When I went to New York and Paris, I explored the cities like a tourist does--guidebook in hand, history and trivia top of mind, visiting museums and galleries, going to the places the tourists always go, walking around and relishing every minute. And it was fantastic.
But when we live in a place, we never do the things the tourists do. I've lived in Toronto for 15 years, and I've never been up the CN Tower. Because residents don't do that unless they're with people from out of town!
Why? If it's so pointless, why do the tourists do it? It seems a silly question, and it is. If a New Yorker told me she had never gone to the Ellis Island, I'd be shocked. If a Parisian told me she'd never been to the Eiffel Tower, I'd gasp. Because these are fantastic things to do, even if you're a local. Especially if you're a local! These are things so fabulous people fly across the world to visit them. So locals should visit them too.
And if this is true for other cities, why isn't it true for Toronto? So my mission here is to open my Toronto guidebook, and go explore the places tourists are told to see. Because I love my city, and I should see more of it than a tourist sees.
So indulge me for the photo--a view of Toronto the tourists come to see. Welcome home!
