Grand tour downtown Toronto Canada 2018

After a morning GO station ride with my host-friend, I entered Toronto downtown via Union station. Looking up at the CN Tower I felt like I had reached Mount Everest basecamp. I deferred taking the CN pic for later in the evening. Kahan jayega ? /Where will it go ?

Here is the skywalk towards CN Towers.

And the CN Tower peeping through the skylit cover on this skywalk. I have to say I was speechless walking here.

And here at the CN Tower Info center. I did not choose to go to observatory tower because it would 50 bucks and I have seen the Obeservatory tower views in, let me see Chicago Willis & Hancock towers, SanAntonio and where not and also because I had been up CN Towers 12 years back. So I don't regret not doing it this time.

 CN Tower peaking in between TD North Tower on Kings Street.

Now the Underground system of paths between the buildings, each block packed with shops and food courts is just fascinating. Its endless. But also its unaffordable. Seems very pricy after shopping in USA & India. The retail taxes are so much, it also worth another item you could shop.

Running Room ? Here ? Wow. And I thought it was MN local.

Hudson Bay - oldest retail in Canada. Again not somewhere I would buy anything. Stuff on sale were like $163 after 60% discount !

CF Eaton Mall. Those Goose installations.

 Yonge Street at Dundas

Yonge-Dundass square

Underground level at CF Eaton Mall on Yonge & Dundass junction.

I saw the CN Towers when I got off at Union Station. It was a clear but cloudy morning. So I said, ah I will click a good pick when I am back here to go back home. And when I did return here in the evening, it was pouring Snowflakes. So I don't have a clear direct pic of CN Towers from this visit.

View of CN Tower at Union Street

Grand station at Union and this was my goodbye to Toronto downtown. And Thanks for the cherished memories was 12 years back and helping create new ones.

Grand station at Union

Till this morning, before my trip to Toronto downtown, all I was excited was to use the TTC again.
But soon I got to know the commuting trials of living in a Toronto suburb. It's not all super-smooth TTC alone. It's usually a car-drive to the park & ride of GO station. Go train from Mississauga to Toronto downtown. Then TTC for within downtown transport or taxis. Between Airport and Toronto, its UP Express. And this is the daily commute of the urban office-goer. Makes me feel like I was living in halli/village in MN.

GO Train

Canada 2018 - Quebec, Mississagua, Niagara and Toronto.

TTC Subway

* TTC Subway
I have to say, I was most impressed by the subway system of Toronto. Entire public transit system actually - TTC.
Bangalore commuting hassles being what it is, it is no wonder that the one thing I valued was the convenience of this transit system. I made the most use of the Weekly Pass

Want to cross a few blocks ? Hop in the nearest subway.
Live in the suburbs ? No problem. Park your car and use the subway for downtown shopping. No hassle of parking at each halt.
Trains every 2-3 minutes. Even till very late in the night.
On so many occasions, after reaching my destination, I would find that I have forgotton my wallet at home. But no prob. Went home and back in no time.

With Street Car, you can get a complete but unguided tour of the city. What I did was, used the subway to go to last stop. Got in a street car, for an art gallery. But this turned out to be the wrong car. It started going back to downtown. I didn't mind that; gallery for some other day. It winded through the suburbs and downtown streets, which till now had been underground subway stops.

Subway stops are unique, characterized by their advertisements and artwork. Advertisement in neat frames. Different color tiles for each stop. And then artwork - murals depicting the character of that stop - College, Queen, King ... Instructions everywhere - escalator safety, exits, washrooms. More than technology, it's the design and planning of this system that is noteworthy.

Subway Musicians really add character to this place. And they play so well. Mostly guitarist, with vocals. (Just now came to know that they play a license fee to TTC !) They also sell their CD's here. But mostly they play for money from commuters. My constant question was "how much would they earn this way ?" Nevertheless they play unobstructively at their usual hours in their usual place. This is a romantic contrast to our train singers, who have strong poverty-driven aggression.

And then there were commuters. I have to say "Commuter" is a universal class of people. They exhibit similar behaviour in both parts of the world. Group of people, packed in a box together. Each in her own world - planning, thinking, day-dreaming, reading book or taking a nap. Holding their bags in tight clasp. Once in a while something grabs everyone's collective attention. A mad-cap attention-grabbing one in open shirt with a body-builder physique, whistles for everyone's attention and then does pushup, right in the middle of the car. Oh yes, I saw this. Then there are people in bathrobes, or with 3-4 dogs. One time a fellow sitting behind, talked non-stop about everything on this globe - Hamas win in Palestine, his pet dog, why people in India hate dogs (I have no clue), then organic food, yada yada. All this to a sympathic lady, who patiently heard him out with a "sure" & "ok", till she got off at her stop. That was some 30 minutes !

This was my first hand experience in slowing time and squeezing in more in short time. It's delicious ! Toronto felt like a small world city, though it's immensely bigger than Bangalore. I wish Bangalore had Metro built long back. Imagine Malleshwaram to JPNagar in less than 1/2 an hour. Yumm ! But now, I am not sure about living through the under-construction hassles, for the convenience for that may come after 4-5 years. Anyway, it might happen any time soon. Ah ! the scarifices one has to make ...

Niagara Falls

Here is the grand Niagara Falls ! From Canadian side.




