We got up on our first full day, ready to walk my wife to the HBO head offices. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and greeted a day of pleasantly, unexpectedly mild weather. A floral print maxi dress over leggings and a slip, with a brimmed hat was a great choice, easy and comfortable for a day of walking.

Out on the street we soaked in the lights, iconic buildings and streets full of people. The hustle and bustle was pretty amazing. Toronto is similar, but the famous places and faces in NYC made me feel like I had ‘arrived’ and even a brisk morning walk felt like an event.
     

Now that I know what I’m looking for, I have started to see ads for Vinyl  everywhere!

 

I loved seeing how life was just teeming amongst all that concrete and metal.

  

Victoria’s Secret … on three levels… was a sight to behold. I asked one of the staff, “so, is there a real ‘Victoria’?”

“Victoria? Victoria, who?”

“This is Victoria’s Secret. Is there an actual ‘Victoria’?”

She seemed very confused. However, I was enamored of some bralettes, found a $168 dress marked down to $9.99, and spent the day shopping – while Al was doing interviews. Shopping is a close second to interviewing Juno Temple and all the other folks doing press for the new series.
  
  

Fancy-pants changerooms! Next, I headed to what was possibly the most beautiful H&M I have ever seen. The multi-level store was setting the bar high. Poor Toronto locations!

   

I picked up some amazing mock neck printed blouses, with ballerinas and 70s prints, in navy and mustard. Last on the list for today was Macy’s, which we don’t have in Canada.

I checked out the various departments and was thrilled to find a big ‘additional 40% off sale items’ in the BCBG area. Also… the changerooms. There were lighting options for ‘office,’ ‘daylight’ and ‘evening’. Wow. Such a great idea. I played here for a little while, and ended up buying a high-waist black tulle skirt with gold swiss-dots, and a long blue evening dress (’cause every year I go to prom and… there are always weddings to attend).

I have always loved playing dress-up! Changing the filter lights on the changeroom mirror:

    

  

This dress will make me very happy come summer. With a few alterations, I’ll be set.
 The magic maker:

  

After an exhausting morning of shopping, I headed back to the hotel … to get ready for a late lunch and some journal writing.

  Allia joined me back at the hotel and we went to Costas for Arepas! Yumm, yummy, yumm. We wanted a quick bite before heading over to the red carpet for the Vinyl Premiere.

   

         Strolling before the red carpet. My mom’s vintage coat was an impossibly perfect choice.

   

Allia getting ready for the carpet: Looking fly, as ever.
      

Behind the velvet rope.

 

Enter the stars: Juno Temple, bubbly, sweet and more than a little sexy. She looked very seventies in a silver plunging gown and tiara. I’m definitely biased, but it’s safe to say that my wife is an amazing interviewer; her questions are real, content-driven and original. Watching people respond to her is such a treat. Our neighbours on the carpet were from Australia and often pushed Allia to reel in big names who might otherwise not have stopped in our area. It helps that she is beautiful and has a big beaming smile (and cool hair).

  

I was very psyched to see some up-and-comers, like Emily Tremaine, and some familiar faces, like Pitch Perfect’s bitch-supreme of ‘Das Sound Machine: Birgitte Hjort Sørensen

     

Mini-Quaid, Sopranos and Glee alumnus, and faces you just know are famous.

  

  

And some who need no introduction: Glenn Close. Close up.

  

This actor is so vibrant and I can’t wait to watch more of the series to catch more of her! (Susan Heyward)

What it really looks like back there:
  

The cherry on my night’s sundae: Olivia Wilde. Yes, she is that beautiful. And her character in the show is strong, complex and provocative.

And of course no show starring Mick Jagger’s son, naked in the first episode, would be complete without the proud papa, in this case A Rolling Stone: Mick himself.   
To be honest, I was less awestruck by him than I was by Olivia Wilde. At one point the camera shooting B-role got my ‘omgeeeeeee’ face as I watched Olivia Wilde… just being Olivia Wilde. She was mesmerizing. And watching Allia interview her can only be described as hotness-ping-pong.

All of this, of course, required a great dinner to end things off. So we went to the Mermaid and Oyster Bar.
      

We were treated to free wine and beer, just for having a minor wait. Totally our pleasure. We shared oysters, naturally, and their lobster trio, which was delicious! Because they don’t offer dessert, but ‘feel mean’ for not offering dessert – every patron gets to finish their meal with homemade chocolate pudding. Fine by me!
  
  

I was strangely charmed by their fortune telling fish. Depending on how they curl in your hands, they give clues to your state of mind and heart… “Passionate” seems about right.

We ended the evening with a quick tour of the queer scene: Henrietta Hudson had a big dance party and Boots and Saddles was drag, drag and stand-up.

And for good measure: take just one more look. Seriously.

  What better way to end it than with this? And our trip was only just getting started. ‘Til then, sweet winter dreams and stay smiling.