Toronto, 17 and 18 January
Jan. 18th, 2004 11:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldMy trip to Toronto was a great success, at least as much as a relatively short overnight trip could be.
I got to the Kingston VIA Rail train station at 8 o'clock. getting a muffin, coffee, and bottled water. My original train was going to be a half-hour late, but fortunately I got shifted to another train which left at 9 o'clock. I had a seat to myself for most of the trip, and read Miri Rubin's Corpus Christi - The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture for my Tuesday presentation. About halfway through, I was joined by a woman from Baddeck, Cape Breton who was visiting her relatives on the mainland with her husband. We chatted nicely, as (I'm told) Maritimers in the diaspora often do, substantially about emigration (she lived for 39 years in Toronto) and the cultural costs of living away (she found Toronto increasingly busier and more threatening as time passed).
The train came into the station at a bit after 11 o'clock. The first thing that I did was take the subway to the Queen's station, so I could finally go to The Thomson Gallery. (In April, I tried visiting it on Sunday and Monday, the two days of the week it was closed.) In talking to any number of Torontonians, I've been surprised by this gallery's utter lack of recognition. This is despite the extensive and well-presented collection that it has, wrapping around and above the The Hudson's Bay Company's formal dining room on the ninth floor of that famous department store. The Group of Seven collection alone is great, but on top of this works by Paul Kane, Cornelius Krieghoff, Emily Carr, and other Canadian artists who were formative in one way or another in Canada's early art community. Have I mentioned that the admission is four dollars for people generally, two dollars for students, and free for holders of a HBC card? One must go, immediately--the collection is that good.
From that point, I took the subway to St. Andrew's and then walked to my hostel, the Canadiana Backpackers Inn Curiously enough, it was quite near Hey, Lucy, where I went for drinks in April with a few BIMOT people (hi,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rdi!), so I was able to place myself in relation to the wider city. I was pleasantly surprised throughout the trip at how easily I was able to do this, thanks to my prior visits' walks around the downtown. Michel de Certeau was quite right when he observed that walking around a metropolis helps humanize it for the solitary explorer, by providing an internal map and by providing a framework for emotional reactions to the city.
After dropping off my stuff, I walked over to Yonge Street and began walking north, trying to absorb as much of the city environment as I could. I was inspired by a post on Simon Bisson's livejournal to go to a HMV music store on Yonge Street in search of Klf's The White Room. I bought it, of course--"Justified and Ancient" and "3 A.M. Eternal" are great songs. I had lunch at a chain café--half of a chicken panini, with salad and diet Sprite--and then continued walking north.
I phonedlesslyn, and we agreed to meet on the steps of the ROM. In fact, I ended up running into here as I was walking west, past Victoria University on the street running up to the planetarium. We went to the Bata Shoe Museum to tour around that interesting collection for a bit, before we doubled back and walked around Yorkville and the Universty of Toronto campus around St. Michael's College. It was great to spend time with her and just talking. (I also mentioned Something Positive to her. That is a very good comic indeed.)
Afterlesslyn and I parted at 5:40, I went to the Chapter's on Bay Street before I met my friend James for supper at Bistro 990. Again, it was good to see James again, since I hadn't seen him since April. That the meeting took place in the context of a fantastic top-flight dinner was another bonus, hardly necessary but quite enjoyable. (The duck was very good, as was the bombe Alaska.) We then went for drinks at The Looking Glass before we left separately.
I then went drinking at Byzantium and Zelda's. Perhaps over-fortified, I resolved to enact Certeau's theories by walking around Toronto at night. Toronto, very early in the morning as the snow falls gently, is rather attractive. One thing I was surprised by, though, and rather saddened to see, was the poverty, as I saw people sleeping on sidewalks above grates wrapped
I left the hostel at a quarter after 11, after having a quick breakfast there, walking to Union Station. The train ride went easily enough: On the one hand, signalling problems meant that it was an hour late, but on the other hand this late arrival meant that I now have a rebate for half of the trip's value.
Did I get to do everything I wanted? No. Granted that I've finally seen the Thomson Gallery and the Bata Shoe Museum, there are still some major tourist attractions I've yet to see, not least of which is the McMichael. More, there are still some people I've yet to see. It was quite a fun trip, though. If I do in fact end up visiting Toronto again at the beginning of reading week (around the time of the 12th through the 14th, perhaps?), I expect it will be just as enjoyable.
