Loving the big smoke

We spent a chunk of last week in Toronto, Ontario--visiting, shopping, sightseeing, whatnot. Being in a big city was quite the shock after a winter of country life 5 miles outside a town that basically closes at 6pm. So exciting to be on the streets PAST DARK and be able to shop and eat and jostle in the crowds with abandon. Here are a few highlights:

We hit the Bright Pearl restaurant on Spadina Avenue. They have dim sum there all day every day. This is my dream come true, for reals. We got the full cart treatment and stuffed ourselves with siu mai, har gow, savory greens, fried wontons, rice noodle rolls, and many other shrimpy delights. Plus the Bright Pearl has a cool exterior, done up like a yellow Chinese temple with green roof. AWESOME.

We went to many many bookstores--lots were on College St. Balfour Books has used books and old books and aulde books and antique books. Dragon Lady Comics and Paper Nostalgia is close by where you can find a Life magazine with Greta Garbo lounging on the cover, or a copy of Ebony with Richard Pryor lounging in the exact same position. She Said Boom has stacks of CDs and some LPs besides tall tall bookshelves. And even further east the U of T bookstore has a pretty bitchin' collection of new books. We also checked out Seeker's Books and Book City on Bloor Street, and a branch of Indigo! at Bay & Bloor.

For culture we hit Queen's Park (the pink granite provincial parliament building smack in the middle of town) and watched the government and the opposition hollering at each other across the room. The Textile Museum of Canada had some excellent exhibits of fabrics from Mali, Indonesia, Tennessee, all over. Plus a CRAZY exhibit of giant dead insects pinned to the walls in ornate repeating patterns. Also after much hunting we located the Gallery of Inuit Art in the lobby of one of the highrises way downtown. No explanations about what the pieces are, but very interesting to look at these works of raw arctic beauty in the middle of a sunny day in the financial district.

Also found a cool store full of organic fabrics, healthy candles and recycled stuff: Grassroots. There appear to be just 2 branches I think. Me likes, especially the washable diaper section.