Love is so great. Summer is also great. When matched, these things are as perfect as things that go perfectly together. And yet, romance can be hard to navigate in this urban jungle we call Toronto. Luckily most city dwellers have emerged (in shorts and crop tops) from their winter caves and are looking for someone just like YOU. Here’s a list of five essential places to frequent to find your summer lover.
1. Your Phone — Confession: I had Tinder for approximately 24 hours in the dead of winter (the day AFTER Valentine’s Day to be exact) and it was bleaker than February itself. The word “thirsty” doesn’t even begin to describe what was going down. We lonely winter babes have now had like two solid weekends of sunshine and everyone’s brains are flying high on vitamin-D and, let’s be real, we all feel a little bit better/normal. Don’t let those serotonin-infused messages go to waste! Swipe right, meet that Tinder random in a well-lit public place and BAM! You may have found your summer fling.
2. Trinity Bellwoods Park — Bellwoods on a warm summer day is the adult version of a high school cafeteria. Teachers are now just over-zealous cops ticketing girls with flower crowns drinking cans of PBR. The jocks have turned into slack lining aficionados. Emo kids prefer the term “beach goth,” and can be found in the shade, throwin’ shade. The popular kids have cute puppies (the urban equivalent of owning a car) and the stoners are still stoners. Despite being “grown-up,” hormones still rage. Thankfully the park gets darker and cooler at night, forcing you to take shelter with whomever *accidentally* hit you in the head with a soccer ball just now.
3. A 24-Hour Grocery Store — Spring fever can have you up late, night-texting everyone in your phone, unable to sleep and eventually hungry. Sooner rather than later, these up-all-nighters will take a trip to the few 24-hour grocery stores in the city. Find them staring lustily at Popsicles in the frozen food section. Or maybe your insomniac-lover is stocking up on bunches of big bananas and crisp cucumbers in produce (wink). Big spenders can be found eyeing up the oyster bar. My advice is to grab some strawberries and chocolate, do a lap around the Rabba’s and see what happens.
4. Hanlan’s Point Clothing Optional Beach (Or any nude beach) — Often when people meet each other for the first time it’s hard to really communicate effectively because the most pressing issue swirling around in your brain is what this human looks like naked. Hanlan’s Point is great for eliminating that query so you can really get down to actually talking to someone. Hell, your new friend might actually look into your eyes instead of upon your chest because the mystery has already been solved. It’s all out in the open and maybe you’ll miss the last ferry home and have the best meet-cute story to tell all your fully-clothed prude-y friends.
5. A Friend’s BBQ — Toronto BBQs are great because no one ever really has that much outdoor space, forcing guests to sit too close or huddle around a tiny BBQ that’s literally grilling meat in front of your face. Getting day-tipsy under a sunny sky will have you feeling like the most beautiful creature ever to have mustard stains all over her dress. Warm rosé will cast everything you see in a pink haze and you might just find yourself in an enthralling conversation about how “freezing” someone’s office is during the summer months. Bad jokes are suddenly good ones and making-out with a new friend is the next logical step.
So go get’em, tigers. Summer is for lovin’.