About the author: How it all started!

First, I lost my babysitter...
When I suddenly lost my babysitter, my son was two. I chose to quit my job in communication at TFO (the French side of TVO) and started to explore the Greater Toronto Area, kid in tow. 

Having just moved to Toronto from Montreal three years ago, I still had a tourist mentality and was thrilled to discover so many fun things to do and see  with my son.

I soon realized that all the Toronto guides were written for tourists, not really useful for local parents. My marketing background kicked in (I've got an MBA in marketing from McGill University). I decided to fill the need for a guide for local parents and launched into a major exploration of Toronto and its surroundings. My daughter was born 4 years later and joined the club.

The resulting guide, Toronto Fun Places... for families, was self-published under Word-of-Mouth Production. It is currently in its 5th edition and has sold over 40,000 copies in the GTA. (I now hook up with moms of younger children to continue my research.)

It was followed by two guides Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends 1 & 2. But that's another story.

Like Toronto Fun Places on Facebook!

Amazon.ca: Look inside!

My Toronto guides on amazon.ca

Look inside!

For those of you who would like to have a better look at my three Toronto guides, amazon.ca had the great idea to create a Look inside option for its visitors' benefit. 

Look inside Toronto Fun Places... for families (5th ed.)

Look inside Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends 1 (2nd ed.)

Look inside Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends 2

The Look inside option allows you to browse through a large selection of pages from the book when you click on its cover. 

Search inside!

The Look inside option is more than just a way to look inside. It also comes with a cool little feature: the "Search inside this book" section at the bottom of the left column.

Write a keyword or the name of an attraction, ex.  "Toronto Zoo", (in brackets to narrow down the research) and a list of pages within the guide where Toronto Zoo is mentioned will appear in the left column. If the page is part of Amazon's selection for the Look inside option, there will be a link allowing you to see that page in the large frame. 

This goes for every book on Amazon, when featuring the Look inside option. 

Like Toronto Fun Places on Facebook!

Loblaws @Maple Leaf Gardens

When I finally visited the gorgeous Loblaws inside the revamped Maple Leaf Gardens, I was greeting by a welcoming grocer praising his merchandise, laptop in hand, in the produce section. As I got closer, I realized I actually was looking at the clip of a grocer projected on a screen, a cutout shaped as a life-size man!

As a reminder of the building's original purpose (the Leafs won eleven Stanley Cups from 1932 to 1967 while playing at the Gardens), an artwork was commissioned. By the entrance, look up for the huge maple leaf made out of reclaimed stadium chairs.

This Loblaws is visually unique, and bigger than the others (even the one at Portland and King). It includes an inviting sushi bar, a gorgeous Ace bakery, a yummy cupcake counter, lots of take-out options and a high wall of cheese.

It is worth the detour, just a few minutes walk from Yonge and College (where you'll find a Winners).
If you walk around the Winners building, you'll get to seen the vast reflecting pool in College Park.

Art in a forest near Mont Tremblant

If you intend to be around Mont Tremblant in Québec between now and mid-October, you've got to include a visit to Val-David and its amazing Jardins du Précambrien.

Val-David is less than one-hour drive away from Mont Tremblant. It is one of the cutest places in the vicinity, with the P'tit Train du Nord passing through (a fantastic initiative which turned a train track into a 230-km biking and hiking linear park ), little restaurants, bike and canoe rentals.

As if it weren't enough, it includes the best outdoor art installations I've seen in Quebec and Ontario: Les Jardins du Précambrien. Nested in a vast precambrian forest (from the times when the first forms of life appeared on Earth), the attraction offers a series of marked trails amidst trees and boulders.

You never know what awaits around the corner, which makes it the perfect outing with kids. The whole experience turns into a treasure hunt. They'll walk 4-5 kms without realizing it. It took us 2 hours to tour the whole thing at a leisure pace. You'll need more time if you want to read all the info posted throughout the site.

As a picture is worth a thousand words, see my photos of some of the best installations.
The Foundation Derouin is behind this project. René Derouin is a fabulous (and highly rated) artist whose work you can admire in the adjacent art gallery.

It's a sign: Toronto signs with attitude

I saw these two signs on the same glorious weekend. Two different attitudes...

Which one are you? Ed's or Firkin?

Whimsical urban sight: Prince Edward Viaduct

I've spied these little ants on Prince Edward Viaduct along Bloor Street, west of Broadview, Toronto.
Let me know if you've noticed them somewhere else.

When I see that kind of stencil work, it feels like an artist is winking at me (I take it personally, of course).

Summer night in Little India, Toronto

Little India by night
Last week was a busy weekend in Little India along Gerrard Street East (between Greenwood and Coxwell), during the Festival of South Asia.

But Little India is always a fun summer night outing. The street is filled with music, lights, colourful windows, street food. And you can always count on the effervescence around Lahore Tikka House, at 1365 Gerrard Street.

The place has been under ambitious construction for ages. It went from the tiniest little shack to a huge  pink building. For whatever reason, they won't or can't use the second floor so tables are spread all aver the street level, under shiny fabrics. Quite exotic!

Fun idea when visiting Spadina House

Before and after
We visited Spadina House recently. I found a great way to amuse the teens who were accompanying me. 

