exploring the blues

It was kind of a dreary day in Toronto today. No sun to speak of... and cool, cool weather. But it is autumn and I had been spoiled over the past week with gorgeous hot days (almost too hot) back in etown. After the white bear woke from his slumber, we took to the streets to find some food and then pick up my lens rental. It was a bit too late for breakfast, so instead we went to a Vietnamese restaurant that we first visited last year. It used to be called Ginger, but they changed the name since then. Yes, we could have gone someplace different, but when I'm hungry I'm usually not in much mood for trying something new unless I have some sort of recommendation to go on. The food was cheap, filling, and best of all was prepared extremely quickly. Points all around. We then wandered down Yonge Street until we reached Queen, and we hopped on the streetcar to take us to the camera shop. I don't know what it is about streetcars, but Aryn and I both commented on how much friendlier they seem to be than either buses or lrt/subway cars. The streetcar is always a fun way to travel and get a glimpse of the city. The rails run closer to the centre of the road than a bus would normally travel, so it is easier to look at the shops and houses that line the streets. Of course it helps to be traveling down an interesting street like Queen, which has a delightful mix of commercial frontage and charming residential units. Sure some of them are a little raggedy or looking a bit worn, but that's all part of the appeal I think.

The camera shop took over four floors of an old brick building. When you entered the store there was a spiral staircase that curved upwards towards a large skylight. It was lit at various spots on the way up with photo umbrellas (nice touch). Despite the cool location the customer service was completely lacking. I stood around for nearly ten minutes while the girl behind the counter had a conversation with some customer (except he wasn't buying anything) about what they both thought about the new 5D and other various camera talk. I wouldn't have minded waiting so much, except they were clearly done whatever business needed to be done and had moved on to a more casual conversation. Anyhow, very lame. But I did get to rent the 16-35mm f2.8L for the evening (fast and wide, just what I want... Wade, I won't forget that you are buying the 17-40 from me when I upgrade) and I got a replacement eyecup for my viewfinder. After we left the store (after I paused to photograph the spiral staircase), we saw a sign for an open house for a property across the street and we decided to check it out. As we were crossing the street we heard some frantic honking and turned to see our friends Carina and Peter stopped at the intersection we were crossing. It was pretty funny to run into them, especially considering the size of Toronto. We stopped and chatted for a few minutes, made some plans to meet up later tonight. Aryn and I decided to skip the open house (the house ended up looking a little disappointing from the outside) and instead hopped back on the streetcar to High Park. One of my favourite things about visiting new cities is to go stroll through different residential neighbourhoods and imagine what it would be like to live there. I've always wanted to visit the High Park area, both the homes and the park itself, but I must admit what I saw this afternoon was a little disappointing. Although, turns out we didn't actually walk through High Park, but instead had walked through Parkside. We figured this out once we stopped for some hot chocolate at a random coffee shop, but by then it was getting late and we needed to head back to Hotel Xarina so that A.boy could get some naptime in. So, once again my visit to High Park is postponed. I have a feeling though that I won't like it as much as the more urban neighbourhoods that we visited during our last trip to Toronto, or as much as the houses in the Beaches. But, I won't know until I actually get to see the houses with my own two damaged eyes.

Now I'm just sitting here listening to the traffic on the street below. The apartment is a little chilly, but that's because we don't have the heat on. Our friends will be meeting us soon, as well as my cousin. We're going to find someplace interesting for dinner and then figure out what exhibits we are going to see tonight. I'm really excited. I've been looking forward to this for months and although I am not feeling that great it's only one night and I can rest once I get back home. I didn't bring my card reader or usb cable for my camera with me so I can't upload any of the photos I took today. I'll have to process everything when I get back.

I have just realized that I forgot Wade's monopod at home. Good thing I am renting a fast lens for this evening. It's almost one o'clock here and Aryn is still in the process of waking up. He's had a busy week preparing for Edmonton's Ride Share week (carpool.ca, look it up) and needs his rest now so that he will be able to last the evening strolling around the various exhibits/installations tonight. We'll probably head out soon, leave our friend's third storey walkup on Yonge, visit the camera shop to pick up my lens and pick up a few camera related items (perhaps maybe a new eyecup to replace the one I lost at the film festival the other night) and look for some cheap toques and gloves because it is rather chilly here and we both forgot to grab those particular items from the box marked inclement weather wear on our way out the door. What were we thinking? We weren't.

The first time I visited Toronto I didn't much appreciate it. I wasn't feeling very good at the time (which is sort of like now, I feel a cold coming on), and I was overwhelmed by the size of the buildings and the amount of people. Mind you I hadn't spent much time in cities at that point and the only part I visited happened to be an extremely busy stretch in front of three downtown hospitals and then a new apartment complex that seemed very unfriendly. I will admit that my outlook has changed greatly in these past ten years, especially after A. and I visited Toronto last year and explored many of the different communities within the city's core. I like the city because of it's mix of old and new. Edmonton has a completely different aesthetic. I like Toronto's row houses, the mix of crumbly old brick buildings with steel towers. There are real layers here. One thing though, I don't have any desire to drive here (but I don't really have that desire in Edmonton either).

Oh, I think the white bear is about to come out of hibernation now. Now to take to the streets.

So today at the airport I was randomly chosen for a search (oh lucky me) which included a ridiculous body pat down, preceded with the question, "are there any parts of your body where you have recently had surgery or are feeling tender?" This "random" search also included the patting down of my hair. I know my hair can be quite voluminous at times, but honestly what could I have hidden in there?

I must get some sleep already. It's early morning here in Toronto and I need to get some sleep so that tomorrow I will have lots of energy to explore the cool exhibits at Nuit Blanche. Even though this will be a very whirlwind trip it feels good to be in a big city again. I'm more equipped photographically this time. Now if only the wireless connection would hold steady long enough for me to post this.