(Hot) Treks in the (Cold) City

Danifesto has been enjoying the holidays and hopes his readers have as well! One of the season's highlights included a fabulous visit from hip royalty, ThatJolieGirl and RecordStoreGeek. As previous blogs can attest, we love our new city (*almost* as much as we love them!) and were thrilled to share some of it with them! Here's what we did!

TUESDAY- They arrived a bit late which was totally fine as I got a chance to read more of my current book. We took the TTC (the 3rd most heavily-used urban mass transit system) back to our apartment where my partner had prepared a Korean feast of miyuk guk, galbi, chapchae and daknaengchae (spicy chicken and veggie with noodle mixture). We enjoyed eating that and then opened awesome presents. (Oooh, Ahhhh, ohhhhh!) After having Korean green tea, we walked down to Yonge Street (after the Pan-American Highway, considered "The Longest Street in the World") and then came back to bed.

WEDNESDAY- We had a breakfast of dokguk (soup made with chewy rice cakes floating in a flavourful broth) at home. Then we headed south to the Distillery District and looked at all the cool shops. We had lunch at the Mill Street Brewery (horrible service!) and stopped off for coffee at Balzac's. Then we walked over to the St. Lawrence Market (which served as Toronto's first city hall for 54 years before becoming a market place in 1899). We intended to go up the CN Tower (world's tallest freestanding structure on land) but found the elevator cost prohibitive (and weren't up for taking the stairs for free)! Instead we went to the Eaton Centre (Toronto's most popular tourist destination as far as numbers of people) and saw the holiday displays. We ended the night with a fabulous dinner with GREAT service at Cafe Volo.

THURSDAY- After finding both Kalendar and Sneaky Dees closed for breakfast(Doh!), we fortunately found a little cafe nearby that was open. Then we went down Spadina to Old Chinatown and Kensington Market (same area oddly enough- best vintage shopping in the city). We went back to Sneaky Dees for lunch and then went up to tour the fabulous Casa Loma which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Then we went to Koreatown for dinner at this great spicy chicken (dakgalbi) followed by norebang at BMB Karaoke. Highlights were the Summer Nights(from Grease) duet with ThatJolieGirl (Danifesto of course sang the part of Danny) and The Origin of Love ensemble (which RecordStoreGeek rocked out on!) We then went home and watched Muriel's Wedding.

FRIDAY -After a walk through St. James Cemetery, we tried to have breakfast at Big Mamma's Boy on nearby Parliament Street but it was closed (quickly becoming a reoccurring motif!). So instead we got coffee at Jet Fuel and then walked around beautiful Cabbagetown (where I will never afford to live but can dream). We toured the Riverdale Farm and the Necropolis nearby. Then after dropping off some belated Christmas packages from Kansas, we hopped on the TTC and went to Queen Street West. We had lunch at Black Bull and then walked into the many different shops and art galleries. For dinner we met my friends at Cadillac Lounge and then had drinks at the Cameron House before heading home.

SATURDAY- We started with coffee at a favourite hangout, the Bulldog Cafe (I love latte art there!) and then walked around Victoria College (part of University of Toronto) and the Ontario Legislature in Queen's Park. Then we took a street car to meet friends for sushi at Jun Jun's. That afternoon while RecordStoreGeek toured an airplane museum, ThatJolieGirl and Danifesto hung out in Kensington and Chinatown with his friends. (Danifesto succeeded in his search for the perfect tablecloth!) Then we went to Queen Street West again (ThatJolieGirl succeeded in her quest for the perfect hat!). We then went to a great record store and a new book store on Bloor Street in the Annex neighbourhood. For dinner we enjoyed King's Noodle in Chinatown. Then we crawled back home for packing and relaxing.

SUNDAY- This was a sad sad day. We had breakfast Doenjang jigae at home and then took them to the Lester B. Pearson International Airport. They had some trouble getting out of Canada but finally left after a couple hours delay. My partner and I came back home to an empty apartment and we took naps in preparation for the New Year's Eve celebrations that night.

A great time was had by all and it was so nice to have them here! My only wish was that the weather had been as pleasant as it was before and after their stay!