Something old and something new

One of the city's iconic landmarks, the distinctive architecture of the 1965 Toronto City Hall also serves as the city's logo. This was part of the view from my aunt and cousin's hotel room.




The magnificent 1926 Ontario Government Building is now called the Liberty Grand and is an events venue. My nephew's wedding (the reason why we were in Toronto in the first place) was in its lovely courtyard, and the dinner reception was in its Centennial Room.




N & A: I hope the two of you had a great time touring Europe! D & B: Words are not enough to express our gratitude for everything that you gave us and did for us. But, thank you. And I hope we get to see the four of you in Manila next year.

And to everyone who came by during my past two weeks' virtual Canadian tour: I had a great time reliving our visit while choosing and editing photos, and researching and writing the posts, and I hope that you enjoyed your visit too.

Tourists in Toronto: Brick

I have to beg the indulgence of my blogger friends from the North. Brick buildings may be a common sight to all of you, but they are rare here in Manila so I was fascinated by the different kinds of brick architecture that we saw in Toronto.

The Royal Conservatory of Music.




Canadian Opera Company.




No. 8 Hose Station. I'd never seen a fire station with a clock tower before either.




Steam Whistle Brewing. They only make one kind of beer, a pilsner, which I tried (along with many other kinds of beer—we don't have as much variety here in Manila). It was fine, but of all the beers we tried, I liked the St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout the best.




St. Lawrence Market. The neighborhood around this historic building is also called St. Lawrence.




One of the many buildings which house shops, galleries and restaurants of all kinds along Queen Street West in the Art & Design District.




Funky Junky at Kensington Market. If I lived in Toronto, I'd do much of my clothes shopping at Kensington Market, one of the city's older neighborhoods. Shops in brightly painted historic buildings selling retro, vintage, multicultural ethnic and army surplus clothing. It is also the location of Average Joe's Café, owned by Chinese-Canadian Joe Ng. His coffee was the first we had in three Canadian cities that was brewed the way we like it—strong.




I never found out the name of this church. Neither can I remember now what district I saw it in. But I love its domed spires and the painting over the doors. Very unique in my eyes. (6.23 UPDATE: My cousin tells me that this is St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral on Bathurst Street. Thanks, Ana!)




St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. Surrounded by big, beautiful, leafy trees, it had a poster on a wall saying that it was available for rental for performances, meetings, classes or weddings.

Tourists in Toronto: Distillery District

Toronto's Distillery District used to be the site of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery, which began as a grist mill in the early 1830s.




Some of the facilities in the company's industrial complex beside Lake Ontario included the distillery, mills, a boiler house and several warehouses. All in all, the company had more than forty buildings of various sizes and uses in the area. It even had its own wharf, though that has long been demolished. Gooderham and Worts ceased operations in 1990.




In 2003, the revitalized buildings of Gooderham and Worts opened as a pedestrian-only arts, culture and entertainment district. No franchises or chains are allowed by the new owners and the historic buildings now house restaurants and cafes, art galleries, and shops offering unique jewelry, furniture, clothes and home products. Various sculptures can be found in different areas of the district, one of which is Dennis Oppenheim's "Still Dancing." (We call it the egg beater and the funnel. Heehee.)

Tourists in Toronto: Casa Loma

The castle-like Hill House was built in 1911–1914 as the private residence of Ontario soldier and electricity mogul Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. With secret cabinets and passages, an 800-foot tunnel leading to stables and a coach house, towers, richly decorated rooms, and even its own pipe organ, Casa Loma is Toronto's own Camelot.




WWI halted the construction of the bowling alleys and Roman bath in the basement, and financial troubles resulted in Sir Henry enjoying his castle for only less than ten years. But the rooms that have been maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma since 1937 are a wonder to look at, from the rich furnishings and artwork to the architectural details and amenities that were very modern for the time.




Nature and art lovers will enjoy the estate's five acre gardens. A formal garden with a fountain, gazebo and sundial lies just beyond the castle's terraces.




On one side of the castle is a small, secluded garden with a fascinating Dragon Tree sculpture which comes with its own romantic legend. Elsewhere, paths meander through beautiful old trees, flowering bushes and gentle ponds.




Unfortunately, even the lovingly cared for gardens of Casa Loma have not been spared from graffiti.

Tourists in Toronto: CN Tower

What's a tour of Toronto without a visit to the city's iconic landmark, the CN Tower? At 553 meters (1,815 feet) from the ground to the tip of its spire, the tower dominates the city's skyline and served as our orienting landmark whenever we were on the verge of getting lost. The main observation deck is 346 meters (1,135 feet) high and I'm not ashamed to admit that my stomach gave a lurch when we rode the glass elevator. Seeing the city drop away at 22 kilometers (15 miles) an hour can be unsettling.




The views (through very thick glass windows, of course) were well worth the slightly surprised tummy.





The Look Out level is also great for a bird's eye view of the neighboring Rogers Centre, which almost everyone still calls the SkyDome.




One level down from the Look Out is the Outdoor Observation deck. The views are marred by a protective wire mesh but the wind at 342 meters is quite awesome. On the same level is the CN Tower's pièce de résistance: the Glass Floor. I almost didn't manage it—I couldn't look down and walk at the same time (hubby dear had no problem whatsoever and even tried to pull me until I threatened to make a scene). What I finally did was to stare hard at the thankfully solid wall, walk to the middle of the glass floor, stop, then look down. And here's the proof!

Tourists in Toronto: ROM

After a short lesson from my brother about getting around Toronto on our own and a visit with my husband's cousin who is taking her doctorate in the University of Toronto, we started the serious business of sightseeing. The first place we visited was the Royal Ontario Museum, located at the corner of Queen's Park and Bloor Street West. We approached it from Bloor, where we got a good view of the original 1914 building with the 2007 Michael Lee-Chin Crystal wing.




The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is named after the Jamaican-Canadian billionaire who donated $30 million for the building, which was designed by American architect Daniel Libeskind. As I was taking photos of this amazing, gravity-defying, crystalline structure, a man who was just about to enter his car came up to me and said, "Isn't that the ugliest building you have ever seen?" Not quite ready to get into a possibly long discussion with a resident, I grinned at him and said, "Let's just say that it's unusual." He laughed, continued getting into his car and drove off.




We spent most of the afternoon in the ROM's World Culture Galleries, but just before the museum closed for the day, I insisted on a short visit to one of the Natural History Galleries. Now I can finally say that I've seen a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton! Whee!