The heat.

The woozy, sluggish, sweltering heat, where you’re never entirely sure what’s happening because all of your brain’s efforts are focused on not dying. It was that kind of scorcher in Toronto.

My face was essentially melting off my body, but after the whole polar vortex ordeal I don’t dare complain about hot weather. So yeah, on a day when you might get sun stroke the sensible thing to do is spend it outside.

I met up with 2 friends at Trinity Bellwoods, found a lovely spot by a tree and settled in.

It never occurred to me that sitting in a park could be a social activity. But if you have nice weather, it truly is the perfect way to spend a day.

You can bring a traveler from home. (Smart people bring water. Fun people bring alcohol.)

You can have an adorable picnic.

You can watch a random dude set up a guitar and play AC/DC to no one in particular, as he ever so coolly jerks his neck back and forth.

Oh and did I mention hanging out in a park is FREE? Best. Idea. Ever.

It’s amazing to see just how many people are spending their Saturdays NOT vacuuming or buying pantyhose. The park is full of people playing Frisbee and soccer, blowing perfect bubbles into the sky, playing with their dogs and, most impressively, sitting in circles and talking for hours under the shade of an old tree. There is truly nothing like the feeling of bare feet in grass, or of finding a breathtaking green haven in the midst of a bustling city.

Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any closer to nature, this gigantic piece of bark hurled itself at me and I let out a manic scream. It was only slightly mortifying.

And because a sweaty, disgusting day in the city isn’t complete without some weird ice cream, we stopped by Sweet Olenka’s.

I had a scoop of chocolate ramen and a scoop of ginger-flavoured ice cream, which is an interesting choice given that I hate ginger. May have had something to do with what I had in my thermos, but I guess we’ll never know.