We left LA on a cool pleasant day -flying a third empty plane. Fortunately for us, we secured the seats next to two toddlers, aged three and fours years. Although adorable, their wandering on the aisle, pulling at seats, and making screeches and occasional crying sounds were less than melodious, but I think if we had not booked so far in advance we would not have had the pleasure of being seated so close to them and to the long queue of toilet goes leaning on our seats.

However, it was only 4 and a half hour flight, and compared to the long hauls we have taken to Europe, it was incredibly easy. No food was offered, though they did come around and offer us some tea or cold drinks. We packed some peanut butter sandwiches, so we were prepared not to go hungry. Movies were $3 extra for headphones, but I was happy with my Kindle (first time using my birthday gift) for travel and played scrabble and read or occasionally stared straight ahead like Elaine's Puddy on Seinfield.

Our home exchangers suggested we use the limousine service to get to their home. BTW, the walk from the plane to the baggage area was amazingly long, though it felt good to get a little movement in our legs after the flight, but we were the last to retrieve our luggage. I had a moment'spanic when I saw the revolving luggage carousel empty, but there they were, our two black bags adorned with bright red and green ribbons. I have no idea how other people had gotten there ahead of us so quickly. The limousine ride (in a Lincoln) was great, smooth and quiet and within 30 minutes ($54 with tip), we were at our home exchangers' home.

Our home exchangers' relatives were waiting for our arrival to give us a brief orientation, point out things, which I'm sure we immediately forgot since it was around 10:30 or 11:00 pm, but it was very kind of them.

The home is quite large, very lovely, reminds me of the Scottish home we stayed in Dundee, lots of similar walnut or oak (?) wainscotting. All the flowers and shrubberies are wonderful, all in beautiful colorful profusion. So nice to see so much greenery. By summers' end Southern Californan looks a bit brown and wilted, There is a beautiful tree across the street from our home exchanger's home that is already transformed from green to gold and orange, especially this morning with the sunlight shinning through it. Just beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing more of autumn leaf changes in the next five weeks.

We walked over to Yonge Rd, a lot further than we planned (10 blocks, maybe?) looked for a small market, a restaurant for an inexpensive lunch and just a look around. I like the feel of the neighborhood, it reminds me of my grandparents' area in the 50s and 60s back east. Everything is low scaled, not too corporate feeling, though I did noet Restoration Hardware and a few other similar places, but no high rises or strip malls. Very nice. Lots of people on the street walking, shopping, and at the cafes. The weather was perfect, not rainy as predicted so that probably brought people out. We picked a small Italian pizzeria recommended by someone we met on the street. It was not very good, maybe an off day, so I won't dis it here. I'll give it the benfit of the doubt, since the local says it is usually pretty good. Benefit, the service was polite, ambience was nice and it was only about $20 plus tip for lunch. Could not find a small market, I'm sure there was one around, we just missed it.

We then walked over to Engleton Street (I probably have that name spelled wrong) and found a couple of markets, bought some fruit, cereal, soy milk for my husband, but could not find real peanut butter without additives, just want peanut butter with no palm oil or sugar added. Will have to go back to the health food place we saw on Yonge Rd. Anyway, we have enought to get started for tomorrow.

Still learning our way around this house, figuring out how to use the stove, finding the potholders, even a glass. It's odd how differently people set up their homes; it's always a mystery for a few days reaching up for a glass, finding it in a lower shelf, or a pot out of reach. I'm sure people go through the same minor challenge in our home,too.

Welcome to Toronto. From what you are saying, it sounds like you are in a wonderful area... that is if you meant Eglington Ave.!!
How long will you be in Toronto? IT's a beautiful time for the trees turning. YOu may be close to Leslie and Eglington. There are beautiful parks there ... on the north west corner, entering off Leslie Street. Serena Gundy park.. and you can wind your way up to Sunnybrook Park and Edwards Gardens ( at Lawrence and Leslie. )

Enjoy the city. I'll be anxious to read what you've been up to.

Silly me. Your title says 5 weeks. Ignore my question!

Hi Kodi - I'm sure I must mean Eglington ave!

We have to find a food market, figure out the transportation system, and then our exploration can begin. The neighborhood is so pretty. I just love all the trees, shrubberies and flowers. Just looking around is great fun. It is so different from LA.
My home exchangers' friends tell us we are in North Toronto, once upon a time, this area was a separate city, but now is part of greater Toronto.

I'm not sure where you are.. but if you are near Eglington, Publlic transportation will be very good. I think you will probably know , the subway runs north and south on Yonge St. There are buses along Eglington that go to the subway.

I haven't lived in the area for years, so can't help much when it comes to shops or restaurants. I live 25 miles outside the city now. I love where you are. The house sounds similar to what my parents had.

I'm not sure if you are east or west of Yonge Street. If you are east, You might like to wander down Mt. Pleasant , south of Eglington. There are some nice shops there.

Avenue Road north of Lawrence is wonderful too.

Welcome!

I only know of two Restoration Hardware stores in the area - one is on Yonge near Broadway but there are high rises around there, I lived in one years ago. It sounds like that's where you are though. There's an indoor mall just at the corner of Yonge and Eglinton with a supermarket.

(FYI: It's Eglinton Avenue, not Eglington, it runs east and west from Yonge. And Yonge Street, not Road.)

Here's the provincial colour report - http://www.ontariotravel.net/publications/fallcolourreport.pdf/
Lots of time yet to enjoy the colour on city trees.

If you have no plans for today, it's Word on the Street - a book fair. http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/toronto

In Queen's Park and outside the Museum at Bloor and Avenue Road, 11 till 6 - take the subway to Bloor stop, walk a few blocks west.

Morningglory, thank you. OF course I knew it was Eglinton.... I must have been tired last night.

Hi and welcome, annetti!

If you really are in North Toronto and relatively close to Yonge and Eglinton, then you're right near me! Your description of your house sounds quite like mine as well and the wood is probably gumwood (which I'm dying to paint!). Our house was built in 1927 and that's probably close to the age of your neighbourhood.

Re your peanut butter quest, there's a health food store called Noah's on Yonge a few blocks north of Eglinton on the east side. They may have what you're looking for. If not, it's certainly worth a short trip by TTC to go to Danforth Avenue where you'll find Carrot Common and a big health food store called the Big Carrot. Then you can take a nice walk eastward along Danforth to Pape and back visiting the nice shops and maybe stopping in for lunch or dinner at one of the many Greek restaurants there. Our favourite is the Pantheon which is on the south side of Danforth at Chester.

Here are the websites for the two stores:
www.noahsnaturalfoods.ca
www.thebigcarrot.ca

And if you tell me what kinds of restaurants you enjoy, I can recommend some in the neighbourhood.
gtg

Thank you, goddesstogo. Our home was built in 1931 per owners' relatives. It's very pretty and immaculate, though not built for today's electronic needs such as the big screen TV or a stereo system, not a problem for me, but my husband finds the rooms small. I imagine the rooms were built for radios,just as the small garages were built for the one car family, an anomaly nowadays, maybe less so in Toronto, but in my Californian neighborhood, there is a car for every member of the family of driving age, sometimes more than one car per person. My next door, a single woman has three cars!!

I think the homes are charming and attractive, not a relic. Don't paint the walls; enjoy the woodwork. Think how difficult the paint would be to remove once you changed your mind. You'd never get the wood back to its original condition.

Back to Toronto, we have discovered Noah's, bought some veggie burgers there today and at a greengrocer nearby some produce. While at Noah's I knew there was something else I wanted and of course, remembered the peanut butter 15 blocks later.

Yes, we'd love some suggestions for restaurants. We are hardly foodies, but we love Italian and if you know a great pizza place (we seldom indulge), we would love a recommendation. We tend to eat vegetarian, me more so than my husband. I will occasionally eat fish, but that's about as high up the animal chain I go, never shrimp or lobster or any of their relatives. My husband will occasionally eat chicken.

BTW, someone mentioned the big carrot to us today at Noah's. Yesterday, a clerk as Noah's sent us to a very mediocre Italian place and we chose another mediocre Italian place today. Not much luck there, but better than anything Italian I'd get back home locally. Unless, I'm in LA, I don't waste my time on Italian back home, but I know there are zillions of good places here, we just need to be pointed in the right direction.

We don't have a car and right now, it feels dreadfully inconvenient to lug things from the supermarket to our house. We must be at least 10 blocks or more from a small market. Also, I have to keep remembering, I can't buy wine at the local market and always think about it, when we're 2-3 blocks away from the wine stores and are too fatigued to walk back. I certainly would enjoy a glass right now! And then carrying it seems tiring, too. Well, we'll get our stamina back and once we learn to use the transit system, we'll get it under control.

We bought a week transit pass (starts tomorrow) and now must decide where our first excusion should be. I pulled out our Fodor's Guide, but it is a bit daunting and I am not sure where we shall start our tourist exploration. We have spent a bit of time exploring the local streets and shops near by, and are ready to board a bus/subway and see more.

One of the pleasures of home exchange (no hotel bills breathing down your neck), there is no rush to see everything that must be seen immediately. We tend to be very leisured travelers and take our time, probably by some people's timing, we are very very slow seeing only one sight or maybe two in a day whereas someone else would see it in two hours, but then we often don't get started until noon. We are very slothful.

I have forgotten to thank Morningglory and Kodi. We found the indoor supermarket you mentioned, but missed the book fair.We always enjoy wandering around book fairs. Our home exchanger has a wonderful selection of books here, just the kind of stuff I enjoy reading.( It can be a hit or miss when you arrive at someone's home, some people have vast collections and others not a book in sight.) I need not have loaded my Kindle down.

I remember your planningmonths ago. You've managed to get yourself about as far from neighborhood stores as it is possible to do in Toronto. If I remember correctl;y you'renorth of Eglinton, betweeen Bathurst on the west and Avenue Road on the East.

I'll post a half-day see "Real Torontonians" tour for you in the next day or two.

BAK

Thanks, BAK. Unfortunately, with home exchanges, you can't always place yourself next to a neighbrhood market. We'll manage somehow, complain a bit to each other, get used to it and do a bit of walking. It will work out. Thanks for the Real Torontonian tour. We'll look forward to it.

How far north of Eg are you? On Eglinton, between Bathurst and Chaplin Crescent, it's all apartments but from there westward to Avenue Road, there are lots of restaurants, a big Shoppers Drugmart (which also has a post office and some groceries), some posh clothing and home goods stores, and some interesting bakeries and delis. We just came home from having dinner in that neighbourhood.

At Lawrence and Avenue Road there's a huge Shoppers Drugmart (also with groceries and post office) and across the road is a lovely high-end grocery store called Pusateri's. It's pricey but good for special stuff and ready made food.

Do you remember the names of the mediocre Italian places you tried?

I can't really recommend pizza places because I love it too much and try to stay away from it but here are some nice spots in the Yonge/Eg area (north and south of Eg), here are some choices:

Grazie (very lively, friendly, pizza/pasta)
Pickle Barrel (upstairs in the Yonge/Eglinton Centre; a wide menu; the food is ok but it's handy because it's right next to the movie theatre)
Grano (one of our favourites; pasta and a lovely variety of dishes and a nice antipasto bar)
Tabule (next door to Grano and middle eastern)

It's a long way to lug bottles of wine but if you get a chance, go to the LCBO (that's the government operated boozeteria) at Summerhill and Yonge. It's an old train station and quite a gorgeous store -- definitely worth seeing. Plus they have a nice tasting room. Nice restaurants and kitchy shops in that neighbourhood as well.

Re our house, believe me, if I painted the wood I wouldn't miss it one bit. Our house can deal with the stereo system and big screen tv but you're right about the driveway. We share a driveway with our neighbour and it's so narrow that we literally have to buy our cars by taking a tape measure along with us so we can measure from mirror to mirror.

Since you're here for 5 weeks, you might consider a monthly TTC pass - they should be for sale now.

I have a fold up bag which has wheels when unfolded for when I buy too much, it isn't heavy - I am carless, too - I've seen these bags for $12 in the dollar store at Yonge/Eglinton Centre.

You'll see NOW magazine everywhere - it's free and lists lots of events.

Pizzeria Libretto is supposed to be wonderful - they're on Ossington but are opening a new location in Greektown.

Toronto Field Naturalists have free walks - http://www.torontofieldnaturalists.org/v-walks.htm

Bruce Trail has hikes outside the city which requires a bus ride and a fee but walks inside the city are free http://brucetrail.org/ - I'd post the city walks if I could find my newsletter.

This coming Saturday is Nuit Blanche - events all night long - http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/. I plan to spend most of the night wandering around!

Let us know a good day to meet for coffee/lunch.

Goddess - I painted the wood trim high-gloss white and don't miss it a bit...the house was built in 1922. It was a lot of work though - I'm a messy painter.

It's even more work when you're a perfectionist painter like me, mg. I just painted the spare bedroom and getting the line around the top of the wall as perfect as possible was crazy-making -- especially in these old houses where the rooms have been painted a million times.

annetti, just to correct something above, Tabule isn't next door to Grano, it's one block south.

If you have a quest for great Italian food, then you should check out the Little Italy neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. http://littleitaly.sites.toronto.com/

There are so many interesting neighbourhoods to explore including the Distillery District, Kensington Market, the St. Lawrence Market (especially on a Saturday morning) and Bloor West Village and High Park. Toronto truly is a city of distinct neighbourhoods. It's a good thing you've got five weeks!

For restaurant reviews, you might want to check out Joanne Kates, the acerbic restaurant critic for the Globe and Mail. Here are her top 100 restaurants in Toronto:

http://www.postcity.com/Post-City-Magazines/Kates-2011/Top-100/

More nabes: the Junction, Liberty Village, Leaside, Queen West, Ossington.

Goddess - I know what you mean - I always end up covered in paint. During TIFF, Benjamin Moore gave out $7 off coupons for their paint, Aura. I have several if you want one.

You guys are great!... this is an example of the Fodors Forum at its best... right down to paint coupons... keep it up

You're a doll, mg. I'll take a couple from you next time we're together. There's still the basement to paint!

GGG: I'm not sure of my East/West/ So/No, suffice it to say we are about 3 -4 blocks from Avenue and St. Clements. That should give you a rough idea of our location.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions above. I am overwhelmed with everyones' generosity. So, thank you ggg, mg, Bak, laver, and gary and anyone else with the patience to read this!

We found the liquor store ggg mentioned - was able to sip a glass of a local Shiraz tonight. Also, found some real peanut butter. Next on the list is to locate pisateri's/ sounds like just the answer to our non cooking vacation.

We ate at La Vecchio's (sure the sp is wrong) our first day out. Like ggg, pizza is a rare treat for us and we seldom eat it, but were hoping for a better one. Dried out and tasteless and a bit burnt, too. Perhaps, an off day. The second place I don't recall, but it was not Grazie.

Okay, Day 3 in Toronto. Everyone else has spent their alloted time, seen the city and are ready for their two days in Niagara Falls. Sometimes, I think we do move a bit too slowly. And we were not on our way until past one in the afternoon.

Using our transit pass,we waved it at the conductor; it's great not to fool around with coins, we boarded the 61 bus to Eglington Station and took the subway south to Queen Station. Only 3 blocks or so walking, using the bus, it felt wonderful.Such a short walk and the weather was a low 70 degrees F. We crunched leaves and enjoyed the pretty autumn weather. I did not miss our car, though I did not feel the same way at the end of the day!

