Walkin' downtown

This was an awesome warm weekend and of course, I wanted to spend it outside.

I haven't been downtown for a while and I really wanted to take a serious walk and get out for a whole day. Since I have a guest here (her majesty, Ana Flo), we decided to use this nice weather and go somewhere I usually wouldn't go alone.


I wanted to go apple picking, but Ana didn't feel like it. So we agreed upon spending some time in High Park and some time downtown. I haven't been downtown for a while so we were curious at what's there to see.

Turned out, there's plenty to see, especially if you're bored and yearning for a little city hype.

I wanted to visit Brookfield Place to see a World Press Photo Exhibition, so we headed there first.


Some nice, some interesting but mostly sad stories told thru photographs by award winning artists and photojournalists made a strong impression on both of us. I recommend to go and see for yourselves.

We took a walk towards the lake and on our way there we stopped at Union Station - the place I've seen only from the outside until now, so we decided to walk in and take a peek at what's in there.

Outside, hungry pigeons chilled on the Union Station sign.



Soon enough we found ourselves by the lake and enjoyed the sun and warm breeze.

We entered the Power Plant gallery where we took a look at three standing exhibitions, but I was most impressed by "Black Cloud", an installation by Mexican artist Carlos Amorales. 30000 black moths cut out of paper and placed on the walls of the gallery made a splendid view.

More about him and his moths you can find here

After coming back towards Eaton Center and a huge meal, we needed a break so we had a coffee on Nathan Phillips Square. Plenty of people was there, despite being the Thanksgivings day, and they laughed, took pictures by the Toronto letters, posing for selfies, smiling, chattering and enjoying a beautiful afternoon. I do love to look at people sometimes. When they're happy.

We spend some time in High Park (as if that was a fair alternative to apple picking), but it was nice. Crowded, but nice. We barely found a parking spot after a while of driving around, just before we almost gave up. I swear, half of Toronto was there that afternoon.

We even made it to the Cherry beach.

It was a good weekend. I hope this weather will last.

I want to make an apple pie, so I still have to go apple picking...

The Toronto Summer Dawn

Yes, I woke up at 5.00 just the other day. No alarm clock, just me. As I became aware of the time, it dawned on me that I could use that to go out and get some shots of the sunrise.

I was actually thinking of doing that the day before, so my inner clock made a decision instead of me and decided to go with it, thus conveniently wake me up at 5.00 am.

I got my coffee and warmed up the car and soon was on my way.

There is a nice spot relatively close to me where you can sit on the lakefront and enjoy the view of the cityline, so I headed straight there.

What I learned here, in a huge city like Toronto, is that whatever crazy thing you do, you won't be alone in it.

Accordingly, there was a couple sitting on the very same spot I was going to sit, I guess waiting for the sunrise too. So I sat down 10 feet away. Just me and them and ducks. A bit weird. And we're all waiting.

Turned out the spot where I was sitting was a great one, as the sun was positioned right next to the CN tower silhouette. So the sun began to rise and it was quite a view.

I don't see the sunrise often, even though I am an early bird. There was a mist or a light fog around, but the colors were still nice.

On my way back, a snail blocked my path so I shot him too, quite a few times. Good thing he's not really  a cheetah so I had time to put on my macro lens before he vanished.


I didn't feel like going back home so instead I headed over to my favorite bridge to see what's happening there at 6 am. 

People walking, bicyclists bicycling, runners running, dogs on a leash snooping around. 

I'm always amazed by that bridge and it feels nice standing in the middle of it. 

Never been there so early in the morning, but it's as alive as thru the day, and the sight is even more beautiful.

There are little parks around and butterfly sanctuaries, but I haven't seen any yet.

On my way back, I saw weird flowers - they looked like they were withered, but still hanging in there. I just thought they looked pretty. 

My excitement didn't really last long after that and I started to think about the nap. I felt like I could use the rest of the sleep, or another cup of coffee to stay awake until noon, at least. I guess this early bird got lazy lately...

Walking thru the Village of Murals

Just recently (before all this spring began) I was looking for a nice place to take a walk. Since all my walks are usually close to the lake, I decided to move a little bit up north and see what's going on there. That's when I came across the Islington's Village of Murals.

Located on Dundas Street West, between Islington and Kipling, there's a whole bunch of murals, mostly painted by an artist John Kuna.

More precise, there's 26 of them along the area and their purpose is to illustrate places and people from neighborhood's history, mostly from early 1900.

The Pub With No Beer

Next to every mural there is a board with the name and description of the illustration, explaining what, when and why.


It's like walking thru the museum of past.

There are people around you walking fast, cars are driving by, it's busy weekday, everyone's hurrying somewhere and then you set your eyes (because you can't miss it) on "The Pub With No Beer".




That's the mural that depicts smiling faces of workers leaned on the truck full of empty bottles cases, and makes you wonder how simple and happy people must have been then, even though they worked hard and had little.

The faces of Islington

There is something in each mural that brings out the nostalgia, happiness, proud, sorrow or compassion.

I'm sure it brings out a lot more to the people grew up in the area than to me, being a complete stranger. But it still makes you feel different, walking with those murals on every step as opposed to just walking, minding your own business.

Mimico Creek

This way, you remember to notice - or you notice to remember. Either way, it's a nicer walk with that contrast between now and then.

Portraits Of Our Past

The illustrations are beautiful and I admire the whole action of making it happen. The murals really make the place look interesting and fun, but also they show the proud and appreciation of the past.











What amazed me the most is that all of the murals were intact. They are clean and graffiti free, and that tells me that there is obvious respect for the illustrations themselves, for the past and for the neighborhood. I hope they'll stay that way for a long time.

The Old Swimming Hole, Aftermath, Harold G. Shipp's "First High Flier!"

Walk on the Sunnyside

There is one beautiful thing about Toronto - it's right on the lake. And I know, it's not sea, but it's good enough. It works.

Beach

On a lazy, spring Sunday morning, what better can it be than a walk in the sun, right next to the lake Ontario?

You can hear seagulls squawking (or whatever is called what they do), sound of runner's tennis shoes against the path, dogs barking, roller blades and wind thru the trees.

You can sit back and relax watching tenacious men doing their exercises (I have female friends who actually enjoy that activity) or simply ignore all the life around and bask in the sun and fresh lake air.

Sunnyside is a lakefront district in Toronto that consists of beaches and parks. There is a boardwalk that goes from the Humber bridge - which I love - all the way to the east side of the city. 

Humber bridge

Right next to it there's a Martin Goodman recreational pathway for runners, skaters and bicyclists. Even on a sunny, but cool day like today, you'll see joggers in shorts and families sitting on the beach, waiting for the summer to heat the place up.

Boardwalk

West of the Sunnyside Pavilion and the main beach, there's Sir Casimir Gzowski Park (named after the railways guy), and on the east side is the Budapest Park (named after a Hungarian Revolution in 1956).

Aside the main beach, there are also a few smaller ones along the waterfront.

Despite being considered for years to be too polluted, they are open for swimming (and they're supposed to be safe now) so you can actually knock yourself out and enjoy the lake as well as the sandy sunbathing platform. I haven't tried out that yet though.

Gzowski Monument

The importance of this place is huge. Living in a city like Toronto, or any big city for that matter, requires places where you can turn your back to traffic, noise and everyday rush. Toronto has many of those places and Sunnyside is just one of them.

It reminds me at Lungo Mare path in Opatija, small place on Croatian coastline, where we had numerous walks and runs for pleasure and relaxation. The only thing that's missing here is inevitable and magic scent of  salt and lavender, and the sight of the fisherman's boat early in the morning...