And whenever I look out my bedroom window, believe me I am grateful for another beautiful night in Massachusetts, but sometimes I find myself wishing I was at the top of the Bond Place Hotel, peering over Toronto's city lights, with a view of the Filmores Hotel in the distance.
Now don't get me wrong, I've traveled to many places, and each place I have made connections to and left a little piece of myself there, but this time it was different. After walking through Yonge Dundas Square, soaking in the thrill of bright billboards and shining lights everywhere, making new friends, strolling down the streets of Rosedale with my sister beside me, doing cartwheels at the Sharon, Lois, and Bram Playground, actually becoming friends with them (actual childhood stars we grew up watching!!!), eating real authentic Chinese food in a little restaurant with more tea and wine than I should have drank, taking a ferry to the islands and gazing at that Canadian skyline, I realized we did did so much living in six days. So many memories and inside jokes were made in such a short time, and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience.
Driving through gorgeous towns I never knew existed, eating delicious foods I have never tried (come to find out, poutine and gelato are the actual bomb... #AmIRight?!), watching the sun rise and set over city sidewalks while tourists and citizens alike make their way through crowds, wondering where they are going, where they work, where they live, experiencing new culture and having conversations with people who were once strangers but now good friends, it all seemed like movie - like too much happiness for a real life experience.... know what I mean?
Not to mention, I had my sister and best friend along for the ride. What a truly special trip it was, bonding with my sister, laughing over things no one else in the world would find funny, singing childhood songs from the Elephant Show together, and driving for 8 hours without one second of boredom. That right there, my friends, is when you know you're pretty freakin' blessed.
So as I sit here typing, I am reflecting on a quote I once read, "you take delight not in a city's seven or seventy wonders, but in the answers it gives to a question of yours." Thankfully, Toronto answered that question perfectly.... What do I need most in my life right now? What will give life to the craving inside me for new experiences and feed my hunger for inspiration? Where can I go when I'm just bored of the same old people and same old places? What city will take me in and make me feel like one of their own?
The only question Toronto didn't answer for me is this: WHY ARE YOUR SQUIRRELS BLACK? No, not dark gray, and no I wasn't dreaming. The squirrels there are legit black. So weird.
So, peace out Toronto.... for now. I promise you I'll be back again.