Within 20 minutes or less we were downtown. Except for the beautiful old city hall and a couple other bldgs, I could have been in San Francisco, Buenos Aires or Frankfurt.There are tons of high rise buildings and lots of shopping malls.

The old city hall is a Romanesque Revival bldg, now a courthouse. It is quite lovely and has a wonderful clock tower. Lots of people on the lawn taking photos. One couple asked my husband to take a photo of them,he was wary of the sun ruining their photo for them and he told them stand in front of the courthouse, which of course was what they wanted - a picture of them with the courthouse in the background. Reluctantly, he told them, the picture would be faded, but they were not deterred.

We walked inside, but you need to go through metal detectors, however, we saw the high ceiling just inside the doors and the lovely stained glass windows. It is a beautiful building, but courthouses in general are not happy places to visit. Lots of misery inside.

We had a little walking tourpamplet provided by our home exchangers and wandered around a bit. Entered St Trinity Church, N was a bit disappointed we missed the weekly
noon Monday concert, it was now past 2 pm. We then walked over to Osgood Hall, known for "Canada's Most Beautiful Room," a great library. Also, necessary to go through a metal detector. All those people hard at work at their computers and leafing through those old heavy legal books, made me very drowsy. We wandered a bit more, thought we'd try the dining room, it was closed, it was now past 4 and ended up the food court in Eaton Place. Ate 2 salads at Urban Herbivore, not very good -- all the vegetables had been sitting around since the morning and I could hardly tell the carrots from the arugula, however it must have been healthy?

We boarded the subway around 5 or so, hoping to avoid the evening rush hour, but it really was not terrible. No real crush. Torontonians are so civilized, people queueing for the buses, no pushing in the subway, people offering me a seat, I guess this baby boomer looked frazzled, but I declined, however my husband gratefully took the offered seat.

We had more of a sense where we were after we exited the subway, N wanted a dessert he had bought from Noah's (we found it easily), I bought some wine and we bought some more produce.
So we are managing, but the walk back to our house was tiring and it was then I was wistful for my California wheels. Shameful to say, I have two markets less than three blocks away from my California home, and in thirty years, I probably have walked to them twice! I, also drive to my local gym, also three blocks away. Shameful, is it not!!

St. Clements goes East-West

The CN Tower is south.


Avenue Road goes North-South, plus it changes its name twice.

Near you it is Avenue Road, then goes south and when it crosses Bloor Street (Beside the Royal Ontario Museum and the Gardiner Ceramic Museum) it changes its name to Queens Park Crescent, and curves around a park called Queens Park and the provincial parliament buildings, also referred to as Queens Park, and then goes south a block or so to College Street. As it crosses College, it changes its name to University AVenue.

Osgoode Hall is a few blocks south on what is now University Avenue.


PUSITERI'S -- there are three

Nearest to you is on Avenue Road, a few (petty long) blocks north of St. Clements. This is the original.

The secon one is on Avenue Road a couple of blocks north of Bloor Street, very close to the Bay subway station. If you findyourself watching Dragon's Den on CBC or Lang and O'Leary, on CBCNewsNetwork, The crabby guy names Kevin O'Leary lives upstairs over the grocery store.

You probably won't get to the third, which is many blocks north west of you at Bayview and York Mills, and is very new.

HALF DAY SEE "REAL" TORONTO

Get yourself to the East-West Bloor-Danforth subway.

(Aside: Bloor Street runs east - west, and changes its name to Danforth Avenue after it crosses the Don Valley gorge. Now its full of Greek stores and restaurants.

And College Street (East-West) -- Italian restaurants -- changes it name as it crosses Yonge Street and becomes Carlton Street and goes past Allen Gardens, the not-that-bad slums, and over to trendy Cabbagetown.

Back to the tour...

Take the subway west underneath Bloor Street to Jane St.

From Bloor and Jane walk est, toward downtown, through Bloor West Village. This is one of my old neighborhoods. Used to be very Polish, now backed with young families and old Piolish grandparently people.

Walk past the stores and you'll be beside some small apartments. Keep wal;king to High Park Avenue (traffic lights) and turn right - south and walk through giant High Park as far as you can go.

You'll emerge on The Queensway, a multi-lane east-west road with streetcar tracks running down the middle.

Take as 501 Queen Street streetcar eastbouind, back to downtown Toronto.

Depending on your feet...

Get off at Bathurst and walk east toward the big buildings until you get to a north-south route to take you home (subway, bus as per your TTC maps, experience) or stay on the street car until University Avenue.

The Bathurst to University stretch is another 20 years worth of my neighborhood.

BAK

Thank you, BAK, for what sounds like an interesting tour. Slowly, we are getting a sense of directions: what is north and south and east and west, though I'd hate anyone to test me formally.

Today, we covered more ground than in the preceeding days. By bus, subway, and tram, we traveled to the Distillery District, a National Heritage Site, a collection of brick Victorian Industrial bldgs now home to galleries, restaurants and gift shops. It took us about an hr to get there, but even with two transit changes, it seemed to go guickly. There's always something to see out the window or people to watch on the subway. On every subway car, there is always at least one sleeping passenger, who manages to wake up for their stop - I'm not quite sure how they manage it, perhaps they're cursing mentally that they passed their exit and I just don't know it! I suspect their internal clocks are well tuned.

The Distillery District is reminiscent of San Francisco's Giradelli Square without all the empty storefronts I saw there recently. I'm not much of a shopper so a lot of the appeal is lost on me. Very low tourist turnout for this Tuesday midafternoon. We shared an okay sandwich at one of the local eateries. We had forgotten our DD walking guide and were at a bit of a loss wondering if we had seen all the significant sights. I think we did okay.

The clerk at our sandwich shop recommended we walk up the Esplanade to St Lawrence Market. That sounded vaguely familiar. (I later checked my home exchanger's notes; he had recommended the market.

The walk up the explanade opposite a small city park, perhaps 7 or 8 blocks was very pleasant and also relatively unpeopled. The dog park was empty. The clerk told us that this area was unique to Toronto since it served a community with diverse incomes.

St. Lawrence market was semi-bustling; I'm sure the weekend is the fun time to visit with its outdoor farmers' market.We enjoyed browsing the food stands. N bought a bagel which he enjoyed; but he's not the bagel snob I am, I thought it too sweet for a sesame seed bagel, too much added sugar. I wish I was hungrier since Buster's Sea Cove appeared immensely popular and I would have liked to give it a try. Is it worth trying? It reminded me of my favorite Tusquedilla's in the Fairfax Farmers' Market (in LA) which serves non stop everyday. St Lawrence also reminds me of Vancouver's Granview Island which is great fun, too.

We found ourselves in Old Town, a very attractive part of Toronto with lot of cafes, boutiques and interesting buildings. I was taken with the triangular 5 storied,red bricked Flatiron building on 49 Wellington. Apparently, it was built by a distillery owner for offices in 1892. It now houses a cafe and offices. It is quite striking and is very popular for photos. The shape reminded me of a building in Lyon; I guessed the age of the Goodeham Bldg (the correct name for the flatiron bldg), but I was about 25 years off. Apparently, there is a similar bldg in NY (built later) that I know nothing about.

With just a few less questions for directions than the day before, we took the subway home, boarded the 61 bus and stopped at Pusiteri's. It is indeed a beautiful upscale store with lots of attractive offerings. I found my all time favorite brown rice sushi, so I was happy and we wandered around a bit. It was very crowded.
Thus, ended a very enjoyable day, one without the threatened rain, and far less walking as we learn to use the public transit system.

Now we need to master the recycling/ trash system for tomorrow and locate our home exchanger's hose so their outdoor plants do not languish.

This is wonderful annetti to hear about your days in Toronto. We have loved a Pusateri for 25 years. A real treat.
We are located in Niagara on the Lake. If there is going to be a gtg in TO we would love to meet you, but alternately if you are coming here we could gtg here if you would would like. Mini tour also available!

I also second the reco for Pizza Libretto. It is a popular spot!

If you thought your bagel was too sweet it was probably a Montreal-style bagel. I find them sweet too. Like a donut with hardening of the arteries.

The Distillery District was built by Gooderham and Worts - the flat iron building was their HQ. I'm pretty sure there's one in London (England), too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gooderham_and_Worts

Here's something from a website about the flat iron building BUT they've misspelled Gooderham on it which makes me wonder what else is wrong in the article. http://www.aviewoncities.com/toronto/flatiron.htm

Wait a few weeks to go to High Park - the trees may have turned more by then.

Bak - Bloor West is more Ukrainian...their Credit Union is there and a few of the old delis. I worked for a lawyer whose family is Ukrainian, she would only buy a house in that area. They had their annual festival last weekend http://www.ukrainianfestival.com/

Roncesvalles is the Polish 'hood - complete with a statue of J2P2 in front of St. Casimir's. The Polish had their festival last weekend, too. http://polishfestival.ca/

The fact that there was a Ukranian Festival there, with Bloor Street closed, a couple of weeks ago should have been an indicator to me, too.

Annetti, one of the buildings right across the street from the distillery District was my home for a decade, too. Many are Ontario-style co-ops, which are different from NY stryle co-ops, and many of these have a distinct ethnic element to them.

Mine was Czech,and it faced a Russian one. Next along the street was a Dutch one, and so on down the street towards the market. There was some government-owned subsidized housing, and the co-ops all had a percentage of space reserved for rent-subsidized people.

There are not a lot of co-ops in Toronto, and the ethnic connection was not necessary to live there.

Tuesday afternoon at a downtown food market is a quiet time and you are right about returning on a Saturday.

BAK

Irecommend: I thought you were a West Coast native; I remember conversing with you when we were in Vancouver or was it Vitoria or perhaps, both? If this gtg happens it would be great to meet you and all the local Fodorites. I feel like they are all old friends, yrs of conversing here?

Morningglory: Thanks for those links. They answered some questions for me about the distillery business during the Amer prohibition era. Also, did not realize this province was once dry, but the link did not say for how long or I just missed it.

GGG: We have certainly forfeited our healthy eating here, but we shall reform starting tomorrow or so my husband promises!!

Bak: Very interesting about the neighborhood around the distillery.

It rained last night, watering all the outdoor plants; I had been unable to find a hose. Well, I can put that problem aside for now.
It was an absolutely beautiful autumn day, sun shining, in the low 70s, F, that is. We have been extremely lucky, though I carry my raincoat as insurance each day which is why it has not rained. Each day we have a back up plan, a museum to visit if the rain pour down.

One bus, one subway car and one trolley brought us to Little Italy, my husband's choice for our day outing. Although, there are plenty of pizza places, we saw a couple of Lebonese take-outs (one that looked absolutely fabulous; she gave us free samples and had tons of vegetarian foods), I wish I remembered her name to plug it, a great meatball sandwich place (they had eggplant meatballs)which looked delicious and several others as well.

It was really difficult to choose a place to eat. My husband was drawn to Cafe Diplomatico and our guide book seconded the recommendation and a local on the street told us it was her favorite place. The food was reasonable, the service okay, the atmosphere pleasant and reminscent of my childhood pizzerias. The tomato/ onion pizza had a nice thin crust but our casear salad was served very warm which they graciously replaced. Our bill was a bit over $20 without a tip.

BTW, what is the ruling here about smoking? We had to go inside because the patio was filled with smokers. In Vancouver, there was no smoking within 15 feet of the restaurant? Smoking really bothers my husband; I can manage, but there were a deluge of yellow jackets as well, so we were both probably happier indoors.

I think if a patio has umbrellas you can't smoke under them...smokers do spoil the outside for non-smokers.

It's wasp time - they're everywhere.

When will we meet for that coffee? Who's going to pick a date?

I enjoyed wandering the neighborhood, seeing all the old brick buildings; looking very much liked the Italian neighborhoods I remembered back East. The stores of course have changed over the yrs, owners have died and gone, but the buildings have the same patina that I remember as a child. The old neighborhoods in LA exist, but not with the constancy you see in Toronto. There is much preservation neighborhoods and communities here.

We walked over to the Annex to see Honest Ed's, a city landmark department store we were told. It is a cross between LA's old Pic and Sav, Big lots and the 99 cent store. There's a small village of interesting shops and done-up facades called possibly Mirsvin's Village (Ed's last name) where we wandered for a while. We also, walked up and down the small streets gazing at the small homes, the gardens and the changing trees.

We returned home around 5:30 or so, reread our recycling, trash notes and found the requisite receptacles. It really wasn't that complicated, just a bit different. Figured out how to use the washing machine, too; we are feeling a bit more settled in.

A minor observation: Not one rude encounter; Torontonians are so civil. It really is a pleasure. City people are often too rushed to talk or even point you in the right direction, not so with Torontonians.

No, I am an Ontario native but we spent a year just traveling and did spend some time on the west coast near Victoria at Sooke.

It is so nice to read about your travels. We will be heading to Toronto in the net week or so for our visas for China and could arrange a meeting for sure!

annetti, that Italian neighbourhood you walked in today was where I grew up.

If we're going to meet for coffee or lunch, would it be possible to do it the 11th, 12th or 13th? We're away much of next week and over the Thanksgiving weekend. Daytime is best for me. Unfortunately, Mr. Goddesstogo won't be able to join us (as he's the one of us who has a job) but our evenings are jam-packed.

I can meet any of those days. And then we have to decide where...so many coffee shops to choose from (if it's for coffee).

Shana Tova, goddess.

Regarding courtesy - heard this one on the radio news this morning - they interviewed the customer, the F word was used....

"The Toronto Transit Commission says it’s investigating allegations that a bus driver cursed at a passenger Wednesday afternoon.

Spokesman Brad Ross confirmed the TTC received the complaint from a passenger on the 54 Lawrence East route swore at her. The TTC will speak with the employee and follow its complaints process, said Ross.

“These are serious allegations and we need to understand everything that occurred before we talk about next steps,” said Ross."

Nuit Blanche is this Saturday http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/zone.shtml

thanks, mg, and shana tova to you too.

You're welcome and thank you!

bookmarking

Shana Tova to all who celebrate the New Year. We walked by the Minsker Orthodox Synagogue in the Kensington Market area today, but saw no evidence that there were services going on. Perhaps, they were earlier in the day. We passed by around 3 pm - more on that later.

We woke up to wet streets this morning, but the sky appeared clear. N wanted the weather report before walking out the door - thunderstorms all day. He was appalled, thought we should go to plan B and see a museum. Being a true Californian, he stays indoors when possible if it rains and avoids the "slick" freeways. Being of heartier Eastern stock, I thought we could chance the weather. Fortunately, I was proved correct and though overcast at times, the sun did shine most of the day and it was another lovely autumn Toronto day.

We elected to explore the Kensington Market area, very similar to the Venice Beach area in LA, Haight Ashbury in SF or Commerical Dr in Vancouver, though a smaller area than the other three mentioned.

When we exited our trolley, we found we were in Chinatown, had no idea the area was adjacent and for that matter, we realized we were pretty close to Little Italy, too. Not realizing that Chinatown restaurants were an option, we had not taken along the vegetarian suggestions we had written down somewhere or other!

However, when all else failed, we walked in to a local bank, asked one of the clerks if they would not mind answering a tourist question for us. He was very accommodating and mentioned two places. Later on the street, a local told us which was his favorite. He liked Buddha's Vegetarian Restaurant, Hong Kong Style at 666 Dundas St. He said the portions were larger, ambience a bit less attractive than Green Vegetarian just down the street. However, Green Veg was closed, so our choice was made. It is a tiny place, little English spoken, portions enormous, we could have shared one dish. We had a bean curd dish (very good) and a three mushroom/vegetable noodle dish. Tea included. We easily left half our meal. I think with tip, it came to $15 or so.

