Fed Full Sunday

The last two Sundays were pleasant for different reasons. After having fun traipsing through different areas on Saturday, I spent my last day in Toronto chilling out in the East End. Yet it was also a "typical" Toronto day that I don't have in Ottawa.

I woke early and finished off the last of my Ethiopian left-overs. Despite clunky sentences in need of an editor, these posts take over an hour to write. I then lazed around in bed reading magazine articles. I had remembered to bring some gym clothes for yoga this time but it was almost didn't work out. Toronto Yoga Co must have a vibrant community because every class was full. Luckily I was the first on the wait-list and a spot opened up.

It was a 5-minute walk to the studio. As it was my first time, I was given a quick tour. TYC wasn't quite as spacious as the old location of Yoga Space but it was bigger than most: a cloak-room with small lockers (and free tea), a Pilates room, and a yoga studio on the top floor. The class was excellent because the instructor gave detailed cues in a smooth cadence. I was impressed with her delivery and knowledge and looked her up afterwards. It turned out she was a Communications and Kinesiology double major before training for Pilates and Yoga.

I finished my chicken vindaloo for lunch. It was a big lunch for left-overs and still packed quite a kick so I rested for a bit just in case things went south. I felt fine so I strolled down to Gerrard Square at 3 pm. At Monarch Park, folks were practicing tai-chi, having picnics, and just hanging out. There was no good sneakers selection at Winners but I grabbed some banh mi (for dinner) and bao (for breakfast) from Huy Ky. A $5 mango lassi from Chai, Samosa & Chaat completed a simple Sunday meal.

This past Sunday back in Ottawa was also pleasant but it started out more stressful. To meet up with friends in Old Ottawa South, I took two buses through dense traffic. The local universities were having their annual football match and the roads were packed with students and cars. I got off at Riverdale and Sunnyside to walk through the neighbourhood. With poor transit, I have never visited this part of Ottawa. Older homes and tree-lined side streets, a busy main drag with numerous stores, there was definitely a Toronto-vibe here; this could have been The Annex or Dufferin Grove. I suspect this was why my friend, who briefly moved to The Big Smoke, raised her family here instead of in the suburbs.

My destination was a Korean restaurant called Table Sodam. We were five this day though we lost one person after ordering. A friend's spouse, who was a picky eater, decided to ditch the rest of us to go dine solo at Stella Luna after looking at the menu. The remaining 3 all chose the Bulgogi Bibimbap ($24) while I opted for the Dak Gang Jung ($23). It was a filling but average meal of fried chicken, banchan, and rice. Talk revolved around family life since several kids were wrapping up high school. One had sent her oldest to an out-of-town university in September. He was done with independence after a month and was ready to move back home. For now, there were daily calls to the parental units and no doubt many more to the high-school sweetheart. We made tentative plans for a December meet-up and bid adieu. With the game wrapped up, it was a quicker trip back downtown though the connecting bus to my East-End place still crawled along as per usual.