On Friday, Mommy and I went downtown to Toronto to have lunch with Auntie S., Uncle S. and my big sister, B.. We were celebrating B. getting a new job. I couldn’t wait to see my big sister, because with Covid restrictions, it has been a really, really long time…
We got to go on the subway, too, which is always exciting!
We had to wait a bit before the train to come into the station, so we checked out the map of all the subway stops downtown. We were meeting everyone at the Art Gallery of Ontario to eat in their Bistro, so we had to get off at St.Patricks station. It was easy to find our stop on the map.
The train wasn’t very crowded so we got seats together. Mommy let me sit by the window so I could look out. Most of the time, all I could see was the black of the tunnel walls, but sometimes the train went above ground, and then, there was lots to look at.
When we got off at our station, we still had to walk a bit of a ways to get to the art gallery. I took a photograph of one of the extra long tramcars in Toronto, while it was stopped at a traffic light. When it moved away, we saw a huge church, with lots of construction going on in its parking lot.
We were early for our luncheon, so Mommy agreed we could go take a closer look. What a mess! I hope they get it all cleaned up before Baby Jesus’ birthday!
I love barber poles!
These houses are really tall and skinny.
At the art gallery, we found a bike belonging to a little girl. We wondered if someone had stolen her bike once?
We also came across this huge man! He was made by an artist named Thomas J. Price. Isn’t he majestic?
You can see how big he really is by measuring him against me, there at his foot! Mommy came up to about his waist. He felt smooth and cool when I touched him.
I wanted to sit in his hand, but I kept sliding off, because he was holding his arms down.
After we left the bike racks and the man, we window shopped in the art gallery’s windows. Mostly the window displays were of jewelry, which I am too young to wear, but some of the pieces were pretty interesting.
I liked it better once we got to the AGO sign though…
Look at all those flags! Can you find me, too?
We were still the first ones at the art gallery, so after the whole procedure of showing our vaccine certificates and identification to the guards, we went into the gallery’s store to look around. I found these embossed leather wallets that celebrate the Aboriginal heritage of Canada. I wish I had money to buy one, but Mommy pointed out that because I didn’t have money in the first place, I really had no need for a wallet. I had to think about that some, but I guess she was right.
There were all kinds of things to see. Mommy and I both liked these leather bags and these wooden vases.
The store sold a lot of unique jewelry and personal items like these clutch purses.
This frieze reminded me of one of the Group of Seven’s paintings.
This was my favourite item in the whole store. Blown glass ornaments are always so pretty.
The store sold lots of art prints, too, and I got to meet quite a few of the artists. Andy Warhol was kind of cool, although he kept asking me if I wanted any soup, and I had to keep telling him I was meeting people for lunch soon.
Frieda wanted to talk art and politics, but I didn’t know a whole lot about either. Picasso was kind of weird. He couldn’t seem to keep his thoughts in order, so it was hard to follow the conversation. Vincent was just plain grumpy. We didn’t talk long.
Claude was cool though. He said if I could find him his paints and brushes, he would paint me in a picture, but Auntie and Uncle arrived just then, and I had to go.
Lunch was great fun. We heard about sister’s new job and her funny friend who has an apartment in Toronto, too, but only has a big screen TV and a bed for furniture, right now.
Then, Auntie and Uncle told us funny stories about some of their travel adventures and mishaps, in Uncle’s quest to find birds all around the world.
After we ate, Auntie and Uncle went into the Art Gallery to view their exhibits, and sister went to console another of her friends who had just had her wisdom teeth pulled. Mommy and I set off to find a textile store Auntie said had real denim fabric. Mommy has needed some denim to make new jumpers for herself, but all the fabric stores we have been to recently, have only had very thin cloth, in denim colours. The stores all said the fabrics were denim, but they sure didn’t have real denim weight, a necessity Mommy says, in the cold winters we have here in Canada.
We passed lots of tall buildings, lots of people, and lots of construction sites.
I liked this building’s front entrance, and this bicycle’s flowers.
We had never been to this particular fabric store before, but we could tell we were at the right place when we saw this sewing machine over the alleyway, next to the shop’s front door.
Inside, the store was stocked from floor to ceiling with every kind of fabric you could want. There was so much cloth and the aisles were so narrow, you had to back up to an intersection if someone wanted to pass you by, in the aisle you were in! But we were able to find denim for Mommy and some bright gingham for some of us kids, so it was a successful trip. (In truth, if I hadn’t been there to restrain her, I think Mommy would have spent all our grocery money on even more fabrics!)
When we got home again, we were both pretty tired from all the walking around downtown, but it had been a great day. Auntie had gifted us at lunch with this beautiful fabric, and Mommy has promised to make me a dress for Christmas from it. Thank you, Auntie S.! Oh, and Mommy, too!
merci pour cette jolie balade , pleines de rencontres et de bien jolies photos
bises
Ingrid
We are always happy when people join us on any of our adventures, Auntie I.. Merry Christmas!
Nous sommes toujours heureux quand les gens nous rejoignent dans l’une de nos aventures, Tante I.. Joyeux Noël !
What a great adventure in Toronto. You sure did pack the day with lots of visits, sightseeing, travel and shopping. My favourite part was Joy talking to Monet! (Oh, and the sewing machine above the gate.)
We thought the sewing machine was a great way to advertise the location of the store, too! Joy liked talking to all the artists, but Monet was definitely the friendliest. Now, she is bugging Mommy to take her back to see if the AGO has any of his paintings on their walls.
This is so lovely and interesting ! I love this story, maybe one of my favourite. Thanks so much for sharing, it’s almost as if I could have gone myself to this art gallery 🙂 !!! And the l
little girl is so lovely with her nice coat !
Thank you, Auntie L., for your compliment. We are glad you liked Joy’s adventure. One day, when Covid finally ends, we hope to go into the Art Gallery part, too! Mommy shared the pattern for our coat on one of our posts last year, and it is still one of our favourite things she has made us, because it is so warm and comfortable to wear.
Merci pour cette escapade dans une ville tellement lointaine pour moi ! une petite visite éclair ! C’est super de se retrouver en famille, après une longue période d’éloignement.
Espérons que les scientifiques trouveront une parade efficace. Moi j’ai reçu ma troisième injection hier !
Bonne préparation de Noël,
Bises
Mommy is waiting for an appointment for a booster vaccine, too! We can’t wait for Covid to be over…there are so many places we want to visit and things we want to do. Even just going into Toronto more would be fun, because it has a lot of great places (and our sister) to visit. We miss going to museums and art galleries a lot. We are glad you enjoyed Joy’s adventure in the meantime. Happy holidays!
Maman attend aussi un rendez-vous pour un rappel de vaccin ! Nous avons hâte que Covid soit terminé… il y a tellement d’endroits que nous voulons visiter et de choses que nous voulons faire. Même aller à Toronto plus serait amusant, car il y a beaucoup de bons endroits (et notre sœur) à visiter. Les musées et les galeries d’art nous manquent beaucoup. Nous sommes heureux que vous ayez apprécié l’aventure de Joy en attendant. Joyeuses fêtes!