Toronto Evergreen Brickworks

The Toronto brickwork has become one of my favourite place to head on the weekend this summer. They have a year round farmers market but it's outside may through October. The farmers market with its large variety of vendors is the main attraction for me. It's nice to go and pick up a week's worth of local fruit and veggies.

Even if you're not into the farmers market or you decide to go throughout the week when the market isn’t open there is still lots to see. It’s best to check their website for all the going ons of course. Through the week this summer though there are things like, Camp Night where you can sit around a campfire and make bracelets with the kids. Or perhaps pizza night where you can grab a pizza from the on site woodfired over then go for a bike ride after. There is a bike rentals and a bike repair shop on site so you don't even need to bring a bike. 

To get there you can either take a wheelchair accessible shuttle bus from broadview station or a TTC bus from Davisville subway station. The TTC bus only runs Saturday and Sunday though. I prefer going via davisville because the bus is easier to board. The shuttle bus has a lift but it's very small with limited tie down options. I don’t suggest trying it with a larger power chair. Both bus options only run every 30 minutes.  

The site is generally pretty wheelchair accessible. There are accessible washrooms in the main building. There is one large stall in each of the mens and womens washrooms. My only complaint was the automated hand dryer was too high up for me to use that well. The grounds can be a bit uneven depending on your route. I don't think most will have much trouble let with this though.

Over all the Brickworks is a fun place to go. It’s perfect for families but you’ll enjoy it even if you’re on your own or just going as a couple. It some how has a different feel than being in the rest of the city. Kind of a place to escape a bit even if you’re just in the Don Valley.

St. Lawrence Market

St. Lawrence Market is one of my favourite places in Toronto. No matter where I travel I always try and find a nice local market or grocery store. As I've written about before here it's great to have some nice food to keep in your hotel room for a snack in the afternoon or evening. Often I pick up cheese or fruit, whatever is local and in season. 

St. Lawrence market is really two spaces. There is the main market building that is open Tuesday through Saturday. The building contains over 120 vendors. There is a huge selection of meats, cheeses and pretty much anything else you could possibly want. There are vendors that sell every kind of seafood you can think of and a few good places that have lots of fruit and veggies. There are also a few vendors on both levels that sell prepared dishes. The highlights are Busters Sea Cover for great seafood and Carousel Bakery for their pea-meal bacon sandwich. So wether you have just have a small hotel room or a AirBnB that has a full out kitchen or grill you'll find something here to take back with you. 

If you're around on a Saturday morning there is also a farmers market. Currently located south of the main St. Lawrence building. Here local farms and vendors come out to sell directly to customers. I love this place as I really like dealing with the farmers directly. Almost everything is amazingly fresh and the prices tend to be quite good. 

Accessibility 

The best way to enter the main building is off Front street. There are three doors off of front street and the elevator is located near the middle one. This will take you down to the washrooms in the lower level. There isn't any wonderful transit to get out to the market. It's about a 10 minute walk from Union Station and The Sherbourne bus # 75 is also just a few blocks away and can take you up to Bloor Street.

The Places I would go - 2015 edition

Like most years 2014 had been a year of ups and downs. I didn't do a lot of traveling in 2014 but my wife and I did go to New York for a week which was great. This year won't hold a ton of travel either. In fact this post obviously was go up in January. However a new addition to the family came a bit early and I just never got the time to finishing writing this until now. That said I though I'd provide a list of some of the places I'd go in 2015 if time and money were no issue. That's okay I normally don't travel until the spring anyway.

Paris 
When we were starting to plan our trip to New York last year there was a bit of a debate. New York or Paris. Since clearly New York won out in the end I'd go to Paris this coming year. I went once when I was in my mid teens but that was quite a while ago now. It might be the most popular destination for tourists in the world but I think that's with good reason. Everyone goes to Paris for their own reasons. For me its the food and get culture institutions like the louvre.  Though I think that's going to be a trend with the rest of this list too. 

Chicago 
I've visited Chicago in the past. It remains on of my favourite American cities though and I'd love to go back there. The art galleries and museums are top notch of course and I'd probably visit them again even though i've been. But like visiting anyplace for a second time there are things missed the first time around that I'd like to get to. I wouldn't feel that pressure though and it would be a more relaxing trip.

Montreal
One of the oldest cities in Canada. The history, the culture and the food. Those are the reasons you visit Montreal I think. I made a brief visit to Montreal in early highschool. However visiting it at this point in my life would be vastly different of course. Like many large cities Montreal is build out of a number of distinct neighbourhoods. Getting around Montreal by wheelchair could bit a little bit of a challenge it seems. Just like Toronto all the buses are accessible but the subway system leaves a lot to be desired. 

Iceland
Iceland seems to be the photographers dream location these days. This is doubly true if you're into landscape photography. I'm more of a street photography but I'm not immune to just how outstanding gouges Iceland looks. If i'm honest I don't know a lot about the country but I that's part of why it's interesting to me. From what I've read Iceland also seems to be reasonably wheelchair friendly too.

Ecuador
I have a few friends who have family in and visit Ecuador each year. I've never been to South America myself and I'd love to make Ecuador the first visit. there The capitol city Quito is a designated UNESCO world heritage site. Ecuador also has one of the highest number of different species of animals for a county it's size. Because Ecuador had Lenin Moreno, a vice president who uses a wheelchair the country is more wheelchair accessible than most in South America. So the changes of being able to get around see what you want might be better than most places.