Toronto and Things

Some of you may notice, some of you may not but I enjoy starting every New Year someplace I’ve never been before. So last year it was my year with the tiny human and he was afraid of flying and since I knew we had Disney coming up at the end of that year and if he didn’t like flying I didn’t want it to ruin our getting to Disney. So I decided that he and I should go someplace that was within driving distance. He had been saying he wanted to go to Canada so I decided now’s the time! Let’s go to Canada!

We started our road trip and drove about halfway the first night and ended up somewhere in upstate New York in some little area I’ve never heard of before. Honestly, the area gave me the creeps just a lil bit.

The following day we finished our drive to Canada. Kiddo has now officially been international… sort of… I mean, he didn’t cross any oceans or anything. Before heading to our destination we stopped at Niagara Falls. It was cold. It was a little rainy. It wasn’t really fun, but as a toddler, he really enjoyed seeing waterfalls and he’s never seen one that big. So I was really happy to be able to take him there. And he seemed really excited to see it.

After that it was on to our friend’s house to pay him a visit. A good friend of mine that I knew from working in film and TV in the city had moved to Canada the summer before COVID happened. When I went into the city to say good-bye to him that August, it was only the 2nd time the kiddo got to meet him. But over the COVID years we would video chat and text often. Or more, he and I would text often and he and the lil would video chat. With us going to Canada we decided it would be good to stop by and see him. So we went over to see him, we had dinner, we slept, and the next day went to the Legoland Discovery Center.

The Legoland Discovery Center was having a Noon Year’s Eve thing, they had a balloon drop, a bunch of the costume characters, and he built a bunch of things. Him and our friend made a car that they sent down the track over and over again. I’m not a big fan of the Legoland Discovery Centers typically but I think this one was well put together. I feel like some are really small and don’t really have much to do, especially for the price that they charge. But this one has the main large room in the center and then there were these other rooms that came off of it with more specific activities. They also had rides and a fast service food spot. The execution of the Noon Year’s Eve party was done well and all the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

After our trip to LDC we bid farewell to our friend and we headed to our hotel for some swimming and room service. Kiddo fell asleep and I watched J Hope I’m Rockin Eve. I was super sad I wasn’t there in New York to see him but was grateful that Rockin’ Eve was playing on TV in Toronto.

When we woke, or well when he woke as I actually made the ball drop, it was now 2023 and we finally made it to Toronto proper. We started our Toronto jaunt at the Disney immersive exhibit. The kiddo loves these things– we’ve done the Van Gogh, we’ve done the Monet, we’ve done a couple other ones. This one was my least favorite. I liked the rooms leading up to the immersive as there was a lot of information and some drawing stations. I enjoyed learning about some of the Disney artists but the actual immersive part was really disappointing. I didn’t feel like they did a very good job of making you feel like you were in it. It was more or less just watching it on a very large screen. I felt the transitions between scenes were poorly done as well. I would not suggest anyone go see the Disney Immersive Experience.

From there we headed over to Kensington Market but sadly much of it was closed due to the holiday. However, the Japanese cafe, Little Pebbles, was open and we got some really delicious croissants. After that somewhat disappointing turn at Kensington made a quick stop at Daan Go Cake Lab to pick up some really cute macaroons. I’m not a macaroon fan myself but these things were gorgeous. The people working there are truly artists. I’m sad we were not there when they had their BT21 line out but these were still super cute. Besides macaroons they make tons of other really cute stuff as well.

We of course had to visit KTown. Again we were met with many businesses closed for the holiday. Some of the cute shops I really wanted to go into were all closed up but we needed lunch. This was evident from the stubbornness I was getting from the lil one. I was getting frustrated and at this time a little old Korean lady, a 할머니, came over and spoke with Leo. She told him to listen to me and that I love him and then gave him an envelope which I later saw had 5 Canada dollars in it. What a sweet sweet lady. Not for giving him the money but for what she said to me. She told me to pick my battles and that it goes fast and to just enjoy it. When you’re in these moments of frustration or other unpleasant feelings it can be hard to remember. But she was absolutely right.

Now that we were needing food I did a google search and a Korean BBQ place came up. We had never done Korean barbecue before. I am always nervous about it because every time I’m back home and I go into an Asian restaurant they seem to expect me to know everything. And it’s very hard for me, it makes me feel inferior. But I decided to give it a try. Hell we’re in a different country, I’d probably never see these people again anyway so we went in. After looking at the menu for a while the server came back over. I said listen, I’ve never done this before, so I don’t really know what to order or what to do. The server was so kind. He explained to me the most popular items and what the kids usually like. I followed his lead and ordered exactly that. They brought over all the bonchon, which is all the side dishes. They were delicious, the lil loved a bunch of them too. The server was so nice. He cooked the meat so I could watch how it was done and now I understand and know how to do Korean barbecue. But at that point I had no idea and to have someone who was so nice with no judgment at all to just be like. Yeah, so this is what you do. This is how you do it. It was such a relief for me.

The other spot we made it to was Kim’s Convenience. The real one. I had tried watching the show a couple of years ago and didn’t really get it so stopped after a season. But once I started learning more about my culture and saw Simu Liu in Shang Chi I decided to give it another go and it was hilarious! So being in Toronto we had to make the pilgrimage. Or more I had to and he had to come along for the ride, literally. The man was really nice and when he saw me taking photos he asked me if I was a fan of the show. I had told him yes and he gave me a face mask printed with the Kim’s Convenience logo on it. The building was sold recently, so I’m not sure how long Kim’s Convenience will be there, but if you’re in Toronto and it’s there, please support this small business! Then afterwards head to the Korean BBQ spot, Mapo, and eat some amazing food. I began following the restaurant on IG and it appears whenever any KCelebs are in Toronto they head to Mapo so don’t just take my word for it!

Our final stop in Canada before we crossed back over to the states was Toys R Us. Like a REAL one. Toys are Us was having their liquidation sale in the states while I was pregnant so I got a lot of good deals but the joy of going into a Toys R Us was something my child had yet to experience. Sure there was that attempt to bring the chain back that failed, Thanks Covid, then the pop ups in Target that didn’t seem to last and finally their new home in Macy’s. I’ve been to two of the Macy’s ones, one being at the flagship Macy’s at Herald Square in Manhattan and I was still disappointed. So taking him into a real Toys R Us, a brick and mortar Toys R Us and only Toys R Us was fantastical. We bought some things then made our way back to the creepy New York town for the night before heading home the next day.

I do certainly feel like there is a lot to still see of Toronto as I didn’t actually hit any of the real touristy spots and I want to see all the MLB stadiums one day and the Blue Jays do not play in December. Heading back to Toronto is definitely on the list. What are some of your favorite spots in Toronto? And what do you think is overrated and can be skipped? Drop your answers in the comments!

Oh right, we went to the Poop Cafe too, cause… kids.