We took a picture of an old photo of the house, displayed inside, and tried to reproduce it. My young friends had a blast. Here's the result.

(By the way, I had never seen it and knew that it had been fully restored to its state in the 1920s. Well, don't go expecting Art Deco all over. As it was in the 20s still was pretty much Victorian. The decor is splendid!)

Sing us a song, you're the piano man...

You're the piano man
Wow, that was fun! Yesterday, the 41 pianos part of the Play Me, I'm Yours program (which launched the countdown to the Pan Am Games 2015) were all on one site, at David Pecaut Square.

Each piano was painted by an artist from each of the 41 countries to participate in the 2015 games. Each piano was assigned a "piano buddy" to take car of it until the end of July.

As of today, all pianos were redistributed throughout the city, for us to play and enjoy until the end of the month. Check the website www.streetpianos.com for the exact location of the pianos.

The artistic event Play Me, I'm Yours has a life of its own! It started in 2008 and has now reached numerous cities throughout the world. This is public interactive art at its best!

Parents need to relax

Relax!
On July 6, Steve Ladurantaye wrote an interesting parenting article in the Globe & Mail titled: Why you should add 'relax' to your to-do list.

If you want a sillier list of suggestions for a more relaxing summer with the kids, read my article It's alright to slow down! on kidsaroundcanada.com.

41 painted pianos... Bring your camera!

On a positive note...
This is the kind of event I can't resist. To celebrate the countdown of the 2015 Pan Am games, they're assembling 41 painted pianos representing the 41 countries who will compete at the games in 2015.

On Tuesday July 10th from 8 to 10 pm (at David Pecaut Square by Roy Thomson Hall) we'll be able to admire 41 pianos painted by different artists. Apparently, there will also be a free concert (piano concert, one would imagine?).

For the rest of July, the pianos will be spread all around the city (a bit like with Mel Lastman's moose, remember?). Each piano will be assigned a "piano buddy" who will be responsible to cover it with a tarp at night and maintain it. Cool isn't it? The general public will be invited to play on the special pianos, which will then be given to different communities. We're still not sure what's the connection with the sports event but who cares! Everybody wins.

Check this article on Musical Toronto's website for details and to see more colourful pianos.




(Photo by John Terauds for Musical Toronto)

Why I don't do ratings

I don't do ratings
I just read a review (good review) recently posted on amazon.ca about my guide Toronto Fun Places... for families. In it, the reviewer comments that ratings would have been nice.

I wanted to give some ratings at the beginning. But as I got further into the research for the first edition, dragging along friends and families, I came to realize that some outings I would have rated very high, considering my son's enthusiasm for the place, were not a big hit with some other kids. For example, when we visited an indoor rock climbing place, my son's experience (an outgoing little guy) was totally different from his best friend's, who was really shy and hated having all eyes glued on him as he was trying to reach the bell at the top of the climb. How do you rate this?

It made me realize that ratings are quite arbitrary and that it could actually mislead parents. I chose instead to describe the places in my guides in such a way that parents could figure out if it's suitable for their own children.

I'm hoping parents will add their own ratings to my descriptions in my new website torontofunplaces.com!

Review from Kids Around Canada

What they said about Toronto Urban Strolls
Kids Around Canada just posted a great review of my new guide Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends. I'm really pleased with it.

The ABC of strolling

Love letters
Two weeks ago, I noticed a large ornate letter "R" painted on the sidewalk in front of Red Rocket Coffee (1364 Danforth). I asked the owner if he had hired someone to do this.

Turns out an artist, Victor Fraser, has taken on him to paint the alphabet over 2 kms along the north side of Danforth, between Woodycrest and Woodmount Avenues. He calls them "Love Letters", hence the little hearts on some of the letters. According to the artist, the painted letters should last at least a year.

Here's your chance to take the kids on a fun I-Spy game which will make them walk 5-K without even realizing it as you walk your way up and down the alphabet.

Letter "A" sits in front of Magic Oven (798 Danforth) and you'll find "X" by Wheels and Wings Hobbies (1880 Danforth), with all the other letters in between. (I could not find "Y" and "Z" beyond Woodmount.)

To complement the alphabet theme, don't miss the Alphabet Mural at the south corner of Danforth and Monarch Park Avenue, by Patisserie Cigogne (1419 Danforth).

At 3 Woodmount, just north of Danforth past the letter "X", is a favourite among the locals: Carter's Ice Cream. Just south of Danforth, you'll find East Lynn Park, the cutest little park nested in a pit, with original playground structure and a lovely wading pool.

If the kids are too tired to stroll back to your starting point, Woodbine Subway Station is a short walk west of the park, just north of Danforth on Woodbine.

A new adventure begins

OK, here we go. My first blog ever (in English)! 
Me and my friend Yannick Lallement just launched the new website www.torontofunplaces.com. We'll be adding to it massively in the next months but I'm sure you'll find the current version of our Water Fun and Nature's Call sections quite useful.

I'm thrilled to finally have a place to pass on updates of my guides' content (Toronto Fun Places and Toronto Urban Strolls), as well as reviews of books and films, trends and news I find interesting, and the odd hilarious things of life. I'll eventually learn how to archive my postings so you can easily search them by categories. Until then... bear with me.