Weekend reading, "North America through the eyes of a European"

Time to take a trip to Toronto

The time had come to spread our net outside of Montreal, and many of the people we were talking to were based in Toronto, so we booked our air tickets and started to fill the agenda with meetings.

It was my first trip outside our home-base, and I was looking forward to see how two of the main Canadian cities compared to each other...


I'd been told how Montreal has lost many of the main business headquarters to Toronto, and much as I “felt” for our recently adopted “home town” I was eager to see the effect of the business exodus...


Porter Airlines: flying refined
Commited to excellence, and it shows!



 It was also my first encounter with Porter airlines, and all I can say is, Wow! Guys, THIS is how to run an airline! It was a really pleasant experience from start to finish: organized and comfortable, without the famous European cost cutting we'd gotten used to on short sky hops, where you pay for every peanut, and end up feeling every cent saved. And such a great way to get your first glimpse of Toronto from the ferry. Excellent!

And so was our trip! I loved the Chinese quarter, where Jim, our VP had reserved some doubts about it being “the right spot to stay”. He'd passed through some time ago, and was pleasantly surprised by the revival of the area. And it was a great spot! we had (n)oodles of choice for restaurants, and even walked back from a visit to the Eaton Centre, passing an accolade for the great Winston Churchill, a fellow countryman, who'd kept Canada as close to his heart as we were beginning to do. They do say, great minds think alike! (joking, joking)

Our meetings allowed us to tend the seeds we'd planted back home, and it felt good to put faces to voices, and shake the hands of the people who were becoming pivotal to the success of our concept. We headed home tired, but energized, at the same time. I loved the whole “Toronto feel”, it is different to Montreal, and I can see why it attracts big business. It throbs with energy, and the pace of life in the city centre seems to have nothing to do with the “Montreal meander” we appreciate so much.

But I could see the attraction of both, with each City bringing a special something. I was more than happy to come “home”, but already looking forward to my next visit.

Ps. There's one story I cannot miss recounting. I'll mention no names, but during a visit to an exclusive interior design store, reserved for the trade, we encountered it's very distinguished manager. After congratulating him on his store, we that we were creating a concept to “make interior design affordable and accessible to everyone who needs it”.

I'm sure he didn't realize that his straight-faced reply of, “Oh, my Dear...don't do that! They're not worthy!” catapulted him into the design at distance history books...

After I'd picked Jim up off the floor, we said our goodbyes and left. Thankfully he is not representative of the industry, but it did kind of endorse that our mission is a good one!

Pps, another store entered the design at distance story for all the right reasons, because it's here we found our rug partner, W Studio, with whom our designers work, to find “the right rug” for room. Take a look at their collection and custom service at http://www.wstudio.ca/ .

And remember, once you're a d @ d Privilege cardholder, you have special advantages when ordering through www.designatdistance.com