We then wandered around Kensington Market, noticed the Minsker Synagogue built in 1927. The congregation must have felt very secure from anti-semistism at the time it was built, the gates and decorations include many stars of David. As I remarked earlier it was very quiet It is a large impressive brick building with two towers and takes up the corner block.

Our walking tour card told us to check out Uprising Books (168 Baldwin), described as Toronto's only anarchist bookstore, but we never saw it. Perhaps, it's gone. . . We noticed lots of Latin American type shops, even a tortillaria and a place that makes empanadas.

We had a nice dessert at Wanda's Pie in the Sky, 287 Augusta Ave. wandaspieinthesky.com They even have a few vegan cookies and cupcakes. Very popular.

The remainder of the day was spent boarding the wrong trolley, transferring subways, food shopping and sitting in heavy traffic on the local bus.

Subway advertisment I have stared at for the last 4 days: "Eternal Rest is just a few clicks away." I can plan my whole funeral on line!

Forgot to say, as far as a gtg, any of the dates are fine; daytime works for us, too.

I tried Wanda's around 5:30 tonight but most of the salads were gone. I'm very proud of myself for avoiding the pies.

The Minsk Synagogue http://www.ontariojewisharchives.org
/exhibits/TorontoSynagogues/synogogues/Minsk/history.html

There's another synagogue in Kensington, across from the Park, http://kievershul.com/

Speaking of Baldwin Street, there's a Baldwin Street Village west of Beverley Street east to McCaul Street; http://www.dine.to/toronto_gta_area_baldwin_village_venue_restaurant

I didn't know this - Percy Faith, the 1950s composer and band leader, lived as a child at 171 Baldwin Street.

Another area you might want to visit is Korea Town, between subway stops Bathurst and Christie on Bloor Street - one of the many Korean restaurants claims to be the first Korean place in Toronto (or maybe it was Canada).

Each Thursday two free newspapers are available all over the place - often at bus stops - NOW and The Grid; the Grid's issue this week is about pizza places. Both have articles on Nuit Blanche.

Our current favourite Chinatown restaurant is Kings Noodle, on the west side of Spadina just a couple of doors north of Dundas. You can get tofu and veg there and at pretty much any of the Chinese restaurants.

For a serious vegan/vegetarian restaurant go to Fresh on the northeast corner of Spadina and Bloor. I dunno. It all tastes like medicine to me but others love it and it's always busy.

Morningglory, if we were to go for lunch with annetti and N, where would you suggest?

Morningglory: Wanda's is a popular spot; isn't it? Should we have held out for a piece of pie?

ggg: we have walked into Fresh, but could not make up our mind to stay. This town overwhelms up with choices!

Morningglory:Regarding curtesy, it used to amuse me no end that in Victoria and Vancouver both, passengers would exit the bus saying thank you.

Maybe, I do a disservice to my home town's image, but I cannot imagine a rude bus driver becoming as issue on the heresay of a passenger, unless it was a very very slow week media wise.

It really is a good restaurant town, especially with ethnic choices.

If I'm getting off at the front door of the bus and there's not a crowd getting on, I do say thank you to the bus driver! We're a funny lot, we Torontonians!

Annetti - ALL Wanda's desserts are good - the monkey bread is making me hungry thinking about it but the pies are the specialty of the place. I have a class tonight at 6 at Lettuce Knit in Kensington so trying to avoid the pies comes up two days in a row for me.

Goddess - Suggestions but I am by no stretch a fine diner, I'm a grab and go or food court person most of the time - Just now looking at all the Grid's choices for pizza which is done by the slice - slice #1 is from Queen Margherita near Greenwood and Queen East, on the edge of Leslieville and in the same building as Red Rocket Coffee; there's Wanda's, it's vegetarian, there's the Lakeview on Dundas near Ossington; there's Phipps on Eglinton - that's convenient to you and Annetti. Or is there somewhere else along Eglinton that does lunch? There's the Danforth for all things Greek. I will say I don't eat sushi.

When it's not crowded, I thank the driver or say good night if I get off at the front door as long as I haven't heard him being crappy to someone but say it especially if someone has been crappy to him.

Low buses. If by chance you get on a low different looking bus up at the Steeles end of the subway, and the bus ride is really jerky, it is NOT a rude driver, but a terribly designed bus.

I thought of crabby drivers the first few times, but when everyone drove like this -- almost impossible to stand up -- I started asking questions.

Enjoy toronto.

I just posted a thread about the Canadian Broadcasting Corp open house tomorrow.

See cbc.ca and then put Open House in the search box.

From your place, either the Yonge subway or the Univsity Ave. subway south to Union Station.

That's the bottom of the subway route's U-shape.

Then walk west on Front Street to the CBC. Big building with red cross marks on the side, across from the CN Tower.

BAK

Thank you, BAK!

I cerainly do not want to be discourteous, so I made a point of saying thank you when I exited the trolley and bus today. Maybe, people do it at home, though I seriously doubt it, LA is not a big public transit hub. I can't remember the last time I took a bus back home; it must be years!

Today, I was all set to take BAK's tour listed above, but I tried and so did N to print it out, but neither of us could figure out the printer. We've been trying for two days now without success and yes, there's paper in it and more importantly it is plugged in. I will have to copy it out longhand.

Today, N suggested we visit Greektown; a clerk at one of the bookstores suggested it the first day we were here. We exited the subway at Pape Street and Danforth. There are tons of Greek restaurants in the area, and of course we had no idea which one to try.

We wandered around, walked into the vestibule of the very pretty St Irene Chrisovalantou Greek Orthodox Church and peeked into the church through the glass windows of the entry doors. It is a small church, but has some attractive frescos and stained glass windows. There was no one about, but there were candles for prayers lit. It reminded me of village churches I had seen in Greece many years ago.

We then wandered up and down neigborhood streets. The houses vary from very well maintained, gentrified to respectable. Some are single homes with small gardens, others semi-detached. I iamgaine, they too date from the middle 1920s. One or two red bricked homes with their open porches reminded me of Rocky's neighborhood, in the movie I mean. I noticed some Greek flags hung along Canadian flags and even some street signs written in Greek.

We, then debated where to eat. N was leaning towards Alexandro Takeout adjacent to a pretty little park, but it was overcast and cool; I did not want to sit outdoors. We wandered into one of the kitchen stores, bought a few little things, but still did not decide on lunch. Walked into a pastry shop, N wanted to try loukoumades (honey/dough-like balls), but the minimum amount sold was 6 and we had not eaten lunch.

The problem was that about the 10 or so restaurants we tried/looked at the menu were virtually empty and we hesitated to enter any of them. Finally, we walked in to a small place (I think its name was Messini) around the 300 block of Danforth. It was packed; the first place that was lively and friendly. We stayed. N had a chicken pita served with french fries INSIDE the pita and roasted potatoes; His meal included a drink. I had a greek salad served with pita. The whole bill without tip could not have been more than $15 and it was very good. A nice find.

For dessert, we returned to another pastry shop and bought the loukoumades which were served warm. They are sweet and moist with honey; totally decadent, but very good, a little like a donut with a sweet honey sauce. Greek food is occasionally seen in my neck of the woods, but it looks very different from what is served here in Toronto.

Bookmarking! We live in Ottawa, and get to Toronto frequently, but I am learning lots from this!

St Lawrence Market again. We wanted to see how it differed from the weekday, almost a different place, tons of people, also the North side is opened (only on Sturdays for the Farmers' market.) So much activity and so many wonderful places to eat, "a cornucopia" like the Fodor's Toronto Guide states. The choices are endless from Uranian knishes, apple latkes, to Italian eggplant sandwiches,pastries, bakeries, fresh fish, pizza places, Asian sushi, olive oil tasting, fresh fruit and vegetables;it boggles your mind and your taste buds. We really did not know how to choose. We kept narrowing it down to two places and then something else would entice us.

For those familiar with LA's Fairfax Market, this is similar, but I hesitate to say for fear of offense, much better. The choices though different (perhaps, that's the clue) are so much fresher and better. Per Fodor's 2010 guide: "considered to be one of the world's best food markets, it is renowned for its local and imported foods such as fresh shellfish, sausage varieties, and cheeses."

Yes, ggg, you are right, we had tried the Montreal bagels; I saw the sign today above the bagel place - St Urbain's. Made me think of Morechai Richler. I know it's a famous street in Montreal; we had bagels there yrs ago, but I don't remember the sweet taste; I was such a sugar addict in those days, I proably would not have noticed.

We ended up splitting an eggplant sandwich - wonderful and huge for $8.00, a ukranian knish and some tasteless/sugarless muffin that N sort of liked over on the North side.

I believe by the stairwell on the second floor, there are about 10 or so pictures showing the history of the St Lawrence Market, once Toronto's City Hall. The second floor had been its original council galley. If I remember correctly, it opened as a farmers' market in the early 1900s, making it over 100 yrs old. Definitely still a vibrant and wonderful place to spend a Saturday. Tomorrow, Sunday has antique dealers displaying their wares in the same building, along I imagine with all the wonderful eateries.

ggg: Just found your recommendation for Pantheon; I knew it was something with a P when we were in Greektown and I was hoping, the name would spring to mind. However, it did not! Also, saw The Big Carrot. Well, most likely we will have a second chance at the Pantheon. Darn!

If you go to the Pantheon, afterwards walk a block or two east (same side of the street) to the Athens (or maybe it's Athenian) Bakery for dessert. They have the honey balls there but they also have a fabulous dessert that's custard in phyllo. Heaven.

Annetti: just a possible long-shot suggestion about the printer. You've probably already tried this, but - have a look at the setting on the computer when you instruct it to print. It might be sending stuff to a nonexistent printer and you'd have to scroll down to find the right one. We got a new printer a couple of years ago and DH still occasionally makes that mistake and announces that the printer isn't working.

Re Greektown: one of our favourite haunts when we revisit Toronto (where I was born and lived for most of my life before moving to BC). We love Pappas Grill in particular, although I'm not sure they have a wide enough variety of vegetarian options, but you might want to check it out.

Hi Meesthare: How's the weather in Sooke? I bet a bit warmer and dryer than here. You're rt, we tried scrolling down for other printer options, but it did not work. They were always rerouting my printer at work and I would always forget, a real pain.

Thanks for the recommendation for Greektown - now I just need to remember it. Not to worry about the veg options, I only need one or two and generally don't expect many. N loves eating out here, just laments that we're not eating enough "green stuff."

Hi, Annetti - it's actually a bit cool here in Sooke these days, although it hasn't rained all that much. Our summer was very late this year and seemed to make up for it by lasting longer than usual. DH just came in from picking blackberries; we have a freezer full of them now but they're still ripening on the bushes.

I hope the weather in Toronto improves; I'll be there visiting my family next week!

Woke up to a cold and rainy Toronto day. Have to admit, I have forgotten how wet and cold it can be when you don't have a car, an umbrella, and your Calif tennis shoes have mesh tops to breathe. However, we were wise enough to bring rain coats with hoods, but with hard rain they don't do a very good job and in a few moments my socks were damp. Fortunately for us, the bus came in less than a minute, for once I timed it correctly and we dried out on the warm bus.

We planned to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario today; we had been waiting for a rainy day. However when N saw that the Gallery which is on Dundas was close the Buddha Vegetarian restaurant we visited a few days ago, he wanted to detour for lunch. I saw King's Noodle Shop, pointed it out, said this was a Fodorite recommendation, so we walked over. The place was packed - N was intrigued with all the ducks hanging in the window, but his heart was set on the Buddha. Maybe next time, he said. (I think we'll make it there, ggg)

By the time, we arrived at Buddha, we were pretty wet, the rain had not relented, and it was probably about 3 or 4 long Toronto blocks without an awning or overhead hanging to give you respite from the rain.

We were welcomed like old friends in the Buddha; it, too was very crowded. N read somewhere that Sunday is the most popular day in Chinatown. We ordered egg rolls, some fried noodle vegetable dish that everyone in the 20 person room seemed to be eating. Tons of good food and would you believe with tea and a 20% tip, it was only $10 or $11? While, we were getting our coats on, preparing for the great outdoors, one of the patrons came over, started a conversation about the weather, whether to reassure herself or us I am not sure but in halting English, she told us that we would be seeing sunny weather all week long. I hope she's right. Meanwhile, I think a new pair of short boots would be a good Torontonian souvenir along with an umbrella.

The rain had stopped; we were a bit groggy from the food, it was late and a visit to the museum appeared foolhardy since we'd have less than two hours to explore it.

We decided to wander in stores, have dessert, essentially meander without much purpose. We bought several Toronto t-shirts; some woolen gloves and walked in and out of stores. Then N remembered Wanda's Pie in the Sky was near by. Wamda's was drawing a healthy Sunday afternoon crowd; I wanted the monkey cake, so pie was put on hold. It was a huge piece, utterly delicious and we had a cup of tea to balance the sweetness. The place is small, unpretentious, restaurant chic furnishings and just a pleasant spot to sit around, relax, and people watch or read a newspaper. We probably spent an hr or so there. It was very nice. So if you live in an Eastern rainy city today, you may very well have spent a similar Sunday if you had the energy to leave your warm dry home.

Meesthare: I checked the weather forecast for the week; It clears up after Tuesday. Should be sunny all week for your visit. Blackberries! I can't imagine blackberries surviving in this cold weather, but I imagine Torontonians know better!!

Some trivial observations:

N and I noted so few "gangsta" wantabees or the real thing as we travel around Toronto. We don't miss that part of LA, for sure. What brought this to our mind was seeing a young man slide down the rail on the escalator today at a dizzying speed. So where are all the young men with their hands holding up their oversized pants and trouser cuffs trailing on the street?

Love all the civility; it's not dead in Canada! Why has it bypassed LA?

By and large there is little grafitti. I see it very occasionally, don't miss it of course, but downtown areas are usually rampant with it. Do all the video cameras keep it down or are Torontonians just better behaved that Los Angelinos?

Subway is clean, too and people seem pretty respectful of others. Even though I see one or two people eat occasionally on the subway (don't know if that's permitted), I don't see the fast food trash. Are the video cameras helping here, too?

Listening more now and I do hear the thank yous often as I leave the bus.

No one yet has ignored our request for directions and pretended they did not hear us. Always get a friendly answer, too. If we're on the bus, the person next to us will answer our question and often two or three more people will help out, too.

Stand outside a high school one morning - you'll likely see droopy pants.

Subway - yes, you can eat on it...unfortunately but most eaters take their garbage with them - the floors are more often littered with those free newspapers and spilled coffee.

Glad you liked the monkey bread. I did drop in there on the way to Lettuce Knit but none of the salads appealed to me and I successfully avoided having pie for supper!

amendment to Wanda's description: I left out the word "shabby" chic to describe the restaurant's ambience.

mg47: when it comes to desserts, it's always a hard decision, but I love monkeybread.

I'd never heard of it until I pointed (rude, yes) and asked what's that at Wanda's.

blogTO.com - there's lots on this blog - who knew that Caplansky's had a storytelling brunch on Sundays, among other events.

I've never been to Wanda's. What's monkey cake?

I would describe it as a pull apart cinnamon style roll without the cinnamon. It was an enormous piece, easily shared.

