Kensington Market downtown Toronto

For generations, people of diverse origins have lived and worked along the narrow streets of this colourful and distinctive neighbourhood.

In the mid-19th century these streets were laid over the Denison family estate.

The tightly knit blocks of businesses, homes and community institutions evolved as successive waves of immigrants, attracted by the relative affordability of the area, added their cultural imprint to the city.

The district was first occupied by British workers, then by Jewish immigrants who converted the Victorian houses into small small family-run stores by adding makeshift ground-floor shops.

As a result, the area was known for decades as the Jewish market.  After the Second World War, new Canadians from Italy, Portugal, Western Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia were drawn here, each in turn adding to the vibrant life of this culturally diverse marketplace.

Below, beyond the park and houses of the streets of Kensington Market, the financial district of downtown Toronto and the CN tower.

The synagogue is next to the park, part of the rich history of this place.

Tolerance and integration have been vital to the development of this cosmopolitan community, which is distinguished by constant renewal.

Filled with scents and sounds from around the world, Kensington Market recalls the history of the Canadian urban immigrant experience.

In a short time, we met some wonderful people from different parts of the world, it really is fascinating experiencing life in one of the most diverse cities in the world.

Ontario Science Centre

Since being in Canada, this is one of the best things we have invested in for the kids.  We bought a family membership at the Ontario Science Centre. We have been weekly since we bought the membership, there is so much to do and although we have been several times now, we have still not had the time to see every part of it.  This wonderful educational experience (for both young and old alike I must stress) is a place I strongly recommend to anyone wanting to be inspired to think about this mind blowing universe we live in.  It is certainly well worth the visit, learning and acquiring knowledge is something that continues with our journey of life, this place is amazing at enthusing and encouraging this in every part…if you are receptive to it.

At the moment, there is the Red Bull Stratos exhibition focussing on Felix Baumgartner’s stupendous feats and accomplishments, namely his supersonic free fall.  It is brilliant, it reminds you how a human, when they totally focus and set their heart on something, can achieve something that most people on the planet will never, ever experience.  A truly formidable and awe inspiring achievement this man achieved, I totally admire and respect what he has done.

Other than this, the photos below show just ‘some’ of the fantastic areas on offer, as I stated, I certainly recommend to anyone interested in igniting that spark we all have within us to make time for a visit…or more.

Fatimah describes this place as “Fascinating, interesting, lots of fun and really awesome!”, and it really was on this crisp, clear and fresh day.

https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/