4-9th Apr: Leila “beta tested” a new home delivery marketplace called Cookin’ for a food article (HNGRY) – food was good, but they by mistake delivered some of the wrong items! There was crazy rain this week in Toronto. Iman had her charity boxing fight and she won!! Then Leila’s family went to Nattika beach resort in India with George and L was jealous because she really wanted a holiday. On Thursday, they went to Soho House for Will’s gig where he had partnered with a producer, Bluxx, to stage a show at Soho House for 4 local Toronto artists. They really enjoyed it with Annie, Paddy, Tamara and Will. Will was so in his zone and some of the artists were great (e.g. TRYZTAN). The next day was Easter but L didn’t have the day off because its not a US holiday but A did. He started the day reading in bed for a long time and looked very pleased. L made brunch which was a nice weekend activity to do in the middle of the Friday. In the afternoon, A went to Ideal Coffee and Wine and sat in the sun. He had a glass of wine and wrote his reviews.
On Saturday, they cycled to Evergreen Brickworks and went to Bevy cafe en route and got great aubergine sandwiches and falafel scotch egg from Cabbagetown and ate it in Riverdale park. It was l’s first time cycling this year and first since her back was injured, and she really enjoyed it. They then met Aleem, Sadru and Shiloo at Evergreen and bad a lovely walk with them. They came home and made a big “them” meal of veggies and potatoes.
On Sunday, L had a pedicure and met a cute dog. They spent the morning cutting salad (L) and making pastries and veg (A), and then went to Annie and Paddy’s for Easter lunch. It was L’s first ever Easter lunch. It was the usual crew plus Conor, Harry and Cat. Everyone chipped in and the meal was great. They had smoked Salmon latke, Lamb, Salmon, Brussels / kale salad (made by L), pasties (made by A), asparagus and courgette (made by A), potatoes, then lots of dessert (apple pie). The table was set up very nicely and had choc lindt rabbits for everyone. We were at their house for AGES and left at 7pm feeling very full and happy. It was a beautiful sunny day and the view was gorgeous.
10th-12th April: They worked their usual days and then went to GIA on College for plant forward Italian food to celebrate their 4 year anniversary! The pastas were VERY tasty – possibly best gnocchi L had ever eaten. On 12th, they were packing for Montreal but it was weirdly hot so they decided to go for a walk and ended up walking into Soos, a Malaysian restaurant on Ossington, where the food was good but not incredible (they are fussy).
13th April (family in Montreal): The next morning they walk to Billy Bishop via Milky’s coffee in the sun, and had the most chilled flight ever to Montreal. The flight attendant was so nice and gave us extra seats and water and food. On arrival in Montreal, they went straight to parents hotel and then to lunch with Alex’s mum, dad and Misha at Dandy’s. They had a lovely brunch and it was super hot and sunny. They wandered around with the family, L DoorDashed some bagels to the hotel and they set off for Mont Tremblant together. The chalet was beautiful with views of the lake and it was so hot. They decided to go and do groceries whilst A did some work so they cook dinner, and then Misha led the cooking and they made Trout, potatoes , baba ghanoush, salad, etc. The meal was lovely and it was nice to sit around the dinner table with the family. We love home cooking. L had a bad nights sleep though and A looked after her and came to lie on the sofa with her. But they had a little lie in the next day because A had a work call, so they hit the slopes at 11. L had some time in the morning which she really appreciated.
