I Have a Camera?

So, I went to Toronto, Ontario, for a lovely weekend.  Okay, actually, the first day was rather drizzly and chilly, but hey, it was somewhere other than Missouri.  I really needed that.  Even Kansas might have been a refreshing change.  But I'm glad it was Toronto instead!

Why did I pick Toronto?  I wanted to try out my new passport, so domestic flights were out.  Well, I didn't want to go to Mexico.  Warm, yes, beautiful in spots I'm sure, but I have a feeling that my personality might not mesh well with too many macho men.  Yes, it's stereotypical, but I've heard stories.  I might go to Mexico with a group tour, but not on my own.  So, that pretty much leaves me with Canada.  Hmm, still a big country to see... I didn't want to change too many time zones, so that kinda left out Vancouver.  I wanted a place with a good yarn shop population, and one of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a.k.a. the The Yarn Harlot had mentioned Lettuce Knit a few times, so Toronto already had one big plus going for it.  Also, I'd found out one of their public libraries, the Lillian H. Smith branch, had a special sci-fi collection!  Oh, that almost decided it right there.  Plus, griffins out front, how nice!

Then there's the CN Tower.  I love tall things that I can look down from.  (Michael never did, neither did my mother, so I really haven't had a lot of opportunity to indulge this daredevil tendency.)

Once I got there, I realized there were so many other pluses to choosing Toronto.  Public transportation? Piece of cake!  I loved the subway and street cars.  Great practice.  Restaurants?  Oh My GOSH I had some of the best food in the world.  Thank you, One Love Vegetarian Restaurant!  A nice place to sit and recover from culture shock, and have a beautiful bowl of soup and pumpkin-stuffed roti.  Also, thank you Marsha for showing me around.  I'll never forget that dim sum lunch in Chinatown.

 I never would have picked Rol San out as a good restaurant, if I'd just been looking at the storefront.  But that was so much fun, and so much tasty-goodness.  Even my hotel restaurant made a lovely mahi-mahi with mango salsa.  And good coffee.

This isn't to say it was a perfect trip.  No trip really is.  But my worst problems were really my own fault, like not dropping off my 40-lb pack at my hotel before journeying downtown.  If I were re-doing the whole thing, I also probably would have stayed in the bar and watched the rest of the hockey game.  I sort of made some friends while waiting for my burger, even though I didn't get their names.  Watching the Stanley Cup in a Canadian bar!  I should really have stayed.  And oh, the walking!  I really walked my feet off.  It certainly moved "new pair of Skechers" higher on my priorities.

The worst thing was probably that I forgot I had a camera most of the time. I only got 32 pictures!  Next time I'm post-it-noting "Get the camera out!" on the front of my city notebook.

But certainly, more things went right than wrong.  I got some lovely magazines, a totally cool pen, and five skeins of yarn.  Three of which I have already given away.  Not because I didn't love them, I really did, but because I felt they really belonged with the recipients.  As it turns out, I don't really mind flying at all.  Cramped yes, but somehow still exciting.

Thank you, Toronto, for being a wonderful host to an out-of-town girl.  As cities go, you are amazing and beautiful, with loads of personality.  I do hope we can "date" again in the future.