Final Transit » Toronto Tuesday

Toronto Tuesday 03.15: Guelph Arboretum

Priyank — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:05:13 +0000

University of Guelph’s botanical garden

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

One more post from the progressive city of Guelph, 100km west of Toronto.

Established in 1971, the botanical garden of University of Guelph is spread over 165 hectares (1.65 sq.km) and boasts of over 38 species of mammals, 188 species of birds, 39 species of butterflies, 18 reptiles and amphibians as well as shrubs and trees.

For some reason, I was feeling inspired to take pictures of various signboards in the park. I am resisting temptation to post more…

We spent a quiet hour walking on some of the trails and checking out a number of gardens which are inspired from different gardening styles such as the Japanese garden and the English garden. I am not quite sure what makes the English garden English, perhaps its the symmetry and an overly organised feel?

↑ Sun-dial in the English garden. It shows the correct time, just remember to make the daylight savings adjustment!

Numerous activities are held in the arboretum, it seems like a cool place to hang out if you find yourself in Guelph.

It’s especially great for those (like me) who prefer to study outdoors, I can’t do the coffee shop thing.

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Toronto Tuesday 03.14: Fergus

Priyank — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:55:21 +0000

Scottish Festival in Fergus

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

↑ Welcome to Fergus, the Scottish capital of Canada. I like the artistic sign board.

Fergus is located right next to Elora and to together they constitute the two main towns of the Centre Wellington township, located about 120km west of Toronto. We parked our car in a downtown parking lot and explored the commercial part of the town until it started raining heavily. The town is very walkable and dotted with limestone buildings and cute cafes and stores.


↑ Grand River and Fergus town (formerly known as ‘Little falls’)

We visited Fergus in August, when it was hosting the widely popular Sottish Festival and Highland Games. The games are claimed to be the largest conglomeration of clans and contests are held for music and dancing, in addition to typically Scottish events such as the Caber toss. Checkout their BIA website.

In addition, the largest truck show in North America is held here. Phew! Lot of significant festivals and events happening in this small town.

↑ Did someone forget….?

Toronto Tuesday 03.13: Elora

Priyank — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:55:52 +0000

Artsy and beautiful, Elora is ideal for a quiet urban getaway

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

Elora is a picturesque township approx 120km west of Toronto in the Wellington County, and a quaint village to spend an afternoon away from the city. Elora is known for its limestone architecture (similar to Guelph), a large left leaning and socially liberal artistic community and its spectacular location at the confluence of two rivers that form a gorge.


↑ Town centre and a conservation area with a lot of Mennonites.

Downtown Elora

Coming from Guelph, as soon as you cross the Grand River bridge, you enter the commercial block of the village. There is a post office, a library, a city hall and a plaza, surrounded by numerous shops, cafes, bakeries, furniture stores, boutiques and art stores. It’s quite fancy and chill.


↑ I was in the mood to take pictures of signboards. The entrance of the village is filled with them.

Elora, or Ellora?

The township’s name is inspired from the Ellora caves in India bearing Hindu-Buddhist-Jain sculptures. It is said that a British officer, recently returning from India, was sent to this settlement that was called Irvine back then. He renamed the settlement to Elora. Hmm, interesting!

↑ Bench

Elora is beautiful

The township’s Business Improvement Area (website) claims that its the most beautiful village in Ontario, I don’t know about that since I haven’t visited enough places. But the location is picturesque and the city has done a great job at keeping it well.


↑ Banners for the Sensational Elora Festival dotting the streets. They even have a cute bridge!

Elora Gorge

Elora is located on a hill and unfortunately we couldn’t descend all the way for a walk along the river because it started raining. The famous Elora Gorge is at the western end of the town. I have to come back one day to see it.


↑ Elora is located on the banks of the Grand river and the Irvine rivers

Between September 30 and October 10, the city is hosting a “festival of senses” and I might go check it out if I can find a car. The event features “renowned music, art, drama, film, food, scenery and architecture of historic Elora” (Note: The promotional video on their website is kinda dull, and it starts playing by itself, but I imagine that the festival would be way more fun than that.)

