Toronto Eh!

Toronto, eh?

Hello again everyone.  I thought it was about time for an update on our Canadian adventures.

Well, time flies faster than weaver’s shuttle, as they say and we have now been in Canada 4 months.  We have spent the bulk of that time rugged up in winter coats and boots as all the locals told us that we timed our visit for the coldest winter in 18 years.  Lucky us!  When we first arrived, we frolicked around like little snow bunnies however the novelty of snow soon wore off.  I will say that seeing the city blanketed in white was very beautiful.  It is quite bizarre that two weeks ago we had snow but on the weekend we experienced 30 degrees and actually got sunburnt.  Talk about a temperature shift!  I had to race out and buy some summer tops and shoes.  I must say that it is nice to see my arms again after having them covered since October.

Toronto is a modern city, as I have said before, with lots of high-rise office buildings and condos everywhere.  We have taken up residence on the 29^th floor of an apartment complex in the heart of Toronto. Living in a one-bedroom apartment is certainly different to living in our large home in Melbourne.  At least there is no upkeep, which makes our time our own.  The view from our window is of Dundas Square, which is right opposite the Eaton Centre (major shopping centre).  There are giant billboards lining the square lit by neon lights all day and night. In fact, the lights are so bright we had to ask our estate agent to install curtains in our bedroom as the blinds did not block out the bright lights of Toronto and our room at night was as bright as daylight. The first month we were here, we were greeted every morning by the sight of David Beckham in his underpants.  Now we have a giant Beyonce in a canary yellow bikini. 

We have established a routine for ourselves, which includes a weekly visit to the St Lawrence Market (voted number 1 market in the world by National Geographic).  We have quickly become known to the stall-holders with many of them going out of their way to shake Michael’s hand. They quickly worked out that we are Australians (could have something to do with the fact that Michael booms G’Day Mate to everyone).  The funny thing is that they have great difficulty understanding Michael’s accent.  Whenever he introduces himself as “Michael”, they inevitably think that he has said “Marco” and thereafter address him as such.  He has given up correcting them and so now answers to both Michael and Marco.  No one seems to have trouble understanding me however, one person did ask me if I was from Newfoundland!?  The produce at the market is sensational however the price of meat is much higher than Australia, especially lamb, however seafood is a lot cheaper. Cheese is also very expensive and it is nothing for Michael to spend up to $65 on cheese. The same quantity of cheese bought at the Melbourne Queen Victoria Market is less than $30.  The sale of alcohol is controlled by the government and can only be purchased at the LCBO so there is no competition.  The range is pretty good and you can buy Australian wines however we have been trying the Canadian wines and have found some pretty good ones.  Don’t bother with the vodka though.

We have spent our time exploring the various districts of Toronto however we have been limited up until now by the weather.  Toronto has suddenly come alive with the onset of the warmer days.  Patios have opened up everywhere so that people can soak up the sunshine and now that daylight savings has commenced, it doesn’t get dark here until 9.00pm.  Over the past fortnights all of the trees have burst into bloom and there are huge tulips and daffodils everywhere.  The various festivals will start soon.  We have already been to a couple of parades.  St Patrick’s Day parade was good – we didn’t even have to leave our apartment as we could view it from our window.  We also went along to the Greek Independence Day parade.  Like Melbourne, Toronto is a multicultural city.

Now that we don’t have any pets, we have adopted the squirrels, which are found in just about every park.  We never leave home without a bag of nuts in case we come across a hungry squirrel.  They are very cute and quite friendly although I don’t hand feed them as one of our friends has told me they carry rabies (not sure if that is true, but I don’t want to find out the hard way).  Michael has also taken to carrying around dog treats for the dogs belonging to the homeless.  Our Canadian wildlife count now includes squirrels, ground hogs (cute but very fat), chipmunks (so tiny and fast that if you blink you will miss them), deer and Canadian geese.  I would still like to see a bear and a moose but I believe that I will have to go further out of Toronto to see those.  Apparently coyotes are occasionally sighted in Toronto.

Canadians love their dogs and spoil them unbelievably.  There are numerous upmarket dog boutiques catering to all their doggie needs, such as grooming, gourmet dog food, toys and coats and there are many doggie day care centres also.  When it is snowing, the majority of dogs wear little booties on their paws to protect them from the salt that is spread to break up the snow.  Nothing looks cuter than a dog in booties, particularly the usually butch varieties such as rottweilers.  It is very hard to take them seriously.  We have not seen many greyhounds here, as there is no greyhound racing in Canada.  The greyhounds that we have seen have been adopted from the US and the owners are happy to stop and chat and let us pat their dogs.

The one thing that I cannot get used to in Toronto is the number of homeless.  It is heartbreaking to see them, especially in the winter, when they huddle for warmth on top of the subway gratings surrounded by snow.  It is shameful that such an affluent country cannot come up with a solution.  I will say though, that the Canadian people seem generous towards them with many stopping to give them coins, talk to them and give them a cup of coffee. 

The Canadian people on the whole, seem very friendly.  We have been fortunate to go out with a number of people since arriving and they have been good fun.  Every single one of them seems to have an Australian connection either having been to Australia, planning to go to Australia or friend/relative/flat mate having been or going to Australia.

Another thing that amazes me in Toronto is the widespread use of marijuana.  It is illegal here except for medicinal use but all I can say is, there must be a lot of sick Canadians, as you cannot walk down the street without smelling it.  Michael and I walked past the Massey Hall where Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were performing and we nearly got knocked out.  They held a pro-marijuana rally in Dundas Square the other weekend and the stench was so bad that Michael felt sorry for all the dogs that were there breathing the fumes.

