Published December 16, 2022 · Updated September 17, 2026
Sometimes, the moments we remember most aren’t the ones we planned.
They happen because the restaurant was full.
The tickets were sold out.
We took a different route.
Or we simply stopped long enough to notice something along the way.
That’s exactly how one of my favourite little Toronto memories began.
Raymund and I weren’t even supposed to spend that evening at Berczy Park.
We were headed somewhere else entirely.
When Our Christmas Plans Changed
Last year when Raymund and I went to Distillery District for their annual Christmas displays, we didn’t realize that we have to book for tickets. When we checked on their website, it was already fully booked that evening so we just decided to stroll around downtown instead.
As we passed by Berczy Park, there were also Christmas displays so Raymund just took my photos there.
It wasn’t the Christmas experience we had planned.
But instead of going home disappointed, we wandered.
And that’s one of the things I have come to appreciate about exploring: sometimes a change of plans gives us something we wouldn’t have found otherwise.
If you’re ever walking through Old Town Toronto, Berczy Park is worth slowing down for.
Don’t just take a photo and leave.
Sit for a while.
Look at the fountain.
Watch the dogs and their humans passing through.
Look up at the buildings surrounding this little pocket of the city.
And during the holidays, notice how lights and decorations can transform somewhere you’ve already seen into something completely different.
I’d actually been to Berczy Park before, during one of my first solo adventures around Old Town Toronto.
Back then, I was still getting acquainted with downtown—armed with my phone, tripod and unlimited Presto pass.
→ Read: Exploring Old Town Toronto on Foot: What a Solo Afternoon Taught Me About Starting Over
This time, Berczy Park had another story waiting for me.
The Evening Continued Nearby
After taking our photos with Barksy, Raymund and I continued our evening with dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory nearby.
At the time, it was simply where we ended up after our unexpected stop at Berczy Park. But looking back, that dinner became another little memory from my early years in Toronto—one that eventually came to mean more than just the food.
→ Read: The Old Spaghetti Factory Toronto: A Little Celebration in a New Country
The Photo I Almost Never Took
Luckily, when I posted my photo with Barksy on Instagram and tagged @oldtowntoronto, I got the chance to win a $100 gift card!
I was surprised and elated that my photo was chosen for Oldtown Toronto’s holiday giveaway!
My Winning Entry
It still makes me smile to think that the photo happened only because our original plans didn’t work out.
Had we gotten those tickets, perhaps we would have walked straight to the Distillery District.
Perhaps we wouldn’t have stopped at Berczy Park.
Perhaps Raymund wouldn’t have taken that photograph.
And perhaps this little story wouldn’t exist.
It’s funny how life works that way sometimes.
We spend so much energy trying to make things go according to plan that we can easily miss what’s waiting beside the detour.
One Little Photo Led Somewhere Else
Right away after proclaiming the winners of Oldtown Toronto’s holiday giveaway, the St. Lawrence Market Neighbourhood BIA contacted me for my choice of Oldtown Toronto’s business.
As my partner in crime, I let Raymund choose ‘coz I also didn’t know the best place to eat yet downtown.
He chose Hothouse and I was not disappointed of his choice because the dinner that we had there was superb!
We intended to celebrate Chinese New Year’s eve at the place as I always believe that the lunar new year is the real new year.
And interestingly, that dinner eventually gave me another story—not just about food, but about women, identity and the different sides of ourselves.
One Photo, Another Story
→ Read: Bruschetta or Capriccio: An Ode to Strong, Independent Women
That’s another thing I love about looking back at our experiences.
One moment often leads to another.
A missed Christmas event led to a walk.
The walk led to a photograph.
The photograph led to a gift card.
And the gift card led to a dinner that eventually inspired another story.
Sometimes we don’t know which ordinary moments will become meaningful until much later.
OMG! I’m a Celebrity!
This year, it is another surprise to stumble upon my winning photo at the print ad of Oldtown Toronto’s holiday giveaway!
Like, OMG! I’m a celebrity! Lol!
I am just so happy ‘coz even in our small hometown in the Philippines, I never got my face on print ad though I’m popular there. Haha!
But here in this mega city, I got the chance to be a star! Haha!
Like it’s really a big deal, huh.
Well, it is to me!!!
Celebrity syndrome satisfied!
And you know what?
Looking back, I don’t want to downplay that excitement.
Sometimes we think becoming an adult means we should stop getting ridiculously excited about little things.
But why?
Why shouldn’t seeing your photograph on a poster make your day?
Why shouldn’t something unexpected make you run downtown before work just because you want to see it with your own eyes?
Maybe building a richer life isn’t only about accomplishing bigger things.
Maybe it’s also about allowing small things to still delight us.
I Had to See It for Myself
The day after discovering my photo on Oldtown Toronto’s holiday giveaway IG ad, I excitedly went to Berczy Park to take a look at the ad in person!
So before my 12NN shift at Fairmont Royal York Hotel, I dropped by to have a selfie with my photo and with Barksy.
Watch my vlog below on how I beat time running to and fro downtown with so much joy of the kid in me!
I particularly love that last phrase now:
“with so much joy of the kid in me.”
Because perhaps that’s what this memory really gave me.
Not fame.
Not even the $100 gift card.
Delight.
The kind of delight that makes you rearrange your morning before a hotel shift just to take a selfie with your own picture.
The kind that makes something completely ordinary feel special.
And the older I get, the more I think we shouldn’t outgrow that.
What This Little Detour Taught Me
When I first wrote this story, it was simply a happy memory I wanted to share.
Years later, I see something else in it.
We had a plan.
It didn’t work out.
So we wandered instead.
And because we wandered, we noticed Berczy Park.
Because we noticed it, we stopped.
Because we stopped, Raymund took a photograph.
And that one photograph kept giving me stories.
That’s why I’ve learned not to dismiss the little things we notice along the way.
Not every beautiful moment has to become something bigger.
Most won’t.
The noticing itself is enough.
A Christmas display.
A funny dog statue.
A photograph you love.
A meal with someone you care about.
A moment that brings out the kid in you.
Those little things don’t look important when they’re happening.
But put enough of them together, and they become a life.
What Might You Be Overlooking?
You don’t need to win a contest for an ordinary moment to matter.
Sometimes we simply need to become better at noticing the moments already happening around us.
That’s why I created The Beauty Around You: A 7-Day Journey to Slow Down and Notice More—a gentle invitation to pause, pay attention and rediscover the beauty hiding inside ordinary days.
→ Begin the 7-Day Journey
Continue Your Journey
Explore Somewhere
Berczy Park was only one stop in the afternoon when I first explored this historic part of Toronto.
Walk with me through Berczy Park, the Gooderham Building, St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District—and see what I discovered when I explored downtown alone as a newcomer to Canada.
→ Read: Exploring Old Town Toronto on Foot: What a Solo Afternoon Taught Me About Starting Over
Notice Something
Beautiful moments don’t always announce themselves.
Sometimes they’re hiding inside changed plans, photographs, seasons and ordinary days that we almost overlook.
Become Something
Our lives aren’t shaped only by the big milestones. Sometimes the smaller experiences show us something about joy, resilience, identity and the people we’re becoming.