Enjoying Downtown Toronto on a Hot Summer Day!

Living in Toronto, we are never bored as there are so much going on in the city! Downtown Toronto is pretty with many different neighborhoods and we never get tired of walking, getting some exercises and just enjoying the city.

One hot day in August, we visited the harbourfront neighbourhood. It was lively! There was a section set aside for kids and those young at heart to have fun. Cool mists were blowing in a designated area where children could just run around and be cooled off in the summer heat. Some parents stood by watching their kids while some joining them and holding their little ones' hands tightly in the mists. Being a kid at heart, I also ran in and out of the cold mists for a few moments; it was nice and cool!

One of the best things about the city is the numerous free concerts accessible to residents. Should we desire, we could be going to musical events and festivals every weekend especially during the summer months. At times, there could be multiple concerts and activities going on the same weekend and we would have a hard time deciding which event we should attend.

After visiting the harbourfront, we walked up to Front Street heading towards the Union Station area. Viola, there was a free jazz concert happening right outside the Station!

  We found a place to sit and ordered some cold drinks. With a cold beer in hand, enjoying and swaying to his most favourite genre of music at this free jazz concert and being outdoor in such fine weather in a peaceful and beautiful city, my husband whispered in my ears - "Stay in Toronto in the summer and don't travel anywhere!"

  I couldn't agree with him more!

  RT, Toronto - the best place to live in the world! Summer of 2026

Capturing the Images of Butterflies & Enjoying the Beauty of the Toronto Music Garden, Toronto

We have been doing a lot of travelling here in North America and overseas. However, for the past few years, we often travelled during the summer months and missed the best time of being at home in Toronto.

For the summer of 2026, we decided that we would stay put so that we could enjoy the fantastic Canadian summer weather and our beautiful garden at home. We also took advantage of the good weather and visited Bellville, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City as well as enjoying the many activities and festivals in Toronto. The summer months in Canada are the most glorious time, not to be missed!!

  We have many beautiful gardens and green spaces in Toronto; one of our most favourite gardens is the Toronto Music Garden!

The Toronto Music Garden, located along the city's downtown waterfront, is one of the most unique and creative green spaces in Canada. Several fascinating things make this park special:

  1. It is designed after a piece of classical music. The three-acre park is a physical, landscape-architectural translation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello. It was created through a unique collaboration between world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy.

2. The Music Garden is Divided into Six "Movements" just like the musical suite it represents; the garden is split into six distinct sections, each mirroring a traditional dance form from Bach's composition.

True to its name, the park serves as a live performance venue. During the summer months, on Sunday afternoons and Thursday evenings, it hosts outdoor classical music concerts and at times, dance performances. Audiences can attend these musical events for free and enjoy them on the grassy amphitheater steps and the steel pavilion stage.

We didn't visit on a Sunday, therefore there was no concert to attend. But we had a fantastic time strolling along the winding garden paths, admiring the full colourful blooms, smelling the fragrances of the fresh flowers and listening to the sound of the lake water gently rolling in, and the sounds of laughter of children and families having fun around us. We enjoyed these peaceful and happy moments! We are proud to be Canadians and love Canada where so many ethnic groups of Canadians, old and newcomers can coexist in harmony and enjoy peaceful life together. We are very blessed!

  The Music Garden has been purposedly planted with various flowers and plants attracting butteflies. There were a lot of butterflies flying around in the flower beds. We loved watching and trying to capture the images of them flying around and landing on delicate flowers!

  Toronto Music Garden - a great place to visit and relax for everyone and it is FREE admission!

  RT, Toronto Music Garden, Downtown Toronto, Canada, Summer of 2026

An Abundance of Festivals and Musical Events During the Summer Months in Toronto

Nearly half of Toronto's residents were born outside of Canada and Toronto has been widely recognized as one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse cities in the world. The city has embraced this cultural mosiac as there is almost a different street party and festival highlighting a different culture each week throughout the summer in our various neighbourhood.

We went to a few this summer; one of which was the Trinbago Toronto Festival which took place in late August at Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto. This was a free festival held in its fifth year featuring music, cuisine, culture, and entertainment highlighting the diaspora.

There was so much good food and excellent music throughout the entire weekend!

  Besides the Trinbago Toronto Festival, there were many other events going on such as:

  - the Greek Festival - held in the heart of Toronto's Greektown, Canada's largest street festival and a massive celebrataion of Hellenic culture, food and community

  - the Salsa Festival where the asphalt became a giant dance floor with professional dance lessons and where you could dance til your drop

 

- Toronto Caribbean Carnival (Caribana) - Thousands of participants wore elaborate handcrafted costumes dancing to pulsating calypso, and reggae music blasting from massive vehicles

  - Toronto Fringe Festival- Toronto's largest live-theatre and performing arts festival, Toronto Film Festival

  - Toronto International BuskerFest - a massive and wildly entertaining summer festival

 

- Various outdoor concerts taking place under the stars at Ontario Place and different parks. We attended a concert on Maher's Symphony No. 2 conducted by Mandel Cheung at Ontario Place on a summer evening. It was fantastic!

