A refreshing walk, a beautiful day, the girls absolutely loved this place as they were able to explore comfortably at their own leisure, the fallen and the falling leaves were a true joy, the smell in the air of the changing of the weather, the crisp and fresh air was totally rejuvenating…
Nature definitely speaks to us, we just need to be attentive and receptive to its message!
I can’t believe the weather, it’s the 5th of November and it is over 20 degrees, crazy but very, very welcome. We decided to make the most of the bliss day we had and visit the renowned Kensington Market in the heart of Toronto. I’m beginning to think that all this talk about it snowing in Toronto is all made up just to scare me so that I go back to the UK!
Kensington Market was very cool in my opinion, a very multicultural neighbourhood, some unique shops, so much creativity, and we met some lovely people, a Rastafarian shop owner was my absolute favourite! From what I know, it is also one of the most photographed markets or even places in Toronto. We will definitely be visiting again, I really, really like this place.
Favourite parts of the day: travelling on the tram and seeing the girls excitement, learning some of the unique names of stores, the eco friendly car, delectable ice cream, our three girls sat on three hip chairs outside Blue Banana Market, the ‘Espresso yourself’ sign in Dolce and a selfie with Nour in front of the CN Tower…a good day and the girls really loved it. Next time, anyone for chicken and waffles at Dirty Bird?
http://www.kensington-market.ca/Default.asp?id=home&l=1
Any mention of painting drives them crazy, by ‘them’ I mean my crazy, creative, courageous girls. They love it, and to be honest, it’s always a lot of fun, they make it a lot of fun.
However, today, I thought I would do a little experiment and see how Sara (the 2 year old going on 16) would react to a particular situation. What would she do if I placed my head (this beautiful brown, perfectly shaped object) in her way while she is painting? What would she do? How long would the reaction take? Would she react at all? Would she talk to me to gain some sort of consent? I was nervous, it was tense and let me tell you, I could see her thinking about it, what was she to do, how should she deal with this object? I could feel that she was poised to attack, just as a predator leaps on their prey!
OK, so I know this is a bit dramatic, because it actually is a little dramatic, the fact is, Sara took very little time to react, she basically looked at me, smiled at me, and then she slapped my head with both her hands and created a unique, let me repeat, a unique piece of art, and since this day, she wants to see the photos all the time. Sara keeps asking me in the most adorable way…’Baba, can I paint your head again, I like it, I really like it!’ The last photo will give the answer I always give her when she asks, it ‘will’ happen again, she will paint!
Just a few photos of the girls spending some time with their family and not really taking part in Halloween per se, but in their view (and their elder cousins I should add!) a fanatastic opportunity to collect a stash of sweets, candy, chocolate, the sticky chewy stuff, whatever you want to call it, that makes them go a little crazy…all free of charge, which is always welcome, sharing not an option…so grateful it only takes place once a year, but all good fun, and Sara (my Sara that is) is just totally adorable, I don’t even think she was aware what her cousin sisters stuck behind her…one for her wedding day photo I would suggest! You need to guess the others?
Just a short note to say that the weather is changing in Toronto, it’s getting much colder now! Prevention is better than cure they say, so some things just have to be covered, especially the outdoor swimming pool, and other things have to be put away. We have had a tiny bit of snow, not very much really, but I think we are just being teased, the cold is coming, oh yes it is!
Also below are some photos from my parents in laws apartment, they live in a penthouse apartment on the 30th floor, the views are fanatastic, and on top of that, there is a gym and swimming pool we have access to. The trees are all changing and there are fantastic colours on display at the moment, I suppose it’s natures way of telling us the cold is coming! In a couple of the photos you can see downtown Toronto and just about make out the famous CN tower (in the night shot it is difficult to make it out) and Ontario river in the background in the daytime photos, beautiful scenery to adorn the windows in your apartment!
This is a bit late, but we visited this market back in September, fantastic weather, awesome variety of food, beautiful architecture and not too far from downtown Toronto where I went to later on with Fatimah and Maryam, what joy! Will hopefully be visiting some more markets during our stay, I believe Kensington Market is in the plans, at least that’s what the girls keep telling me!
St. Lawrence Market is one of two major public markets in Toronto, the other being Kensington Market. It was named the world’s best food market by National Geographic in April 2012
http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/
The original plan was to go for a romantic walk with Nour to downtown Toronto without kids to celebrate our thirteenth anniversary, yippee!
However, little did I know that my wife’s nieces, both who are lovely, a little loopy but amazing souls, were also coming along…that’s Fatimah (22) and Sara (15), Fatimah probably thinks that she needs no introduction as the world should already be aware of her existence!
Further to my ignorance, I did not realise that these three lovely ladies had a plan to eat some Poutine. Poutine is a Canadian dish, originating in the province of Quebec, made with french fries and cheese curds topped with a light brown gravy-like sauce.
In addition to this, my ignorance was compounded by the fact that they were secretly re routing the romantic walk in downtown towards Krispy Kreme (the global American doughnut company).
Oh and by the way the way did I tell you that I also did not expect to get totally drenched in one of many downpours on is beautiful day!
http://smokespoutinerie.com/
So here it is, my first ever blog, very excited as I have no idea what I am really doing but hope that it will be lots of fun and games along the way! It is for family, friends, people who like me and those who don’t and those who simply want to know what other human beings are getting up to in their life! Continue reading “Nearly there…no idea what lies ahead!”