I've seen Caplansky's outside a tram window or at least I think I did. A good deli? On second thought, the one I saw had a different name . . .

Caplansky's is on College Street so you could have seen it from the 506 College streetcar going or coming from Little Italy; it's near Augusta Avenue which is where Wanda's is located ... I've never eaten there but it gets a lot of press for some reason unknown to me. http://blog.caplanskys.com/

Yor're rt, mg47; We've spent a lot of time riding the tram up College Ave.

Of course, I mean: you're right. I need a proofreader or at the very least a spell check!

Today, we spent an inordinate amount of time trying to plan the day. Would it rain or not? (it never did) Should we be indoors or out? The weather was gloomy and overcast; the forcast predicted 70% chance of rain.

We decided to see the small rotating exhibit at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library www.librart.utoronto.ca/fisher and walk a bit around the University of Toronto Campus.

The exhibit opened to the general public is free, butit is very small and if you are interested, I would check ahead of time to see if the exhibition is something that interests you. According to our Fodor's the exhibit changes three times annually and might "include Shakespeare,Galileo, Italian Opera or contemporary typesetting." Today's exhibit, though well-done dealt with an unknown (to me) Jamacian writer. The illustrations were colorful, but the exhibit was small and unless you're really interested, it is not worth a visit. However, it did give us time to walk around the campus. The architecture is a bit electic, typical of universities over 100 yrs old. It reminded me of mine. Old and new bldgs side by side.

We then walked down Bloor Street, saw the Bata Shoe Museum www.batashoemuseum.ca and resolved to return after lunch.

We ended up at freshrestaurants.ca at 326 Bloor Street. I had a great salad called the All Star ($12) which I enjoyed very much, living up to its name with lots of fresh produce, sweet potatoes, tofu, quinoa, azuki beans, salad greens, etc. N ordered the same, but was notparticularly happy, in fact it barely registed as enjoyable for him. However, the place was packed (around 1:30 or 2), the noise was a bit deafening, but
I thought it fine. It's hard when you and your husband have totally different tastebuds.

We walked back to the Bata Shoe museum, a couple blocks away. The bldg is a unique structure, inspired so their brochure states "by the idea of a shoebox." I did not quite get that feeling, but it is full of glass, very modern and comfortable to get around in even with stilettos.

It was not first on our list for a visit, but typical Monday museum closures and good reviews put it on the top of our list for a museum visit. And passing right by it, cemented the deal.

I'm not sure of the price, about $40 for the two of us. The museum's exhibitions are beautifully displayed, exhibits from 4500 yrs ago to the present. A replica of a caveman's shoe is displayed as well as shoes through the ages with lots of historical information thrown in. Who knew that one English king banned very long shoes from non aristocratic people or that men wore heels in the early 18th century, then abandonning the fashion statement to women. The exhibits also link shoes with various religions. Sometimes light hearted, but entertaining, a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Im so enjoying your daily reports annetti.

We are heading to the Chinese consulate for our visas on Wednesday morning and think it only fitting that we head to Kings Noodle Shop for lunch. If you would like to meet there for lunch that would be great.

The weather forecast is showing a big improvement for the rest of the week and weekend.

irecommend: What bad timing for us! We're leaving tomorrow morning for a few days at NOTL. It would have been nice to have met a Canadian Fodorite.

"It would have been nice to have met a Canadian Fodorite." Aren't some of us meeting for coffee or lunch next week?

Here's an event coming up http://www.readings.org/?q=ifoa

I hope so, but where and when? Let me know.

Well, now I have a hairdresser's appointment on Thursday but Tuesday and Wednesday are still good for me for lunch (Monday's Thanksgiving so no good).

Are you bored with Wanda's? I've never been so that would be OK. Are there places to sit or is it just take out?

OR

Phipps on Eglinton is close to me (and annetti) but I'm not sure what they serve.

OR

If you want old fashioned Jewish food (non-meat), there's United Bakers at Lawrence Plaza. The location is boring but the place is an old Toronto institution, although it's moved from its original Spadina location.

OR

The Future Bakery or the By The Way Cafe, both on Bloor in the Annex neighbourhood (near Honest Eds, annetti).

OR

For traditional Breton-style crepes, there's Le Papillon down in the St. Lawrence Market area.

OR

any of the places Morningglory suggested above.

I'd love to firm up a plan before we go away early Thursday because I won't be checking Fodors or email till Monday.

That is too bad Annetti but we do live in NOTL so if there is anything you need while you are here let me know.
It is a great time to come here with the weather being nice and the flowers on the main street are outstanding!

N and I looked over the suggested restaurants/cafes for a small Toronto get-together. All the places except Wanda's are new to us. Wanda's is small, a bit noisy, and there is no guarantee we would all be able to sit together. (Though, I have no idea how many we will be -- 4 or 5 including N and I? We enjoy Wanda's, but think one of your other suggestions might be better.

We're leaning towards Phipps, so close to us, and we can probably walk to it, but if someone has a strong preference we are happy to go somewhere else.

Tuesday or Wed -- Oct 11th or 12th would be fine. Let us know which day you choose and what time and we'll be happy to make your acquaintance. And of course, let us know the final restaurant and its address so we don't end up at a similar sounding place.

Thank you, Irecommend. The Toronto flower planters here are overflowing, with coleus, and lots of other plants whose names I don't know. Reminds me of Victoria. Looking forward to seeing more of the same in NOTL.

Rain has passed over Toronto for a few days. We were a bit sceptical as it was gloomy and overcast when we left the house, so we still carried our heavy raincoats.

Our Fodor's guide suggested we save a pretty day to tour Cabbage Town. Apparently the name came from one of its own, Cabbagetown writer, Hugh Garner, who wrote a novel with the title, Cabbagetown. At one time, it had been a slum with tiny lawns that often grew, what else, cabbages, hence the name, and not always applied kindly. In the 1970s gentrification began. There are plenty of Victorian homes to see, majority brick with some gables, carved stonework, and some stained glass windows. Some are detached, others terraced (or row houses), semi detached and a few interesting apartment houses. Fodor's says the area dates back to the 1880s and 1890s. We wandered up and down the streets, looked at the "notable" buildings suggested on our walking tour and noticed several other people out with cameras, too.

When we fatigued, we decided to make our way back to N's current favorite restaurant, Buddha's Vegetarian on Dundas. We took the streetcar, too far to walk, and much to N's disappointment found it closed. We wandered around Kensington Market, remembered vaguely Morningglory's link to Baldwin Village restaurants, when someone in a small health food store suggested Vegetarian Haven.

Vegetarian Haven is NO haven. The place is attractive, clean, and the server was genial and attentive, but the food (we both agreed on this) was disappointing. I had a Morrocan food wrap - the tastes did not blend, in fact they fought each other. Not very good. N had some kind of avocado with wierd seasoning. However, everyone was so nice; we never said a word. When you get food that tastes so disjointed, you wonder if the food preparers ever tasted it themselves!

OK, I'm making a unilateral decision here.

I choose Wednesday, October 12. I'm also worried that Phipps has mostly desserts and tiny cafe tables, so what would you think about Ferraro which is also on Eglinton and (probably) a walk for annetti and N, and there's a bus stop pretty much outside the door. Here's the website with menus and map:

http://ferraro502.sites.toronto.com/index.html

We go there often for dinner. It's a casual, family place with decent pasta, pizza, salads, et al, and not too pricey.

How's noon for everyone?

annetti, if you'd like, I'd be happy to pick you up since I'm pretty sure I just live a few minutes from you.

So, who's in? So far, it's:

annetti
N
morningglory (yes?)
moi

Anyone else?

Thanks for the link. We are confirming for lunch on Wed. Oct 12 at noon for the two of us. Annetti and N.

GGG: Thanks for the ride, not too sure how we would coordinate that since I can't print our address here. It does not sound very far. We should be able to manage easily to find our way there.

And yes, Ferraro's sounds fine.

Great.

I'm sure it's not too far a walk and if it's raining, I can drive you home.

Yes, I'll attend lunch at Ferraro's ... see you there.

Wonderful! I'm fine with it being the four of us but would welcome anyone else who wants to join us.

Maybe I'll put up a little post re this.

Oh, Oh wwhat was deleted directly aove this post?

N and I picked up a rental car from Avis at Davisville and Yonge. Absolutely no problem, car was ready on time. It was around 1:40pm and we were warned driving out of the city might be difficult. We were thankful we had our Garmin, even so traffic was horrendous, it would have been a close contest which was worst LA or TO. By the we arrived in NOTL (Niagara on the Lake) it was close to 5 pm and we had made no stops. We had been told it was a 2 hour ride. I guess we needed to to have left earlier to avoid the traffic. It was midweek, a Wed, perhaps, we were picking up some of the pre Thanksgiving weekend traffic??

NOTL is a pretty, little upscale town about 20 minutes or so from Niagara Falls. The main street has wonderful displays of flowers along it, all in bloom in early Oct. The weather was mild and sunny during the day, perfect.Near Main street adjacent to it are some pretty Victorian bldgs, well-maintained,brightly painted and used as restaurants, B&Bs, hotels, and gift shops. It was pleasant walking up and down the main street, hearing occasionally foreign accents, primarily German, enjoying the weather and brrowsing. We spoke to one German couple, who remarked to us that NOTL reminded her of Sylt and though I don't see the physical resemblence, I understand the comment. There is a bit of exclusivity to the town. Further from the main street, are large suburban style home. We stayed at a B&B nearby.

Coincidently, N and I arrived at Niagara Falls on the same day, Oct 5, my parents arrived many many years ago for their honeymoon. I am sure the town felt a bit different then. It was poignant thinking how my shy parents must have reflected on this very important occasion. They were married 52 years.

The second day we drove out to Niagara Falls;Parking was confusing. We ended up paying $18 for parking, but when leaving we saw much cheaper parking at the casino for $9 and another lot for $7.

We were not original; we did what every NF tourist does, we strolled the promenade admiring the Falls, took pictures of ourselves and the others who asked us and then bought tickets for The Maid of the Mist Ride.

The sign says the MOTM rides have been operating since 1846. It takes about 30 minutes with some narration that I could only partly hear. Raincoats are distributed(included in the price); the ride takes you to the foot of the Falls. The spray can become pretty intense and for the less adventourous you can ride on the first deck to avoid some of the spray. Most people however prefer the top. I, of course stayed below and still got pretty wet. My husband loved it; it was great fun, but I think he thought if more exciting than I did. It is beautiful and worth the money and time. We also bought a ton of postcards.

The second evening was spent looking for a restaurant and wandering NOTL.

The third day we had planned to visit the wineries and see some of the countryside. It is quite pretty, though I was hoping to see a bit more autumn foliage. We ended up cutting our time short in NOTL, came home a bit early, turned in the car and spent the early evening having dinner in Chinatown and having pie at Wanda's

N finally had PIE, not another dessert and absolutely loved the pear pie. I had to agree it was pretty terrific. I spoke to the owner and she was very generous explaining to me how to make it at home, my pear pie tends to be too gooey.
Note: I have to go a bit heavier on the cornstarch.

We did not venture to new realms today, after laundry and sleeping late, we decided to revisit (our third time, I believe) the St. Lawrence Market. I knew it would be packed, right before Thanksgiving, but it was fun nonetheless. St Lawrence Market as I wrote above reminds us of our favorite Farmers' Market, the LA Fairfax Farmers' Market, which we love, but find it difficult to visit - freeway hassles and parking hassles. St Lawrence is such a pleasure for us, on so many levels, but besides that it is so much fun to eat there, it is so easy for us to visit unlike the one near us at home.

So we did what we loved, we sampled great food, watched all the people, shopped, sorry I was not making a Thanksgiving dinner, too much trouble in someone else's kitchen (also don't have my favorite recipes), and admired all the wonderful fresh foods available. Truly harvest time. Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

A minor aside to NOTL. We were meandering on the Main st one early evening when from the shrubbery appeared this beautiful white and black animal. The fur was lustrous; at first thought it appeared to be a cat, closer inspection revealed it to be a skunk. I have never seen a skunk up close - we were probably 2-3 feet away, but we quickly moved on. I have no idea if this animal is tame, part of the local scenery, but we were taking no chances. I'm glad there were no dog walkers in sight to frighten the animal. Irecommend or other NOTL locals or visitors care to comment? Is this part of the local scenery?

Here in Toronto, we see tons of squirrels, mostly black, though an occasional gray one is spotted. I'm not sure, but I think I saw a dappled colored one when we arrived. Possible? Our squirrels at home are more mundane, just gray.

There are 'red' squirrels but they look like chipmunks to me - when I'm on a walk with the field naturalists they can tell the difference. A few years ago, a neighbour's dog tangled with a skunk - the stench was horrendous even in our house. Poor dog's white coat was pink for a time after the soaking in tomato juice.

If you're thinking of going out for a Thanksgiving meal you might try Allen's on the Danforth, nearest subway stop is Broadview on the Bloor line - I just heard the owner on one of the Irish radio programs say they're serving Thanksgiving fare both today and tomorrow and still using their back patio. http://allens.to/

Next door is Dora Keogh's Irish pub - you get your own drinks from the bar like you do in Ireland and there's often traditional entertainment.

MG47: Thanks for the Thanksgiving suggestions. Our home exchangers just e-mailed us they are planning on cooking a TG meal at our house, already bought a turkey.

So, MG47, what you are telling me is that the skunk we saw at NOTL was NOT tame and we were right to be wary; I don't relish throwing away all my clothes. It certainly was a beautiful animal - the fur was lush and shiny.

Today as local Torontonians can attest, the weather was absolutely perfect, low seventies, sunny and a slight breeze. We decided that it was the pefect day to visit Toronto Islands.

We took the subway to Union Station, then traveled one short stop to the docks.Ferry fare is $6.50 per person round trip. Senior rate is $4.00. The ferry ride takes about 15 minutes. Lake Ontario was serene and blue and as we pulled away from shore, there's a lovely view of the city buildings. The ferry was crowded, but seats were not a problem, since many people prefer to stand and observe the crossing. Up on top deck gives you a good view of the city skyline.
Our home exchangers recommended The Rectory for lunch.It was on the other end of the island where we had not docked. We walked through a beautiful park, well-maintained, through some formal gardens and finally to a boardwalk facing the lake. I imagine the walk to be about 2 miles; it was fairly empty with an occasional biker or another walker like ourselves.

Just as we were tiring, someone pointed out the restaurant to us, we were probably less than 20 ft away. All service was outdoors, under sprawling old growth trees. It was a wonderful setting. Although, we were told we had an hr wait, I believe we did not sit for more than 10 minutes. We were told by our home exchangers that service was slow (if it was, I did not notice it), but it was no problem since the setting was so lovely and it felt so good to sit and rest. We bought reasonably priced sandwiches for lunch, under $30 with tip. WE took the ferry from the Warden Island dock, avoiding a return walk back. It really was a perfectly lovely day in Toronto! I don't see how we could have improved on it.

BTW, the level of civility continues to amaze us, we met two men boarding the ferry and asked them some questions; embarking the ferry, they made a point of directing us, showing us the road gave us a few tourist hints. We ran into them in the Rectory, had a brief, but pleasant conversation, and when they left the restaurant they came over to our table with a few last minute walking suggestions. A total of 4 times they offered us help!!

We have seen that squirrel down in an empty lot near The Prince of Wales. There was a crowd of tourists photographing it at the time. I am sure it is not tame, just probably quite used to people.

