finally, i have some pictures to share of my trip to canada to visit family and friends. kai and i travelled together to toronto and then vancouver. he was over the moon delighted for this trip, especially since we decided we would stay on a little longer in sweden. a trip home was necessary and so good for the both of us.
it was 2014 when kai and i last visited toronto - the kiddos all look so young! i am so happy that we made the trip out, especially for my mama. she looks older, moves slower yet continues to be active; getting her garden tomatoes ready for the season and 'working' at her friend's bakery down the street making pastries (she's paid in bread!). i am in awe of her, my mama who is 87 years old. i love photographing her and her garden...
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| playing scopa |
she fed us well. it can be as simple as pasta with peas and for some reason her dishes explode with flavour.
i walked my childhood neighbourhood... the corner store where i used to buy lolas for 25 cents (always grape flavour), north pole bakery for bread and cannoli, popping into the shops of greektown and enjoying grilled calamari one night with childhood friends, and discovering new places too - libretto served the most delicious kale salad.
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| the BEST kale salad! |
it was hot! spending a day with my brother domenic and his family in lake simcoe was a lovely way to ward off the heat. ginny prepared a lovely picnic feast. and the boys, well, it took some time for them to fit back together - most years when we visit they are inseparable. an absence of two years might have been too long to be apart but once in the water, it was like no time passed.
i hadn't been to kensington market - an eclectic neighbourhood - since forever! i used to come here as a teen to shop vintage clothing and second-hand levis. my girlfriend, ange, came along with kai and i to explore the graffiti neighbourhood with its vintage shops, coffee houses, and multcultural restaurants. ange and i settled for korean rice bowls while kai chose jamaican jerk chicken. oh, and the smell of fish on the fishmonger street took me back to the days when i used to come here with my sister to shop for seafood that would be eaten on christmas eve.
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| this was my favourite shop and it's still here! |
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| and we found a swedish fika cafe! |
and there was the afternoon kai and i ventured downtown to visit the bata shoe museum. he was so not impressed but we made it fun with hotdogs and iced chai! i had always wanted to explore this little museum but it never seemed to happen so when i had a free day i thought why not! so off we went...
a day with my family, barbecuing and a water balloon fight... kai and i look forward to this one day of our trip every time.
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| the day usually starts out with filling balloons! |
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| shenanigans around the corner, always! |
i got to meet this little chubby babe
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| a surprise photo on my camera courtesy of my brother sam |
and we visited our cousins...
this little guy - our first time meeting - has big personality!
going to the beaches - where i lived with stefan - is always a fun outing. walking the coastline then along queen street grabbing a chai and popping into shops. although kai could have done without the shops, he enjoyed the story of how his dad proposed (it involved a pair of shoes from corso shoes!).
travelogue: vancouver, canada coming soon!
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