  We felt so lucky as we could sample different food and enjoy beautiful music, art and cultures from around the world without travelling outside of Canada at all!

RT, Toronto, Summer of 2026

A Physical Outlet for Grief in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, Toronto, Canada

We love our home city - Toronto! Many of our friends visiting us often ask us this question - what can we see in Toronto? What are some famous historical places we can visit there? Are there any palaces, thousand year old monuments etc? Canada is a fairly new country therefore, there are not a lot of old places nor historical monuments to see. However, we do have beautiful parks and great scenery in our cities!

The Trinity Bellwoods Park is a park visitors should go to visit if you happen to be in Toronto, especilly in the summer. Located along Queen Street West, this park is one of Toronto's most beloved park, full of activites and functions as the backyard for the surrounding downtown neighborhoods.

  It is not a regular park but one that offers many recreational facilities to residents such as tennis courts, a community recreation centre with an indoor pool, ball diamonds, and a hockey rink/outdoor skating path in the winter.

  There were so much happening on the day we visited - people were out enjoying all sorts of activities in the park. There were a couple of new activities which we have not seen before.

  1. The Toronto Public library offering a mystery box for loan with no cost to park visitors - There was a box containing everything you need for doing and sharing some interesting activites together with your family and friends while visiting the park. What an excellent idea!

We saw a display of many strips of cloth material with writing on them hanging and blowing in the wind. We went to investigate for what these strips of clothes meant and found out that it was a special display called:

  2. A Wind Phone - a public art piece. I found out that the Wind Phones are originated in Japan after the 2011 devastating tsunami. They are a link to loved ones who have died. "A Wind Phone is a symbolic , stand alone telephone installation set up in a quiet, public or reflective space that is not connected to any telephone line.

  The core purpose is to provide a physical outlet for grief, remembrance and healing. Visitors can pick up the receiver and speak aloud to loved ones who have passed away, letting the wind carry their words." - mywindphone.com

  It is a good way to let out our emotions and unexpressed feelings. For many people who have lost loved ones, this would be an opportunity to unburden themselves of their sadness, guilts, unsaid things and whatever feeling it may be. I thought about my mom and dad, D., my best friend who passed away so suddenly; there were so many things I wished I have said to them before they left this world and went to heaven. I miss them everyday and love them a lot. I feel the hole and the emptiness they have left in my heart. I took a moment, paused and reflected.

After visiting the Trinity-Bellwoods Park, we took a short stroll and were on Queen Street, right in the heart of downtown Toronto. We had a bite to eat with some refreshments and enjoyed the vibrant city vibe for a while and concluded our visit to downtown Toronto on a fine summer day!

  RT, Downtown Toronto, Canada Summer2026

A Creative Idea of Picture Taking with the Wedding Couple at a Canadian Legion Hall, Waterloo Region, Canada

We have been living in the southern Ontario, Canada region for the past many decades. We love travelling and have visited a lot of cities , small towns and villages in Ontario. We have noticed that there are many Canadaian Legion Halls across Canada, but we rarely go there for any functions. The last time I went to a Canadain Legion hall was more than a decade ago when I visited and stayed in Charlottetown, Newfoundland for a month. I went there with a a fellow traveller I met at a local hostel for a country music night held at the Charlottetown Legion Hall. It was a fun night and I still remember it well.

  However, that was the first time and the last time I was at a Legion Hall for an event. I was tinkle pink when we received a wedding invitation a month ago and the wedding reception would be held at the local Legion Hall!

  On the day of the wedding, we prepared ourselves and dressed for the occasion. The wedding reception started at 5 pm and we arrived there right on the dot. There were ample parking spots in the parking lot with easy access to the main door.

Wow, what a beautifully decorated hall for a wedding reception! I would never have imagined that a Legion Hall could look this elegant fit for a wedding reception! The hall was spacious, elegantly decorated with string lights, floral arrangements on the wall as well as a centre piece sitting on each long table draped in a white linen tablecloth with chairs all dressed up with chair covers. The head table was set against a curtained background accommodating the entire wedding party including the wedding couple and the groomsmen and bridesmaids.

There was an open bar where guests could order their drinks. When dinner started, we were served beverages, salad and bread by the wait staff. The main course was served buffet style including different kinds of hot food items such as vegetables, rice, pasta, roast chicken and roasted beef. The food was delicious and satisfying.

  We saw a couple of our church friends there and chatted with Sarah, the happy mother of the bride. Sarah was beaming with joy at her daughter's wedding reception and she was like a butterfly going around at each table, trying to talk to each guest. Who could blame her?

  I would do exactly the same thing at our children's wedding too!

