Seeing the Movie Amy

Nick and I went to the Tuesday matinée showing of the documentary movie about Amy Winehouse last week. (See the trailer here.)

And then on Tuesday night, Amy was alive and well, as she vividly joined me in my dream. A recurrent feeling of sadness hounded me for the next couple of days.

I'd have to say that I'm somewhat of an easy crier -- cue the time I had to explain my tears at work, when a former boss walked into my office just after I'd had a heart-breaking discussion with a co-worker/friend about her cat who had just died -- but I've never cried over the death of a celebrity. Except for Amy Winehouse.

I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing the first time I heard her voice. It was January 2007 and the song was "Rehab". Like so many others I'm sure, I didn't come near envisioning that it had been written and sung by a tiny London-born artist, who was barely out of her teens. I'd heard it played on an indie internet radio station and immediately wanted to hear it again. I bought the album Back to Black and came to know every single note on it, singing along from beginning to end.

I've always preferred female vocalists and Amy Winehouse was (is) certainly a favourite. I looked forward to hearing anything and everything that was yet to come from this phenom.

And then, as suddenly as she came to fame, as we all know, she died in her sleep of excessive alcohol consumption exasperating her weak heart, less than five years after the release of that album, at the age of 27.

So, without doubt, I had to go see this movie, in spite of knowing that it was going to be very sad.

Third Time Lucky : Dinner at Valdez (Now Permanently Closed)

Follow-Up : Valdez has closed.

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My friend Nyla and I have stood in the reception area of this restaurant, Valdez (at 606 King Street West), twice in the past, seeing if we could get a table for dinner, and both times we were told the wait would be a long one. So this time we booked a spot in advance and then looked forward to our chance to sample what they call Latino Street Food.

[The previous unsuccessful times we'd tried to get a seat there were, by no means, a bust though, as we ended up discovering a couple of other good restaurants in the neighbourhood, each of which I enjoyed so much that I've already been to a second time already : Buca - here and here, and The Keg - here and here.]

Speaking of repeat visits to restaurants, this visit to Valdez with Nyla was a week ago Friday and she has already taken a friend from out of town there again this past Saturday. It's a great place, and I totally understand why it is as popular as it is. The service was very friendly and the food, each dish intended to be shared, was creatively prepared and delicious. There is so much to choose from for both vegetarians and otherwise ... take a peek at their dinner menu here.

Out to a Great Concert : Stars

Not only did we get to see a great concert last Wednesday, but this concert was held outdoors on a beautiful evening and happened to be free! The band was Stars and the show was one of the many sponsored events offered by the city in honour of Toronto hosting the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Visiting my Parents and a Classic Car Show

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/vintage-buick-at-barrie-car-show.jpg" alt="vintage-buick-at-barrie-car-show" width="640" height="480" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-29413 blk-brdr">I recently had a week away visiting my mom and dad, where they live in a city called Barrie, that's about an hour and a half drive directly north of Toronto.When they moved there a few years ago, I have to say, I didn't quite understand their reasons for picking it. We had no family ties there, nor any history with the city, but they had been there many times and had decided that that was where they wanted to live.Now that I've gotten to know the city myself, I completely understand their love for it. It's a very pretty place, with fantastic restaurants (including one of my favourites anywhere, Shirley's) and a lovely lakefront with a long walking path. Add to that the fact that it seems there is always something interesting going on somewhere in Barrie, and you have a very nice place to take a little holiday. Of course, for me, it has the added benefit of the chance to spend time with my parents and their cute dog, Kiki.Nick drove me up, stayed for lunch and a visit and then returned home to work and take care of Eddie our cat. I stayed the week and took the bus home on Friday.On Wednesday evening I lucked onto seeing something that left me in awe. I had been seated in my parents' kitchen, having a glass of wine when looking out the window, I saw quite a few gorgeous classic sports cars drive by. I saw so many that I mentioned it to my parents. It turns out that the cars were all heading over to a park along the waterfront for the "Barrie Thunder Classics Cruise Night".I just had to go have a look so my father and I went over.

The Aboriginal Pavilion at Fort York

I like to keep things in order here, in telling you about what I get up to around the city, but I'm going to break with that today by writing about The Aboriginal Pavilion that is currently happening on the western part of Fort York. After going over and taking these pictures yesterday afternoon, I wanted to get this up quickly (before telling you about a fun holiday I've had and a great concert Nick and I went to) because there are only a couple more days for you to go see this before it ends on Sunday. And I encourage you to go because it is really worth seeing. If you have children, I think they will love it. The kids I saw there seemed to be having a great time. Oh, and admission is free!

In fact, there is still time for you to plan to go to the traditional Pow Wow that is taking place from noon to 6 tomorrow - Saturday, July 25. It will be open on Sunday from 10 to 7. This evening (Friday, July 24, there are concerts from 7 to 11, in addition to all kinds of other things going on all day.

Check out their site here, where the pavilion is described as a "19 day Indigenous arts, culture, and sports festival, held concurrent to the Toronto 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games".

(If you live east of Fort York, the entrance on Bathurst Street is open -- it's on the west side of Bathurst, just south of the big metal bridge that crosses the train-tracks. You'll have to pass through the fort on your way to the grounds on the western side, but that in itself is pretty cool.)

The reason I didn't go sooner, and therefore didn't tell you about it earlier, was that I hadn't heard anything about The Aboriginal Pavilion until I saw this story aired on the evening news on Tuesday. The gist of the segment was that one of the artisan vendors had gone over to Nathan Phillips Square, one of the official public spaces for the Panam Games that are currently taking place in Toronto, and set up a display table, that he was quickly ordered to take down. He wanted to get word out to the crowds that were gathering there everyday, that the pavilion was happening at the same time.

In essence, I wasn't the only one who hadn't heard about the this, as attendance has apparently been very sparse -- so much so that this artisan felt the need to unofficially set up his tent like he did. It is unclear why word about it didn't get out, but it is too bad that it didn't, because having seen it myself, I can say that a lot of work and planning went into putting on this extensive and excellent event. It seems that the hard work to organize and execute it had been done but the step of publicizing the event had not adequately notified the public.

Anyway, it's not over yet, and there are still time for you to go and enjoy a very friendly, enriching and interesting experience.

In an area called the Cultural Village, there were some traditional houses set up, and a guided tour ...