Whoops! I mean skunk.

irecommend: Probably the same animal we saw; It was drawing a lot of attention too, but I was wary, we moved on quickly. It may be used to people, but if an aggressive dog moves in, I prefer to be several blocks away. It certainly is a pretty animal, of course I only glimpsed it and moved away quickly!

I am so glad you are enjoying our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. If you enjoy the theatre, there is a lot playing in Toronto right now. There is a great production of My Fair Lady in NOTL if you happen to return.

Thank you, prinret.

Another absolutely gorgeous day, high 70s, sunny and mild. The trees are starting to turn color, almost overnight and I am seeing some beautiful reds, burnt oranges, golds, yellows, half green leaves and shades of browns.

I love crunching through the leaves. It's a dubious pleasure from my childhood since it always meant the school year was beginning.In Pennsylvania, the leaves began dropping in early August. This time I have no misgivings, and I keep reminding my husband that he needs to crunch, but since he grew up in California he does not quite perceive the pleasure of walking through autumn leaves. I'm not sure he has recognized how significant a pleasure it can be. I keep explaining that it is an important literary allusion as well!!

Apparently, we spent our Canadian Thanksgiving in a fashion not dissimilar to many Torontonians. If the street activity was any indication, a lot of people were not home cooking a turkey.

We called a few Greek restaurants, some Chinese places and everywhere the restaurants were opened. We took the subway to Dundas and the crowds at Eaton Place (a large shopping mall connected to the subway) was packed with shoppers. N wanted Chinese food again: I was ambivalent. We took the 505 streetcar to Chinatown, had lunch, then walked over to Kennsington Market. Everywhere, there were tons of people about, shopping and eating. The restaurants and cafes were filled. We arrived too late at Wanda's Pie in the Sky, hardly any selection left, so we opted to walk over to Little Italy and get some ice cream. On the way there, I met a woman from my hometown who went to the high school in the next neighborhood over; we had a nice nostalgic conversation.

Little Italy's cafes were crowded, too. However, the only ice cream place I could find -- was the overly sweet gelato place, Dolce. I'm sure it has a lot of admirers, but all I can taste is the high fructose corn syrup whenever I sample the ice cream.

From outward appearances Canadian TG appears for many to be just another bank holiday. However, our home exchangers who are in our home in California, have bought a turkey and having a Canadian TG in Calif., so I imagine in spite of the activity on the street today, many Canadians were preparing and enjoying the tradional TG foods.

Canada - Hope you enjoyed your day, however you chose to spend it.

I think a lot of people have their big dinner on Sunday 9or even Saturday) and the weather was probably a huge factor in the number of people on the streets. Spectacular weekend for sure!

irecommend: ok, that explains the crowds on Mon. The people I know back home are traditionalists when it comes to celebrating TG, and always celebrate on the Thursday on which it falls, unless dual family obligations get in the way. It never occured to me that the people on the street, Monday, had had their TG meal a day or two before. Thanks for straightening me out.

It took us one bus, two subway rides and a streetcar today to visit Little Poland, about an hr's travel. We used some of BAK's ideas and a walking tour guide provided by our home exchangers. Fodor's 2010 does not mention Little Poland or if there is a reference to it, I missed it!

We walked down Roncesvalles (Dundas changes names a couple blocks from the subway station) or if I messed up in directions, we may have walked up Roncesvalles, in any case we walked towards the waterfront.

The street was quiet, not desolate exactly, but few people out and about. A number of stores and restaurants suggested on our walking guide had disappeared. There were a couple bookstores and shops to wander in and browse. An interesting church, can't remember the name, that had huge stately columns in front of it, making it resemble a state bldg or a bank. The Leister Tower apartment building (right name?) had a castle like appearance with a crenolated roof line.
There were a few open air greengrocers, too. The restaurant we had planned to try was gone, the second recommendation, a local told us was terrible, so we tried Cafe Polonez, Inc. at 195 Roncesvalles. The waiter acknowledged to us that Polish food was not very vegetarian oriented, no surprise to us, but the menu has check marks next to their veg choices, so we managed.(It was also printed in English and Polish) We had a beet soup with mushroom dumplings, very good, almost like a dessert and potato pancakes which were crispy and fresh tasting. The prices were reasonable, probably under $20 without tip.

We wandered down a few streets; the homes are often three storied with basements and look quite old. The area looks in some transition. The streets are filled with beautiful old trees with wonderful autumn colors.

Observation: So many of the washrooms are located downstairs in Toronto, typical of course in older cities, but I wonder how disabled people manage. Do these restaurants have to figure out a way to accommodate these patrons or are they just ignored?

Today, in the subway, I saw an elderly man with a cane struggling to stand in the crowded car, I motioned to my husband to tell the man I would give him my seat when someone closer got up. I was pretty far from him and had not noticed him immediately, but I was surprised that the subway car had been moving for a few minutes before he was given a seat -- and by a middle aged woman, too. Generally speaking, I find most riders very polite and offer seats readily, but this one slipped by.

"So many of the washrooms are located downstairs in Toronto, typical of course in older cities, but I wonder how disabled people manage. Do these restaurants have to figure out a way to accommodate these patrons or are they just ignored?"

This is a problem we struggle with all the time, annetti. My SO's mom is 91 years old and in a wheelchair. When the weather is nice, we like to take her out for lunch but it's not easy. Even if we can find a restaurant where there are few or no steps at the entrance, it's very difficult to find one where the washroom is on the same floor. Fortunately, there's a pretty nice restaurant at a nearby mall that serves our purpose but it would be great if we had more choices.

gtg: There must be a general website that disabled persons who use wheelchairs, canes,walkers, or have other disabilities that they can use that lists accessibility for restaurants, museums, public bldgs, etc.in Toronto.

I noticed that most buses and subways offer accessibility, but not streetcars. On Toronto's transit website they use the blue handicapped syumbol next to buses/subway stations that are accessible to wheelchairs.

If I remember correctly, tomorrow is lunch day. Unfortunately, pressures of employment call, and I'll miss it.
Have fun.

BAK

That church on Roncesvalles is St. Vincent de Paul...my father and all his extended family attended there from the time it opened in 1915. The cousins all went to the school behind the church. There's also a Polish RC church further south.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying your time in Hog Town. I've been enjoying reading about your explorations and insights of our fair city. If you want to see some gorgeous fall colours and scenery, consider renting a car and head north out of town.

Since you are foodies, you might be interested in heading northwest of Toronto this weekend to take in Foodstock, which is happening this Sunday. One hundred top Canadian chefs are creating sampler menus that showcase local food in support of the fight against the mega quarry that threatens some of the best, prime agricultural land and water. It's going to be an amazing day with great food and music for an important cause. Check out this article from the Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/living/food/article/1054611--chefs-farmers-unite-for-foodstock

While you are out of town, consider staying at a B&B and then take in the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinberg to see some of the most iconic Canadian art from the Group of Seven. http://www.mcmichael.com/about/

Sorry, Bak that you can't make it today.

Morningglory: Yes, that's the name of the church. I remember seeing the extended bldgs, and saw the other church you mentioned, too.

canw82go: Thanks for reading. Not really a foodie at all, I can't imagine too many vegetarians who think of themselves that way, however I bet a number of readers would find your link interesting. It would be nice to drive out of town and see some gorgeous fall colors. Worth thinking about!

The McMichael Gallery would be a lovely thing to do at this time of year (or maybe in a week or two) and it's only about a half-hour drive. It's not all Group of Seven. When I was there in the summer, they have a fabulous Marilyn Munroe exhibit and I think some of it's still there.

Today N and I had our very first ever Fodorite get-together. Thanks gtg for organizing it; we enjoyed the restaurant and the conversation.

It's odd following persons on Fodors and then of course when you meet them, they have absolutely no resemblence to your notions.

As Irecommend noted on gtg's thread, I always thought she was a male, but that was obviously very wrong when I met her and her husband today.

Gtg, I pictured blond with a large chignon, nope that didn't fit; and Morningglory, I saw with a long white page boy hair cut. Again wrong.

Sorry, I did not get to meet some of the other people, but it was a very pleasant afternoon, talking travel and Fodor's threads. Gtg generously offered me her edition of Fodor's Toronto, but as a proper Fodorite we had one already.Anyway, thank you again, gtg for arranging the get-together and to mg and Irec (mr and Mrs)for coming.

As it turns out, gtg and I share the same birthday and her real name corresponds to my sister's name. All these odd coincidences. We all took photos, I am hoping that my Fodorite friends will be discrete enough not to post them. Please!!

After our lunch N and I walked Eglinton, a section of the street we had not visited. Saw a nice shoe shop, if inertia does not set in, I will get myself a pair of half boots, the changing rainy weather is calling loudly for me to buy them.

Anyone have any suggestions for something we can buy our home exchangers as a thank you gift when we leave. I usually buy a couple bottles of wine, but their son tells me they do not drink, I thought some upscale bottles of jams, but I noticed today their pantry has quite a few unopened bottles. They like chocolates. Any suggestions where to buy nice ones. Perhaps, flowers? But their garden is so bountiful, it seems silly. Any other thoughts?

Also, looking for some small gifts to bring home to friends, maybe bookmarks; my Fodorite friends today suggested maple sugar that sprinkles. Anyone know where you can buy that?

We're planning on some museums in the next few days, especially if the rain keeps up; museum shops often have great gifts. Any ideas/gifts I can look for there? All thoughts appreciated. Thanks

Lovely stuff in the giftshop at the ROM

semiramis: Thanks very much. Certainly will spend some time browsing there.

Whole Foods might have the maple syrup sprinkles, annetti. Or maybe you can call the duty free shop at Pearson Airport (that's where I got them) and ask for the manufacturer's name. Then email them and ask where in Toronto you can buy them.

The ROM gift shop is a great idea for presents and so is the gift shop at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). You could look in the Guild Shop on Cumberland -- most things there will be too expensive but they might have a few small things. The stuff in the store is lovely and worth a browse in any case.

annetti, I pictured you as a dark-haired Italian woman!

gtg: Alas, you were once partially rt, re my appearance, once upon a time, I had long thick very dark hair.

I'll give Whole Foods a call. Thanks.

Whole Foods used to carry Maple Syrup sprinkles, but have discontinued it. BTW, I saw Maple Syrup hot chocolate packages (sold individually for a couple of dollars each) at the St Lawrence Mkt. They may make inexpensive gifts to take home. And easy to transport.

Not a terribly new itinerary to report on today. Rain was predicted and we set out for the AG0 (Art Gallery of Ontario), however when we arrived, the sun was shining brightly and the air felt wonderful. We decided to seek out lunch, going in and out of restaurants, but ending up at Wanda's again in the Kensington Market. First time for food there, usually just desserts, but I remember MorningGlory telling us the salads were good - she's absolutely right on. They are terrific. The help is friendly and offered to give us two or three or four choices on our plate. I picked two and so did N. They really were tasty, best salads we've had in Toronto or for that matter, the best in a restaurant in ages.

And yes, MG, that was the owner I spoke to last time I was in, I asked about her cookbook. I would have liked some of the salad recipes;however, they are all desserts. I think I may buy it as a gift for our hosts; they love books and appear to bake a great deal if their kitchen is any indication! Tons of baking stuff all over the place.

By this time, it was late, the weather still beautiful, we wandered on Spadina in Chinatown, bought some more Toronto t-shirts ($3 ea - can you believe it?) and just enjoyed the crisp autumn air. When we returned "home," the street to our house was carpeted with these lovely golden yellow leaves. A neighbor was having a hard time brushing them off her car. What I see is lovely, is work for someone else. Reminds me of the beautiful purple Jacaranda trees that bloom in late May in So Calif. The streets and walkways are covered with these sticky lilac flowers; they're absolutely gorgeous and last over a month, but a lot of the locals complain. Of course, I don't have one in front of my home, so the problem belongs to my neighbors; I just admire them.

A rather trivial observation: We have been collecting the mail for our home exchangers; this is something we usually do. When in Europe or Australia, we noted how little junk mail they received. Even in Vancouver and Victoria, the junk mail was considerably less than home. Well, I believe Toronto can be proud they now receive as much junk mail as I do in Southern California, however Torontonians are still behind, there's hardly any advertisments left hanging on their doors or on their steps. They will have a long way to go to catch up there: I usually throw away two or three pieces of advertisements and business cards several days a week.

Although it did not rain today, it was cold and dreary enough to justify staying indoors. We visited the Art Gallery of Ontario, better known as the AGO. The admission fee was about $40 or so for the two of us. Steep, but that seems to be the going rate lately for first class museums and the AGO is worth the time and money. We took the docent tour at 1:00, about 20 or so people on it; it lasted about an hour and covered mainly the new architectural additions by Gehry to the museum.

Think NY Guggenheim or LA's Disney for some of the visuals. The Gallery D'Italia is especially stunning, built like the hull of a ship; there's also a beautiful wooden spiral staircase (five flrs?) that we climbed to give us different perspectives of the museum. I loved it. Later, N and I had a brief lunch in the very mediocre cafe and explored the museum a bit on our own. There's a very pretty Rembrandt, some wonderful Pizzarros and of course the proud acqisition of a Rubens. Did I hear $100 million for that one? I must have heard that incorrectly! The design and space of the rooms are lovely and it is a pleasure to wander around. I was impressed and loved the museum. We spoke with one of the volunteers -- she told us that there are 400 of them and a long waiting list!

We, also wandered into the museum shop, beautiful things to buy with high prices. Is it my imagination that a box of art cards used to cost $10, now they go for $20? Lots of Chagall collectables from magnets to greeting cards to key rings to huge posters and pretty little lacquered boxes. The Chagall exhibit opens on the eighteenth and unfortunately will only travel to Toronto. Anyway, it was a wonderful way to spend an overcast Friday in Toronto. So glad we did not miss it.

Really cold and windy today with an occasional drizzle, a cold winter's day by Southern California standards, but not that cold to keep us indoors here in Toronto, maybe at home, but not here on holiday. We had thought to stroll along the waterfront, a suggestion by our home exchangers, but that didn't appear a good idea today. Incidently, they wrote us that it was 100 degrees F in So Cal a few days back, unseasonably warm -- They are getting an extended summer. However, I am not really complaining, I have been enjoying immensely the Toronto autumn, the foliage, the leaves, even the overcast days; they are very nostalgic for me having grown up on the US northeast.

Two museums two days in a row seemed excessive, so we elected to revisit one of our very favorite Toronto places, The St Lawrence Market. It was packed - even more crowded than before the TG holiday. Riding the 504 streetcartowards Jarvis, we passed a medium to small demonstration (very peaceful) with tents sent up similar to the ones going on on Wall St in NY. There were some police standing around, but it looked quiet and uncontentious. If there was an opposing group, we did not see it.

But back to the market, N found a wonderful bakery on the North Side (Sat only); he was in seventh heaven and went back and bought a second piece of custard, apple, cherry something. We split an eggplant cheese sandwich on the first floor which was even better than we remembered. Sat next to a couple from Vancouver, recent transplants to Toronto, who were friendly and extolled the virtues of Toronto for us over Vancouver. In a nutshell, more to do here.

I found some ice wine chocolate bars on the first floor of the market, for $2 each, perfect for my book group. I bought a ton of them.

Sorry to be redundant, but I can't get over the friendliness, the willingness to talk, and the general politeness that is Toronto. So different from LA. We find this kind of general ease in San Francisco and Portland, but not in our neck of the woods.

You've given me a yen to go to the SL Market, annetti! Well, maybe next weekend.

