Roots in Canada

It seems either I'm still suffering minor jetlag or perhaps all this travelling is simply making me very drowsy but after another relatively lazy start Monica and I ventured downtown. We started in Yorkville which was a lovely quirky little shopping district with nice eateries and leafyness! Monica took me to a particular gift shop full of wierd and wonderful things. It was a struggle not to come put with too much! Who doesn't need a squirrel USB splitter or a cloud shaped container for keeping cotton buds?

After a spot of lunch we progressed towards Chinatown meeting Steve at Toronto's answer to Times Square (Yonge-Dundas) en route. Chinatown was very typical of most cities and harboured lots of very cheap souvenir shops and food outlets. I had my first Tim Horton's iced hot chocolate and found it a strong competitor to the one Id grown to love at Dunkin Donuts. It was not far from here that we discovered the wonder of Graffiti Alley. We spent quite some time wandering down this brightly coloured alleyway where it seemed many photographers were using it as a location for the perfect shoot. One photographer was shooting pictures of her dog who seemed adept at modelling in different poses for her on command albeit with the help of some treats!

From there we went on to Kensington Market which was a wonderfully bohemian part of town where it transpired Monica and Steve first met. We even tracked down the house Monica was living in at the time which was a lovely little piece of family history. Even they hadn't been back there in nearly 30 years. I was particularly charmed by a corner film cafe which was showing Charlie Chaplin's 'City Lights' on the back wall.

With many steps on the clock we walked back to get Steve's car by the University and travelled home via the local Greek Restaurant. Greek food isn't something I've had much but I definitely enjoyed it. I had BBQ'd marinated pork with mediterranean vegetables and rice. It was delicious. For dessert, Steve took us to the mouth watering Serano Bakery which had glass cabinet upon glass cabinet of amazing looking treats.

We enjoyed our pudding sat out on the decking at home whilst I willed the raccoons to show their cute little bandit faces. It seems I did not will hard enough nor was I willing to share my pudding with them! Raccoons or no raccoons, I was very much enjoying my family time and felt very at home here.Read more