You can see some photos of the newly-completed building where I'm living here. If you click on 'Building Evolution' and play the clip, my place is just above the left-hand blue bit on the hoarding...so, I don't get the great views of the skyscraper rooftops and the lake but I do get a view of the rather lovely St. James' Cathedral and lots of firefighters as they fly past with their sirens blaring at least five times a night!! The noise is the only downside...it's not the quietest part of town...but that's the price you pay for being in the heart of the city.
It's just two minutes walk to the historic St Lawrence Market and there's loads of cafes, bars and restaurants in that area as well as a cinema, supermarket and pretty Victorian park on my doorstep. The other weekend the area was buzzing as it was Buskerfest and so I had fun watching the performers from all over the world. I'm also just off Queen Street which has lots of trendy shops, cafes and bars at the West end and the rather laid back and chilled Beaches area beside the lake in the East. Both areas are really interesting and fun to wander around.
A couple of weekends ago I also explored a few other local districts in Toronto. One is the Danforth area, renowned for its Greek population and the other is known as Little India. Both areas were having cultural festivals and were very lively and colourful. The food, especially the spanikopita and curry (not together!), was great!
For my birthday a couple of months ago Jo and Ian bought me a pair of tickets to see The Magic Numbers play here in Toronto. Whilst delighted to receive them, I was rather stumped as I had no idea who they were. Anyway, having managed to track them down on MySpace I realised I had actually heard a lot of their songs, had hummed along to a few of their tracks on the radio and liked their music a lot! I'm not exactly as up to speed on the music scene as I was once was. I think Jess got a similar 'Who?' response from me when she suggested a group of us see Amy Winehouse play last year! Anyway, the other week we went along to the graffitied 'Lee's Palace', which we thought sounded more like a Chinese restaurant than a concert hall, to watch them play. We were a bit freaked out at the start by the support act as he was a very blond cherub-like looking guy in an alice band with a moustache and Malcolm McClaren fashion sense (very tight lime green and black checked trousers). He stood on his tippy toes throughout his set. This may have been because of his tight trousers which I also suspect had something to do with why he sang in a very high, very camp way!! It was not pleasant on the ears. Anyway, things improved once the long-haired ones, The Magic Numbers, arrived. It was a great gig and we really enjoyed it. Thanks Jo and Ian! You should be able to hear one of their tracks below...just in case you are sitting there going "Who?" as well!
Last week, my mum and dad arrived and spent a few days with me here in Toronto before flying out west to Calgary. It was great to see them and I think they enjoyed their first few days sightseeing in Canada. Dad seemed to overcome his vertigo and spent two hours snapping the view from the CN Tower at every angle and mum was in heaven at the Bata Shoe Museum! We also managed to sneak in the first night of the Toronto International Film Festival and went along to the world premiere of Neil Jordan's new film, The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster, both of whom attended along with various other Hollywood players.
So far, I've had a fantastic time attending various festival films and events. My number of star-spots is now into double figures. The list to date is as follows:
George Clooney; Matt Damon; Ben Afleck; Reese Witherspoon; Jake Gyllenhall; Helen Hunt; Jodie Foster; Sean Penn; William Hurt; Tilda Swinton; Aaron Eckhart; and, Clive Owen...and, it's only day four!
I'm actually volunteering at the festival the rest of this week doing five shifts after work. I'm working at one of the 'red carpet' venues and it's a really beautiful theatre complex called the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres. It's the only double-decker theatre complex still in operation. I'm officially what is known as a 'seat guard' - a position for which I had to submit my resume and be screened!! I think this prestigious position means I ...ermm...guard the seats! But...not just any seats...the seats of the powerful, the rich and the famous. I'm just happy to be able to be part of the whole thing and as well as all the glitzy stuff you get to see some very thought-provoking films. Today, I saw a film about Rwanda and was very moved to be in the same room as retired General Romeo Dallaire, who defied UN orders to withdraw his forces during the genocide.
The festival continues all week and then I fly over to Vancouver to meet up with my parents for about 10 days touring the area, which I'm looking forward to very much. Anyway, I shall sign off here as I have a date for which I can't be late as it's with George...in my dreams!