The ice wine chocolate bars are a great idea and I'm sure the book group will love them. And you've reminded me that for other chocolate gifts (probably more expensive but very high quality) there's a store called Soma at the Distillery District, if you happen to be around there again. Here's their website:
http://somachocolate.com/

gtg: Thanks for the chocolate website. The Distillery District is not all that far from St Lawrence Mkt, so we may stop there. I'm caught between a Dessert Cookbook from Wanda's or some very upscale chocolates for our hosts. Any ideas in our immediate neighborhood where we can buy some fine chocolates?

Speaking of our immediate neighborhood, it looks like we may be confined to staying close to home because of tomorrow's marathon.

gtg: if you visit the St LM, next weekend, perhaps, we'll run into you, it would be nice to recognize a face. We'll probably go Sat.

If we go, we'll definitely keep an eye out for you, annetti.

I'm sure you can buy fine chocolates at Pusateri's on Avenue Road north of Lawrence (I think you've been there).

Also, check out Dufflet's on Yonge about four or five blocks north of St. Clements (between Eglinton and Lawrence). Here's their website -- click on 'small indulgences': http://www.dufflet.com/home.asp While you're there, stop for a cup of coffee and one of her sweets -- they're fabulous.

There's also an excellent chocolate shop on Mount Pleasant (the main street east of Yonge; there's a very nice shopping/strolling strip between Eglinton and Davisville). Here's the website: http://www.lefeuvres.com/

And finally, this place http://www.coco-rogue.com/ seems to have just opened in our neighbourhood. I haven't been there but it seems like they should sell chocolates (as well as desserts)but you might want to call first and check.

One thing that's nice about answering fodorites' questions is that I get to find out things for myself!

The marathon shouldn't disrupt most parts of the city when you're using transit, mostly it is along the waterfront. http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/faq/faqclosures.htm I'm hoping to see the 100 year old runner as the route is partly in the Beach.

I meant to ask, when we had lunch, if you plan to explore the PATH system - I'm always helping visitors lost in there but they seem to like it. http://www.toronto.ca/path/

Happy to hear you enjoyed Wanda's salads.

Not that Californians need them but The Bay's red and white Olympic gloves might be gifts you'd consider.

Here's something on chocolate: http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_chocolate_in_toronto/ (Speaking of chocolate, I made fudge tonight and got into it - it was supposed to be for an event tomorrow - well, too bad, they get less now.) GTG mentioned two of them.

Did you see any of the Group of Seven at the AGO? I was going to mention David Hockney but his stuff is at the ROM.

GTG: Thanks for all the chocolate suggestions; tons of places.

MG47: I never heard about the PATH System before. Thanks for the link. I'll run it by N. Yes, we did see some of the Group of Seven, but not enough. I have images of one artist in particular in my mind's eye. Pictures of stark snowy hills.

Speaking of snow - Our home pg mentions snow for this week. Surely not possible? Way too early in the year. . . right? Just last week it was warm and balmy. A local yesterday exclaimed to me, "Well, it looks like winter is here." Surely, autumn should last a bit longer. It's still October.

The icy cool Gof7 artist you're thinking of is Lawren Harris, the only Gof7 artist I like. One of his proteges and a famous artist in her own right, Doris McCarthy, was one of my teachers at art school.

I just made plans to go to the David Hockney show at the ROM. A friend was telling me about it and it sounds fascinating and very kinetic. It might be a good way to avoid the marathon today. Just take the subway to the Museum stop and you're right there. You'll also be right across the road from the Gardiner Museum (of ceramic art) where you can see the Tsars' Cabinet exhibit http://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/exhibitions.

mg, I've been lost in the PATH and last time I actually had to ask someone to walk me out! It would be so nice if they'd put the occasional north,south, east and west marker somewhere.

Re chocolates, I forgot to mention The Sweet Gallery http://www.thesweetgallery.com/ also on Mount Pleasant, on the west side. It's also a nice place to have a coffee and sweet while you're shopping.

Don't let the marathon keep you home today. If you google it and get the route, you can easily avoid it.

<<Yes, we did see some of the Group of Seven, but not enough.>>

Unfortunately, it's not a good time to see Group of Seven paintings in Canada as 122 of some of the best of them (including Tom Tompson's iconic "West Wind" and "Jack Pine") are on tour in Europe for the next year, starting in London at the Dulwich Gallery.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/canadian-artists-to-get-big-display-in-london/article2180695/

Laverendrye: Several yrs back at a bk sale, I bought "Forest Lover" by Susan Vreeland, a bk about Emily Carr; I admit I did not know who she was, but when we went to Vancouver the following year, I recalled the book after seeing her name/artwork on so many tourist items.

I expected I would see her paintings at the Vancouver Museum of Art -- I was seriously disappointed, she was there (two paintings) in an exhibition with other Canadian Women artists, however like the Group of Seven, most of her work were on loan or not on exhibit. It was a great exhibition as I recalled, but I HAD wanted to see Emily Carr.

I guess we were unlucky again re the AGO. but not as bad, there were still plenty of paintings to be seen and since The Group of Seven are virtually unknown to me, I did not feel I was missing out on seing a favorite artist, though I liked what I did see. I did see a couple of Emily Carrs, too!

NOTL skunk report.
So, we had weekend guests. They arrived at 8 on Friday night and they hadnt had dinner (were going to stop on the way, but didnt) se we decided to go downtown for dinner. On the way home we saw "The Skunk" strolling happily up the street.
Saturday we went back downtown to see the town by day and there was "The Dead Skunk" on the road not far from where we had seen him the night before.

Okay, okay I know where there is one skunk, there are 10 but I like to think that this was The Skunk and it is now gone!

gtg: Thanks for encouragement today.

Between the cold weather (N's opinion) and the Marathon, he was ready to watch some sports or read a book. For him, the trees blowing, the threat of rain, and the lowered temps were a good reason to stay indoors. I explained that cold weather did not keep people indoors in cold climes, that they would go crazy if they let the weather rule their lives. Californians hardly consider the consequences of weather, except perhaps in the winter if there is heavy rain and then they complain constantly!


We checked the Marathon route, it meant little to us, since we still do not navigate the city without help from locals and depend on the subway or buses to get us where we need to go!

I thought we would be fine if we used the subway. We decided to revisit Greektown. Checked with public transit, no Marathon runners' conflict.

Although overcast, it never rained more than a few drops, carrying an umbrella almost always assures a dry day. We had lunch again at Messini www.messini.ca which was very good and an incredible bargain, too. The place was filled. N and I had the $11.25 plate which came with two pitas with roasted vegetables, a large salad and a choice of potatoes. We chose roasted. There was also a small gratis appetizer of pitas with chopped olives. We were not able to finish our food. With tip, it came to about $16. Unbelievable and very good.

We then walked in an out of stores, remembered gtg's recommendation of the Ahtens Pastries on 509 Danforth where we had tea and galaktobouriko, a phylo filled with custard. Also, delicious. We were now well sated and night was setting in. An unexpected and very pleasant unplanned day. We will miss some of these wonderful restaurants when we return home.

Irecommend: We must have been typing at the same time. Although glad I never tangled with the skunk, I am sorry to hear about its sad end. S/he was such a pretty animal, well if you see another self-assured skunk mingling with the tourists next week, it may cast a doubt on whether that WAS the brazen skunk we talked about lying on the road. Thanks for the update.

subway report: We learned yesterday that if you hesitate and do not exit immediately and allow others to enter before you exit that the door will automatically close in front of you. We had to go an extra stop and so did all the people standing behind us!

Also, have to report on Toronto rudeness today. I held a door open for someone and they did NOT thank me. A first for Toronto in more than three weeks. Civility is declining in this city. Or are they preparing me for my return to So California?

Ya. I think we Torontonians get a little ruder as the weather gets colder. We're all gearing up to be curmudgeons throughout the winter.

Glad to hear you liked the Athens Bakery!

The person who did not thank you was visiting from the States... Canadians always thank you...

Yes, obviously from the States. But which city or state? Can't be NY, they would not put up with rudeness, so in other words where shall I cast the blame . . . and then get Fodorites outraged?

Gary22: The more I think about it, I am sure they were from the States, you can tell by their facial expressions and the way they are dressed. No doubt in my mind -- not Torontonians.

Here's the test for next time:

Thank them for something. If they say "You're welcome", they're Canadians. If they say, "Uh huh", they're Americans.

Subway etiquette:
1. Those getting off have the right of way and SHOULD get off rather than letting others get on. And when the door opens - MOVE it. Don't dawdle at the door or it will close and people will be annoyed.
2. If you are getting ON stand to one side to let those getting off, get off. Then get on but do not stop and contemplate the universe when you enter the subway car - move quickly into the car to let those behind you get on.
3. On escalators - if you want to stand and ride - stand on the right side. If you want to walk, walk on the left.
4. do not stand around right at the top or bottom of the escalator - those behind you trying to get off will not be amused.
5. Do not stand at the doorway of a train UNLESS you are getting off at the next stop. Those trying to get off will want to push you out the door - but being polite - they won't.

semiramis: Thanks for the posting.

Yorkville today. We were going to skip it, after all one high end store does not differ that much from another high end store, be it Toronto, Buenas Aires, Geneva or Sylt. Or Beverly Hills. However, There was a commonality architecturally with Beverly Hills that I did not expect. Some faux Norman styled building alongside some high rises. I liked browsing through Feheley Fine Arts, lots of Intuit art sculpture at predictably high prices. I wonder how much my small one would fetch now that I bought 30 odd yrs ago for about $5 or so!
There was a beautiful Pusiteri's. They must hire interior designers, everything is so artfully arranged and their selections of olive oils alone is overwhelming. Looked at chocolates there for a hotess' gift; hated to spend $50 for what appeared to be such a SMALL box; did not look like much of a gift. Well, we still have time.

I saw a beautiful succulent in a lovely pot, it would have made a spendid gift( if I did not have to carry it on the subway) at a garden shop that sports a bit of the beige brick facade of the former MT Sinai Hospital. (dated 1926, I believe!) Plaque in front of the bldg.

Surprise, we found the area interesting, more than we expected, around 3 or so, we checked our subway guide and found we were only 4 stops from Greek Town where we enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner again at Messini's. N loves that place.

Speaking of N, the cold, windy, overcast weather is hard on him; he's used to his warm car and sunny days so when the weather gets into the 50s he's a bit uncomfortable.

Minor question: I don't understand why the wasps are still so active near our bus stop. They seem to do a nice little dance around my face while we wait for our bus. Does it need to snow to kill them?

Of course, all the flowers and plants in the neighborhood are blooming brightly and the street planters look perfectly healthy, so I guess it needs to get colder yet to affect the wasps.

Note to MG47: Saw the beautiful display of autumn colors several times now from the subway window on the way to Broadview. Thank you for suggesting I look for it.

Did you see the big rock on Cumberland Street...a farmer made a tidy sum selling it to city slickers...he's probably still scratching his head about anyone wanting to buy a rock and there was a hue and cry about it but it's proved to be a popular place to sit in good weather.

Glad you liked the view over the Don Valley from the subway...there's also the 504 streetcar ride south from Broadview - nice view southwest - the ride takes you past East Chinatown and downtown to King and Yonge or King and Jarvis for the market. Speaking of the colourful leaves, all those leaves are coming down soon - in anticipation of raking them for collection, I bought a lot of garden waste bags today...sigh!

Wasps are a nuisance at bus stops in the fall, they buzz around in or near the trash cans since they often have food waste. I didn't know why they appear more often in the fall so as google is my BFF, I googled and found this: "During the months of September, October and often well into November most Canadian residents notice a decrease in the activity of insects like mosquitoes and flies. However, probably one of the most troublesome fall pests is the Yellow Jacket, Wasp or Hornet. It's during the fall months that foraging yellow jackets will be scavenging for food. They begin showing up at picnics, barbecues, around garbage cans, at dishes of dog or cat food placed outside, and where ripe or overripe fruit are accessible. At certain times and places, the number of scavenger wasps can be quite large."

Something else I read says the wasps take dead flies back to their nests and save them as food for baby wasps...hummm, tasty. You do see people swatting at what looks like air while waiting for buses, it's only amusing when it isn't me.

Mg47 - Well, I haven't seen anyone stung yet. Most people just swat them away with their hands, while I on the other hand look for a place to hide. Yrs ago N and I were camping midsummer in Yosemite, he had cooked some chicken; midway through his meal, some yellow jackets descended on him, one dove into the chicken skewed a piece almost as big as the yj herself and flew away. As the numbers increased, N finished his dinner in the car with the yjs banging on the window.

Our home exchangers suggested we stroll along Queen's Quay (prounced key as they do in Australia) which did not seem like a bad suggestion as the weather was clear and a bit warmer today. There wasn't much more to see than we had seen the day we took the ferry to the Toronto Islands, but not a waste for me, since I enjoyed looking at Lake Ontario, grayish blue today reflecting the overcast sky. We wandered into the shopping mall opposite, a beautifully constructed shopping mall if you are into shopping malls, full of glass, a few fountains and overlooking the lake. We wandered in the Museum of Inuits - complimentary admission, but more a shop than a museum. As usual, beautiful stone carvings for sale.

N was starving so he "fell for the fixe prix $15 lunch deal" at Il Fornello in the Queen's Quay West Shopping Centre. The quotes are N's. The place was pretty, kind of an interesting decorating scheme, gray industrial with crystal chandeliers overlooking Lake Ontario. I made sure I faced the lake and watched the colors. He liked his salad, but hated his risotto, so I don't know how you rate a restaurant on liking one course and disliking the second.

I wasn't the least bit hungry, but leaving the restaurant, my appetite picked up and suddenly I wanted to try one of the veggie hotdogs (from the carts) that I see all over town. $3.00 -- neither good nor bad, but then veggie hotdogs really aren't a taste treat in my mind. I just load them with all the condiments and enjoy the hot mustards and peppers.

Subway, back to Eglinton station and then we retraced our steps from our first day on Yonge, visiting some of the same stores and wandering some new neighborhood streets. Noticed the pretty St Clements Church, missed it on our first walk around the neighborhood. The streets seemed more hilly than I remembered them, though hilly is not quite the word, gently undulating is better. Saw lots of pretty red and gold trees; whole leaves have still not made it to the ground. I just love the whole autumn thing. I hope my home exchangers are equally happy enjoying an extended summer in Calif. The weather there is sunny and in the low 70s. And if they look carefully, at the end of our street, there are a few oaks that turn red and gold, too right around now.

Seen on the subway the last several days. A large poster with a picture of a dog next to a cow,pictures drawn to the same size.

The poster say," Why love one, but eat the other? Be Compassionate. Be Vegetarian." www.beveg.ca Needless to say, I loved it. How can you not love a city with a strong vegetarian interested community?

Also, loved the posters that promote good treatment for young girls. It says something like this, "Girls are the answer and so are you."

Those vegetarian posters were out last year, too, so I noticed they were back...friends and I talked about them when they first appeared.

Here's more about The Plan (girls) http://plan-international.org/girls/...it used to be called Foster Parents Plan or something like that. They seem to have switched entirely to asking people to foster girls only...they do mention boys on their site though.

The Queen's Quay shopping building was a warehouse in another life - there are condos built on the top of it.

If it's cold and rainy, try the PATH - you can stay indoors all day.

