Have I mentioned I love Toronto! I loved Montreal when I lived ther. And I love NYC when I visit, and he second I stepped off the plane in Vancouver the place felt like it could be home. New Orleans is wickedly, indescribably cool. Paris was like visiting a postcard, Dublin was the most fun I have ever had exploring, Jerusalem is a major headtrip (there is a law that every building MUST be built from limestone). Puerto Vallarta is a crazy mix of tourist and local culture, and the locals are Fuckin cool. London is amazing, I could spend forever there and be in a constant state of discovery and awe..... But Toronto is my home, and I love it that I live here. grew up here, no matter how much flack it takes.... I'll tell you why....
All the other cities on that list were amazing cities to visit, they are right out there, they wear the city's persona, culture, personality, right on the surface. If I spent longer there I am certain I would discover more, deeper, truer extents of what the city is made of, but I think even just visiting can give you a taste of everything the town can be. Everyone calls Toronto bland. I am not fighting that, the city centre, the business districts, they are bland, boring and empty.... But its a new city. Unlike Paris, New York, London, Toronto has a history that spans well under 2 centuries. And because of the time its growth was exploding there is only a very small part of Toronto that ever really encapsulated both an industrial and domestic space together. We are a city that separates community and industry. Not to say the two don't mingle, but only on a small scale.
Toronto is a city you have to know to love. It's a city of niches, hidden surprises and gems for those in the know. This may perpetuate the "Torontonians are Snobs" cliche that is oh-so rampant (especially in Montreal, but that is another rant for another time). But I guess I am ok with that, cuz I am a snob.... but by another name.... I prefer to think of it as a connoseuir. You gotta care to be a part of anything in this city, and it passes through the seekers, the discovers, into the hands of the coat tail draggers. That is when you can officially call something "905". Once everything that was glorious about something in this city has been squeezed out and replaced by ease of access and general knowledge.
Coming at it from the other way when someone who has never been visits Toronto the first places they tend to end up are the CN Tower, The Eaton Centre and The MuchMusic Building. Please, people, listen to me when I say, NONE of these things are even close to being what Toronto is. We hate them like Parisians hate the Eiffel Tower. Not what they are, but what they are seen as. The CN Tower is tall, but that's about it. The Eaton Centre is evil, and is to be avoided at ALL costs. The MuchMusic building is maybe the worst, as it takes what IS at the heart of what this city is and turns it into a simulacrum of itself. Geographically, culturally, the CHUM building is where real Toronto Culture meets the white-washed blandness that is worn on the citys face. But because it is one step away from the trash of tourism and surrounded by flash, lights, and noise of "downtown living", people assume it is the length of "edge" in the Tdot.
It's not..... So people, if you are coming Toronto, if you have never been, if you hated it the last time... make sure you get a Toronto Native (and not a Montreal ex-pat who "lives here now", you won't get off College St) to show you around. You will see things that keep you exclaiming.....
"..........I didn't realize....."
things like this and this (it's where I live), and this, and this and this and this and this (it requires buying a five dollar membership, but they give you a card proclaiming that you are officially, a "researcher") and this (luckiest mofos, definitely plan a sleepover if you know someone) and this and this and this and this and this (I have done it for hours at a stretch) and this and this and this and this and this and this and this.....
.... it goes forever, but you get the picture....
No comments:
Post a Comment