It was huge and definitely beautiful. But it took us nearly an hour to settle down and have a good look. Man ! the mist doesn't let you stay still. Coupled with a cloudy sky, it completely drenched us. Raincoat ponchos from the sovenier shop, where we took refuge, came to our rescue.

Speaking of souvenir shops, I seriously looked out for WonderFalls :) After all those months of weekly sightings on TV, I finally saw the real thing. I mean, the Falls. Now I wonder, if I liked that show because of falls, or is it the other way round ...



Begining of the Fall



Rainbow bridge between Canada and USA



US Falls



US Falls and Niagara Falls



Maid of the Mist boats

Art Gallery of Ontario

Visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) was umm ok-ish, at first. But it ended well.

First, I spent considerable time to hunt it's location. Based on their postal address, I got off at Dundas Street West subway station and caught a street car to somewhere. It took me on a complete city tour (my mistake, not their's). Next time I tried the smarter approach - of calling first for landmarks. Turns out it is on Dundas Street West, but a block away from McCaul Street ! (This is like half-way across the city from where I got off the first time). I forgot that the streets here run across the city and beyond.

AGO location is great. Neighborhood is cluttered with Art supply stores. Crowd is also artsy looking type. And that is because Ontario College of Art & Design is AGO's immediate neighbor. Now, this college building is worth a watch.

At AGO, they had a Favorites exhibition on - set of diverse paintings, favorites chosen by eminent personalities of Toronto. Was good. So was the "Entire City" collection by Michael Awad. He clicked similar places across the city and stuck them together seamlessly. It looks like an entire city captured on one frame. So we have all super-markets in one frame. Likewise escalators, Toronto airport, all stores of Queen Street. Good project. I hope they soon come out in print poster form. Apart from these, nothing of interest. No offence, but sculptures and installations bore me. Give me a painting anyday.

The exhibit that I loved most, was a Wallwork*. It so happened, after getting lost in most of the gallery, I finally reached their store. I hoped it would pep me up. But no. They didn't have any of my favorite painting prints ! So I crawled away to the next room, which seemed completely empty, but for sofa. I sat on one of them, and turned around to the door, and boing ! What do I see ? I see this.



I said, now you are talking !

Didn't note the artist name. He had used all modern day common objects, to create pillar and sculpture, for an adorned doorway. All in twos , in symmetry on either side of the door. Stuff like bed breakfast table with used plates having bread crumbs. A coffee table with coffee mugs, mobile phone, cutlery, even used tissue. Then, a slept floor bed, jeans spilling out of a closet, Redbull cans, sandals, doormat, underwear, marker pens, post-its, file folders.

I was amazed at the strength of glue to fight gravity ! It's like an entire section of floor was transported to the wall.

I have to say, this wallwork is the best part of this gallery ! Wonder how the artist will dismantle it ? Maybe it is a permanent exhibit after all.

* Wallworks are artworks produced directly on the surface of walls. The artists who adhere to this method of working dispense with the tradition of the canvas, preferring the hard vertical surface of walls, often incorporating texture and existing architecture into their work.

Bata Shoe Museum

Bata Shoe Museum at 327, Bloor Street West, Toronto.


With Bata being such a part of growing up in India, I just had to visit this museum. Also to check out how different it would be from any of the Bata shops around here. Yes, it was different. The obvious one being, not more than one piece of a model. (Ok, bad joke).

It was amusing to browse thru such a variety of Shoes. There were silk, wood, leather and even ceramic shoes. It can be really amazing to see the evolution of something we take for granted. And funny too - to see various shape used by our ancestors. I mean, there were some from French court, which were platform with no heels at all. How torturous !

Then there were from different ages and cultures. And another section for celebrity shoes - Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Churchill, Tiger Woods and more. And an entire section for the European ones with bows !

My favorite section has to be the one by influential designers of 20th century. All the high-heeled ones with beads, sequins & flowers. Piece of art actually. Some of them modern art.

Quick tour of their collection here. Some of them captured for you, here ...

Addition to library

Bought 5 books today. 2 shops, bargain prices. Could not resist.

That's a record one-day addition to my library. But I only hope they don't remain in my bought-long-back-but-not-read section for long !

Jan 25th in Toronto

So, well Happy Birthday to me !!

I had a great day.

Spent it with my hubby at the top of the world, ok CN Towers, Toronto. Great panaromic view, good lunch.



People here say I have brought warmth with me. At this time of the year, it's freezing like anything. But this time it's relatively warm - between 0 to 3 degree C !! Phew. Otherwise it's like -15 C or so ! Anyway it's not the 'warm' I am familiar with. Or 'cold', for that matter. Wind is awfully biting ... and fun. But snow flurries are not as exciting as expected. My hubby teases me now, "Is this cold good enough for you ?" Naah, I want more.

So far my visit has been good. New experiences, new places and predominantly shopping for winter clothes. But no time to collect my thoughts and blog. Anyway my pen & paper diary is going full steam. So I hope to have more posts, once I settle down or am back home.

In Toronto !

Finally arrived in Toronto ! An hour ago.

Hmm, first impression ! Good, nice, quiet.
Ah, I expected to see some snow. But no luck. Its all clean and rather warm today - 3 degrees C.