I got to the Kingston VIA Rail train station at 8 o'clock. getting a muffin, coffee, and bottled water. My original train was going to be a half-hour late, but fortunately I got shifted to another train which left at 9 o'clock. I had a seat to myself for most of the trip, and read Miri Rubin's Corpus Christi - The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture for my Tuesday presentation. About halfway through, I was joined by a woman from Baddeck, Cape Breton who was visiting her relatives on the mainland with her husband. We chatted nicely, as (I'm told) Maritimers in the diaspora often do, substantially about emigration (she lived for 39 years in Toronto) and the cultural costs of living away (she found Toronto increasingly busier and more threatening as time passed).
The train came into the station at a bit after 11 o'clock. The first thing that I did was take the subway to the Queen's station, so I could finally go to The Thomson Gallery. (In April, I tried visiting it on Sunday and Monday, the two days of the week it was closed.) In talking to any number of Torontonians, I've been surprised by this gallery's utter lack of recognition. This is despite the extensive and well-presented collection that it has, wrapping around and above the The Hudson's Bay Company's formal dining room on the ninth floor of that famous department store. The Group of Seven collection alone is great, but on top of this works by Paul Kane, Cornelius Krieghoff, Emily Carr, and other Canadian artists who were formative in one way or another in Canada's early art community. Have I mentioned that the admission is four dollars for people generally, two dollars for students, and free for holders of a HBC card? One must go, immediately--the collection is that good.
From that point, I took the subway to St. Andrew's and then walked to my hostel, the Canadiana Backpackers Inn Curiously enough, it was quite near Hey, Lucy, where I went for drinks in April with a few BIMOT people (hi,
rdi!), so I was able to place myself in relation to the wider city. I was pleasantly surprised throughout the trip at how easily I was able to do this, thanks to my prior visits' walks around the downtown. Michel de Certeau was quite right when he observed that walking around a metropolis helps humanize it for the solitary explorer, by providing an internal map and by providing a framework for emotional reactions to the city.After dropping off my stuff, I walked over to Yonge Street and began walking north, trying to absorb as much of the city environment as I could. I was inspired by a post on Simon Bisson's livejournal to go to a HMV music store on Yonge Street in search of Klf's The White Room. I bought it, of course--"Justified and Ancient" and "3 A.M. Eternal" are great songs. I had lunch at a chain café--half of a chicken panini, with salad and diet Sprite--and then continued walking north.
I phoned
lesslyn, and we agreed to meet on the steps of the ROM. In fact, I ended up running into here as I was walking west, past Victoria University on the street running up to the planetarium. We went to the Bata Shoe Museum to tour around that interesting collection for a bit, before we doubled back and walked around Yorkville and the Universty of Toronto campus around St. Michael's College. It was great to spend time with her and just talking. (I also mentioned Something Positive to her. That is a very good comic indeed.)After
lesslyn and I parted at 5:40, I went to the Chapter's on Bay Street before I met my friend James for supper at Bistro 990. Again, it was good to see James again, since I hadn't seen him since April. That the meeting took place in the context of a fantastic top-flight dinner was another bonus, hardly necessary but quite enjoyable. (The duck was very good, as was the bombe Alaska.) We then went for drinks at The Looking Glass before we left separately. I then went drinking at Byzantium and Zelda's. Perhaps over-fortified, I resolved to enact Certeau's theories by walking around Toronto at night. Toronto, very early in the morning as the snow falls gently, is rather attractive. One thing I was surprised by, though, and rather saddened to see, was the poverty, as I saw people sleeping on sidewalks above grates wrapped
I left the hostel at a quarter after 11, after having a quick breakfast there, walking to Union Station. The train ride went easily enough: On the one hand, signalling problems meant that it was an hour late, but on the other hand this late arrival meant that I now have a rebate for half of the trip's value.
Did I get to do everything I wanted? No. Granted that I've finally seen the Thomson Gallery and the Bata Shoe Museum, there are still some major tourist attractions I've yet to see, not least of which is the McMichael. More, there are still some people I've yet to see. It was quite a fun trip, though. If I do in fact end up visiting Toronto again at the beginning of reading week (around the time of the 12th through the 14th, perhaps?), I expect it will be just as enjoyable.
