Philippe Lazaro
OCTOBER 2016

Taste of Toronto

If you love the world, the different foods of the world, and trying as much of them as possible… it’s hard to think of a better spot to spend a weekend than Toronto.

Two of the city’s biggest strengths are its diversity and infrastructure.

People from all over the world have re-rooted in Toronto, bringing with them all kinds of flavors.

Toronto itself has the kind of public transit and infrastructure rarely seen in North America, making it easy to hop between Chinatown and Little Portugal, the Market District and Greektown, etc.

With three days in Toronto, we aimed to eat from as many different cuisines as possible. Since most restaurants aren’t open for breakfast, simply doing a lunch and dinner out each day would have meant limiting our lineup to just six places. We just couldn’t do that, in what may be the world’s most multicultural city.

Here are the seventeen places we ate to try and taste the world.

Thailand, 2014

We used to dream about today.

Bangkok, 2014.

About a month and a half ago, Deanna went back to work, supervising social workers en route to getting their license. The other week she got trained in EMDR- a really emerging therapy that’s picked up a lot of interest lately.

Meanwhile, I’m over here about to hop on a planning and logistics call for a two week journey into Africa, about to visit a few different places that have held my interest and curiosity for such a long time.

And how does it all happen with three kids under three? I don’t know, man. Lots of adjustments. One thing at a time. Super helpful grandparents. Remembering that the main thing is just loving the kids and enjoying being around them.

All of this used to be a dream. Back in 2014, Deanna was finishing a grad program and I was about to start one. Programs that would hopefully set us on the path to the exact things we’re doing now. And at just the right time. Mental health services are especially needed. As is climate action. As are stories that help us be human.

The kids were always part of the dream too.

Feeling really grateful this week. And happy for my 2014 self.

Thrift Shop Globe

What’s the best thing you’ve found at a thrift store?

The other week, we spent a week at my in-laws, but I totally forgot the suitcase we packed for the kids at home. 🤭 Took an emergency trip to the thrift shop to pick up a bunch of $1 onesies, and needed to get a few toys too. Then I found this globe.

The amount of info stored on this thing is impressive! Capitals, currencies, languages, population, geographic features, historical facts… not to mention the Ultimate Challenge mode that starts up a geography bee.

I knew I got a steal on this thing, but I had to look up exactly by how much. I found it online. A 91% discount?! Still stoked about that.

Chinatown Challenge: Daniel

It’s the Chinatown Challenge!

Daniel and I competed to see who could put $30 to the best use during one night in Toronto’s Chinatown. We sought out to create the best lineup of food, snacks, drinks, and desserts we could while managing stomach space and trying to get to restaurants before they closed.

Daniel got: Honey Garlic Cauliflower, Steamed Pork Buns, Iced Latte, Kimchi Fries, Cucumber Roll
-$0.50 remaining

I need your help to pick a winner! Watch my previous reel to see what I ordered, and let me know in the comments or story poll who you think had the better lineup.

Chinatown Challenge: Philippe


It’s the Chinatown Challenge!

Daniel and I competed to see who could put $30 to the best use during one night in Toronto’s Chinatown. We sought out to create the best lineup of food, snacks, drinks, and desserts we could while managing stomach space and trying to get to restaurants before they closed.

I got: Banh Mi, Mango Lassi, Cereal Milk Ice Cream, Xiao Long Bao, Spicy Salmon Roll
$0.16 remaining

I need your help to pick a winner! Watch my next reel to see what Daniel ordered, and let me know in the comments or story poll who you think had the better lineup.

Camping w/ 3 Under 3

It’s always there.

That constant tug-of-war knowing all the things that get easier as they get older, bigger, more capable and independent.

All the things that come back. Sleep. Time. The ability to go places without so many large contraptions.

But on the other end of the rope are all the reminders of what’s great about right now. The hilarious pre-verbal ways they have of expressing themselves. The personalities that have come out in bloom.

We took our trio camping the other week and it felt like those two ends were in harmony rather than tension. New limits being pushed, while at the same time getting to sit together in a hammock strung between two oaks knowing how good it was right there.

They Won't Remember This

One of the most common reasons I hear people don’t want to travel with kids is that they won’t remember the trip.

I get it, and that’s a good reason to make it free for them before 2, but aside from the fact that waiting for them to be at an age that retains memories would be a really long time, here’s why I like taking them places.

There’s so much power in what you normalize, and the things we consider normal often sink in before we reach the age of keeping memories.

A lot of the things I want to normalize for them: understanding that the world is so much bigger than our corner of it, embracing adventure, and humoring your curiosity are embodied by travel.

And also… two of them can still go for free.

Camping with 3 Under 3

Took our first camping trip with the three-under-three crew. These kids love being outside and that makes me super happy.

I love seeing how much they love scaling rocks or investigating trees. On one hand, it’s a sign that some pretty big adventures ahead of us as they get older, on the other hand, that adventure’s already begun.

Just Transition

All of our climate efforts are incomplete if we aren’t playing attention to the disparity between the top emitting countries and the lower emitting countries.

So many proposals simply focus only on bringing the top emitters *just low enough* - but if our future visions include the lowest emitting countries staying low for the same reasons that keep their emissions down today, we may have unintentionally penciled inequality in to our future plans.

We’ve got to stay ambitious when it comes to living with less collateral. And we need to keep our push for a healthy planet intertwined with justice for people.

St. Lawrence Market


The one thing I most often heard I needed to eat in Toronto was the city’s iconic peameal bacon sandwich.

