We have had four communal dinners since returning from Canada a week ago. Our family and friends are fascinated by the stories of our travels, especially of the many things we managed to do in 15 days: 7 nights downtown Toronto, 3 nights Mississauga, 3 nights Ottawa-Gatineau, 2 nights Montreal. I had to expressly make the point that such an itinerary would be impossible without the participation, advice and help from my Toronto Cousins.
Given that Toronto is a mere seven hours’ flight from London I feel silly for not considering a visit earlier. There is a wealth of things to see, eat and do here. Toronto is the capital of Ontario, Canada’s financial and cultural hub and its most populous city (3 million).
We arrived late on Friday and only managed dinner out (at Alouette near our serviced apartment) before retiring to catch some sleep. This set us up well for an early start the next day. In my planning the one thing I wanted to do on Saturday was to visit the Farmer’s Market section of St Lawrence Market. This is in a separate new building on the north side of the main market, and open only once a week. If I did not make it this Saturday, then I would not make it at all.
St Lawrence Farmer’s Market (top) and the main market building (bottom)
The 7 am start at the market was totally worth it to see the bountiful fall harvest on display. Although our apartment had a kitchen, I was also on holiday, so I just bought some apples, cherry tomatoes, cider (which is what Canadians call pressed apple juice) and two heads of sweetcorn.
I only took photos of the fruits, vegetables and flowers. The Farmer’s Market also sells cheese, meat, fish, dairy produce, eggs and baked goods.
Autumnal squash and pumpkin
Flowers and peppers
Mushrooms
Cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage
Onions and potatoes
Courgettes, chard and Brussels sprouts
Carrots, turnips and beetroot
Beans and the sweetcorn of my dreams
Grapes and peaches
The apple stall I fell in love with
This was just the start of the day. At 9 am we met up with my cousins to meet Toronto Uncle (their dad, who is my mother’s elder brother) for a dim sum brunch. I bought Uncle a bag of apples because ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’. After our brunch we dropped by a shopping mall, then on to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
I will write about some of the food stalls in St Lawrence Market in a separate post. This includes Carousel Bakery, Blackbird Baking Company, St Urbain Bagel Bakery and Eve’s Temptations. The McMichael Canadian Art Gallery also gets its own post. Even as I look back on our first full day in Canada, I can see that this was the start of a most beautiful relationship.