Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

When I hear "William Ashley" I think..oh la la...fine china.  The best of the best.

The kind of china, I would be afraid to use.  Remember I have two small boys and an even smaller home.  So, a sale on china wouldn't interest me, BUT...the William Ashley Warehouse Sale is so much more.

It has become a family tradition.  Although the sale is in it's 36th year, this is our 7th year.  And no matter what is happening in our lives, my sister and I, plan, anticipate, prepare and countdown to that wonderful first week in November.

It's really true.

This year, my sister is 38 weeks pregnant with her first child (my goddaughter) and we are still determined to squeeze through those aisles. Now, that's commitment.

Armed with our list, not just Christmas, but birthdays, and a upcoming wedding.

We are focused.

The shelves are stacked with the traditional trusted brand names, Wedgwood and Doulton at up to 90% off the retail prices, but also overflowing with festive holiday decor, bath supplies, kitchen essencials, home & garden decor, hostess gifts, scented candles...and OMG...the cutest baby accessories!

The value and quality are amazing.  And I always pick up a few little things to those we shouldn't forget during the holidays - our teachers, our cafeteria lady, our school crossing guard.

• Remember your list...It's easy to forget what you're looking for - there's so much choice.
• Remember your phone...We have gotten separated many times.  Unique gift ideas pop up at every corner and you stray from the track.
• Be courteous...Manuvering through the aisles evolves skill and practice.  The supplied carts are a bit awkward, best to bring your own bag. It sometimes enables you to get in shopping sooner.  As you might have to wait for one of the limited carts available. I'm just now starting to get the groove of it.
• Please note that no strollers are allowed.  It's challenging, but pack up your little one in a carrier. I did.
• Washrooms are outside - so please go before you go.

Where: 62 Railside Road, Toronto...williamashley.com/warehousesale

When: Mark your calendar - Sale starts November 2nd  to 27th

Wednesday to Friday from 10 am to 9 pm  (Closed for re-stocking on Monday and Tuesday)

Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm

Check our New Daily Deals at: William Ashley Daily Deals

You will not be disappointed....I'll be back....

"Lose Yourself Without Getting Lost"

I had a blast last weekend being a tourist in my own city of Toronto with the help of an app from GPSmyCity.com. I love my guide books. Frommers, Lonely Planet, Fodor's - they all have their strengths and weaknesses.  It's leafing through a well-researched guide book that you stumble onto amazing off-the-beaten-path gems.

But lugging them about is another issue. It's when I'm out and about in a city that I tend to leave my guidebook back in the B&B. Travel apps are changing all that. You fit your map, walking tours, and highlights in the palm of your hand.

I logged onto iTunes and downloaded a free GPSmyCity self-guided walking tour of the Cabbagetown neighbourthood in Toronto onto my iPhone and off I went. No hefty guidebook and no unwieldy map getting folded in the wind.

You can choose from 470 self-guided walking city tours around the world. In Canada, the offerings cover the country from Halifax to Quebec City to Victoria, B.C.

A couple other benefits: No Internet connection is necessary once you download and if you're travelling abroad, it means no ghastly, incredibly costly roaming charges. (Don't get me started on those!)

The basic level of the application is free. For a few bucks, you can upgrade and get some cool perks, such as the convenience of seeing your walking route clearly displayed on the map for quick reference (and I found walking directions spot-on). Plus, there's a very cool FindMe feature that displays your exact location - a great way to keep from getting lost!

Just scroll through the GPSmyCity list , strap on your boots and get walking.

Happy travels!

To the outside world I'm just a guy walking down a Toronto street on a Saturday afternoon listening to his iPod. But in reality, okay, in 'my' reality, I'm in a 4X4 crossing the incredible Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the world's largest salt flats.

And the guy you see in the morning line-up at Starbucks waiting for his dark-roasted cuppa to kick-start his day? He's not listening to Justin Bieber. (Trust me!) He's thousands of miles away, riding a rickshaw toward a temple in Chennai, India.

Podcasts are the new radio for me. Over the last two years I've become addicted, especially to travel-related podcasts. I get to plug into what I want when I want - and escape to wherever I want.

Over the next while I'm going to share with you - and rave about - my top 5 favourite travel podcasts.

First up: Chris Christensen of The Amateur Traveler.

Chris Christensen, The Amateur Traveler

5 Reasons You Want to Listen to This Travel Podcaster

• Format: Chris Christensen of The Amateur Traveler delivers an engaging and informative interview each week (his video podcasts are twice-monthly) with guests from all over the world. He typically follows a Q&A format with his guests, who range from amateur travellers to travel industry experts. And some weeks, I think he just follows his instincts and gives free rein to that day's guest, asking open-ended questions that enable the interviewee to take over. At the end of each episode he asks a standard set of questions. My favourite: "Describe to me a moment when you know you are the farthest away from home." He opens up entire new worlds by asking that question. Bonus: all podcasts are bursting with great take-away advice and service-tips. Chris crafts his questions in such a way that they bring out the unforgettable travel moments, but also the how-to and best tips and what do avoid.