The place I kept hearing I needed to go for it was the St. Lawrence Food Market

When Nat Geo declares a spot to be the best food market in the world, you know I’m there.

Food halls are one of the best ways to eat around a city, especially when you have a limited amount of meals in town. Putting together a mix of small bites in proximity makes the most of your budget, time, and appetite.

Chinatown Aesthetic

How many Chinatowns have you been to?

Off the top of my head: London, Toronto, Honolulu, SF, Seattle, Buenos Aires, and Manila.

So, roughly speaking, all of them generally have the same. The red wing tipped gates, red hanging lanterns… individually they have Chinese influences, but no place in China has ever really quite looked like that. Also, China has always been such a large and composite place, how do you even pick one spot as the inspiration?

The Chinatown look you’re familiar with doesn’t come from China. It comes from two American architects who had never been to China tasked with designing something based on what they thought it looked like. It’s pretty likely you’d find more authentic architecture at the Epcot Center for most places.

But the reasons why? Chinese-American families and business owners in San Francisco trying to avoid forced relocation had to give in to exoticism and orientalism for their survival.

Not unlike the immigrant professionals who came in the 70s and 80s and were expected only to excel in certain boxes like medicine… and definitely not to rock the boat politically or socially…

…or all the Asian actors forced into narrow typecast roles like Mr. Chow, Long Duk Dong, or Fook Yu.

…or anyone who knows the follow up question to where are you really from will be based on a caricature of a much more complex place.

But hey, survival also means you get to pass the baton and at least leave things a little better than you found it, whether that’s an industry, a neighborhood, or a social norm.

Hobbitenango


I love finding quirky things in unexpected places around the world, which is why when I found out that Guatemala had it’s own Hobbit Village in the style of New Zealand’s Lord of the Rings set, I had to go.

Hobbitenango is a fully functioning eco-lodge. You can rent a room in one of the Hobbit shanties and stay the night. There was a giant human rope swing, several replica locations from the movies, and a lot of taverns, pubs, cafés, and restaurants all with Middle-Earth themed meals. The fondue and cocktails were actually quite good.

As a bonus, this place ended up being very kid-friendly. There were several meadows where we could just let them roll around in the grass, and hammocks scattered alongside a nature walk. A lot of different parts offered some pretty fantastic views out into the surrounding mountains to further set the scene.

What’s one of your favorite unexpected sites in an unlikely place?

July 2022

#182 Piecer Play Hop

01 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#183 Backyard Kai

02 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#184 Corona Park Kids

03 July 2022 // Corona, California

#185 Hunk Onesie

04 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#186 Oregon Scientific Globe

05 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#187 Farmer Guy Kai

06 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#188 Bako Backyard

07 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#189 Grandparent Floor Play

08 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#190 Halo Halo Umaga

09 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#191 Rhys Takes Emerald Cove

10 July 2022 // Bakersfield, California

#192 Shy as a Turtle

11 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#193 Juniper Makes the World Go Round

12 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#194 Feeding Three

13 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#195 Ju-Pa-Pa

14 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#196 Kai’s Playzone

15 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#197 Mornin’ Sis

16 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#198 Rhys’ First Swim Class

17 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#199 Thrift Shop Globe

18 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#200 An Early Walk

19 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#201 Swimming Pool with Rhys

20 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#202 Piecer Play Co

21 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#203 Carmel Mountain Roll

22 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#204 Museum Date Night

23 July 2022 // San Diego, California

#205 Swishy Swashy

24 July 2022 // San Diego, California

Kim's Convenience

Let’s be real—visiting Kim’s Convenience was one of the big reasons I wanted to go to Toronto.

I was kind of surprised, but pleased, with how well the layout of the store matched the set design.

This place also really has an apartment above the store. Rumor has it that both are for sale (together), though it is also a Canadian Cultural Heritage Site, so I think it’ll be required to still be Kim’s Convenience.

Got to go start that GoFundMe now.

Life on Steroids

Played around with some old footage from Iceland to share one of my favorite things about travel.

It isn’t about being entertained or having a good time.

It isn’t about taking a break to escape your life.

It’s not about spoiling yourself or having photos and trinkets to show off with.

It’s about feeling deeply alive.

Few things help with that quite like being thrust into a totally new setting and needing to reorient yourself.

To me, holing up in a resort where people will cater to all your comforts, or taking a rigidly prepackaged experience is kind of antithetical to that. I love the unknown.

How People Eat


There’s this stat I heard a little while ago. Roughly a third of the word eats with their hands, another third uses forks and knives, and the other third uses chopsticks.

I thought this was a fun bit of knowledge, but I had to fact check to see if the numbers added up.

They did… sort of. But this is actually a pretty complicated stat.

How do you account for all the Chinese families in the US & Canada using chopsticks?

Or the countries that kind of use different methods at different times?

Or the differences between urban and rural settings?

Plus… I first heard this stat over a decade ago. Since then, the eat-with-your-hands countries have seen the highest population growth.

But nitpicky details aside, this is enough for me to appreciate the reality that our idea of “normal” is always skewed by our environment.

7th Anniversary

And just like that, it’s been SEVEN years!

It sounds like a long time, feels like a short time in a lot of ways, but either way, they’ve been very, very full.

Moving, riding the waves as the world changes, hoping and praying to become parents, becoming parents and then some, building the careers and lives that were just dreams seven years ago…

We’re different people now, probably in more ways than we realized, but I’m extremely thankful we’ve grown together. Deanna - such a gift to spend everyday with your thoughtful, resilient, brilliant heart.I’ve seeing our kids take on your strength, playfulness, and authenticity.