Early morning. Saturday. Not enough sleep. I get up, get dressed, grab my bag, a bottle of water and I’m out the door in 5 minutes. I’m taking the metro downtown and from there the bus to Toronto. I’m running late, and I’m actually worried I’m going to miss my bus. It’s schedule to leave at 6:30 am and I’m running down the street at 6:29. I jump on board and the bus driver welcomes me. I grab my seat and a few minutes later we’re on our way. A close call but i’m on the bus. I get in a few snoozes between Montreal and Toronto as I was the scenery go by.
A little after 12:30 pm and we get into Toronto. I’m pretty hungry haven only eaten a small breakfast bar and a bottle of water. I spot a subway sandwich location and stop in to grab a light something to eat.
I’m going to mention that the date was September 22nd. At this point Canada is set to legalize marijuana on the 17th of October. A few short weeks away. I’m in downtown Toronto and have a few hours to kill before I can check into my AirBnB rented accommodation. I decide to smoke a little marijuana and walk around Toronto making my way towards Korea Town.
It took me an hour to an hour of walking to eventually reach Korea Town. I walked from Dundas and University in a large circle type fashion to eventually reach Christie Park. The sun was out but it wasn’t a very warm day. Spring was approaching and we had begun to feel it. None the less I sat down in the park and relaxed for a little bit.
After a half hour or so I picked up my bag and decided I would go have some ice-cream. There were a few handmade ice-cream shops not far from the park so I made my way to “Put a cone on it” and sat down to enjoy two scoops. One Strawberry and one Chocolate. Both were delicious and as I enjoyed the ice-cream I continued to research where I would eat Korean BBQ this evening.
I didn’t care that I was by myself, I was had a very small lunch and barely any breakfast. I was in Toronto, more specifically Korea Town and I was going to sit down and gorge myself on Korean bbq and Soju.
I walked down Bloor st, having narrowed down my list to two candidates. In the End Mapo Korean BBQ was the victor. I enjoyed the warmth I felt when looking through the window at the inside of the restaurant.
Before I would eat I would first go back to the park and spend a little time relaxing and digesting the ice cream. It must have been around 6 pm when I finally made my way to Mapo. I indicated I was only 1 person, they showed me to a smaller table and prepped the barbq plate while I looked over the menu.
I decide to purchase a large bottle of flavored soju. Specifically the apple flavored soju. I had never tried flavored soju and something about the apple appealed to me as a pairing with all the meat I was about to eat.
I ordered the minimum amount of meat required in order to bbq. Two portions. One galbi meat cut and the other samgeyopsal. I was happy with the selection of Banchan and the accompanying side dishes for the bbq. Some food porn is coming up for those of you who are into that type of thing.
While my bbq was starting to really get going I noticed the table beside me were three young men and a woman. They had finished their first round of drinks and were getting ready to order another. I suggested to them that they simply share my soju and explained that I had ordered a large bottle simple because they had nothing smaller.
We shared soju and introduced ourselves politely while I continued to cook my bbq. There is nothing I enjoy more than sitting at a proper korean bbq with all the side dishes, roasting meat, eating it, and sipping on soju.
I didn’t regret eating a little too much or the bill at the end of the night. The whole experience was just great. The quality of the meat was spoke on. I was able to get extra samjang sauce and lettuce without a fuss.
My belly now completely full I made my to my airbnb to check in. Got there, found the key as indicated and entered the apartment. It was exactly as described, or so it seemed! I dropped off my small bag at the entrance, lay down on the couch and set my alarm for 8:30 pm.
This would give me enough time to make it to the show via uber before the doors officially opened. I had a spare ticket I had purchased online and the show was sold out. There are always a few people who show up without having a ticket. I quickly sold my ticket for the price of what I had paid, which was still cheaper than what they were selling at the door. Another random stranger I had made happy, the second group today.
I had another little puff of my joint while I waited outside and soaked in the neighborhood. It seemed like a very residential neighborhood and it had this local pizzeria across from the Monarch Tavern which just had so much charm to it. I couldn’t help but snap up a few pictures. Cool story, between the time crossed the intersection one of the lights at the tavern lit up.
There was a first band that played which had a large following. I didn’t know the band but I spoke to some of their friends in the crowd. They put on a decent show, played something like 4 or 5 songs.
This was followed up by NYSSA and I wasn’t prepared for the show she put on. She reminded me of a young Melissa Etheridge and I loved not only her raw energy but her lyrics. She put on an amazing show, playing once again 4 or 5 songs. You can see her youtube channel here. Unfortunately she doesn’t appear to have a lot of her stuff online, which is a shame. The music she performed for us that night was awesome. Here’s her youtube page. Including one of her songs here for visibility.
It was a small show in one of Toronto’s oldest pubs. Mostly a young teenage crowd. Sean and another artist were mingling in the crowd. I think he had some family that joined him for the show. They sat behind me through the first two shows. It was cool to see Sean enjoy Nyssa’s sets as much as the crowd did.
Finally Sean was on stage. He was accompanied by a guy on the keyboards from Europe. I forget the name and the exact country, my apologies! Sean belted out 4 or 5 of his favorites along with anecdotes about the various songs.
The show ended at around 12:30 or 1 am if i’m not mistaken. I decided to walk home, once again have a small puff from my joint. Wandering the streets of Toronto at night made me feel like I was once again travelling. Once again on the road, not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Even if, in this particular case tomorrow would bring me a bus ride back to Montreal. I didn’t bother getting too many pictures from inside the show. I was happy to just sit back and enjoy the moment while sipping a few beers. The few pictures I did take weren’t in focus.
Wandering the streets of a new city, slightly under the charm of alcohol and marijuana. Humbled by the fact I had just spent a wonderful day relaxing in the park. Eating Ice-cream while soaking up the sun. Drinking soju while enjoying the best Korean BBQ I had the pleasure of trying in North America to date. My probationary period at work was completed. I had recently passed an industry recognized certification just the week before.
Everything was good.
My feet hurt from all the walking I had done that day, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like I floated all the way back to my rented lodgings for the night.
The following day I woke up early, got dressed and made my way downtown again. I ended up at Canada’s Sugar Beach. A man made beach not far from the entertainment district and old town.
I had a few hours before my bus back to Montreal. The sun was shining so I sat down in one of the provided chairs on the beach and soaked in the sights and warmth of the sun. It felt good to be beside a large body of water, in this case lake Ontario. After some time I my hunger got the better of me and I started looking for somewhere I could eat breakfast which wouldn’t be too far from the bus terminal.
I found a decently review place, sat down and had your typical eggs, potatoes, bacon and toast breakfast. I reasonable meal at a reasonable price. I would eat again once I got back to Montreal. The breakfast finished, I went ahead and made my way over to the bus terminal. Not long afterwards I was on my way back to Montreal.
Once again I stared out the window, watching the Canadian country side slowly pass by. Taking little snoozes along the way until we finally pulled into downtown Montreal. I was home again.
