While writing my thoughts on my one year anniversary since living in Canada, I found it difficult to choose only a few pictures to accompany the post, especially when I recapped the travels I’ve been on.
So I figured it was a good excuse to reminisce more and do a separate post with the events and pictures I really loved. Sort of like an internet-based photo album for me to look back on when I think about Year One in Canada.
Flying into Toronto for the first time – July 2015 – one-way flights are super expensive so I made it cheaper by stopping over in New York, but turns out when you stopover in the US you have to take all your luggage off and take it to the next terminal… that’s not pleasant when you have two years’ worth of things with you and don’t have any US cash to pay for a trolley.
…And the day after I landed in Toronto, it was straight to Montreal for Osheaga festival!
I fell in love with Tobermory/Bruce Peninsula on our trip here in September 2015. You’d easily think this was in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, but nope – this is northern Ontario!
October 2015 I decided to take a trip to New York so I could be reunited with one of my best friends, visit a former colleague and friend who recently moved back to the city and see a friend I first met while travelling in Costa Rica a few months before… granted, I took on way too much in one weekend but it made me realise that I want to discover more of New York.
We added two little bundles to our Toronto-based family! Meet Brunswick and Luna.
Discovering the Distillery District – I love this historic (but expensive) part of Toronto and the early months of exploring the city generally were really fascinating to me and kept that all important childlike wonder and excitement alive in me.
Christmas 2015 – this was a really strange thing for me. Knowing I wasn’t going home back to the UK with my family and instead doing a makeshift early Toronto Christmas was slightly heartbreaking but I was also excited for heading to LA for the first time and back to one of my favourite US states, California. It was good to be in the Californian sun because it’s so different from anything I’ve ever experienced for Christmas before.
We rang in the new year skiing in Vermont – a pretty extreme change of scenery from a few days earlier in California.
Exploring street art – honestly one of my favourite things about Toronto. It was stupidly cold when we decided to take a little self-guided tour but totally worth it.
I still feel giddy and excited about dog sledding and it happened back in March 2016. This was in Haliburton, a few hours from Toronto, and I could not have been happier about the experience. Incredible scenery, beautiful animals and such an adrenaline rush.
I seem to have got into the habit of hopping climates… we went from snowy dog sledding to sunny, warm Caribbean in the Cayman Islands. It was stunning and exactly the break from winter everyone in Toronto is looking for!
I gained a new (human) family member – my sister gave birth to her baby boy, Finn and I became an auntie! It sucks that I’ve only met him once but his arrival is still a highlight of my year living in Canada (obviously).
I was pretty determined to meet my nephew so I went back to London in April/May and hung out with my sister and the gorgeous boy, the rest of my family and some of my best friends. Oh London, I do miss you.
May 2016 – we took a trip to Ottawa with two of our friends (who have now moved to the US, wahhh) for the Tulip Festival. It was pretty.
CBC Music Festival in Toronto – that view though.
June 2016 – when one of your best friends comes to visit you in your adopted home, you know it’s real friendship. Having Sarah and her boyfriend, Pete, come to stay with us was so much fun – we explored Toronto, went to Niagara Falls and they also got to take a trip to Bruce Peninsula.
We had no specific plans for Canada Day (July 1st) so I went a bit bake crazy with chocolate covered strawberries, brownies and jelly shots (all as red and white themed as I could get). We also had a BBQ and just enjoyed the sunny day.
The Toronto Islands have been a highlight the few times we’ve visited them – as someone who loves natural scenery, it’s nice to get away from the city and go kayaking or relax on a beach. I still maintain the best view of Toronto is from the Islands as well.
WayHome, July 2016 – a pretty awesome festival, and my first camping one. Now really want to take on Glastonbury with friends back home in the UK.
This is a general one from all over the past year, but I definitely have to give a shout out to all the food in Toronto. Whether it’s from a truck, in a fancy restaurant, an ice cream shop or all you can eat sushi, the food is phenomenal and I’ve always really enjoyed trying out a new place with the boy.
Looking back at the past year, I may feel more connected to London, still be head over heels for Melbourne, feel like I’d be more suited to Vancouver or San Francisco and I may never truly consider Toronto as a home, but this city has a lot to offer and I can hardly complain at the events of the past year (well, some I’ll still complain about because I am only human, but only a few).
Here’s to the next year with new adventures and deciding on what’s next after this Toronto chapter!
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