Toronto

Santi and I took a mini vacation to Toronto from Sept. 11-15. I had no expectations of what Toronto would be like and so it was easy to get more than I expected.

First off, Toronto seems a lot like Chicago. We have Lake Shore Drive, they have Lake Shore Blvd. We have Wicker Park, they have their Queen West, except I have to say, their West Queen West beats anything I've seen so far. So what is West Queen West? For me, it's a street filled with beauty, beautiful interior designs, beautiful clothes, beautiful art, beautiful people.

Santi and I first stopped by at West Queen West to attend an after party for a film, but when that turned out to be a drag, we took a night stroll around the neighborhood. I love how the interior of the stores are all visible from the sidewalk. Most stores were long rectangle shaped and you could look all the way in and decided whether it was you or not. We oggled over many bars and restaurants but did not feel the urge to stop by for a drink in any of them. We then ventured a little farther away from the happening area and stumbled upon a neighborhood bar. It was so local, that none of the hip people were present, unless you count those who were probably really hip back in the 70s.

We entered into a grease-filled dive bar full of eclectic people mostly above their 50s. A couple, the man in tight black jeans and the woman in tight red jeans were dancing to the jukebox. I was very impressed by the way they moved in sync with each other and grooved, better than Santi and I!

The moment we stepped in, Santi and I wanted to leave because it was very greasy smelling. But because it was such a small bar we decided to be polite and buy a beer at least. The $4 beer came in a huge mug, which meant Santi and I had to sit for quite a while to finish it. We enjoyed watching the locals interact. The bar had a long center table, where it seemed like a community meeting was taking place.

We were almost done with our drink when suddenly, the man in tight black jeans bought Santi and I another round. We felt flattered by his hospitality (he was not the owner), yet at the same time we were ready to leave. We weren't drunk enough to dance or not smell the oil. But the man's hospitality made the night all that much more fun! He invited us to the center table, where it wasn't actually a meeting, but just a group of locals meeting up for a drink.

I liked the communal feeling at the bar, the sharing of daily life and chatting about sweet nothings. It was probably something we would not have gotten at a more hip bar.