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Toronto Travel: Buskerfest – Fireeater skateboard trick

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:07:36 +0000

This video clip was taken on August 26, 2007 during my cycling trip to Buskerfest, a great street festival that brings together musicians, acrobats, jugglers and other street performers. I cycled in from Toronto’s east end through the Tayler Creek Park system, headed south through the Don Valley, made a quick stop at the Allen Gardens Conservatory as well as at St. James Cathedral until I finally reached the festival area which ran along Front Street all the way from Jarvis to Yonge Street. The streets were blocked off to traffic and large crowds started to form in the early afternoon. I first caught a high-energy performance by one of my favourite musicians – Dr. Draw whose acrobatic electronic violin playing is something to behold. Various performances of magicians, fire eaters, mimes and trampoline acrobats kept the crowd entertained. I also caught a 45 minute show by “Dynamike” whose comedic gift and witty comments, whose ability to juggle a burning chain saw and ride a 3 m high unicycle (while juggling) had the crowd in awe. Many retailers were selling jewelry, clothing and other decorative items, while several restaurants had also set up booths to quench the hunger of the crowd. Sushi, shish-kabobs, roasted corn and delicious crepes were just some of the items available to taste. As the afternoon went on the crowds got thicker, attesting to the success of this popular festival. I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations as well as …

Toronto Travel: Toronto Biking Tour -Entering University of Toronto campus

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:16:44 +0000

This video clip was taken during my biking tour on July 7, 2007. I rode from Toronto’s east end through Riverdale, stopped for a brief visit at Riverdale Farm and the adjacent Necropolis, then continued on through picturesque Cabbagetown, past Yonge Street on to Queens Park and the University of Toronto campus. I had a little lunch on Baldwin Street, a really cool street with lots of different ethnic restaurants, and then cycled on towards the Rogers Centre, Toronto’s baseball stadium with the retractable roof, and the Harbourfront entertainment area and then back home through the Beaches. The clips from this biking trip are part of my “Toronto Favourites” series and many more of these discoveries are to come. I am actually a travel writer, and whenever I am not out of town, I write about the city that I live in: Toronto, a city that has many cool places. I love to get out and explore the city and discover some new cool spots, and now you can enjoy them with me. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http//www.travelandtransitions.com. My personal travel stories are located at www.travelandtransitions.com Also, my FREE travel ebooks containing stories from my trips to destinations such as Sicily, Havana, Mexico City, New York City, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax and many others are going up right now at www.travelandtransitions.com

Travel | Toronto Business Directory

admin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:15:07 +0000

www.directorytoronto.com DirectoryToronto.com is an online web directory suppling news about Toronto business, education, finance, mortgages & loans, sports & recreation, travel, entertainment, health clinics, real estate, Ontario government, shopping, East York shopping & services

Toronto Travel: Toronto Skating Tour: Dufferin Grove Park

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:13:13 +0000

A clip ice skating at a family orientated public all ages ice rink on a brisk -20C January Day, skates rent for $2.00! Home grown local dinner for $6.00 on Friday evenings only.Great place for inexpensive night out, SAFE and lots fun

Toronto Travel: Toronto walking tour: Chinatown & former Victory Theatre

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:19:04 +0000

These video clips were taken during my walking tour with famous Toronto historian and tour guide Bruce Bell on July 16, 2007. After meeting at the famous and eclectic OCAD Building (I call it the “gift box on stilts”) just south of the University of Toronto, Bruce took us past the Grange, Toronto’s oldest building, past the Art Gallery of Toronto to some of the mansions along Beverley and Baldwin Streets. Along the way Bruce explained to us the early history of Toronto, and the family compact — a group of extremely wealthy and powerful English families that used to rule Toronto in the early days. We then walked westwards to Chinatown and the ethnic mix of the Kensington Market area which started as a Scottish market, then became a popular Jewish residential area in the 1910s and 1920s (evidenced by two local synagogues) and morphed into the diverse, multicultural and hip neighbourhood that it is today. Vendors sell fruits, vegetables, cheeses, dry goods, meat, fish, vintage clothing and all sorts of other unique items in this Bohemian neighbourhood. A great variety of different ethnic restaurants caters to eclectic tastes. We then visited Denison Square and admired a statue of one of Toronto’s popular actors, Al Waxman, the “King of Kensington”. We then continued on our walk through busy Chinatown to Toronto’s Garment district along Spadina and Queen Avenues and then headed east along a variety of restaurants and bars on Queen Street West to end in front of the …

