Canadian Capitals 6/13/19 (Toronto)
Mother Nature opted to make the weather a little challenging for today's planned activity. As we have done in many cities we have visited, we signed up for a walking food tour. The tour included an hour of walking outdoors and all of that time was spent with our umbrellas in hand. This made taking pictures a one handed experience...something we did practice in our recent photography class.
We met our tour guide, Mike of Toronto Food Tours, at the St. Lawrence Market entrance at 10am after an easy 15 minute walk from our hotel. The market first opened in 1803 and the building has been had many uses throughout its' 200 year history. In addition to being a market, it has housed the mayor, the city council and a jail. Portions of the building were destroyed during the 1849 Toronto Great Fire.
Within the market now are a series of stalls selling cheese, meats, fish, and baked goods along some coffee stands, vegetables, and dry goods. Our first stop was at a coffee shop which had an enormous variety of coffees available; the shop also roasted their beans on-site. This was followed by s quick stop at a bakery for a fresh pastry. We would have liked to sit for 5-10 minutes to enjoy both, but the tour was quickly moving outside in hopes of beating the impending rain. We were only outside a few minutes when the first drops fell and for the next hour, it just continued to increase in intensity.
During the outside portion of the tour, we learned about the history of the market and the plans to replace the north market. Building was underway late last year until, during the foundation excavation, it was discovered that the site was once the home of the original Canada Dry building and work has stopped as it now considered a historical site.
We also visited the St James Cathedral, home to the oldest congregation in the city, established in 1797. It has been rebuilt several times and did not survive the Great Fire of 1849. It is part of the Anglican Church. The church houses a majestic pipe organ. The grounds adjacent to the cathedral are a public park that is planted annually with tulip bulbs provided by the Dutch as a thank-you to Canada for providing a home to the Queen of the Netherlands during WWII.
As we worked our way back to the market, we traveled by a street that once housed the red light district of Toronto. It was the home of the 1855 Circus Riots. With the circus in town, the police blanketed the red light district to deny the circus workers access to the area's "services." The clowns took exception to this and mobilized many of the circus workers to challenge the police. The clowns and their supports overtook the police and then controlled the area for three days until the circus left town.
The city of Toronto has many green spaces and small park areas. The Wish Bone Park is notable, as it is dog park - complete with its' own fountain; it provides a great venue for dogs and their owners
Back at the market we sampled more food items than any one person would eat. We enjoyed a Pea Meal Bacon Sandwich, a meat and cheese board, pierogies, two types of Portuguese tarts (chicken and custard), sweet and savory tarts, candied salmon, a Montreal bagel, a mustard sampling, and probably a few additional items. We finished the tour with a visit to the basement to see area that had previously housed the old jail within the market.
Our Tauck tour officially started at 5:30 pm when our group of 38 met our tour guide in the lobby of the hotel. Gen is from the province of Quebec and has been a Tauck tour guide for over 15 years. Our bus driver is Guy, also from Quebec province and has been driving for over 40 years. Once we boarded the bus, we headed to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
We had cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in a small reception area, then had a private tour of the adjacent
exhibitions. Returning to the reception area, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner. We returned to the hotel around 9:30 pm.
The city of Toronto is experiencing their first opportunity to win an NBA title. Everywhere you go are Raptor signs and everyone is talking about game 6 of the series. An away win tonight would seal the deal for Toronto. Our room looks out on the CN tower which is lit in red tonight. We have been told that should they win, we will probably be able to hear the celebration in our hotel rooms (we were offered ear plugs!)
Pictures 6/13/19
We met our tour guide, Mike of Toronto Food Tours, at the St. Lawrence Market entrance at 10am after an easy 15 minute walk from our hotel. The market first opened in 1803 and the building has been had many uses throughout its' 200 year history. In addition to being a market, it has housed the mayor, the city council and a jail. Portions of the building were destroyed during the 1849 Toronto Great Fire.
Within the market now are a series of stalls selling cheese, meats, fish, and baked goods along some coffee stands, vegetables, and dry goods. Our first stop was at a coffee shop which had an enormous variety of coffees available; the shop also roasted their beans on-site. This was followed by s quick stop at a bakery for a fresh pastry. We would have liked to sit for 5-10 minutes to enjoy both, but the tour was quickly moving outside in hopes of beating the impending rain. We were only outside a few minutes when the first drops fell and for the next hour, it just continued to increase in intensity.
During the outside portion of the tour, we learned about the history of the market and the plans to replace the north market. Building was underway late last year until, during the foundation excavation, it was discovered that the site was once the home of the original Canada Dry building and work has stopped as it now considered a historical site.
We also visited the St James Cathedral, home to the oldest congregation in the city, established in 1797. It has been rebuilt several times and did not survive the Great Fire of 1849. It is part of the Anglican Church. The church houses a majestic pipe organ. The grounds adjacent to the cathedral are a public park that is planted annually with tulip bulbs provided by the Dutch as a thank-you to Canada for providing a home to the Queen of the Netherlands during WWII.
As we worked our way back to the market, we traveled by a street that once housed the red light district of Toronto. It was the home of the 1855 Circus Riots. With the circus in town, the police blanketed the red light district to deny the circus workers access to the area's "services." The clowns took exception to this and mobilized many of the circus workers to challenge the police. The clowns and their supports overtook the police and then controlled the area for three days until the circus left town.
The city of Toronto has many green spaces and small park areas. The Wish Bone Park is notable, as it is dog park - complete with its' own fountain; it provides a great venue for dogs and their owners
Back at the market we sampled more food items than any one person would eat. We enjoyed a Pea Meal Bacon Sandwich, a meat and cheese board, pierogies, two types of Portuguese tarts (chicken and custard), sweet and savory tarts, candied salmon, a Montreal bagel, a mustard sampling, and probably a few additional items. We finished the tour with a visit to the basement to see area that had previously housed the old jail within the market.
Our Tauck tour officially started at 5:30 pm when our group of 38 met our tour guide in the lobby of the hotel. Gen is from the province of Quebec and has been a Tauck tour guide for over 15 years. Our bus driver is Guy, also from Quebec province and has been driving for over 40 years. Once we boarded the bus, we headed to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
We had cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in a small reception area, then had a private tour of the adjacent
exhibitions. Returning to the reception area, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner. We returned to the hotel around 9:30 pm.
The city of Toronto is experiencing their first opportunity to win an NBA title. Everywhere you go are Raptor signs and everyone is talking about game 6 of the series. An away win tonight would seal the deal for Toronto. Our room looks out on the CN tower which is lit in red tonight. We have been told that should they win, we will probably be able to hear the celebration in our hotel rooms (we were offered ear plugs!)
Pictures 6/13/19
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