I was born in Toronto and have travelled the world. One reason I feel so at home no matter where I go is probably because my hometown is, in fact, the world in miniature; a tapestry of global cultures that knot together to form the one culture I call my own.

Anybody can feel at home in Toronto, and most of its citizens travel with ease, already familiar with Asian customs, African food and European language, just from living in this cosmopolitan city.

When I returned to Toronto after a long absence, I understood why first-time visitors immediately notice Toronto's cleanliness, vast green spaces, prominent CN Tower and futuristic Sky Dome sports arena, but I knew that there is much more to the city than that which is apparent at first sight..

Busy Days and Exciting Nights
Downtown, the heart of this metropolis pulsates with the various rhythms of the many ethnic groups who live here (147 according to the last census).

Unlike their neighbour to the south, the United States, Canada encourages its immigrants to preserve, rather than to assimilate, their cultures, and nowhere is this preservation more evident than in Toronto's diverse gastronomy. Whether the craving is for Ethiopian stews, Jamaican jerk chicken, sushi, roti, pad Thai, cabbage rolls, crepes Suzette, tacos or a hamburger, it can be easily filled in any of the excellent restaurants or outdoor markets the city has to offer.

Kensington Market, found inside Chinatown, just off Spadina Avenue, is a colourful example of how shopkeepers from around the globe have brought delicacies from their homelands to be sold here, in their chosen home. As for "Canadian food", well, I guess pancakes with maple syrup and bacon are the only two we can truly call our own.

Pigging out must be counterbalanced by working out, and High Park is just the place. Manicured lawns and gardens, placid lakes and car-free paths encourage all kinds of physical activity, from peddling bikes to paddling boats.

Going through the south east end of the park, you'll find Grenadier Pond, where silent swans disdain hordes of honking Canadian geese and mallard ducks, and where cute squirrels charmed nuts from my pockets. More exotic animals, like bison, yaks, llamas and peacocks are kept in the tiny zoo at the centre of the park's 42 hectares.

Each summer, free productions of Shakepearean plays are presented to the public in the park, but entertainment abounds all year round in any of the city's numerous theatres. In fact, Kings Street West has earned its title as the theatre district due to the fact that it has offered wildly successful spectacles like Miss Saigon and Les Miserables over the years.

Nearby, Roy Thomspson Hall and the O'Keefe Centre are large venues for operatic and musical performances. Alternative theatre, dance and musical shows also thrive downtown, and NOW magazine, a free publication found in most public places, has always been my number one choice for finding out what's on and where.

After having spent countless hours in museums all over the world, I can honestly say that the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) still impresses me with its ancient Chinese, European, and Egyptian displays. Its imaginative dinosaur section, with its sounds, lighting and other special effects, never fails to transport me back to the time when king-sized reptiles ruled the world.

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is another cultural highlight downtown. A rather sexy Henry Moore sculpture outside the gallery's main entrance hints at the fact that the world's largest collection of this artist's work lies just beyond the doors, and invites art lovers to spend hours gazing at great works that span various artists, periods, and schools of thought from around the globe.

Life On The Lake
Toronto may not have developed into Canada's biggest city if it were not situated on Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes shared with the United States. The entire city was structured around the economic and geographical advantages of this huge body of water, which functions today as both a port and a place of recreation.

There are several islands that form an archipelago just 15 minutes away from the mainland by ferry. I spent many of my childhood summers riding the log roller coaster and driving bumper cars in the amusement park on Centre Island. This is the most popular choice for visiting families, but there are several islands populated all-year round by about 700 people who rarely lock the doors of their humble homes, which were once summer cottages.

The shores of the Great Lake offer another tourist attraction: Harbourfront. Its sprawling Sunday antique market is a favorite of both collectors and browsers, and a small commercial centre provides meals and shopping for passersby. A great place to watch sculptors, painters and artisans in action is at the government sponsored artist's collective, located in Queen's Quay, and free plays and concerts are staged nightly in this spot during the summer.

Many Cities In One
Many distinct areas comprise Toronto, the most glamorous of which is Yorkville. Once a hippy haven in the 60's, the concept of sharing that once thrived here has been replaced with the concept of "shares", and the hash houses have been transformed into fashion houses owned by the likes of Donna Karan and Versace.

A grubbier image is projected by Queen Street West, the artist's barrio. Here, black-clad designers, musicians and writers gather in dark cafés to existentialize over café lattes or discuss record and book deals. The further west you go, the grubbier it gets, as the area closest to the centre of town is becoming more and more "yuppified".

The healthiest, most well-scrubbed area of the city could well be in the Beaches. As the name implies, this area stretches along the shores of the lake in the city's east end, and is inhabited by young, upwardly mobile parents and their rollerblading kids. Health food shops and environmentally friendly boutiques proliferate here to keep the Boomers beaming.

There is also a smattering of more ethnically centred neighbourhoods. I spent nearly the whole day in Chinatown, eating dim sum and wandering the neon-splashed streets without hearing a single word of English. Later, I went north to College Street, the Italian area, and was surprised at how fashionable it has become - I never expected I would see well-dressed trendsetters sharing table space with rotund widows in black. The statues of the Virgin gracing the front lawns of the brightly-coloured houses here and in Little Portugal made me long for Europe.

On Bloor Street West, walnut-faced Babas sip espresso and munch perogies while reading the newspapers from "back home" I almost always overhear some passionate political debate going on in Russian, Ukrainian or Polish here . Perhaps one of the liveliest and friendliest spots in Toronto is the gay neighbourhood, near Church St. East. The second largest such barrio in North America (after San Francisco's) it is characterized by well-kept Victorian houses, off-beat shops, cafés, and pubs.

Although this North American city has the breathless nightlife of New York, the orderliness of Geneva, the manners of London, and the natural beauty of Sydney, there is one characteristic that I believe Toronto alone possesses: the ability to allow people from hundreds of different backgrounds to live together in peace.

The respect and warmth that radiates from Toronto and its people has caused various visitors to remark that they feel less like tourists here and more like absent members of the community. Which, they, like me, are.

Questions?
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