The best part of the wedding, I thought, came at the end of the dinner when the couple expressed their wish of taking a picture with all the guests the wedding. Insteading of having people lining up one by one having their pictures taken with the new couple, the bride and groom had a great and efficient way - Sitting at at the front of the hall, they asked guests from each table in numerical sequence to come up to post and take pictures with them. They were being stationery while the guests from each table took turn to move forward and post with them for pictures.

  Every guests moved accordingly and posted swiftly for the pictures with the new couple. It took about one minute for each table of guests. It was quick and fun! I have never seen wedding pictures taking this way with the new couple. I liked it as there was no long line up. It was a very creative and efficeint way of picture taking with the new couple! Two thumbs up for the bride and groom!

The second thing I liked the most was watching the new couple's first dance and the bride's dance with her dad. What a pleasure it was! After learning about the bride and groom's dating stories starting in highschool and through the years with each other as well as some of the challenges they faced, I appreciated their wedding union so much more! I felt privileaged to have been a part of their wedding celebration!

May God bless your marriage as you go forward hand in hand facing the future together loving and supporting each other!

  RT, Canadian Legion Hall, Waterloo Region

  Canada, 082026

Reviews of Two Hotels in Montreal, Canada

1. The first hotel was Auberge de La Fontaine, situated right in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. It is a small pretty boutique hotel right across from the delightful Park Fontaine which serves as the primary green living room for local residents

 

Our room was spacious, elegantly decorated, clean and very comfortable. However, it was located on the second floor without an elevator so it could be challenging for those with a mobility issue. We had to be very careful carrying our luggage up to our room.

  Breakfast was available, but not included with our room. Nice cold lemon water was available all day in the lobby.

 

We liked the area a lot as it is surrounded by classic Montreal triplexes with wrought-iron spiral staircases and nice cafés. It was convenient for us and we were able to take the Metro, walk around both night and day and felt safe. We particularly enjoyed the pedestrain street which was lively and lined with good cafes, bars and restaurants serving all kinds of ethnic food on both sides.

  We liked this hotel so much that we extended our stay and recommended it to our friend, Flo, who also came and joined us on this trip and we went out for some live jazz music at a neighborhood bar restaurant.

  Overall score - 9/ 10

  2. Arcadia Hotel Boutique - Our second hotel was at a different location as we wanted to explore another neighbourhood. This time we wanted to be close to downtown Montreal in the waterfront area.

The location was excellent for us as we could easily walk to the few places we wanted to visit in the downtown area.

Since it was a self check in hotel without a reception personnel, we found it inconveninet for checking in as there was no in person assistance and the information was not clear. We had to ask a few people before finding our room and getting in there.

Our room, however, was modern, spacious, clean and fronting the watefront which gave us an excellent view of the area. Though there was no much amenities offered by this hotel, our room was quite well equipped with a kitchen as well as some utensils and cooking equipment should we desire to make a meal for ourselves.

  When we encountered a minor problem, we were able to call someone on the phone who was able to walk us through step by step to resolve it. Signing in for the first time into this hotel was not as smooth as we would have liked it, one when we got to know how to do it, the next time will be much easier, therefore, we will definitely consider staying here again in the future.

  Overall score - 9/ 10

 

RT, Montreal, 082026

Revisiting La Fresque des Quebecois & Remembering My Best Friend in Quebec City, Canada

After our stops in Montreal and other smaller cities in Quebec, we reached one of my most favourite cities in Canada - Quebec City! We always find an excuse to come to this European like city in North America in the past decades such as we were to Ottwa; we went skiing in Tremblant; we were in Montreal etc. Anytime we were passing by or being close to Quebec, we made a stop here and stayed a few days.

The last time we were in Quebec city was more than a decade ago, with my best friend, D. We were on a car trip out east; we drove past Montreal but made a stop here in Quebec city and we walked around the old city and had a ball.

I remember vividly that we were walking around in the old part of Quebec City and we came across this huge wall mural - La Fresque des Quebecois ( The Mural of Quebecers) , a massive optical issusion painted in 1999 on the side of a building on Rue Notre-Dame. Awed and speechless, we stopped for a while and admired its magnificiency and beauty. Wow, what a painting and there were so many interesting characters in it. We paused for sometime and tried to figure out what this painting meant.

 I saw there was a stage set up close by to this wall mural. Always wanted to perform on a stage, I went up and performed a song there for my friend.

  This incredible wall mural is a visual history book of Quebec depicting over 400 years of Quebec City's history featuring many key historical figures as well as highlighting the four seasons and cultural communities that shaped the city.

Looking at this wall mural brought back fond memories of D. How I have missed my very dear friend! The wall mural is still here but my best friend is not longer with us. D., I hope you are resting well and having fun in heaven, I love you and have missed you so so much!

  After a short tour of the old city, we enjoyed a French Dinner served inside a Quebec Church. Don would have loved the food and atmosphere here.

RT, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, 082026