Last Day in Toronto
Apr. 28th, 2003 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldToday was fun.
Plans changed, and I was going to meet James for breakfast in the Eaton Centre. My subway train to Queen Station was late, though, and anyway the first two restaurants we went to were closed, so we ended up going to J.J. Muggs on the north side of the Eaton Centre. Breakfast was good (I'd ordered a Swiss Cheese-filled omelette, with apple juice and--surprisingly for me--coffee with cream). We'd a decent conversation about a few things, including the pluses and minuses of Ken MacLeod's novels and the personalized political eccentricities of his noel, the way that Bostonian science-fiction writer Alexander Jablokov (in addition to the short-story collection Breath of Suspension he has written two excellent novels now out of print), the inevitable effects of greenhouse warming on Canadian and world affairs, the whinging of Alberta of late (we agreed, I think, that Alberta wishes it could run the entire country), and the worrisome future ahead for Americans and non-Americans alike (when Iraq becomes Lebanon circa 1983 only with oil and live satellite television, that is). It was fun.
Afterwards, I had intended to go to the Thomson gallery on the ninth floor of the Bay department store, but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays. Guess I'll see it next time. It was quick, from there, to go down to the subway and to go up towards Dupont Station en route to Casa Loma. some disorientation ensued, but after a kind local redirected me I found it. Walking up Spadina Road, I came across the Metro Archives of Toronto and decided to go in. Perhaps I had low expectations, but I like it--they had a free exhibition on land-use planning in greater Toronto over the past century, and it was great. I recommend it.
Casa Loma was a bit of a disappointment, since not only is it in the middle of exterior renovations that make it difficult to see the outside from close-up but a movie crew was filming there (something was in the title about pink and including a minor character actor from Seinfeld). Still, it was fun to wander about Sir Henry Pellatt's fantastic conglomeration of different styles. The view of downtown Toronto from the Norman Tower was fantastic.
I descended, and walked down Spadina. To my right, walking south towards College Street, I came upon the local office of the Alliance française, a French government branch charged with promoting French culture abroad. There was an interesting photo exhibition about Klaus Mann, complete with a 25 dollar book on his life co-produced by the Alliance française and the Goethe-Institut (Germany's counterpart agency). I left picking up three free publications--the official newsletter of the French consulate in Toronto, and the latest French-language weeklies Le Métropolitain and L'express. Walking further south, I came across the Native Cultural Centre of Toronto, though there wasn't much there.
My most enjoyable experience on Spadina with ethnic institutions, I can definitely say, was at the St. Vladimir Institute just above Spadina Circle. A major Ukrainian cultural institution in Toronto (don't forget that an entire multi-volume encyclopedia of Ukraine was published here) that is named after St. Vladimir, the Kyivan king who Christianized Ukraine (and by extension, Russia and Belarus) in 988, it is home to the Ontario branch of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. It was locked--it's maintained by dedicated volunteers--but a kind woman originally from Ternopil let me in and gave me a guided tour.
The current exhibition--to be changed in mid-May--is of traditional Ukrainian ceramics. Labelled bilingually in English and Ukrainian, there was a fantastic collection of Ukrainian ceramic folk art and working objects (pots, cups, and the like) professionally displayed. I have long had a personal interest in Ukraine (for a variety of reasons including a dystopian alternate history), so I was able to recognize the origins of many of the items and to even understand some of the Cyrillic labels. Most of the items came from western Ukraine, from the areas of Ukraine under Polish occupation in the interwar period; items from central and eastern Ukraine were much rarer, owing to Stalin's starvation-induced genocide of the Ukrainian peasantry there. Many of the items were produced by the Hutsuls in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast; they and the other western Ukrainian items tended to be more brightly coloured than their central and eastern Ukrainian counterparts, which were often plain clay. Perhaps this was because much of western Ukraine had been included in the Austrian Empire; many Hutsul and other western Ukrainian folk arts were liked by the nobles and bourgeoisies of Vienna and elsewhere. The exhibition, in short, was fantastic. Oh, and it was free. The museum comes highly recommended.
My good mood on leaving was only briefly interrupted when a bird used me for target practice, fortunately only winging me. I went into the Scott Mission to clean off. What I saw in there didn't scare me at all, simply making me sad. Poor people.
On getting back to the College Hostel, I headed directly over to the College Street Travel Cuts office, to try to renew my ISIC card so that I would not have to hitchhike back to PEI. I couldn't do that, but I was able to get an equivalent card so I shouldn't have any trouble picking up my boarding pass et al. Guess I know what I'm doing when I get back to PEI.
After that got straightened out, I headed over to John's Italian Caffe for a small lunch. The Caesar salad wasn't good; the gourmet pizza, on the other hand, was. I then went down to Queen Street West to the ChumCity store to pick up a Moses Znaimer-as-egomaniac card for Jenn. I did so. I also saw Bradford How there, and yes he seemed as oddball in person as on TV. I walked further west, then walked back up.
I guess tonight I'll finishing packing. I'll go over to Craig's place for Queer as Folk; 'twill be good to see him again. After that, well, I'll go to the airport on the first shuttle from the Royal York, and that'll be it.
