We left Iceland on Thursday morning, dropping the car off, struggling to get checked in because of Air Canada and our eTA and blah blah blah. After a five hour flight, we landed in a very familiar Toronto Pearson Airport and we through border control in next to no time. Toronto had switched on the summer for us (it rained last weekend) and we emerged around noon to bright blue skies.

Driving into the city was like old times, the skyline changing a bit with yet more condos going up. Toronto is not a pretty city when you enter via the freeway but it was comfortable and pangs of homesickness were fast to come.

We got to Bec and Al’s and whiled away the afternoon and early evening there. Julian and Simon came over in the evening after we’d got Thai take-away for dinner and it was a bit like old times (except for some familiar faces no longer living in TO and Bec and Al now have a beautiful baby girl).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BktCMGjgkif/?taken-by=tygerflaem

Friday was a bit of an errand day. We went to the gym, then shopping through the Eaton Centre and Hudson’s Bay, buying enough to prompt us to pick-up a big suitcase to carry it all. We went to the bank and closed our bank account (a sad moment but it was incurring fees and we weren’t using it). Later in the afternoon we went for haircuts with Steve, getting the kind of cut, care and attention we haven’t found in Perth.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BktCV4lAH43/?taken-by=tygerflaem

In the evening we went to Cam and Vince’s for dinner and to meet their little boy, Jacob, who we’ve only seen via photos. So adorable.

On Saturday we went to the gym again (get us being all healthy and not at all spurred on by the guilt of four weeks of carbs) before lunch at Julian’s parents’ house and a swim in the pool. Julian’s mum fed us all extremely well and we were ready for a nap and rolling out the door at 2:30pm. Julian and Simon left to return to Australia a few hours later, their trip now at an end.

After a short nap back at Bec and Al’s, we went to Ur and Israel’s for a bbq with Cam, Vince, Matan and Jose and ALL THE KIDS. There were seven of them, ranging from six months to eleven years. We’ve certainly been getting our kid fix. We had another swim in the pool, some drinks, some food and caught up.

Despite getting home about 8:30 and technically being able to rest and then go out to Fly (a nightclub), we were happy to sit in bed and watch the RuPaul Drag Race season 11 finale. The finale was a disappointment (even though I won the sweepstakes) but it was nice to chill. We were asleep soon after 10:30, the five-hour time difference between Iceland and Toronto having an effect.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BktCc0RAgCl/?taken-by=tygerflaem

Sunday was a lovely slow start to the day. It was even hotter than yesterday, the humidity bumping the ‘feels like’ temperature to over 40°C. We went for a walk down Church St, bumped into Marcio, and then went for lunch at Smith with Kyno and Chevo. Felt just like old times being in the neighbourhood but didn’t feel any huge desire to relocate our lives and return to Toronto permanently. I think because life is good in Perth and we get to leave frequently it’s actually a better spot for us (ignoring the socially conservative ‘values’ of our home country).

In the evening we had dinner with Kevin and Adam at Fushimi, the sushi restaurant we used to go to, and the first place that Kev and I hung out which was also at Pride. We spent a few hours there, stuffing our faces and our bellies, then went to 7West for a drink. They walked us back to Bec and Al’s afterwards, the humidity barely going down. We tried not to have a sad goodbye but it’s hard.

The taxi for the airport picked us up at 7:30 on Monday morning. Bec and Al were up with Maddy so we got to talk for a bit and then say goodbye. Goodbyes suck. It’s been a great whirlwind tour, still plenty of people we didn’t see, but there just wasn’t the time. But we’ll be back.