Toronto Travel Discoveries – Stores & restaurants in the Annex

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:13:59 +0000

What makes Toronto so special in my opinion is this collection of ecclectic neighbourhoods, organically grown residential areas that have history, character and vibrant street life. One of these neighbourhoods is the Annex. I started my discoveries of the Annex just south of Casa Loma, headed underneath the railway tracks on Howland Avenue and entered this popular area. One of the first sights that came into view was the Royal St. George’s College, an Anglican private school for boys that is the choir school for the Cathedral Church of St. James. Once arrived on Bloor I made my way to Bathurst Street past another Toronto landmark: Honest Ed’s, the landmark discount store opened by Ed Mirvish all the way back in 1948. Another landmark, the Metro Theatre, is apparently the last porno movie theatre left in Toronto. Further west I moved into the Korean area west of Bathurst. It was time for a late lunch so I decided to sample a vegetarian platter at Lalibela Restaurant, a popular Ethiopian restaurant on Bloor Street West. A huge platter featuring a combination of split peas, lentils, chick peas, cabbage and collard greens combined with the typical Ethiopian bread really hit the spot. After a very filling meal I walked back almost all the way to Spadina Avenue and admired the many boutiques and specialty stores. I discovered “hemp beer”, all sorts of ethnic giftware, vegetable and fruit stores, futon stores, funky restaurants and delicatessens and a whole lot more …

Toronto Travel: Toronto Skating Tour: Colonel Sam Smith Ice Trail Etobicoke

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:10:57 +0000

Skating on Boxing Day at Colonel Sam Smith Ice Trail along Toronto’s waterfront in Etobicoke

Toronto Travel Discoveries – St. Lawrence Hall – Cathedral

admin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 22:11:47 +0000

The St. Lawrence Market area is one of Toronto’s most historic areas. On a Saturday in late October I started my discoveries at the Gooderham Building, also called the “Flatiron Building, one of Toronto’s most well-known landmarks. Similar to it’s New York City namesake it is a triangular building, but it was built in 1892, 10 years before its NYC counterpart. Front Street in Toronto east of Yonge Street is the location of some historic Victorian townhouses that today house a variety of retail stores and cafes. Just east of there at Front and Jarvis is the St. Lawrence Market – one of Toronto’s most popular landmarks. It was first built in 1845 and originally housed Toronto’s first permanent city hall, the former Police Station #1 as well as a jail house. The market was expanded in 1899 and the big market hall on the south side was added. Today dozens of merchants sell anything from baked goods to cheeses, fruits and vegetables to different types of meat and seafood. All sorts of delicatessens are represented and there are even vendors selling giftware, clothing, art and souvenirs. I had a chance to interview some of the vendors on this busy market day. From here I made my way north to St. Lawrence Hall, one of Toronto’s most imposing historic buildings and one of its original meeting places. Just a few steps west at the intersection of King and Church Streets is St. James Cathedral, first opened in 1853, featuring the second highest church spire in Canada.

Toronto Travel: Riding through High Park neighbourhood

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:38:31 +0000

This video clip was taken on September 1, 2007 during my cycling trip to see the Canadian International Airshow which is always held on Labour Day weekend. I started in Toronto’s east end, cycled in on Gerrard Street through the colourful neighbourhoods of Little India and Toronto’s eastern Chinatown, both of which feature ethnic cuisine, vegetable, fruit and retail stores. Then I crossed the Don Valley Parkway and cycled by Regent Park, a public housing development from the 1950s and 1960s which has experienced significant social problems in the last few decades. A portion of Regent Park has been demolished to make way for a brand-new mixed housing development that will include low-income housing as well as middle-income housing. Right across the street from Regent Park is Cabbagetown, a neighbourhood that was originally settled by Irish immigrants that started to be settled as early as the late 1840s after a wave of poor immigrants left Ireland due to the Irish potato famine. These poor residents grew cabbage in their front yards, hence the name Cabbagetown. In the last few decades Cabbagetown has become increasingly popular and has seen extensive gentrification. I cycled through the relatively poor downtown east side to the intersection of Gerrard and Yonge; Yonge Street is the east-west dividing line in Toronto and used to be the longest street in the world. I then continued west on College Street, past Queen’s Park and the University of Toronto to the intersection of …

Win a Trip to India at the Toronto Travel Expo

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:15:06 +0000

Join us for the Toronto Travel Expo Oct 22nd and 23rd for your chance to win a trip to India with G Adventures along with lots of other great giveaways. www.flightcentre.ca Can’t make it down? Tune in to the live webcast: www.flightcentre.ca/live