If you’ve been a longtime reader of UnrestingSea, you’ve probably read Toronto by Suggestion, when my friend Lara and I stayed in a hostel and rode bikes around the city in the summer. I’ve been eager to return since.
I recently road tripped back, husband in tow, for a Christmas-themed trip to Toronto. This trip was quite different from the last, but just as fun. Toronto knows how to celebrate the holidays. There are plenty of Christmas things to do in Toronto that are fun, romantic, and affordable. Here are some ideas that you could do for a weekend trip to Toronto – Christmas themed!
This is a good thing, because the crowds are growing and the queue to enter is lengthening. Judging by the masses of friends, families, photographers, and couples, we’re in for a holiday treat.
We’re waiting to experience one of Toronto’s top attractions for the holiday: the Toronto Christmas Market.
Christmas markets aren’t new. They’ve remained in our history for centuries, originating in Germany/Austria around the early 1400s. For a tradition so rooted in our human history, this is only our first time visiting one. It’s a holidate for me and my newlywed husband, Eric.
The historic Distillery District is the perfect backdrop for the Toronto Christmas Market. It’s an industrial mill repurposed as a pedestrian-only block, now home to art galleries, boutiques, and unique restaurants. Founded in the 1800s, the buildings in the Distillery District add to the nostalgia of the atmosphere.
Where to go on a long weekend getaway from Metro Detroit? Perhaps you’ve seen my first post, with 5 attainable road trips close to home. In that list, all the suggestions were out of Michigan but still stateside. Here we’re taking it up a notch – we’re dusting off that passport (or enhanced license) and hopping the border.
I’ve once been of the thought that “Canada doesn’t count” as a new country to visit, since it’s a ridiculously fast drive to foreign land. But our neighbor to the north deserves more attention when it comes to new destinations to visit for a long weekend road trip.
The rules for this small list were simple: The location must be (1.) in Canada, (2.) less than 300 miles away (3.) a fun place to visit. Note: distances were calculated from Campus Martius in Detroit.
They are realistic, achievable, affordable and not too far away from home. Here it is: 5 attainable INTERNATIONAL long weekend getaways from Metro Detroit.
“Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy.”
This was a piece of Graffiti Alley in Toronto that caught my attention. It was neither the colorful paint nor underwater mural that stopped my tracks to ponder.
Rather, it was a monochromatic parchment/paper seemingly glued to the building facade. Now I know this is a certain type of street art, I’ve seen it in Detroit, but I’m no street artist so if anyone wants to enlighten me with the true name of this medium, your teaching moment is welcome.
This line, “Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy” has marinated in my mind for its mystery and thought provocation. What does it mean? Who left this note?
At first this was going to be a one-paragraph post introducing the triggering line and photo and letting the thoughts simmer. However, because I prefer fact-checking prior to posting, I did a tiny Google search to see what I could uncover about this tiny piece of street art. Once again, I’m sitting here amazed at the little slices of travel, seemingly insignificant, but part of a larger pie that creates learning moments that I’ll carry to other corners of the world in our big interconnected humanity.
Turns out, this is the work of Leonard Cohen. I believe it to be a page pulled from his publication, “The Book of Longing.” Perhaps this is a household name in Canada, but there was no recognition when I saw this name (maybe I’m showing my ignorance, but at least I’m honest). He’s a renowned singer-songwriter/musician and novelist with various honors, awards and accolades over his career. Still not ringing a bell? Me neither. But as soon as I heard this song, which he composed, the lightbulb illuminated and I said, YES! HALLELUJAH – the cultural connection has been made!
Back to the street art. “Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy.” Perhaps it was drugs, or ego, or a negative relationship that the character let go for everything to bring happiness. My thoughts are that it’s something potentially destructive that would bring false happiness. Like, binge eating an entire box of Girl Scout Cookies (ha). But this is taken out of context; perhaps if I possessed the book, I’d have the answer. Or maybe we don’t receive an answer and need to determine it for ourselves anyway. And maybe there’s a reason this page is meant to be stumbled upon in an alley filled with swirling paint and colorful images.
This was the case when Lara & I ventured north for a long weekend. The purpose was for a dear friend’s wedding, but the time in between was left to the wind. We decided to have a “Toronto by Suggestion” trip – we did a Facebook poll of our friends for suggestions, asked our hostel receptionists for suggestions, walked up to random people on the street for suggestions and from there, our trip was mapped and unfolded with each step we took. This allowed for flexibility & discovery. It’s like the scarecrow in Wizard of Oz… “Pardon me… that way is a very nice way. It’s pleasant down that way too!”
Random is fun and freeing. If we didn’t take the random approach, we wouldn’t have contributed to Canada’s largest gum art installation or enjoyed free pizza & gelato. We wouldn’t have snagged secrets from locals that may not have been in the guidebooks.
It was like seeing an old friend again, for the first time in 14 months. First there was the excitement (“I can’t wait to do this!”), then the worry (“Is this the right choice? Going through with this?”), then the anticipation (“This better go well… what if this doesn’t go well?”), then the reassurance (“Of COURSE things will be fine!”). And finally when you meet again, all those feelings get mixed together like a pool of hot bubbling paint and you just gotta dive right in and hope you emerge feeling warm & colorful rather than burned & sewage-brown (because let’s face it, all those paint colors mixed together don’t always produce Majestic Mountain Purple).
Okay, maybe this isn’t a very good analogy because I’ve never encountered any pools of bubbling paint in my lifetime. Really I’m talking about booking & staying at a hostel. (more…)