Certainly a place I would like to visit again.

Toronto Tuesday 03.12: Streetcar and bike post

Priyank — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:05:48 +0000

The city’s favourite transportation options

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

One of the crucial advantages of living in downtown Toronto is the fact that you are always around streetcars (trams) and bicycles. As you may know, I don’t have a car and therefore I am solely dependent either on public transit or on my bicycle. And I love them both dearly.

While our current mayor hates both, bicycles and streetcars, it is safe to assume that no transportation policy of Toronto is complete without the inclusion of mass transit and pollution-free transit options such as these. Plus, having old-style trams kinda gives a sexier look to the city, admit it!

In the picture, you can see a classic (rusted) ring and post bike stand next to its artistic incarnation. You can checkout some more of Toronto’s bike stand designs in my older Toronto Tuesday post.

PS: Lately I have been extremely irregular in updating my blog. Most of it has to do with my inability to juggle various priorities. I am not confident that I’ll get better but I do promise to try. If you have a blog, you know what I am talking about.

Toronto Tuesday 03.11: Guelph downtown

Priyank — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:20:39 +0000

Quaint downtown of Guelph, Ontario

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

Guelph, about 100km west of Toronto, is a city that is known for its distinctive heritage architecture, high standards of living and a liberal environment. I was driving through downtown Guelph with my partner last weekend and the place, with its independent coffee shops, healthy food joints, bookshops, antique stores and beautiful buildings, made quite an impression on us.

↑ Sign at the south west corner of downtown

↑ Church of Our Lady Immaculate sitting on a hill at the end of Macdonell Ave. The City of Guelph’s zoning by-laws require that any new buildings built in the downtown area must not obscure the view of the church. Also, no new buildings are allowed to be taller than the Church. (Reminds me of Moscow’s Kremlin)

↑ Downtown remodeling map. I like the word “remastered” – makes it sound like an art project.

A large section of downtown is being remodeled at the moment, and the revival promises to change the look of this town completely. They have an interesting mix of buildings, streets that sortof converge at the eastern end of downtown, a railway line and bike lanes – each of these factors adds a star to the place’s ratings in my scoring system. I think that the Downtown Guelph Business Association is doing a terrific job at gentrifying this area. As a health conscious, socially liberal and an artsy couple, we are naturally drawn towards places like this.

↑ Newspaper boxes

Heck, the town even has a sexy Armoury building!


↑ A mix of heritage buildings from different times. The architects and masons back then made excellent use of warm-hued limestone from nearby quarries.

↑ Bottles on a bench at VIA rail station

Guelph is well connected to Toronto and neighbouring cities by Greyhound and GO buses and also by VIA train. Alternatively, there’s always the North American way of travelling – by car!

↑ Downtown street signs

If you are looking to spend a relaxed ‘urban’ weekend outside Toronto, try Guelph. Or visit the picturesque town of Elora or the Scottish dominated Fergus. We certainly will!

Toronto Tuesday 03.10: St. James Cemetery

Priyank — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:20:06 +0000

Toronto’s oldest burial grounds

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

Earlier this spring, along with the Necropolis Cemetery, I visited the St. James Cemetery. This is the oldest cemetery in Toronto that’s still in operation. Located at Bloor Street and Parliament, overlooking the Don River ravine, this burial ground was once “outside” Toronto, but now it borders the north-east corner of downtown Toronto. To the west of the cemetery is the St. James Town neighbourhood, which is largest high-rise community in Canada.

Sitting atop a knoll, the Chapel of St. James-the-Less is designated as a National Historic site of Canada.

Toronto Tuesday 03.09: Parkdale Festival

Priyank — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:20:33 +0000

Parkdale’s summer community festival

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

Last Saturday, while the mercury remained high at around 34ºC, my neighbourhood was busy hosting the “Parkdale Then and Now” festival. The celebration, sponsored primarily by the Parkdale village business improvement association, was full of fun stuff – live music, food, bazaar with tons of art and craft stalls, book sale and a couple of entertainment zone exclusively for kids (I wanted to play in the bouncy castle too…)


↑ Music bands providing live entertainment. There were atleast three groups performing when I was walking around the area.


