Despite only living in Toronto for just over a month now, I have become quite an expert on the city and its many neighborhoods.  Much like my interests in the past, my knowledge and curiosity seems to be motivated by food–with an emphasis on sweets (e.g. La Bamboche, Miss Cora’s Kitchen, Suckers).  That’s not to say that public art or festivals or water in any way, shape, or form doesn’t pique my interest, but searching for a place to eat or a new market always gets me going.

Through my wanderings, I have found “the place” that I go to for all my regular shopping needs.  There’s “the place” in Kensington Market with the cheap, fresh produce and the one with all the bulk foods I could ever dream of needing, and “the place” in Chinatown that’s always packed with people that I go to for soy milk and mushrooms.  I find it to be great fun discovering “the place” that I will endorse when someone is looking for such-and-such items.  I end up going to the markets several times a week (though I am not sure that practice will continue in the fall), shopping based on freshness and what I am craving.  To some, this might be a burden, but I enjoy the luxury; you never know what you’re going to find.

Surprisingly enough, people who live in the area or even in Toronto proper, did not know about these places until I pointed them out.  It has become this phenomenon where me, the new girl, knows the city better than the residents.  I find myself pointing out all “the places” I frequent and what I like to purchase there.  I have developed my own insider’s guide and love sharing it with other people–especially the ones who are supposed to know the area well.  It seems that I have become an excellent tour guide for the city I just moved to.  When my family visited this past weekend for Fourth of July (which, as a reminder, is just like any other day in Canada; no fireworks or vacation days), they, too, were surprised by how many places I knew about and that, despite visiting the city a number of times before, they were all new to them.

My exploration has kept me happy and excited about the city.  I have plans to maintain this attitude, even through the highly-anticipated winter.  As one of the characters in Up! is known to say (quoting her hero), “Adventure is out there!” and I think I subscribe to that belief full-heartedly.