birthday obviously.