I am the first to admit I am an urban princess. There is nowhere in the world I'd rather be than Manhattan. I don't like the country and I'm not a big fan of suburbs. I like walkable communities with lots of character, diversity and activity. Cookie-cutter housing developments, strip malls and sidewalk free areas are not for me. This is why we live in downtown Toronto. No, we have no backyard to speak of, just a big deck, a paved area, and a little garden (with red currents and raspberries!), yes our house is small, but it is so worth it to live so centrally, with access to so many amazing urban resources.
That being said, I'm not sure Toronto actually has suburbs. Most of the areas I think of as suburbs of Toronto: Mississauga, Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Vaughan, etc., are actually cities in their own right. Yet Torontoneighbourhoods.net also lists these areas, and others, as being Toronto suburbs so perhaps even though they are all entirely seperate municipalities (except maybe Thornhill), they are still considered suburbs? I don't know, but I do know that most of the areas I've mentioned look and feel like suburbs. Nevertheless, unlike the suburbs that typify middle America, I am willing to concede that there is a lot more diversity and charm in many of the communities in the Greater Toronto Area. In fact, places like Mississauga and Brampton have quickly growing ethnic communities as more and more immigrants settle in these areas. You are now just as likely to get awsome Chinese or Indian food outside the city as you are inside.
It was not a search for great ethnic food, however, that brought me out to Mississauga this week, but rather, a need for fitness equipment. We used to have a Fitness Source on Yonge st, but now the remaining stores are all in the burbs. The company is going out of business - apparently Canadian Tire bought the chain and then decided to close all of them ?!? - so they are having massive sales. One of the clips for our strength training equipment broke, and we lost the stability ball valve for our pump, so I decided to make the drive to their south Mississauga location. They didn't have the clip (they told me to try Lowe's), but, man can you get some good deals there right now!
I got New Balance runners, normally $140, for $40!
I got 2-8lb dumbells (we already have 3s, 5s, 10s, 12s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 40s, and a single 50) for $14.00!
I got Adiva pilates balls for $5.99!
I got weight lifting gloves for Adam for $12!
They gave me the pump valve for free!
The deals are seriously insane. Insanity DVD set for $69.99, treadmills, crosstrainers, bikes, for 50% off or more, yoga mats for $9.99...pretty much everything I saw was at least 40% off.
On the way home, I stopped into Medium Rare, a gourmet butcher and food shop I'd read about. Hey, not like I get out that way too often! I'd heard they have pretty amazing, all-natural, products including a wide variety of sausages. Like most gourmet food stores, the prices were a little shocking, so I just got some jerk chicken sausages for Adam and I (4 were $14!).
I also stopped at a Nutrition House on the Kingsway - which is in Etobicoke, which is now considered part of Toronto proper - and picked up some of the Joseph's Lavash I like, that doesn't seem to be available downtown...and a Bulk Barn across the street to get some baking supplies.
I may not have gotten what I originally went for, but I have to say, my jaunt to Mississauga - with a stop in Etobicoke - was quite successful. The stack of receipts is not going to thrill Adam...nor the mud splattered all over our car from driving through some road construction...hee hee, sorry honey!
So if you want any sort of fitness equipment - big or small - head to a Fitness Source location ASAP, as I believe they will all close by September.
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