Shantario

Shawn Desman wasn’t waiting for me at the airport (at least, not that I saw), but my dear old friend Shannon was. She had taken the afternoon off and chauffeured me and my giant suitcase through Toronto’s clogged expressways over to their cute little house at the end of a quiet street. We then hopped on the TTC and took it down to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) for some free history-ogling after 3:30 PM, EST.









We plucked through the jammed museum at a relatively rapid pace as I was kind of starving. I should have brought snacks. Wahhhh. The dinosaurs were my favourite. They always are.








RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!


This guy is just kinda supa-ugly.





After escaping from the museum, we headed down into Yorkville to look at some overpriced clothes in shops and find sustenance. It was hot, so we journeyed up to the rooftop patio of Remy’s for pasta. Ahh…back in the land of patios.





We hauled our heavy bellies down Bloor and then down Yonge for the long haul over to Dundas Square. UGH. Such a long walk, what were we thinking? There were so many skanky shops along the way. But, I was experiencing Toronto! And besides the painful feet, I look back fondly.





We traversed Eaton Centre for hours before requiring a Frap-up from Starbucks. Then, we traversed some more. Eventually we resigned ourselves to the train ride home where I discovered Angry Birds. But since I suck at the game, the obsession didn’t last long.

The next day, with my hosts back at work, I journeyed over one stop to Yorkdale Centre. WTF TORONTO. What is with the heat everywhere? It’s humid and hotter than hades and yet even indoors, shopping at freakin’ H&M or whatever, I’m breaking into a sweat. Give me a break. But I digress.


Cute little house!


These deserted TTC hallways freak me out a little…



I had a disgusting lunch at Pickle Barrel Express – some smoked gouda wrap with cold eggplant or whatever. So gross. I should have just sprung for eating at the Rainforest Café. After wandering about and buying nothing, I settled for a Frocoa at Second Cup and some Textropolis on my phone. Now THAT is the good life.



Shannon picked me up when she was done work and we headed over to Pacific Mall (read: fake goods from China + Japanese cosmetics + cellphones + bootlegged Korean dramas). My kind of place.





Shannon treated me to some ball-waffle things and we both bought some completely authentic Chanel and LV scarves. Successful shopping trip!

We enjoyed a home-cooked dinner with a bottle of wine and caught up on the last handful of years of life. When Brent (Shannon’s other half) got home, I apparently talked his ear off. Sorry Brent! Get some wine into me and you’ll likely hear about all of my life plans. I wouldn’t make a good spy.

The next morning I wandered off downtown once again while the hosts worked, as I was determined to take home a Toronto memento. I hopped off at Dundas Square once again, and it was blistering hot with a little Canadian mayhem everywhere. The Times Square of the North.





I spent some time at The Bay on Queen Street and attracted quite a lot of attention from the staffers for my Comme des Garçons shoes – the one lady kept bringing more and more staff around as I perused the racks and we chatted about fashion. What a breath of fresh air! People who don’t think I look ridiculous…in Canada! I eyed some Junya Watanabe dresses up and down and gently stroked the fabric of some amazing coats, but I just can’t bring myself to spend that coin when I know I can run over to Japan and get them for less…and that damn HST in Ontario is 13 percent. Purchase killer.

After another Frocoa at Eaton Centre, I hopped on the TTC again and headed down to Bloor.





I plucked through Holt Renfrew on Bloor but I’m not going to lie – the customer service at Holt’s always turns me off. They are always filled with snobby people who cater to Asians. They only help you if you flag them down and even then they treat you with only feigned interest. Ick. One time I had tracked down a pair of Alexander Wang Ines shoes in my size at Holt’s in Vancouver and the guy who was “helping” me stared at his cuticles and the ceiling while half-heartedly telling me that the shoe (which was far too narrow) could be stretched and then it might fit, but of course, if it didn’t work, I’d be stuck with ill-fitting $500 shoes. Gee, thanks. But again, I digress. I did end up buying something at Holt’s in Toronto, but only because it caught my eye - a gorgeous, red and black Givenchy leopard-print scarf. The saleslady proceeded to wrap it around her own head before tucking it into a bag for me. Um, thanks.



It was Friday, so we headed out for a night on the town. We gussied ourselves up and headed down to the club district for dinner and drinks at Crocodile Rock. Yeah, that was the actual name. Sad. But again, PATIO!


I found this guy on the TTC. In case you couldn’t tell, he just gave off this “cool” vibe. Yeah.





We hung about until the dance floor livened up and I would have danced…had the game not been broadcast on the big screen. GO CANUCKS!


Yeah, they lost. Boo.

Chris was in town, coincidentally, the same weekend I was and stopped by the club to say hi. “Hi Chris! See you back in Vancouver!


Actually, that wave was for Shannon before she headed outside…so yeah.

What does one do after a night of drinking? Head for Asian soup, of course. Where in Japan I would always go for ramen, I now found myself wandering the streets of Toronto in the early hours looking for pho. Hook me up, Vietnamese people!



Next up, a long-weekend with the Bourne-Penner team. Tomorrow, Niagara Falls, then diving deep into Toronto sub-culture the day after. Ah, I miss our adventures already.