I hope the ability just to pop down to the park to skate never looses its magic! This is a natural rink – no fences, no Zamboni to clean the ice, just the good-will and hard work of local people to top the water levels up and clear the snow.
Category Archives: Leisure
Saucer-eyes
In choosing Canada as our home, we were aware that one of the possible downsides is that paid holiday (vacation) time is significantly less than in the UK. However, we felt that this was balanced out by an apparent Canadian capacity to make the most of leisure time. The weekend just past certainly saw us embrace this spirit, nourishing mind, body and soul!
Friday evening: etchings by Rembrandt and Freud – the Rembrandt so incredibly fine and detailed, the Freud bolder but no less masterly, both capturing so much more than a visual likeness of their subjects; then fabulous photos, model ships and (as AGO members) VIP entry to the King Tut exhibition, recapturing an earlier fascination in the breathtaking beauty of so many of the items on display.
On to fire and ice – the Angel of the Apocalypse belching flame into the darkness as we skated, the trees glinting red and gold with Chinese lanterns to welcome the new year of the Tiger, as pillow-fight snow-flakes drifted down; a huge screen, held in the embrace of City Hall’s twin towers, provided a constantly changing vertical stage filled with oriental images and peopled by fan dancers, stick fighters and more. (On Sunday we caught a different acrobatic spectacle by Compagnie Les Passagers with a more elemental theme.)
Appealing to our senses, the foodie explorations encouraged by the fixed price Winterlicious menus are a delight – we enjoyed two great meals over the weekend. A late Saturday lunch at Pure Spirits took us to the Distillery District, followed up with the post-prandial pleasures of checking out our favourite galleries there, as well as lusting after high-style lights at Artemide. And we can’t seem to resist the wonderful Quebecois cheeses, St Lawrence Market offering up this week’s temptation!
On Sunday, we went Tumbling Into Light – amazing music, dance and visual imagery! Deeply moving, its intention to reflect the constant spiralling of light into darkness into light (individual, cultural, cosmic), I was awed by the twin awareness of the hugeness of the human capacity to encompass pain and the hugeness of the human capacity to manifest beauty.
On our way home from an early supper (Moroccan at 93 Harbord), Winter City claimed our attention again with an eerie performance by Glacialis, an Ice Orchestra. Who would have believed that ice tubes would resonate so wonderously in response to a hot flame!
So often here I am conscious of that I can still be that saucer-eyed child, utterly present, utterly entranced and engaged . . .
More highlights and milestones
- Eating Poutine, a cholesterol laden Canadian snack speciality consisting of fries (chips), gravy and cheese curds. I wasn’t sure about the idea, but actually we really enjoyed it and will now seek out more authentic renditions.
- Becoming annual members of the Art Gallery of Ontario – this will allow us gradually to enjoy and absorb what is a really interesting and well curated collection. The new Gehry Galleria Italia is a fabulous space, currently housing a magical sculptural exhibition of trees re-visioned (we loved this)
- Buying my first pair of ‘leisure skates’ – my UK figures boots are just too uncomfortable!
- Skating on a natural rink in Glen Stewart park at the foot of a ravine that drops a way just below where we live – steep wooden steps lead down into a magic woodland walk by a stream, currently flowing between snowy banks we were the only people on the ice – magic!
- Commitment (voluntary) to a local community arts/regeneration project, Art of the Danforth, an art walk planned for April (I’m sure I’ll write more on this as things develop!)
- Entertaining our first guests in our new home on Friday evening, genuinely a delight!
- Getting our OHIP cards – we are now covered by the Ontario Health scheme. But with a shortage of family doctors, finding one is the next challenge.
Coming up we have:
- Toronto’s Winter City festival – spectacle, music, multi-culturalism and more!
- Winterlicious, (part of the above) Toronto’s winter food festival, a fabulous chance to try new restaurants at very affordable prices. We have, over the two week period, booked two lunches and two dinners, including lunch at Canoe, arguably Toronto’s top restaurant (Jess ate there back in September and is still raving about it!)
- Music and multi-media show at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts
Things to do before I get too much older . . .
I refuse to think in terms of ‘things to do before I die’, but I do have a list of ‘things to do before I get too much older’. On Saturday evening, I was able to tick one of these off!
Having read Noel Streatfield’s White Boots avidly as a child, I fell in love with ice skating and skated regularly at Bournemouth through the school holidays. But I’ve always longed to skate in the open air.
On Saturday we found ourselves on the ice under the freedom arches of Nathan Phillips Square, Christmas lights twinkling all around use under a brilliant frosty moon. We craned our heads to follow the fireworks as they scaled the twin towers of city hall in the opening ceremony for the annual Toronto Cavalcade of Lights to triumphal strains. Then, as the applause subsided, skated for over an hour among the throngs to a DJ mix of Michael Jackson and contemporary R&B. Even with hire skates, it was the best skate we’ve had in a long time – in the Canadian vernacular, ‘awesome’! We are looking forward to skating in our local parks when our own skates arrive, as well as on the harbourfront.
At 10.30, after the best Pitta Gyros we’ve had outside Greece, we headed towards home through streets still bustling with families past the animated Christmas windows of The Bay.
Either I’m seeing the world through fresh eyes or the spirit of Christmas really does seem to be stronger, more full of the wonder that echoes childhood memories. And we haven’t even had snow yet . . .
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=08d5a6d5-10fe-4e05-948a-59b516c5335f)
Winter shores
We have continued to be blessed by the most amazing mild, sunny weather. The sunlight seems much more intense than in the UK – so often as I look at the Lake I think of the phrase ‘shining waters’. Perhaps this is less surprising when you realise that London is actually a lot further north at latitude 51N than Toronto at latitude 43N – the sun really is stronger.
Whenever we go walking on the shore, as we did on Sunday, I still pinch myself! It is so beautiful, so incredibly peaceful and restorative, yet here we are living in a major city.
And the expanse of sand at Woodbine Beach as it curves into Ashridge Bay is to die for . . .
