Shades of blue and grey

Day 2 in toronto... time for a first blog post! Hello friends, you will be happy to know that i am here in Toronto, cozied up in my bed with my bundled up pj's between my head and the freezing cold wall... all is well. I've unpacked and settled into my room, navigated my new hood and even managed to take the streetcar to my school today to purchase my chef's uniform. But let's backtrack a little, i'm getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday, my first day here, was brilliant! I awoke and was greeted to perfect blue sky and sunshine, and Sean made me a cappucino with his little countertop espresso maker that was just lovely. He may even be a rival for Kimmie's Espresso Queen title. I love it when my roommates make me espresso. It's so sweet. I really have no idea how to operate one of those machines and I love keeping that a mystery so that i can justify spending 3 bucks on a cappucino every couple of days.

Happliy caffeinated, i took a walk in the blue sky (and freezing cold) to the closest grocery store, Loblaws. They can't fool me, i know it's really Superstore. Why is it that Presidents Choice stores are called by different names across Canada? Is Superstore not cool enough for Torontonians? Or does Loblaws just sound ridiculous to British Columbians? Anyway, it's a nice store, close enough and near a Canadian Tire and a Mark's Workwearhouse so i decided to kill a few errands in one trip. Except, then i bought too many groceries and had to go home and drop them off so i could come back and get the rest. I can only carry so much at once after all. I was wishing i had a few extra arms... or a bigger backpack. Or a car.

Anyway, Sean decided to come along on trip #2 because he had to go to Canadian Tire too. It was the nicest Canadian Tire I've ever seen, all slick and swanked up with the store on the second floor so you had to take an escalator to get to it. Coooool. I decided to buy myself a little 3 drawer plastic storage thingy because i couldn't fit all my stuff into the small wardrobe in my room. 9.99 was a steal, but i had to carry it all the way home, in addition to all the groceries i picked up on my second trip to Loblaws which turned out okay because it wasn't very heavy, but it was bulky. I actually debated buying one of those wire trolleys that old ladies use to pull their groceries home and had one almost all the way to the till at Canadian Tire before changing my mind. Sean convinced me that there are way cooler ones and that i should hold out for a canvas one that doesn't rattle and squeak. He's lived here 12 years without a car so i trust his judgement on this. Not to mention his fashion sense.

Did i mention that this was trip #2? Also on trip 2 i stopped at Mark's and bought a pair of black, non-slip, steel-toed shoes for school. It's part of the chef getup. They are anything but sexy, but i noticed a few of the students at George Brown wearing them today so i guess i bought the right ones. Yessss!!! and on sale too! Sean found them while i was eyeing up some nicer looking, more expensive ones. When i was in the campus bookstore today picking up the rest of my chef uniform i noticed they were selling the exact same shoes for 20 bucks MORE. Thanks Sean!

Ok, skipping ahead to today which greeted me with bleak grey sky, slightly warmer temps and flurries. Yuck. I can handle the city when it's sunny but days like this really are blah. They make everything look ugly. Yesterday i was noticing that there are lots of trees in Leslieville it's just that they are all deciduous and it's winter. Today i didn't see the trees. I just saw a lot of old grungy buildings with a few nice ones strewn in for good measure. I decided to get off the streetcar at Broadview and walk the rest of the way home with the hope of stopping at Bonjour Brioche for a coffee. Bonjour Brioche is this fantastic little coffeehouse/bakery that makes these amazing croissants and things that are to die for. Patrick took me there on my last trip. But... it was closed and i didn't find another coffee shop that appealed to me after that. What is it, Monday or something?

Anyway, walking back through Leslieville along Queen Street East i noticed some funky street art, including a portrait of Jimi Hendrix painted on the wall of a building, that i would love to photograph sometime. Maybe i will. Maybe the next blog post should be all about Leslieville with photos and stuff. That could be cool. I may have to wait for another blue sky day though.

My first class starts in 2 1/2 hours. I'll have to ride the streetcar back downtown in time for.... Theory of Artisan Bread! yeah baby!! but first... i need a nap.