↑ Parkdale Bazaar, setup next to the Toronto Public Library, an intersection which was once the “town centre” of the old Parkdale village.

Community


↑ Groups such as the Community Development Group, Youth Initiative, Resident’s Association, Village Business Improvement Association, Food Bank, etc., and services facilitated by three large community centres and a public library operated by the City of Toronto provide several avenues for residents to engage and help each other.

This festival sprawled on Queen Street West between Dufferin and Roncesvalles avenues. I’ve lived in this area for over three years now and it has changed (gentrified) a lot. I hope in another five years this neighbourhood will have a bigger and busier festival, perhaps that would mean shutting down the street for a day.

↑ Clair Culliford, who runs the Parkdalenews.com website was spotted at his booth while juggling with three balls. Check out the website, join the mail list and become a facebook fan. Clair and I are known to bump into each other at random locations around the neighbourhood.

I love this aspect of Toronto’s summers. While Parkdale was celebrating, there were atleast three other areas in Toronto that were organising events. Does your neighbourhood host community festivals like this?

Toronto Tuesday 03.08: Necropolis

Priyank — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:20:00 +0000

Famous people buried in a historic cemetery

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

The Necropolis cemetery is a historic cemetery in Toronto. Located on the west side of the Don Valley near Riverdale Farm, the cemetery is the final resting place for several famous Torontonians and Canadians. I went to two cemeteries that day: Necropolis and St. James cemetery.

What’s the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard?
Well, a cemetery has a church or a chapel next to it while a graveyard doesn’t. This church was small, humble, and looked like it was in an eternal state of mourning and sorrow.

I find it fascinating how some religions and cultures maintain a physical location with tombstones setup to remember their loved ones. It’s a sweet thought.

I thought that the sculpture above was very touching. It’s simple dark profile is capable of telling so many stories…

Maybe it was a small family and they were being separated. Perhaps the men were being asked to go and labour in the factories, or perhaps the family was escaping and the woman simply couldn’t walk any further. And it was the last time they saw each other.
tell me what other story did you think…

Toronto Tuesday 03.07: Queen West Murals

Priyank — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:20:57 +0000

Murals and artwork on Queen West

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

Queen west is sortof a bohemian and an artsy area of Toronto. Here are some murals you’d notice when walking west on Queen St. West.

↑ “West Queen West”

↑ Queen west art district

Unfortunately the city’s murals, paintings and graffiti are under attack by our right-wing mayor Rob Ford. His solution is to force commercial establishment to paint over these images. How cosmetic, myopic and ill-conceived strategy! Not only is this complete disregard for art, but also it fails to address the root cause of the problem.

↑ Parkdale Youth Initiatives Program

↑ One world

↑ Parkdale Youth Festival

I hope these installations survive the mayor’s ludicrous mission. Some more art festivals are lined up in upcoming weeks, I’ll keep you posted.

Toronto Tuesday 03.06: Canada Post

Priyank — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:05:23 +0000

End of the postal strike and at the mercy of a right wing government

This post is part of the weekly Toronto Tuesday series

↑ Canada Post: Mail delivery truck

Two weeks ago, the Government of Canada enacted a back-to-work legislation that forced unionised employees of Canada Post to go back to work. The employees were on strike, protesting against certain discriminatory practises that were proposed by the management of Canada Post. I’m of the opinion that disputes can be settled through negotiations.


↑ Union protest signs and the Canada post building

However, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has a different philosophy. Through this legislation, they swatted away worker’s rights and effectively steered our country towards the older days where worker’s rights didn’t matter.

↑ Trucks parked outside the post office during strike.

I always have a pleasant experience at the post office. Ofcourse the service is quirky sometimes, but hey, that’s what public service usually is.

↑ Post office building, Parkdale, Toronto