Walking up Yonge Street without actually walking on Yonge Street…. with all it’s distractions and wrong turns. We eventually get somewhere and that somewhere may actually be where we want to be!
below: I didn’t know that such a place existed! It’s at Davenport and Belmont in case you feel the need….
below: I smiled even more when I went around the corner and encountered this sign
below: Toronto layers
below: The old stone stairs at Ramsden Park. A bit muddy at the bottom but that never stopped me.
below: Waiting for spring… or at least for some snow to melt.
below: An after school skate.
below: Old and new – exploring the lanes that run parallel to Yonge. This is Paul Hahn Lane.
below: Trespassers will be prosecuted. If you can’t read the sign, does it still count?
below: As you go north, Paul Hahn Lane becomes Sam Tile Lane.
below: The caterpillar isn’t where it was. Is this an Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland reference? Actually it’s a children’s clothing store but that doesn’t stop my from quoting Lewis Carroll, or at least a short passage. Alice’s interaction with the caterpillar is too long to include here!
“In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, ‘One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.’ ‘One side of what? The other side of what?’ thought Alice to herself. ‘Of the mushroom,’ said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.”
below: At Summerhill there is no way to parallel Yonge because of the train tracks. A shout out to this young man who just previous to this moment stopped to ask me if I’d taken some great photos today. I answered that it was a bit grey to get great pictures and he concurred.
below: Infrequently photographed (the daring architecture!) and not well known, this is Summerhill subway station. It has no bus connections and the only major destination nearby is the large LCBO in the old CPR station a block away (i.e. not many people use this station).
below: Something old ans something new. I was wondering if the slate tiles on the upper storey were originals when I noticed the unobtrusive addition to the white and black house.
below: Looking south towards Rosedale station (view blocked by the white and blue temporary building for the construction next to the bridge). Tall downtown buildings in the distance. The tallest one is at 1 Bloor East and it is partially hidden by the Hudson Bay Centre tower on the other side of Bloor Street (the squarish building) and another tower that I am not sure of.
below: Another of the many “it’s a street, no it’s an alley”, passages that you find in Toronto.
below: The rust and metal of an alley infill house
below: In an area of smaller narrow houses on small lots, some creativity is required if you want to expand.
below: A concrete lined hole in the ground with access from the alley but also from the street? The beginnings of a larger development?
below: Along the way I happened upon the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club in its winter plumage.
below: Foiled! I was going to walk up through and David Balfour Park but the path is blocked… so back to Yonge Street I’m afraid.
below: He looks about as happy as I felt at that moment… but at least my arm is still intact.
below: Once on Yonge Street I discovered that traffic is even worse than usual because of lane closures. Water main repairs and/or replacements by the looks of it.
below: This is now close to St. Clair Ave and a subway station so this is where I called it quits. The days are still short and although the temperatures aren’t too bad, a cup of coffee seemed like a great idea at that moment (see the Aroma sign in the upper right corner? It was calling my name).
below: Someone doesn’t seem to mind being in traffic!
Stay positive & enjoy the trip, you’ll get there!
Oh, by the way, the photos may not be anything special (the grey day and all that) but I still had fun with them.
as I walk Toronto 