City in a Park: Kew Gardens

When Lenny was a wee little baby this was my favourite park to hang out in.  It's kind of our "go to" park.  I even shot her first birthday portraits at Kew Gardens, and let me tell you, I have spent a small fortune at the Starbucks across from Kew Gardens.  I love that it's close to home (a good 30 - 40 minute walk depending on how many distractions there are for the 3 year old in the group or, more often a 5 - 10 minute bus ride).  Len loves taking the bus because I think it makes it feel like a real-live outing.  She also loves the gazebo in this park.  Which we actually never refer to as Kew Gardens...it's always "Gazebo Park".

Many have been the days when I say "What do you want to do today? You can pick...anything you like." and she says "GAZEBO PARK!"

Things we loved:  This is one of the best playgrounds in our neighbourhood, steps from all the places I need / want to go (see: wine store, cheese store, Starbucks) and the library where there is inevitably a Cat Club book on hold for us.  It's also steps from the beach which is one of our happy places.

Things we didn't love:  Now, this is a very specific complaint, but for us, if Len falls and gets soaked in mud (which did happen once...or twice) it is difficult to get home quickly.  So close, yet so far, you know?  I also find it kind of a drag that it gets so crowded in the optimal Summer months. I love having the place all to ourselves, which we often do during the cold months.  Hashtag selfish mom. Hashtag first world problems. Hashtag I don't care, get out of my park.

We'll see you soon, Kew Gardens.  Probably tomorrow.

City in a Park: St. James Park

Summer is really, officially, finally here.  For real, you guys.  I can hardly believe it.  One thing I want to do this Summer is explore some of the great parks in Toronto.  Our city is sometimes referred to as "a city within a park" because, well, we have so many of them.  This is the Summer I want to take advantage of that in a more deliberate way.  Lenny has agreed to join me on these excursions and we're both pretty excited.

We've been cooped up the last couple of days, me with work, her with a fever (yes, the Robeau did teach her to say she "needs more cowbell").  Today she started to feel better so she joined me to see her dad play at St. James Cathedral's Snell Hall as part of the Toronto Jazz Festival.  As luck would have it, we had an hour to kill before the show and the grounds of the cathedral is one of Old Toronto's loveliest spots, St. James Park!

Things we loved:  A gazebo (Len loves gazebos), beautiful gardens, room to run downtown, public art (from the Contact Festival), a little water fountain that looks like the one in Jackson Square (you know it had to come back to New Orleans, damn).

Things we didn't love:  No water in the fountain, lots of litter and cigarette butts on the grounds.  This is a downtown park so there are a number of homeless people that basically live there.  That's not an issue for us as far as enjoying the park goes (we met some awesome people and were more than happy to share their space with them), but since the city knows that people are spending so much time there, and they have been for decades, it would be nice if they could clean up the butts, you know?

It's a beautiful spot, in a beautiful part of the city that has so much to offer.  We'll certainly be back.