Re me: I lost my wallet on the bus today! Geez, what a sick feeling when I got home and my purse was wide open...retraced steps but then remembered hearing something fall as I got up to get off the #12 - no one turned it in...yet. I'm still a bit hopeful. All those cards - not credit but reward cards...hate myself!

The Queen's Quay Terminal used to be an ice house and was used to store large blocks of ice that were harvested from Lake Ontario before refridgeration became wide spread.

Annetti, did you check out the York Quay next door to the Queen's Quay? There are a number of open studios where you can see glass blowers, pottery, textiles and jewellers plying their trade. There is also an interesting gift shop and galleries too. Further along Queen's Quay past Spadina Ave. is the beautiful Music Garden. It is co-designed with cellist Yo Yo Ma and is inspired by various aspects of classical music. It is interesting to look at even from Google Earth. http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/thewaterfront/parks/musicgarden.cfm

If I was looking for something to do to escape cool, wet weather in TO, I would check out some of the interesting museums including the ROM and the Bata Shoe Museum, (even if you aren't into shoes, you will find the historical and anthropological stories interesting.)

I look forward to hearing how you spend the last of your time in Toronto.

To Morningglory47, here's hoping that your wallet shows up soon.

Oh, mg -- I'm so sorry about your wallet! I'm so familiar with that sickening feeling from when my purse was stolen in London.

Let's hope some lovely, honest person finds it and calls you. Is your phone number in it somewhere?

As far as your points cards go, maybe you can call the stores and have them replaced with the points balance intact.

There is the first significant Group of Seven exhibition in Great Britain since 1924 going on right now, apparetnly to rave reviews.

PATH has the worst graphics of any urban mapping system in the world, but it is warm and dry and if you get lost, there will be a food court soon. Even regular PATH users come up to the surface sometimes, just to find out where they are.

PATH is huge, touching, or coming very close to 5 or 6 subway stops.

There's another big underground maze in Yorkville, stretching from under the Mariott Hotel in the East to Hazelton Lanes (where there's a Whole Foods) to the west, and it extends south under the Manulife Centre, which includes a great Indigo Book Store.

There's also a very good fashion-oriented shopping center of the indoor mall type north west of you. Yorkdale is on the University subway route. There's a movie theatre, several restaurants, a typical food court, heat and light and roofs that do not leak rain.

I have not been to Yorkdale for a few years, and can't tell you if it is much different from the Eaton Centre as far as stores go, but the mood is different.

Have you checked out the schedule at the Glenn Gould Theatre in the CBC building on Front Street? A lot of radio shows are recorded here, tickets are often free or reasonably priced, seats are comfortable. www.cbc.ca is a good starting point.

THANKS FOR COMING TO TORONTIO. I know lots of us who live here are thinking we should be getting out and seeing what you are seeing.

I have really enjoyed reading about your exploration of Toronto and hope you will be able to return soon. I am not sure when your trip ends but wish you a safe trip home. Au revoir!

First, mg47: I hope by the time you are reading this you have found your wallet. It's a chilling moment when you discover your wallet is gone. Most of us can relate, it has happened to me more times than I care tosay. Good luck.

Thanks BAK for your good wishes. The pleasure has been all ours in visiting Toronto, we are enjoying ourselves immensely. We still have a week to go, more time than many people get to spend here, so we figure we are not at the end of our trip yet, but coming close for sure.

Thank you prinret for your good wishes. I will take them with us when we leave a week from tomorrow.

Today was cold, overcast and drizzly; the rain began in the mid afternoon. At least there were no wasps to haunt me at the bus stop, a consolation for the miserable weather, though I suppose by Torontonians' standards, not terribly bad, after all it certainly was not bitterly cold, nor were the streets icy and slippery. On the way home, just a few feet away from our door, I stepped into a cold puddle;my shoes and socks immediately absorbed all the water. Certainly brought back memories of walking home from school as a child.

The overcast weather kept our bedroom dark and we woke up quite late, did not get out of the house until almost 1:00. Our schedule for today included lunch at Wanda's in Kennsington Market and an afternoon at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Food first, loved the salads, enjoyed the cranberry pear pie (Wanda's husband's favorite, we were told), though N was not that enamoured. He does not like tart pies. Talked to an ex-pat from California for a while at Wanda's who came here for a teaching job 20 yrs ago and stayed. Loves it. From there we got directions and went to the ROM. It's free after 3:30 on Wednesdays. This is not a deep dark secret apparently, the line was around the block, but it moved quickly and once in the museum, it did not feel crowded. I suspect that many people ended up on the first floor where the exhibits catered mostly to children.

Needless to say, the museum is wonderful. The juxaposition of the new and old bldg is beautifully done. We started upstairs with GTG's suggestion of seeing David Hockney's exhibit. Kinetic would be a good description of the art, some of the pictures stimulate your imagination, others less so, but interesting. We then descended slowly seeing a Middle East and Asian exhibit. The exhibits are clear and easy to follow, not crowded and comfortable to view. The bat cave on the second flr was getting a lot of excited children - very close to Halloween. Especially enjoyed the large Chinese sculptures on the first floor. The large dinosaur skeleton on the first floor attracted tons of photographers. If you had a camera with you, I don't believe you were allowed to leave unless you photographed yourself or a friend in front of it.

In spite of the weather which really does not bother me much, though I discuss it in detail, my Californian husband though mostly stoic about it, is a bit cold, just doesn't have the right clothes to be really comfortable. He even condescended again to carry an umbrella today and this time had use for it.

Again, I hope MG has her wallet back in hand. Annetti

MG and others: I have been looking over the PATH website, but I admit I am confused.

Where would be the best place to access it? I noticed the PATH logo at one subway station today. Can't remember which.

Our closest subway stop is Eglinton. Any suggestions where we should start? Thank you.

Gee, I can't believe you only have a week left! I think I gave you my email address and I hope you'll take it home with you and keep in touch.

I'm not a big fan (to say the least) of the addition to the ROM. I have wonderful memories of the old building. When I was in art school, I took classes there and I've drawn or painted in so many of the galleries. It was a small-ish but beautiful museum.

Except for staying out of the bad weather, I don't see the romance of the PATH. You'll get lost for sure and it's basically an underground shopping mall. Meh.

mg, any news on your wallet?

Re the PATH: Yesterday when leaving the gym I saw a couple looking at the directional signs so stopped and asked them if they needed help - I think they were German - they said no that they were just wandering and thought it was wonderful. When visitors are lost, I tell them that it's quicker if they go outside and head to wherever they're going but all want to stay inside - and that's in the good weather, too. A cousin who visited me really liked it, too. Subway stops that connect with the PATH are King and Union, I'd start at Union (Queen, Osgoode, St. Andrew and Dundas connect, too, but try Union).

Annetti - did I mention this before....? Anyway, while in The Bay today, noticed that they have striped Hudson's Bay canvas bags, like the blankets - thought they might make suitable gifts to take home.

Re the wallet - last night online and today in person I replaced or ordered replacements for cards then got home to a phone message saying the caller had found it thrown on a lawn, sans cash, a few blocks from here. I'm meeting her at Warden station tomorrow. One good thing - I rarely can stand a photo of myself but do like the one on my gym club card - when I told them today that I needed a new card she said I'd have to have a new photo taken - I put her off saying we'd have to wait for a good hair day but now I won't have to! Thanks for good wishes...they worked.

I'm so glad you got your wallet back and I hope there wasn't a lot of cash in it.

I never did get my purse back which is really annoying since it was an almost new (although not expensive) one and it had my favourite pair of leather gloves inside.

An interesting read annetti.

It's fascinating to see one's city from another point-of-view.

Before you leave I recommend riding one of the streetcar routes from start to finish - it's a real slice of Toronto.
In order of personal preference, I recommend:
Queen Street car
Dundas Street car
Carleton Street car
King Street car

Firstly, MG47, by this time, I hope you have your wallet in hand. A couple of yrs ago when buying gasoline and about 40$ worth of lottery tickets (scratch off kind) for small holiday gifts, the clerk wistfully looked at the tickets, so I gave him one, not realizing that I also left my wallet behind on the counter when I walked out of the store. When I finally retraced my steps and returned to the gasoline station, my wallet was waiting intact with a couple hundred dollars in it. The clerk told me he won $20 from my lottery gift ticket. Talk about a good deed paying off. Anyway, I'm glad your wallet was returned.

Gtg, I agree the old bldg at ROM is beautiful, but with collections increasing, there is a trend to see these modern additions to all the great museums. Think of the Louvre.

Semiramis: Thanks for the streecar suggestions. BTW, want to explain your name to us?

The day was cool,overcast, but clear, so N had his doubts about following the PATH today. He thought we should be outdoors. However, it would be warm inside down under, so it was not a hard job convincing him.

We took the subway to Union Station as MG47 suggested and set out to discover the PATH. There were no signs or we missed them; we constantly asked for directions since there were escalators everywhere and we were convinced that if we ascended one, we would be OFF the PATH.

However, we ran into some very nice people who walked us some of the way or just stood around and talked with us.Succinctly, The PATH for those unfamiliar with it are a series of underground shopping malls that connect and go on forever, having no relationship with the street grid above.

They are very sleek, built with high grade materials,similar to shopping areas connected to hotels in Las Vegas ;of course unlike LV malls which are only only a couple of blocks of stores, the PATH stretches for miles. There are stores, then more stores, escalators tp street level to return to corporate buildings, hotels and banks above. Most of the stores are similar to what one sees in large shopping malls in the US and other parts of Canada. Many of the big corporate chains are there as well as some European ones.

Every once in a while a food court appears with the usual fast food restaurants, occasionally a sit down restaurant is nearby for more relzed formal eating. One of the young men told me that this subterreanean area is great for meeting clients in the winter; he does not need to put on all his heavy winter gear.

There were no shortage of people; the PATH was as crowded as any city street above. The food courts at 1:00 were packed, hardly an empty table in sight. I am not a shopper, just a tourist , so though I'm glad we experienced this underground maze and appreciate what this must mean to Torontonians in very cold, icy, wintery weather, it does not have the same allure to me.

N thought we might be near ST Lawrence Market at one point - he guessed rightly.

We were about a ten minute walk away. St Lawrence Mkt is a whole different experience mid week. Although, most of the food eateries are open, there is not much competition for tables or many people about. We ended up once again at Uno Mustachio, an Italian place on the first floor near the main entrance. Both of us love the eggplant sandwich filled with peppers, onions, tomato sauce and cheese. They are huge and can easily be shared.About $7 or $8. We wandered around the market a bit more; N has developed a taste for St Urbain's sweet bagels; They're boiled in honey water per their sign, so now I understand the sweetness.

We then returned to the PATH, walked a bit more and eventually made our way home without a raindrop in sight the entire day.

I know N does not always share my autumn enthusiasm, and I have probably overstated it here, but I am enjoying so much all the beautiful leaf color, still very much in evidence as we wandered back to our house. To my eye (even with all the bags of leaves waiting for collection), autumn is still very much here. Many red and gold leaves are hanging tightly on their branches.

http://www.mustardmaker.com/

Another possible thought for your take home gifts -Im sure available at St Lawrence Market or Pusateris

Well, not the Avenue Road Pusateris -- it was closed by the Health Department today! PESTS!!!!!! Yikes. I may never shop there again!

Irecommend: I saw the mustards today at St Lawrence Mkt; and almost bought them, but carrying jars of them (they each seemed to weigh a ton) was asking to much of N; he would have had to put them in his backpack. (I'll want help with our suitcases when we leave.) They would make a great gift, however, for those with strong arms or a strong back or better yet ,a car. I love mustard with horseraddish. Also, saw some bottles of ice wine, another good gift. Thanks for the suggestion. I liked it, too.

gtg: Almost ended up at Pusateri's today, but was too tired. Wonder what kinds of pests -- roaches, mice, rats... Well, that's not going to help their business much.

Wow, just read about Pusateri's on The Star site - and the manager insisting it isn't rodents. What a black eye for them.

PATH also links to Roy Thomson Hall, the CBC building (and the Glenn Gould theatre), Metro Hall, new City Hall, the Eaton Centre, 4 hotels (Royal York, Sheraton, Hilton and the new Ritz Carlton). the bus station (and my hair salon and dentist!). It is a godsend in winter and rainy weather but sometimes one just wants fresh air (well, as fresh as air is downtown). The direction signs are on coloured pieces of something or other practically on the ceilings - not the easiest things to find.

Well, I got my wallet back - whoever it was took the cash (no more than $30), two gift cards which total had about $2 left on them, a voucher for a free film at the Lightbox that volunteers at TIFF get (I have more) and, oddly, Sugar Twin I carry as some coffee shops don't carry it. They left my MasterCard, convenience card, 5 reward cards and a Black's card with $100 worth of free prints on it.

I took the 504 streetcar down Broadview today - the colour over the Don Valley still isn't at its peak.

The 506 College/Carlton streetcar leaves from Main subway station in the east and ends up in High Park - you pass through a lot of different neighbourhoods - Upper Beach, India Bazaar, some Vietnamese, Broadview/East Chinatown, Cabbagetown/Regent Park, Allan Gardens, past Maple Leaf Gardens (where the Leafs last won the Stanley Cup), across Yonge Street, Banting/Best Institutes (think insulin), the edge of the hospitals lining University Avenue, Queen's Park (the provincial Legislature), University of Toronto, crosses Spadina Avenue which is close to Wanda's on Augusta, Little Italy, a Portuguese neighbourhood, across Roncesvalles where it turns around in High Park.

I know you like Wanda's but here are some other vegetarian choices - http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_vegetarian_restaurants_in_toronto/ Of course, they might not have pie!

annetti - to TRULY experience autumn one should rake leaves - I'm willing to let you rake and bag mine...just let me know when you're available.

Upcoming events for your last few days (it's gone so quickly!):

You've not been to the Beach area of town - starting Friday there's a self-guided Beach Studio Tour - beachstudiotour.ca

Now here's something a little different - Saturday - The Human Library Project - "borrow a human book for a one-on-one conversation and hear their stories" 1 to 4 at the Parkdale Library - that could be VERY interesting...Parkdale has quite a few characters that hang around that branch.

Saturday, too: This sounds like just the ticket for annetti - "Fall Leaves Walk" see deciduous trees in autumn glory - 1 p.m $2 High Park Nature Centre highparknaturecentre.com

Free lunch? on Saturday: Chef Meet and Greet - Meet Big Carrot chef John Robertson and sample a few delicious dishes 11:30 to 3:30 at 348 Danforth.

Sat - Take a walk on the Riverside (Queen St. East): All ages fall festival with historical walking tours, a pub crawl and more, 11 AM till 11 PM - riversidedistrictbia.com

And the Zombie walk is Saturday - starts in Trinity-Bellwoods Park on Queen West - the best thing about this event is seeing the faces of people on the subway who don't know what the heck is going on. http://torontozombiewalk.ca/where_when.html

Sunday there's a Brockton Studio Tour - that's around Dundas St. West (505 streetcar): http://brocktontriangle.com/Brockton_Triangle/studiotour/BrocktonStudioTour.htm

More leaves! - Sunday - Fall Cabbagetown Tree Tour - LEAF walk to identity trees and talk about their stressors (that doesn't sound like much fun though but there should be lots of colour) 11 AM - meet at corner of Carlton and Parliament.

MG47: Glad to hear you have your wallet in hand. Was your gym card picture included? Also, thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I ran them by N, buu I think we're still negoiating how to spend the last few days. We did follow up on your suggestion to visit the Beaches today.

