It sounds sappy, I know… But something about this city has been making me hold it in pretty high regard as of late.
It started a couple of weeks ago when I found myself on Cathay Pacific’s website, for a free downloadable travel guide to Auckland, where I’ll be traveling to this August. For the hell of it I downloaded their Toronto travel guide as well, and for a moment saw the T-dot through the eyes of an international tourist:
Heralded as one of the most multicultural cities in the world, Toronto is an urban mosaic of cultures and ethnicities… It vibrates as a cosmopolitan financial, commercial and cultural center (sic), blending its multicultural heritage — about 80 ethnic groups speaking more than 100 languages — with urban chic.
Not too shabby, if you ask me…
My second epiphany came with a Saturday night stroll home from the Gladstone Hotel. I should point out that I live close to the gentrified part of Queen Street West between University Avenue and Spadina — quite the shit in the mid-90s but nothing special today. So imagine my surprise at happening upon gathering upon gathering of funky young urbanites, maybe a little pretentious but not overly so, and certainly a welcome change from the losers who every weekend park in my garage, terrorize my car then go chase after each other in the Entertainment District on Richmond Street… What a difference a couple of blocks makes!
Of course it absolutely helped that I was being checked out once or twice along the way…
And finally, there was the Luminato Festival, which wrapped up last weekend (though a couple of notable events have been held over). I had the good fortune of visiting Harbourfront on two separate occasions. That Pulse Front thing is spectacular, but even better is all the — you know, diversity… A smorgasbord of food, music and cultures just hanging out and enjoying the company. I think Cathay’s got it dead right.
Oh, I’m still going to New Zealand, all right… But I’ll have no problem coming back to my beloved Toronto. Okay, that was definitely sappy.
2 Comments
You’re making me homesick!
In the last 16 years I’ve been back to T.O. only once in 2001 before 9/11. Everything had changed. People had cell phones and Internet and everything. There was that new movie theatre on Richmond street, very impressive. And great Chinese food!! What I didn’t like was that all the books stores were now Chapters and some of my fave book shops on Queen street were gone. And there were tons of Walmarts and Home Depots.
Hi Roy,
The movie theatre you speak of is actually in a bit of a rough area — if you go there for a Saturday night screening you’ll find yourself walking out the doors straight into gangland central! Check out this running list of the violence there:
http://www.king-spadina.com/newsArticles.html
As for the Queen Street you and I knew it’s just moved west of Bathurst, that’s all. And the Chinese food is still great — in fact, there’s an awesome Dim Sum place a couple of blocks from where I live!
You’re definitely due for a return visit, and let me know you’re coming — I still owe you a beer for that Docomodake souvenir you sent me!