Finding a good cup of coffee was initially an issue for us.  We spent a number of weekends trying various cafes and had just about resigned ourselves that we were going to have to drink stewed coffee out of gigantic cups for the duration of our stay when we found the perfect place.  The café is called Fahrenheit and is run by a group of hipsters.  They greet every customer by name and whenever I walk through the door they shout “Annette” with their arms open wide in that over exuberant, enthusiastic way that Canadians and Americans have.  We have also found a few other cafes that know how to make decent coffee but they are few and far between.

On Anzac Day we went along to the Dawn Service held at the Canadian Forces College.  It was a beautiful ceremony with the master of ceremonies a Major from the Australian Army.  The Australian consul was there along with the honorary New Zealand consul and, rather surprisingly, the Turkish consul.  Each spoke and it was moving to hear the Turkish consul talk about Gallipoli from a Turkish perspective.  The whole service took place accompanied by a chorus of honking Canadian geese.  Gee they are loud!  One curious thing though, they didn’t play the Australian national anthem.  They did however play Waltzing Matilda – I hope they don’t think that is our national anthem!

Montreal – The Paris of Canada

Now that it is warm, we have decided that it is time to get out and see a little more of Canada.  It is our wedding anniversary (27 years for those of you that care about such things) and so we have a perfect excuse for heading to the Canadian city of romance.

We took the train from Toronto to Montreal and I can thoroughly recommend this mode of transport to anyone.  We travelled business class and the seats were comfortable and the service was excellent.  The food was delicious and the wine kept flowing, so what more could you ask for?  The train announcements were in English followed by the French translation until we crossed into Quebec and then the order was reversed.  It still amazes me that Canada is one country but there is one province where they speak a different language.

 

We arrived in Montreal and took a taxi to our pre-booked hotel in the Latin Quatier.  This is where the euphoria of our adventure rapidly evaporated.  Our friends had warned us that the area we had booked into was “not the best”. The words “den of iniquity” and “cesspool” would have been a more accurate description. Having passed 4 strip clubs, we arrived at our hotel, which was situated next door to – you guessed it – another strip club.  We went up the steps into the foyer of the hotel to be greeted by the sight of torn carpet and generally run down premises with peeling paint.  Michael went to check in but they had cancelled our booking.  Michael then goes to check in on the spot whilst I was hissing “just book for one night” with Michael giving me his “you’re such a princess” look.  We then proceeded to carry our bags up the four flights of stairs (no lift) to our room whilst I explained that if the hotel was ok we could always book another 3 nights the following day.  We arrived, panting, at our room, which was the size of a shoe-box to discover – no air conditioning.  I opened the only window to find that it opened a mere 4 inches and that not one single breath of air entered the room.  We were both sweating profusely by this stage. Michael had decided without any prompting from me that perhaps we would check out the next day and find somewhere else.  I can honestly say that I have never been so hot. 

Next morning we were up bright and early, as both of us had given up on trying to sleep.  We caught a taxi from the hotel to the Marriott, which is in the downtown area.  When we arrived the taxi driver pointedly told us that we were now in a very safe neighbourhood where we could walk around.  Anyway, you could say that my spirits lifted enormously.

 

We spent the day walking around the city.  The new part of the city is very nice but unremarkable in any way.  To quote Michael’s mother “you could be anywhere in the world”.  Michael found a lovely restaurant Upstairs where we could sit outside and listen to the jazz being played.  Montreal is famous for jazz, hosting the Montreal Jazz Festival every year.

 

The next day we spent the morning walking along the St Lawrence River.  The river was a trading hub with many factories built along the banks.  Many of the factories are now closed with a number of them redeveloped as apartment complexes.  We also tried to find some squirrels as I had bought a kilo of nuts with me.  Unfortunately, despite hunting high and low, we were only able to locate one lonely squirrel and he wasn’t hungry.  Lunch for us was at a lovely restaurant Jardin Nelson with a large outdoor area.  We spent the afternoon soaking up the sunshine and listening to more jazz.  This was followed by a brief walk around the shops and I am now the proud owner of some Moose earrings. Dinner on Saturday night was at an old French restaurant Le Mas Des Oliviers that appeared to be a very popular local place with a lot of people dining and known to the friendly staff. Yes French and friendly - must be Canada!

We ventured to the old town on Sunday and this is where Montreal becomes interesting.  They have managed to keep a lot of the old buildings and the area is full of interesting galleries, shops and restaurants.  All very lovely.  We even located an Art Nouveau Metro entrance, which had been donated by Paris.  It has been beautifully maintained and made you wish once again that Paris had kept them all at their Metro stations.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts was our next port of call.  A beautiful, modern museum, with a good selection of works including Monet, Rodin & Rembrandt.  Unfortunately we had to spoil it by going to the modern art section the highlight (lowlight) of which was two toilet brushes on display.  Dinner that night was at a fantastic Spanish restaurant Bocata .  Superb.

We spent our last morning in Montreal looking at more shops before heading to the best lunch I have ever had.  A friend of Michael’s had recommended that we try a little restaurant called March de la Villette in the old town.  We ordered a charcuterie board and a cheese board to share, both of which were to die for.  I even got to try Pate Foie Gras, which was divine.  We shared a carafe of red wine and so ended our stay in Montreal perfectly.

 

In summary, Montreal is a beautiful place full of great food, good wine and fabulous jazz.  A perfect place to spend some time.