Finding Toronto

ahh this is the life (High Park)

Apart from being in Waterloo schooling for the past four years and spending my first six months of life in small town Saskatchewan (don't ask), I've lived in Toronto all my life.

The city has always been loved by its inhabitants, envied by some, and hated by everyone else mainly for being "too Americanized". I would fall into the "loved" category in describing my relationship with the city. Since I was 12 I've been travelling via the TTC all over the Toronto. More recently, It has become my conscious quest to discover every unique neighborhood, street, attraction, event etc... The majority of Toronto residents don't even realize how much there is to see and do in Toronto and how much of that involves nothing more than a TTC token and some walking shoes.

Here are two of my favourite places to go in Toronto that don't involve breaking the bank. I'll keep updating this throughout the summer.

High Park is the ideal place to spend a day without spending a cent. There's 398 acres of walking space at your disposal along with a zoo (With llamas!!!), public pool, and an adventure playground (I know you are too old for this but as soon as you see it you'll be wanting to play 'I'm the king of the castle'). Fan of Mister Shakespeare? Thou art in luck. Canstage presents Shakespeare in the park for your viewing pleasure. Bring a blanket, some food, perhaps a bottle of wine/ multiple beer bottles, and enjoy a green High Park afternoon (not THAT kind of green, you naughty people).

**Also, the Bloor West area around high park (on Bloor St., obviously) has some cute shops and great restaurants. The Yellow Griffin, for example, has the most unbelievable selection of burgers so if you have some extra cash, I would recommend spending it there :).


Harbourfront Festivals. Not only is the Harbourfront a cool place to walk around at night, but they offer some really great festivals all summer long. The great thing about these fests is that most of their attractions are FREE! Events such as Smirnoff's Beats, Breaks & Culture and Canadian Voices offer free shows and demonstrations while the South Asian food festival can fill you up on samples and educate you on cultural cooking. For a list of summer festivals at the h-front, click here.

Stay tuned for some more Toronto hot spots and events.

Anywhere you'd like to see on here? Comment away!