Buon appetito!

Image Credit: Stacy Kelly, 2012

This past Sunday saw us head over to enjoy the sights, smells, and--most importantly--tastes of Taste of Little Italy.

Mark was especially happy to enjoy some yummy gelato at Dolce-- he had a big grin after devouring a cup of a scoop of pistachio and a scoop of chocolate.

We really enjoyed spending some time in this vibrant neighbourhood which, given the ongoing battle for the EuroCup, was especially bedazzled with folks flying all sorts of flags for their "clan" back in the old country. 

After walking around Little Italy we strolled eastward right into the heart of Chinatown to browse the great trading shops for luggage, clothes, and food. Then we just kept on walking south to King Street, and headed west, where we checked out the awesome patagonia store (drool) and then ended up at Foggy Dew Pub for a pint.

Prepping for Biebs

About 200 feet from my office sits the iconic neo-gothic building on Queen Street West that has been home to MuchMusic since it launched in August 1984.

These past few days there has been pure chaos as the parking lot adjacent to the site is being transformed into the stage for the 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards Show. 

I took this photo during my lunch break, and while it does not do the setup justice, it captures the fun hullabaloo of the massive preparations for one of pop music's' biggest awards nights.

According to the official guests page, super power couple Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez will be presenting/performing, as well as a host of other youthful acts I have never heard of...Oh well, apparently my ancient demographic is supposed to watch MuchMore.

A Taste of Toronto

Image Credit: Taste of Toronto

We started this past very hot and humid weekend with an art gallery tour on Saturday morning; starting at nearby Gladstone Hotel, where we saw That's So Gay and the SpeakEasy Spring Art Fair exhibitions.

We then continued along West Queen West to see what was showing at the Edward Day Gallery (which used to be in Kingston) as well as to the Stephen Bulger Gallery to check out the incredible works of Sanaz Mazinani. 

On Sunday we were kindly picked up by our friends Patrick and Raymond (see the Wellington Street Art Gallery) who drove us to the wonderful Distillery District to take in the 1000 Tastes of Toronto, a food festival that's part of Luminato--North America's largest arts festival--to showcase the culinary options in this great city.

Food tickets were $5 each and, unlike similar food events I've attended, the portions were quite large. Mark and I started with a lovely grilled chicken and brie on a baguette, followed by a nice pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw, and finished off with a paper bucket of mussels. Patrick and Raymond enjoyed the same starter as us but their second option was Thai sausage with mango and fresh oysters. Despite being shockingly hot and very crowded it was a hoot and great to see so many folks out enjoying such a distinctive neighbourhood of the city.

After hanging out for a couple of hours at their gallery, we then all headed with another friend to nearby David Pecaut Square to listen to a series of musicians covering Rufus Wainwright, in advance of Rufus himself taking the stage. Unfortunately, by the time Rufus was just about to come on stage, the hours in the heat and sun and the large crowds had taken its toll on us, so we actually headed home to chill out.

Silly rabbits indeed but we really enjoyed the city this weekend; marvelling at the diversity, the festivals, events, and stimulating environment within Toronto. There is so much going on within a small radius of our apartment. It's impossible to take it all in (Luminato runs for 10 days, for example) but we are doing our best to cherry-pick and get a taste of the treats of being in a major metropolis.