First of all, I’d like to apologize for my absence. I am not back on track! :)
RUNTO was such an awesome event! Sponsored by Nike, more than 10,000 participants ran 10km around the Island. We were provided with food, drinks, a dri-fit shirt, an electronic timing chip and a medal after the run. I managed to my time at 1 hour, 10 minutes and 50 seconds.

I would like to introduce all Toronto Metrobloggers and fellow Torontonians to future races and runs that will be coming up. It’s a great activity to do in the summer and so much fun! I would like to invite everyone for the next race that is on June 16, 2005 known as the Bay Street Rat Race. It is a run for United Way and here is the link for more details .. http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/RatRace_Site_05/index.html

Hope to see you there!

It has only opened for about 3 weeks and the place is small and quaint. In the front part of the cafe, they have a small collection of beautiful paintings. The back portion, is the cafe. How’s the food? MAGNIFICENT! They have an excellent selection of savoury crepes as well as Sweet crepes, and they can be made white or brown (how healthy is that!!!). Their savoury crepes look delish with a wide range of fillings like veal parmagiana, and salmon. They are in the process of expanding their selection of sweet crepes but I am quite confident that their upcoming selections will not disappoint! The prices are very reasonable and affordable (The most expensive crepe costs $11.50 and they have daily specials for a crepe and coffee for $6.00 too!). Their list of hot drinks are amazing as they cater Illy coffee and the Tea Emporium tea. Lela (the owner) makes her own truffles and they are absolutely decadent! Made from 100% organic cocoa and fine liquer, she has a wide selection for you to choose from. Another thing I must recommend from their menu is their Tartufo! SCRUMPTIOUS! This handmade dessert is made from organic ingredients and has just the right amount of sugar. YUM!

Art Square is opened during the weekdays and Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and on the Sunday from 9am to 6pm. With such elegant decor and delicious food, this is a cafe you won’t want to miss out!

Cheers!

Recently, one of my bestfriends called me and said, “Do you want to join a pilates class with me at Retrofit Body Works? It’s one hour a week for 12 weeks for $195.00 and I have to sign up fast because space is limited!” I immediately said yes, not knowing what I was really getting into. Retrofit is located between High Park and Jane subway stations and it’s in a studio above RBC. I thought the price was pretty steep, but they provided all the necessary equipment, unlike the other classes where I had to buy a mat.

I went for my first class yesterday and we met our instructor Natalia who was extremely friendly. The studio was like the size of a two bedroom apartment. It’s pretty small compared to other places, but very comfortable. I was very impressed with the studio as it was very well-equipped and clean.

There were about 10-15 people in the class and we were spread out in the studio. We did alot of exercises using the bolster and the fitness circle. The thing that really impressed me with the class was the instructor, who was very informative and helpful. She explained the exercises very thoroughly and went around the room to help people who had problems with positioning. If there was an exercise we didn’t understand or didn’t feel was done correctly, she never hesistated to help. After that one hour, my abs were killing me but the pain was a good pain!

After class, we met a couple of our fellow classmates and also skimmed through the different fitness programmes that they offered. They have a Bootcamp Pilates, Pilates for before and after pregnancy, Pilates classes for all different levels, private pilate lessons, and Pilates for Runners. After one week, I am hooked and I can’t wait to go back! I definitely recommend people to check out this place… after all, summer is coming soon and wouldn’t it be a great time to buy a bikini?

Cheers!

However, there is something about the arrival of spring that makes me slightly mad. The melting of the snow…. revealing the piles of garbage! Snowbanks are NOT garbage dumps, and “The weather is too cold for me to take my hands out of my mittens to throw/pick up garbage” is not an excuse! It is always during the winter season that Torontonians tend to become litterbugs!

I was watching Cable Pulse and they were saying that the city has to now spend extra money to clean up it’s streets. Tourists and residents of Toronto are complaining about the filth! I thought Toronto was a relatively clean city compared to many major cities in the world. We have garbage disposable areas at almost every street corner and I always see campaigns to keep the city clean. We’ve kept it up good so far…. why spoil it now?

I’m disappointed to know that our tax money, health and image has been jeopardized by people who couldn’t make the effort to throw their garbage into the trash can.

Every Saturday morning, I visit Kensington Market and the number of conversations I have with the various shopkeepers are endless. From the butcher, to the baker and even the man who sells African Jewellery at the side of the street! Occasionally, I stop by Moonbean to have a cup of coffee, and I usually find myself engaging in conversations with other customers about all sorts of things that we would have in common.

Nearby Kensington Market, is Chinatown. By lunchtime, I am often CRAVING for a plate of Roast Duck with Won Tons and Noodles. Kings Noodle is a great place to visit. It’s clean and the food is very well prepared. If I am alone, I’ll usually share a table with someone and the past few times that I’ve been there, I’ve shared tables with people who were really talkative! After lunch, I’ll go to my favourite Chinese grocery shop to buy some cheap and well-priced fruits. Funny enough, most of the workers in this shop are from Malaysia and we have a great time talking about home.

Although it’s great to go to Kensington and Chinatown with a partner, sometimes.. it’s not that bad to go alone either!

Hart House Theatre presents the 10th annual
U of T Festival of Dance
Thurs, Mar 31 to Sat, April 2 7:30pm
Tickets $12 / $10 students & seniors
Our 2004-2005 Season closes in April with the University of Toronto Festival of Dance. This is the 10th annual celebration of the diversity of dance at U of T, and dance styles from all over the world. Each night of FoD features a different, eclectic array of dancers