They met the fam on the slopes and L and A did the bunny hill followed immediately by the easy green which went all the way up the mountain. It was so hot skiing that L did not wear gloves or a jacket. L was feeling much more comfortable but then it got quite slushy in the afternoon so she retired and A went skiing with Misha. L went to chill with A’s parents – it was so hot, even to swim. Then A, L and Misha went on a little wander around the town and the lake, which was cute. They then drove to Ekki Sushi, which was a lovely but techy cool vibe wooden chalet restaurant place. The food was great though and A paid for it! Ayanna loved the chicken teriyaki and we all loved the uni and the gyoza. The next day, A hit the slopes with his family earlier whilst L stayed back so they could go on harder runs. Then L did some skiing but it was so hot and slushy that it was difficult BUT she did a blue, twice! (struggled down). She had a little cry on her first blue because it was so slushy but she did it anyways. Then they had a sunny lunch at an Italian restaurant with the family, and L decided not to ski anymore. A and Misha went on some blacks, stopped at the party and had drinks together, and L went to the gym to stretch. Then A and L toured the other hotels in the area, and went to Fairmont and Quintessence and they LOVED Quintessence. It had the most incredible view of the lake. They liked it so much that they went to get Misha, Mum and Dad from their cocktail bar and moved them there to have another glass of wine. They played the name on the head game and Martin couldn’t guess english, forward footballer as Peter Crouch. He kept guessing Harry kane. It was hilarious. They then tried to go for raclette but realised it was all you can eat, then left, then went to pizza, then left, then went to a fancy Forge restaurant, which was good but it was very late by that point. But L, A, and M shared fish and sides and they were happy.
On Sunday, they drove back to Montreal and stopped at Marche Atwater on the way. They returned the car and got on the train back! It was a very sleepy train journey back and they ate lovely baguette, cheese etc. and Ayanna had brought wine. L snoozed a bit and watched Dynasty. A had a deep chat with his mum whilst they snoozed. They arrived back in Toronto at 7pm, checked into the guest suite, and then immediately set off for dinner but it was raining by this point so they went to La Palette. The waiter was really nice and they tried lots of wines and then had a nice french meal.
On Monday, L woke up and A’s were already in the apartment and she had to go thru the condo without clothes on and his parents looked away. They set off for Niagra and went on Maid of the Mist and then to Skylon and then to Inniskillin for ice wine tasting. It was A’s mums bday. In the afternoon, M and A set up the house for a mini party and went to Kensington market to get decorations, smoked salmon, oysters, focaccia, and L brought a cheesecake. There were balloons everywhere and their mum was super happy when she came in, like genuinely so so happy. They had a drink and some oysters and then went to Grey Gardens for dinner. It was such a great dinner. The food was amazing, especially the braised cabbage which Misha loved. She took a photo of the menu. Everyone was very happy and the waitress was lovely. L treated them all to the meal.
On Tuesday, A’s family were leaving that eve so he spent most of the day walking around with them. He went to 135 Ossington with his dad and did some work there, and then walked around with Misha for a bit. They then went to PAI for dinner and L met them there after work for a quick meal pre-airport. Ayanna had bought her a top and she felt very grateful, for the whole week. They had been so generous and she had felt like family. They headed to the airport and A + L had a chilled evening.
The rest of the week was very relaxed. On Friday night, they went to a “No Information” black tie event at Soho House with Will, Tamara, Paddy, Annie and Conor. L didn’t want to go as it was so much effort to get dressed but they did it very chilled. They got ready at 9pm and were there by 10pm. A had bought a suit from Value Village and they clipped it because it was too big but it was a great find, especially as the other boys went to actually buy Black Tie just for one evening. They got to Soho House and it was burlesquey and they all wore masks for the whole evening. They did some naked life drawing together and A did it very intensely. It was was a really fun evening with friends and nice to be dressed up. They came home around 2.30pm and went to bed .
On Saturday, they went for brunch in The Annex with Julie-Anne, Michael and his friend Emily. It was very rainy but the walk was lovely. A had a minor hangover. They then went to Michael’s to play video games – L’s first time playing video games with A!! It was surprisingly fun and such a cosy afternoon with friends. She felt so lucky to have good friends in Toronto. They then walked back through Toronto very slowly via BMV books and Sue Fungs for dim sum which was great as always. Wrexham just got promoted and A was SO excited, and also excited to make a little library of sci fi books in London. He then spent hours on Oxfam finding second hand books to buy and bought 9. When they got home, they cooked a “them” style meal with lots of veggies and halloumi and watched the final episode of This is Us and then went to bed reading together. It was lovely.
Alex was reflecting on how grateful he was for his job, family and friends – they feel very supported with good stable jobs and get to spend weekends with a gang of diverse people they really enjoy being with.
Coffee, Wine and Isolation 