Things I like: Kensington Market

It's been a busy few days. Today I've been spending time in the city, so I'm feelin' pretty good. Tired, but good. I worked my improv chops last night at Second City for my class and then a jam called, "Improv Night in Canada" where we get to wear hockey jerseys and pretend we're hockey players while we improvise. or something. Yeah, my team won. Just sayin'.

But TODAY, I had lunch with a friend and since I didn't have much going on in the afternoon, she suggested I go to Kensington Market. The last time I had gone there was in the 9th grade, and all I remembered was men on the street carrying around big hunks of meat. But there's general knowledge that people like Kensington Market, so it was time to give it another go.

For me, part of moving to a new city is learning to fall in love with it. So I'm gung-ho for seeing new areas of Toronto. I want to know all my friends' favorite places, streets, cafes, and shops, so that I can steal them and call them my favorites too. 

Anywho, its been freakin' hot today, but still, I trekked westward to the market. I won't lie...I almost gave up and retreated to Starbucks. That's so LAME. I'm just thinking right now that I don't want to be a lame Starbucks person anymore. Currently I'm at Second Cup. sigh. Did you know they have limited WI-FI??? WHY did i come here? Sorry...I've drifted.


 So basically this area of town is just a few streets all intersecting of awesome vintage stores, cafes, restaurants, other little stores, (fish and meat vendors...I don't know why this is all I remembered from last time. It was for a class field-trip) and too-cool-for-school hipsters and artists...and other weird people who hang out on the street. I felt a bit like a tourist in my own city, but at the same time I felt at home and comfortable and HAPPY. I loved the whole vibe of the place. And though I admired the cool artist folk sitting outside at their favorite coffee shops talking about interesting artist things, I'm sure, I was completely intimidated by them. Girl from New York all, "Oh my, scary Canadians!"

Graffiti covered the walls and buildings and bright colors were everywhere. You could practically breathe in the creativity. The inspiration I guess. New Yorkers, its kinda like the Lower East Side...but more intimate. Like a dinner party.

Kensington Market has quickly become one of my new favorite places in Toronto and there are definitely some restaurants I need to try: Wanda's Pie in the Sky (i heart pie), and one I saw called simply, The Grilled Cheese.

I'm excited to explore the rest of this city, which I'm learning is not so different from NYC, aside from being cleaner and having habitants that are a bit more polite. Hopefully in the not too distant future I'll be one of the cool artsies hanging at my favorite cafe.