Summer night in Toronto and nostalgia

A client of mine was leaving her company and so I was invited for drinks at her goodbye party in downtown Toronto last night. Just for context, we live in a suburb outside of Toronto. On a good traffic day, the commute into Toronto can be anywhere from 30-40 minutes. On a bad day, well over an hour.

So, it can sometimes be agonizing about deciding going into the City. But I decided to go and as expected, given the time of day, it took me well over an hour. But I worked in downtown Toronto for almost 25 years and once I get into the City, I am always at ease.

I had a lovely time at the goodbye party, catching up with clients and colleagues in the industry. It was at The Keg on York Street. I used to work in the building adjacent to The Keg and was there at its soft and grand opening, where their drink prices were reflective of the year The Keg first opened (1971). I have had many great get togethers there, first dates (it was close to where I worked) and I was remembering all of that throughout the night.

After the event ended, I decided to take a walk and refamiliarize myself with the downtown core. I am in Toronto a lot, but typically for work and events and I never get a chance to amble, so I did. And it was the perfect summer’s night. Not too hot, the bustle of people leaving work had trickled out and there were other strollers, just enjoying the night.

The patios were full to the brim, because of course, it was a Thursday night and was lovely people watching. I walked by restaurants with new names, where once upon a time, I used to meet like clockwork every week, to catch up over drinks with my fellow crew of young lawyers. We talked about everything under the sun, and tried new martinis and drinks, still figuring out our favourites.

New buildings, where old familiar buildings once had been. When I made partner at my previous firm, right after the partnership meeting, a group of partners took me out to celebrate at Hy’s, a highly regarded steakhouse. Its location has since moved and as I walked by its former and new locations, I remembered the celebratory feeling of that night and the support for those who attended. It was a special night.

I ran across King Street Carrie Bradshaw style, to see if my favourite doughnut store was still open, and it was. I picked up a dozen for the family and then returned to my stroll. I decided to walk up to Old City Hall, because I had seen that there was an art show, and I wanted to see if it was still ongoing.

When I first moved to Toronto, I lived just up the street from Old City Hall, and it always had something going on in the summer. I moved from London, Ontario, to downtown Toronto, with the help of 2 great friends in the summer of 2000. I had next to no money, because I had to pay for a month of a bar admission’s course, before I started my articling year and had no sources of income during that time. So, it was super hard that first month in Toronto being surrounded by great restaurants, and people going out for drinks. For the first time in my life, I lived on my credit card and it was not a nice feeling.

So when I wanted to do something fun without spending money, I would end up walking through Old City Hall, to see what performance or exhibit they had and this remains to date. There would be farmer’s markets, art exhibits, cultural shows and exhibits – always something going on. But current day, unfortunately, as I arrived, the art exhibit was closing up and I missed it.

So I drove home, again, passing through a different part of Toronto. John Street was always the life of the party and it has not changed. I drove by the building where I threw my 30th birthday party and remembered the great time I had that night. By that point, I could afford to throw a party and invite my friends to celebrate in style. Another great memory.

And when I got home, the house was empty. My husband had taken the kids out and I had the place to myself, which is an odd occurrence. I decided to take advantage, and after cleaning up, I changed into comfy clothes, got a speaker and moved to the deck, where I turned out the deck lights and sat, page turning magazines, sipping on some ginger ale and enjoying the beautiful summer night from a different perspective. When the family returned, one daughter stayed out with me, while the other found the doughnuts, and she and I listened to music and talked.

We watched this fun video of a group of musicians performing Star Gazing by Myles Smith (https://www.tiktok.com/@juliencohen_piano/video/7525204753165454614) and we looked up to find the first star of the night.

The perfect moment on a perfect night.

But that’s just one Diva’s view!