To celebrate Canada day I’ve decided to honour my home town Kingston, a lovely place to grow up and spend weekends at the cottage and evenings on the lake. Kingston is the kind of city where people forget to lock their doors and everybody knows everybody, but with a population of 120,000 we have a variety of industries, organizations and things to be a part of. We aren’t a small town, we just feel like one and we’re home to one of the country’s best Universities, Queens and our only military college, RMC.
Kingston is fondly known as the Limestone city, has a beautiful historic downtown, sits on Lake Ontario and is a gateway to the 1000 islands. It is where the St. Lawrence River flows into our Great Lake and where I learnt to shoot a basketball, ride a bicycle and be kind to everybody. (Because they probably know you’re dad!)
Growing up here was very safe and picturesque but we use to drive to Toronto for prom dress shopping and to see a professional sports game, the nightlife is trying and the population is 91% caucasian. It is a bit of a culture bubble with low serious crime rates, very small commute times (compared to other Ontario cities) but exceptionally slow drivers (we are a top place to retire.)
If you aren’t looking to work in one of our schools, prisons or hospitals in Kingston, moving to a different city in your twenties is probably the best promise for more opportunities. But Kingston is a great place to grow up and is charmingly historic, it was the first Capital of Canada in 1841 and first founded by the Natives and then the French, though je ne parle pas français more than the next city.
need to know Kingston
the Weather – the weather in Ontario honours the four seasons and spending fall in Ontario is arguably the best Autumn in the country. Gorgeous maple trees turn their leaves from red to gold to crimson and driving through the country is beautiful. Kingston is located 2 hours from Toronto and 2 hours from Montreal, pretty well in the middle with cold winds and winters off Lake Ontario and sunny summers with the lake in our backyard. -30 and +30 are the winter and summer temperatures that I grew up with there, though temperatures have gotten slightly more extreme.
the Food – there are some great restaurants in Kingston and I know them well. Most of my favourites are located in downtown Kingston, a sunny and special part of the city where I spent most of my childhood growing up.
Wooden Heads is everybody’s favourite restaurant and is located near City Hall on Ontario Street. My sister and I always devour lumpia diavolo,their delicious spring rolls and the brie al forno. They have some pretty serious salads (even the simple Cesar is memorable) and their entrees inflict food envy for every plate. But their gourmet pizza is the star and can’t be missed, try the Nonna Mela with apple butter instead of tomato sauce or the Dynamo for the perfect pesto pizza. www.woodenheads.com @woodenheads Atomica is also a great place for gourmet pizza with an Italian menu located a block away on Brock street. www.atomica.ca @atomicakingston
The Golden Rooster is my favourite family run deli in the world and if you get there during lunch time, expect to take a number. If I was a celebrity and could have food flown to me, I would have the Rooster’s Ceasar salad (with extra dressing,bacon and croutons) stocked in every hotel room. The mac and cheese on Tuesdays, Lo Mein Wednesday’s and a hand crafted sandwich are delicious options! Try the Rooster Rueben with a home made soup. And don’t forget to say hi to Pia! my good friends mother who runs the kitchen with care.
Chez Piggy is a high end favourite also located in the heart of downtown, it has a secluded courtyard surrounded by Limestone and a fair priced menu for great quality food. @chezpiggy
Lonestar is a fun spot for patio margaritas and Mexican fare, my friends and I killed this restaurant in high school and still look forward to catching up there. All you can eat nachos and salsa? You don’t have to be a poor student to eat that up. Megalos has a great window for people watching on Princess street and Grecos has traditional Greek food. Try Curry Original for Indian and Sima for sushi, so skip all the chain restaurants and these local favourites won’t disappoint. I have to lend some love to Smokes Poutinerie on Division street, for classically Canadian poutine and to smother all your favourite things in gravy. @megaloskingston @SIMA_sushi @poutinerie
the Stay – stay with my parents! they have a beautiful house on the river and we’ve finally left them alone. Or choose a Bed & Breakfast in Sydenham Ward. www.historicinnskingston.com
the Spots – the night life in Kingston isn’t anything to write home about (ha!) but The Hub is where you’ll find Stages, the Grizzly Grill and the Alehouse, all places we love to hate but love to take our money. If you’re past the age of 25 your best time is to have drinks at Tango or Red Door downtown, the Toucan for pub beers and Casa for wine. @TangoNeuvoTapas @TheToucanPub @CasaDomenico
The K-Rock Centre is our fiercely fought for Sports and Entertainment centre and has been a great addition to the downtown core since 2006 offering OHL hockey games in the winter and international acts year round. Since we’re located between Toronto and Ottawa we get a surprising amount of great quality acts and if you’re visiting Canada, you have to catch a hockey game! and the Kingston Frontenac’s are a chill and cheap place to start. www.rogersk-rockcentre.com @KROCKcentre
In the winter there’s a lovely skating rink located at market square and in the summer unique vendors gather there to sell fruit, maple syrup, jewellery and more. Shopping on Princess street (start at Clergy Street end at Ontario) is an easy way to spend the day, and the Buskers Festival, Poker Run and Jazz Fest are always the best weekends to be in town. Check out www.downtownkingston.ca and www.tourism.kingstoncanada.com for all the things you need to know. @TourismKingston
Every time that I’m in town my Mum tells me to stop by St. Mary’s Cathedral, so I will tell you too. She loves it there because she grew up around the corner, but it really is a peaceful place with stunning stain glass windows and welcoming arms. From here you can easily take a wander through Queens campus and experience the student ghetto. Queens was founded when Canada was a young and sassy 26 year old and her history can be found everywhere in the Limestone property. @queensu
This photo has been borrowed from Flckr … clearly.
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