Toronto was fun.
Plans changed, and I was going to meet James for breakfast in the Eaton Centre. My subway train to Queen Station was late, though, and anyway the first two restaurants we went to were closed, so we ended up going to J.J. Muggs on the north side of the Eaton Centre. Breakfast was good (I'd ordered a Swiss Cheese-filled omelette, with apple juice and--surprisingly for me--coffee with cream). We'd a decent conversation about a few things, including the pluses and minuses of Ken MacLeod's novels and the personalized political eccentricities of his noel, the way that Bostonian science-fiction writer Alexander Jablokov (in addition to the short-story collection Breath of Suspension he has written two excellent novels now out of print), the inevitable effects of greenhouse warming on Canadian and world affairs, the whinging of Alberta of late (we agreed, I think, that Alberta wishes it could run the entire country), and the worrisome future ahead for Americans and non-Americans alike (when Iraq becomes Lebanon circa 1983 only with oil and live satellite television, that is). It was fun.
Afterwards, I had intended to go to the Thomson gallery on the ninth floor of the Bay department store, but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays. Guess I'll see it next time. It was quick, from there, to go down to the subway and to go up towards Dupont Station en route to Casa Loma. some disorientation ensued, but after a kind local redirected me I found it. Walking up Spadina Road, I came across the Metro Archives of Toronto and decided to go in. Perhaps I had low expectations, but I like it--they had a free exhibition on land-use planning in greater Toronto over the past century, and it was great. I recommend it.
Casa Loma was a bit of a disappointment, since not only is it in the middle of exterior renovations that make it difficult to see the outside from close-up but a movie crew was filming there (something was in the title about pink and including a minor character actor from Seinfeld). Still, it was fun to wander about Sir Henry Pellatt's fantastic conglomeration of different styles. The view of downtown Toronto from the Norman Tower was fantastic.
I descended, and walked down Spadina. To my right, walking south towards College Street, I came upon the local office of the Alliance française, a French government branch charged with promoting French culture abroad. There was an interesting photo exhibition about Klaus Mann, complete with a 25 dollar book on his life co-produced by the Alliance française and the Goethe-Institut (Germany's counterpart agency). I left picking up three free publications--the official newsletter of the French consulate in Toronto, and the latest French-language weeklies Le Métropolitain and L'express. Walking further south, I came across the Native Cultural Centre of Toronto, though there wasn't much there.
My most enjoyable experience on Spadina with ethnic institutions, I can definitely say, was at the St. Vladimir Institute just above Spadina Circle. A major Ukrainian cultural institution in Toronto (don't forget that an entire multi-volume encyclopedia of Ukraine was published here) that is named after St. Vladimir, the Kyivan king who Christianized Ukraine (and by extension, Russia and Belarus) in 988, it is home to the Ontario branch of the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. It was locked--it's maintained by dedicated volunteers--but a kind woman originally from Ternopil let me in and gave me a guided tour.
The current exhibition--to be changed in mid-May--is of traditional Ukrainian ceramics. Labelled bilingually in English and Ukrainian, there was a fantastic collection of Ukrainian ceramic folk art and working objects (pots, cups, and the like) professionally displayed. I have long had a personal interest in Ukraine (for a variety of reasons including a dystopian alternate history), so I was able to recognize the origins of many of the items and to even understand some of the Cyrillic labels. Most of the items came from western Ukraine, from the areas of Ukraine under Polish occupation in the interwar period; items from central and eastern Ukraine were much rarer, owing to Stalin's starvation-induced genocide of the Ukrainian peasantry there. Many of the items were produced by the Hutsuls in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast; they and the other western Ukrainian items tended to be more brightly coloured than their central and eastern Ukrainian counterparts, which were often plain clay. Perhaps this was because much of western Ukraine had been included in the Austrian Empire; many Hutsul and other western Ukrainian folk arts were liked by the nobles and bourgeoisies of Vienna and elsewhere. The exhibition, in short, was fantastic. Oh, and it was free. The museum comes highly recommended.
My good mood on leaving was only briefly interrupted when a bird used me for target practice, fortunately only winging me. I went into the Scott Mission to clean off. What I saw in there didn't scare me at all, simply making me sad. Poor people.
On getting back to the College Hostel, I headed directly over to the College Street Travel Cuts office, to try to renew my ISIC card so that I would not have to hitchhike back to PEI. I couldn't do that, but I was able to get an equivalent card so I shouldn't have any trouble picking up my boarding pass et al. Guess I know what I'm doing when I get back to PEI.
After that got straightened out, I headed over to John's Italian Caffe for a small lunch. The Caesar salad wasn't good; the gourmet pizza, on the other hand, was. I then went down to Queen Street West to the ChumCity store to pick up a Moses Znaimer-as-egomaniac card for Jenn. I did so. I also saw Bradford How there, and yes he seemed as oddball in person as on TV. I walked further west, then walked back up.
I guess tonight I'll finishing packing. I'll go over to Craig's place for Queer as Folk; 'twill be good to see him again. After that, well, I'll go to the airport on the first shuttle from the Royal York, and that'll be it.
Toronto was fun.