• Personality: Friendly, informative, inquiring, articulate, thoughtful and honest. He's the first to fess up if he's goofed on a historical or geographical fact. He's soft-spoken yet gets the goods out of his guests. He doesn't come on like a hard-hitting journalist. Rather, he gently draws out descriptive detail and memorable travel experiences, and he asks questions that conjure up specific images in amazing detail - without even being there.  Gary Arndt, the award-winning travel blogger behind Everything Everywhere, frequently introduces Chris Christensen as "the man so nice they named him twice."

• Talks about Canada: Chris has devoted several podcasts to Canada. Listen his segments on Prince Edward Island, Toronto, the Yukon and Kingston, Ontario. This is what the rest of the world is hearing about Canada.

• Talks to Canadians: Not only does Chris occasionally cover Canada, but he also interviews Canadians who've travelled afar. In one episode titled "Traveling Iran by Bike", he interviews Canadians Friedel and Andrew Grant. Friedel guests in another podcast episode devoted to "Bike Travel in Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)." Another excellent Canadian guest has been Montreal-born lawyer-turned-world-traveller Jodi Ettenberg who's behind the popular web site Legal Nomads. In this episode, Jodi reports on her trip to Chile.

• Great photos: The Amateur Traveller photography gallery is a must-visit for any travel enthusiast. My personal favourite is his Asia Photo Gallery.

More About Chris Christensen

The not-so-amateur traveller Chris Christensen, known to peers as Chris 2X

To know more about Chris, read his profile on the Amateur Traveler web site. You can also catch him on the weekly group panel podcast This Week In Travel.

Stay tuned for my No. 2 favourite travel podcaster. And I'd like to know of any travel-related podcasts you follow. Send me a message at DougCanLiving@canadianliving.com or, better yet, post your response here.

Happy travels!
P.S. Yeah, okay, as you've probably noticed above, our style is to spell traveller with two l's while the American spelling, which Chris uses, calls for just one l. Noted.

And down the avenue they came, all dressed in red.

Running for a good cause (courtesy Toronto Santa Speedo Run)

In the past couple of weeks I've shared snapshots of holiday traditions in Banff Lake Louise, Alberta, St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick and Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the city where I live, Toronto, Yuletide rituals tend to follow the same traditional, cozy pattern that you'll find in other parts of Canada. However, there are a few Christmas traditions in the venerable Big Smoke (a long-held nickname for Toronto) that offer a twist of their own. The Toronto Santa Speedo Run is just one of them.

Decked out in nothing but red Speedos and a smile (and maybe an elf's cap), a group of diehard, big-hearted runners take to the streets of the trendy Yorkville area of Toronto  on a Saturday in mid-December (this year's run was on Dec. 11)  in an annual fund-raiser for the Hospital for Sick Children. The group, men and women of all shapes, have raised more than $140,000 since 2005 and the proceeds go to the Toys and Games fund at Sick Kids.

Warming up before the run (courtesy Toronto Santa Speedo Run)

Chilly temperatures and snow can't keep a good runner down (courtesy Toronto Santa Speedo Run)

It's never too late to donate. Just visit the  Toronto Santa Speed Run donation page or contact Sick Kids Hospital.

And if you're so inclined, ask Santa for a pair of sneakers this year and join next year's run. There's a red Speedo waiting with your name on it. (Now that could make a fun stocking stuffer.)

Cheers!

Today's Toronto Star ran an article (Green's carbon footprint) about the conundrums surrounding organic waste. Here in Toronto, we have a green bin program. Our green bins are meant for organic waste and are picked up from the curb once a week. It's a great program that has grown at a rapid pace (yearly, we toss 115,000 tonnes of organic waste into the green bin).

But because of this positive response from Toronto citizens, the program has begun to see some difficulties. Here are some of the problems: We use plastic bags to store the waste, so the green bin program contributes an obscenely large amount of bags to landfills. Also, because the program has grown so much and so quickly, our small organics processing facility cannot hold all the organic waste we produce. As a result, we've been transporting the spillover in diesel-burning trucks all the way to Quebec.

The City of Toronto website highlights how successful the project has been and how they're trying to implement organic waste options in multi-unit dwelling. There are currently 30 pilot projects under way. However, once buildings are able to separate organic waste from regular waste, our processing facility will be even more burdened than it already is.

It's no wonder this project is so overwhelmed - just look how much and how fast it's grown since its inception in 2002. I'm confident that Toronto will continue to work on ironing out all its kinks. Perhaps soon it will be mandatory to use biodegradable or paper bags on our green bins, just like they do in Durham and maybe the city will build more processing plants so we don't have to cart our waste to Quebec.

I can't wait to see what other incentives will be developed to help make our community greener

Read more:
• Canada's greenest communities
• How to start your own compost pile
• Guide to living greener

Something quite interesting came to my attention the other day. The InterContinental Toronto Yorkville (a downtown hotel) is featuring an EcoCab. They will be offering the service to their guests for trips in and around the downtown core. You can certainly be pedaled around Toronto in style in one of these babies.

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