Labour Day in North America always takes me by surprise, mostly because it is months after the rest of the world celebrates International Workers’ Day on May 1st. But in a country where holidays are given sparingly, a three-day long weekend always calls for a short trip.
We hit the road on Saturday and temperatures were around 30°C. The weather forecast for the weekend was unsettled and we expected rain like last year when we went to Deep River. We booked a hotel by Toronto Pearson Airport and decided to play it by ear. In case of bad weather, we could always hang out in Toronto. If it turned out to be okay, we wanted to explore the Georgian Bay area.
I’m always fascinated by freeways in North America, these wide ribbons of asphalt, bumpy at times, steamy in the summer and icy in the winter. They cut through the country and link cities and people thousands of kilometres away. On Saturday, it seemed like the entire country was going somewhere: there was a constant flow of cars and trucks going North, South, East and West.
We were greeted by a traffic jam on the 401 upon entering Toronto. As traffic came to a halt, the sky turned dark and we were treated to a violent thunderstorm. Rain pounded the windshield and for a few long minutes, we couldn’t see anything but the red glow of cars’ brake lights in front of us. It was all forgotten a few minutes later and temperatures went up again.
We’ve been going to Toronto for years and the city seems to be constantly under construction. There are always more condos to be built, all higher, fanciers and more expensive than the previous one. On Yonge Street, one of the new projects advertises penthouses starting at $17.5 million—who has this kind of money?
We spent a while at the Harbourfront where people had gathered to swim (!) and to listen to Caribbean music, then moved on to Chinatown for dinner. The best Chinese dumplings in the city are in a hole-in-the-wall called “饺子楼”—I recommend the pan-fried pork and chives dumplings dipped in soya and vinegar.
On Sunday night, we hit Little Italy on College Street and stumbled upon yet another festival, and had a pasta dinner listening to Italian classics such as Funiculì, Funiculà. I was secretly hoping the band would start singing Bella Ciao or Bandiera Rossa—blame it on my education, my Italian musical repertoire mostly revolves around left-wing partisan songs.
You can see the complete set of Toronto pictures on Flickr.
Ah, Toronto. My current favorite city. I should go back there again, as I am rather near, and hit Spadina Avenue for those killer dumplings!
I’m drooling just to think of it… best jiaozi ever!
Familiar sights! I was one of those exiting the city while you were entering it… And that 401! What a horror – at just about any time of day.
The 401 is quite something, it seems to be constantly jammed!
Laboour day! WIN. You’re totally Canadian 😉
😆 I guess I passed the test.
Ah yes, construction. It was the bane of my transportation existence until I started to walk home over 10 weeks ago and avoid the delays.
There’s a running joke here that there are only two seasons in Toronto: winter and construction.
Same goes for Ottawa… some parts of the city have been under construction for years, it’s hell from spring to fall.
At least Toronto still has Chinese dumplings… In California, all they got is ‘Chinese American food’. No dumplings, no dim sum…
No, we are lucky, we can still get real Chinese food around here! Same in Ottawa.
It seems like a very nice city to visit but I really couldn’t live in Toronto. Look at their highways!!! no… way
I wouldn’t mind 🙂 But the problem is that you have to live in the city core to make it worthwhile, and rent is expensive so people end up in far away suburbs.
Hiya Zhu!!!! Popping by after such a long break and you reminded me of my trip to Toronto last year 🙂 How time flies?
How are you my friend…slowly catching up for sure. Take care!!
MUACK & Big Hug!!!
Hi Shionge, hope everything is fine with you!
Toronto always reminds me of the Great Niagara Falls! 😀 I had been there long time ago with my parents. The waterfalls are really huge!
Oh yes, they are amazing! I’ve been there several times and I’m still in awe 🙂
That’s so funny that we were both in Toronto that weekend! It was strange weather-wise and the traffic was HORRIBLE because of the Toronto Fair! I still had fun though and it looks like you did too! 🙂
I had no idea there was the fan expo going on though! So many Fetsivals that WE… we bumped into three (the Carribean one on the Waterfront, the Italian Fest and the EX) and apparently there were more!
Lol Don Cherry is still alive?
Yep, and still bitching and wearing the same clothes!
You’ve captured Toronto beautifully.
A bit expensive to live in, but it’s a very lively city.
That flat iron building is right next to my office.
You work in a cool neighborhood! Right downtown. As you said, it’s a bit expensive to live there but it definitely has upsides.
Hi Zhu, I was at the festival too, but walking with my bike for some reason because I had left my lock at home. 🙂
You live nearby, right? I thought of you when I was in the neighbourhood.