Although N was set on visiting the India Bazarhe had no problem switching gears.. The ride down Queen Street from the subway seemed very long, probably only 20 minutes or so. We passed through some areas, we had not seen before. Many of the houses and store fronts looked very old, guessing early 1900s. The storefronts were low, only two stories, it reminded me a bit of Aukland where there are few high rises and also parts of Long Beach, California. Lots of small second hand stores, independent restaruants and of course the usual corporate places like Starbucks and one of my least favorties, Good Buy, but that huge bldg was not typical of what we saw out of the streetcar window.

We exited at Waverly Avenue, walked a bit, N always on the look out for some place to eat, while I wanted to walk down some streets and get out on the boardwalk. Some of the homes are well-cared for, others look like they've become apartments and a few, though not many need some care.

When I think Boardwalk, I think something elevated like in Atlantic City, but I know the term is used loosely. In Venice Beach,Calif they call a concrete promendade a boardwalk, so I wasn't expecting an Atlantic City version, though secretly hoping for it. The Beaches' version is a series of wooden planks placed vertically directly on the ground about 12 feet wide, I'm guessing. Torontonians will have to tell me how long the boardwalk continues. We walked about 5 or 6 blocks, but there was a school exercise/program of some sort going on and we turned around to avoid it.

A small beach separates Lake Ontario from the boardwalk. It is a pretty walk with some green scrub and occasional high grasses. Reminds me a bit of Cape Cod. (I felt like I had seen this setting before -- in movies -- and I probably have.)The lake itself was placid, and a dark gray color reflecting the overcast sky. There is a gentle lapping of waves at the shoreline and of course, like an ocean you can only see an horizon, not the other side. It's a pretty place, overcast or not to stroll. We passed a very active dog park, perfect weather for the dogs I imagine.

Not finding anything to his liking, though N was willing to try Sunset Grillfor breakfast, I was not, though the place was crowded and friendly, but breakfast at 2 pm did not suit me. And of course with some embarrassment, I report, we returned to St Lawrence Mkt where we had lunch once more. While there we were photographed by a couple of people who thought we "looked so cute" sharing a dessert. However, it turned into a nice conversation, far too long, and we missed the next item on our schedule for the day, a visit to the Gardiner Museum. The three people were from Toronto, Wash DC and Dubai and the conversation moved briskly. One of the men designed movie theaters which generated a lot of discussion on movies in general. A lot of fun, but still our agenda for the day was changed. But that of course is what happens when you travel the Fodorite way.

Trivial enough to skip: I noted a new activity on the subway today to add to my list of reading, doing crossword puzzles, listening to an ipod, texting, playing with an electronic device, sleeping, talking on your cell phone, staring into space, looking dazed, hanging on for dear life to a pole when the train is moving,, playing a romantic scene in a move, that is kissing and cuddling, eating, studying, conversing with a friend . . . now knitting. I'm sure I left tons of things out.

I've knit on the subway...also, there's nursing babies.

Nope, have not seen the nursing babies.

It took us over an hr to get to Inda Bazaar, one bus, one subway and one street car. Had we a car, it probably would have taken 25 minutes? However, there's never a problem of parking once you descend from the streetcar.We began our exploration at Gerrard and Ashdale Avenue. The area is not very large, runs a couple of long city streets, has many restaurants, some sari shops, a few markets, jewelry stores, sweet stores, and some handicraft/art prints and some ceramics. We wandered into an Islamic store, the first I've ever been in one, selling the Koran, lots of learned books, childrens' books, some art and a wide array of head scarves. Everyone was very pleasant as we browsed. The store is not very dissimilar to a store that would concentrate on Christian books.

After an hr of browsing, we began to look for a place to eat. There were lots of choices, mostly buffets about $10 a person. Everyone was extremely eager to have our company, even one or two coming out on the street welcoming us. However, only two were in the final competition, both crowded, whereas the others though pleasant enough were almost or in one case completely empty.

We had lunch at Siddhartha wwww.the siddhartha.com because at 2;30 in the afternoon, the place had hardly an empty table. The food was wonderful, delicately seasoned and not very hot, well-suited to N's delicate palate. I prefer my food a bit hotter, but the food was so well flavored, I never missed the heat. Along with the usual main dishes, both vegetarian and meat dishes, there were salads, desserts and even some very nice ice cream. All for $11/person. And did I mention how nice everyone was?

About 20-25 minutes from us in So Calif in Artestia, Calif., there is an area known as Little India. I am not sure, but Little India feels bigger than the India Bazaar, or perhaps because I once spoke to a woman in Little India who was visiting from Toronto who told me it was larger, so I just accepted her version.

There are clusters of strip malls, some 3 or 4 storied mini malls. To my memory there is a greater variety of shops and restaurants, from appliance stores, to medical offices, sari places, gift shops, markets, hairdressers, etc. We eat there occasionally and except for the sweet shop that I visit with friends, I've never found a restaurant I have enjoyed as much as Siddhartha's. The food generally has more heat than today's sampling, but then again I have not tried them all. New places are constantly replacing old ones.

On our way home on the streetcar, we sat behind a young man talking on his cell phone. He was very loud and easily heard throughout the entire car, talking about his theater jobs. It sounded like a one way conversation since he never paused. I kept wondering how Larry David (Curb your Enthusiasm) would have handled it.

Nevertheless, we had a very nice day in Toronto - I think it's getting colder.

Today we visited the George F Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art www.gardinermuseum.on.ca just opposite the ROM, same subway stop - museum. Admission was $24 for the two of us. We arrived around 1:00, enough time to browse before the 2:00 docent tour. (call or check the website, since these times vary and sometimes are cancelled.) The museum houses lots of rare 17th and 18th century poreclain. Some of it quite pretty and some fairly ostentacious, a bit outrageous when few people were eating cake, a la Marie Antointette.

The tour guide was a bit nervous, but exceedingly well prepared for ther 20 plus group. Odd that so many people were there, because before the tour began , not a soul was visible; we had the rooms to ourselves.

Today's tour featured primarily the ceramics of Catherine the Great. Lots of history thrown in to make the tour more interesting. I know very little Russian History, one semester in college and the rest gleaned from Russian novels. Learned today that Catherine the Great was German, which inflenced no doubt her interest in Western Art. More significantly, I learned that to dine a la russe, meant having courses served to you one at a time and that dining a la francaise in the 1800s meant having every corner of the table filled with all the food that would be served that evening.

BTW, the museum shop has some very pretty glassware and pottery for sale among other things, but is no bargain basement.

Now, almost 5:00, we took the subway to Greektown had a very late lunch, lamenting that just as we're getting a bit adept on using public transit, it is just about time to go home.

Thanks go to gtg for the above suggestion for the Gardiner Museum.

Something to consider for your next North American home exchange (in a major city) is using an hourly car rental service like Zipcar. While most of the time you'll probably be happy to walk or take public transit, if there is a convenient Zipcar location near you, you could rent a car for a few hours every week or so to: 1) do your grocery shopping; or 2) visit something that's complicated to reach by public transit. Toronto has Zipcars although they're not as widely available as in Manhattan, for example.

Thanks, frogoutofwater: I had forgotten about Zipcar -- I had read about it on a previous thread, but must admit I never noticed them while moving around TO.

Not having a car for marketing was difficult, but we managed and now that our trip is just about over, I can say it really did not matter much. We always ate out one meal a day and the other two were light ones easily managed by short shopping trips on the way back from our day's outing.

Today was not an exceptional day - tourist-wise. We did nothing we could not have done in LA, in fact if we had been in LA, we would not have done what we did today, that is, go to a giant mall. Fodor's guide hypes The Eaton Centre and our home exchangers recommended it. The weather was a bit dreary and I thought (N was not exactly thrilled) maybe I could find a pair of short boots for LA's wet winter days. Fodor states: "From the graceful glass roof, arching 127 feet above the lowest of the mall levels, to Michael Snow's exquisite flock of fiberglass Canada geese floating poetically in open space, there is plenty to appreciate."

Well the geese were attractive and as usual there is always someone who will photograph anything, but a city shopping centre is not much different in LA, Toronto, Buenas Aires, Hamburg,Brisbane, or Norwich. The corporate look is pretty much the same everywhere.

I get tired shopping real easily, I did not have the enthusiasm to try on boots, wait for salespeople (really, no wait today) and look around; I am a terrible shopper. I found one pair real easily I liked, but not in the right color; I will order them on-line.

We decided, a very bad decision, to eat at the food court; it was pretty terrible, but we knew that ahead of time. Our original plan had been to go to Casa Loma today, but the three bus transfer and the 77 minute ride deterred us. Neither of us were too sure we wanted to see another castle. And because it was raining when we left, we fooled ourselves into thinking the Eaton Centre was a good choice. For us, it was not.

What route did you consider for Casa Loma - not that I particularly recommend the castle (the gardens are beautiful though) but for your location it would have been more transferring on the subway system.

These 5 weeks have sure gone quickly.

Morningglory47: we were debating Casa Loma again this morning, figuring that perhaps, we could go by subway. Did we really want to go? Neither of were particularly enthusiastic, and then you comment popped up and settled it for us! Thank you.

We decided to just spend a relaxing day, wandering around, visiting Kensington Market, buying a few things and having lunch at Wanda's. It proved to be an unevenful pleasant day; the only minor, minor problem we encountered and so did many others, was that the street cars ran in clusters of threes, keeping us and others waiting longer than usual in the rain.

We bought a cake to have ready for tea and coffee when our home exchangers arrive home tomorrow night.


Tomorrow is our last full day, but we need to straighten up our home exchangers' home, pack, and get the house ready for our home exchangers return tomorrow night. Hopefully, we will have time tomorrow evening to discuss our respective vacations. We all have it on the agenda, if the plane arrives on time.

Also, taking some time out tomorrow to photograph some of my favorite autumn colored trees. There are two remarkable orange/gold ones across the street. We will probably take some time to comb the streets looking for autumn displays and maybe some of the more remarkable Halloween decorations. People in our neighborhood at home decorate, too, but the cold weather seems to add an extra dimension to it.

And yes, MG, "These 5 weeks have sure gone quickly." It is remarkable how long you look forward to a holiday and suddenly it is all over, but there are tons of wonderful memories.

I'm sure I will add a few more comments before I end this thread. So, still more to come. . . .

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of your posts annetti and it was nice to meet you and your hubby in person too!
The weather has been on and off, but that is fall and I hope that you will remember the sunny days here the most.

Irecommend: I was very pleased to meet you and MrIrecommend, too. It was a very pleasant afternoon. I'm glad you enjoyed the posts; it was fun doing it. I'm still considering your "recommendation" about what to do about the B&B in NOTL.

I had no problem with the weather, though of course N found it cold at times. He's so Calif-spoiled, that he expects every day to be sunny. I had a nostalgic kick seeing the overcast days and I would not have had a "real" autumn without some cold and rainy weather. And I absolutely loved seeing the trees, even if not at their peak as some people exclaimed to me, it was absolutely beautiful to my eyes, rain and all. Today, we walked over yellow, gold, red leaves on the sidewalk. Although slippery, I just loved the patterns. I hope we can get some decent photos tomorrow -- should not wait until the last days to do everything.

Enjoy your holiday in Asia, so many interesting places. You have a fantastic trip planned. I expect to read about it and follow it on the Asia board. Take care. Annetti

I was so glad we had a chance to meet, annetti! And it's so interesting to see one's own city through a visitor's eyes.

I hope you'll come back to Toronto sometime (but not in the winter) and that we'll have a chance to visit again.

Have a wonderful and safe trip home. I hope you find your home in good order.

gtg

gtg: it was great meeting you and mg47,too. It was very kind of you to organize my first ever Fodorite get together. Thank you. And thank you for the good wishes for our trip home. I have your e-mail and will keep in touch. Take care and enjoy all the upcoming holiday festivities just around the corner.

I'll probably do a follow-up once we return home and get settled in to our familiar routine of non vacationing.

Annetti

Happy trails! Enjoyed the GTG.

I've lost track, but think you're gone.

It's been fun to watch your adventures. Thanks for working so hard to keep us up to date on your reactions to our suggestions.

BAK

Annetti, I'm just catching up with this after being away for a couple of weeks (in Toronto, actually). I'm so glad you enjoyed Siddhartha - we lived about a 15-minute walk from there and went there for dinner quite often. We had tried quite a few restaurants in that neighbourhood and Siddhartha was our favourite.
We were kind of annoyed at the rainy weather but I'm glad it didn't interfere too much with your enjoyment of the city.

Thanks, BAK for following my trip. Sorry, that we did not meet at the get-together.

Meesthare: We quite enjoyed Siddhartha's for lunch. Wanted to return, but ran out of time. Liked the atmosphere, too, not glitzy and over the top. Overall, I think we were pretty lucky with the weather, though of course we would have loved sunny skies everyday, but as I wrote above, I felt I experienced a real autumn. We are home now and I noticed that the trees at the top of our street are red, too, the only ones near by that change with the seasons.

Our last day in Toronto (seems like ages ago, but only 3 days ago) were spent packing and straightening up our home exchangers' home. They told us not to worry about cleaning since they had a cleaning service coming in a few days after we left, however we tried our best to leave it presentable.

Afterwards, we used up the last of our bus tokens and walked on Eglinton (now know how to spell the street name) and had a late lunch at Phipps. Phipps had been suggested by gtg as a possible restaurant for the Fodorites get together. It was warm and cozy, a perfect place to escape the rain. The food was reasonable and good. I think N had a lasagna and I had some soup.

Around 9:00 pm or so our home exchangers arrived home. Their plane was a bit late. We spent a couple hrs talking about our respective trips, set our alarm for 7:00am and were kindly driven to the airport the next morning. Our Air Canada flight left a half hr late, but managed to arrive on time at LAX at 3:15 pm LA time. It was an easy flight, almost completely full and quiet. The happy baby in front of us was juggled the whole way by his father. Much appreciated by us and I'm sure everyone near by.

We are now home, enormous loads of laundry done and experiencing our California autumn. Low 70s and sunny. Glorious weather for anyone from Toronto who wants an extended summer, though it won't last for long.

Some last comments about our trip. Probably will think of a few more once I hit the submit button.

I, always write at the conclusion of a home exchange that I feel fortunate to have had an extended trip some place new and interesting. Toronto was no exception. We enjoyed ourselves exceedingly.

While we did surprise locals that our visit was long, unlike a previous writer on this board, we did not meet with a blank stare or surprise that we would want to spend five weeks visiting TO.

Most people stay in hotels, so our five week home exchange provided us with a chance to see the city that most tourists do not have. Few people would enjoy 5 weeks in a hotel, not to mention the exorbitant costs Home exchange gave us an opportunity to see a little more of TO than the three day visitor. We consider ourselves lucky.

Toronto did not disappoint; our friends who had visited told us we would like Toronto and we did. We enjoyed wandering the city streets, waving our bus passes at bus conductors (except for the last couple days when we used tokens) and observing city life up close instead of from the windows of our car on the LA freeways. It was sheer luxury not driving, worrying about getting lost, caught in traffic snarls, and most importantly find parking for a car.

We found people to be friendly, helpful, often coming over and asking us where we needed to go. We had extended and surprisingly long conversations with strangers. It left us believing that Torontonians were a special breed of people. (However, in LA's defense, I must note that our home exchangers told us that the locals where we live were friendly and helpful, too.) I guess it is something about reaching out to strangers.

Lastly, a special thanks to everyone who read this thread, offered suggestions, comments and made us feel welcome.