A look up at the Gladstone Hotel. I've shown you inside a few times, but now here's a look from the outside. Aren't you glad you stopped by to see today?
7 years ago
Sign of art
This "faux" hotel sign is actually considered a piece of art. You'll find it inside the Drake Hotel on Queen Street West. Do you get the joke?
To see more signs, visit Signs, Signs.
Memorial stone
Another look at the Memorial Gardens in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. I really liked this one: it consists of a bed of tulips and a stone mentioning the man who simply wanted to be remembered with a garden of colorful blooms.
If you're a fan of cemeteries, you can see more at Tapophile Tragics.
Cuban factory
This mural is found on the side of a building that houses a cigar factory just off West Queen West downtown. I don't recall the name of the place, but if anyone does, please remind me. I like the way the artist has tried to give you the feeling of being in Cuba - at least that's what I think a Cuban tobacco field would look like! The colors also add a nice touch to what would otherwise be a dull building. For more murals, check out Mural Mondays.
Thanks to Red Pat for adding that this mural adorns the Horvath Cigar Manufacturers building.
Thanks to Red Pat for adding that this mural adorns the Horvath Cigar Manufacturers building.
Memorial bridge
This is a look at the fountain that you would see from the bench on my post from Friday. It's part of the Memorial Garden at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Many people are remembered on the plaques you see and on stones, rocks and benches. I think it's a great idea to remember people this way. The garden is a lovely place to relax and reflect.
And if you like bridges, visit Sunday Bridges!
Under the cherry trees
I missed getting better shots of the cherry trees in High Park, but I didn't miss them at Mount Pleasant! A beautiful place to stop and contemplate for awhile. There is a lovely fountain that you would see if you were sitting on that bench.
Happy Friday! I'm glad the weekend is here and don't forget to visit Floral Fridays.
Contemporary bench
A sleek, streamlined bench inside the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. I was lucky to get a sneak peek at the current photography exhibit before it opened to the public. It's worth a look if you're in the neighborhood, the exhibits change quite frequently and the space is nice and open.
Going underground
The Underground is a well-known venue inside the Drake Hotel on Queen West. It's quite quirky inside and I can imagine it would be fun to see a show there.
I couldn't decide if I liked the sign better in color or black and white, so I decided to post both. I'm sorry for my absence of late, but the new job and the long weekend kept me busier than I imagined. Hopefully I'll get back into a rythm with my blogging soon so there won't be any further lapses.
In the meantime, you can see more signs at Signs, Signs.
Fenced in
A dividing fence between the golf course and a farmer's field. Luckily my husband found a hole a bit further on so he could retrieve some balls that flew out of bounds.
The weekend is finally here! It's going to be a long one for us here in Canada, so I won't be getting fenced in. If you'd like to see more fences, take a look at Friday Fences.
Barbie on a bench
I recently visited the Royal Botanical Gardens to see the lilacs in bloom. Unfortunately, the trees weren't really fully co-operating, but I did find this bench with a lovely lady on it.
I suspect there is a sad little girl somewhere in Toronto.
Curling signs
I had my second curling lesson a few weeks ago. I was even better this time around and threw the stones that cinched the bonspiel for us! If you'd like to see more signs, visit Signs, Signs.
In memory
Gardiner and Ryerson are big names in Toronto, but I can't find any information to see if this grave in the Mount Pleasant cemetery holds any of the actual bigwigs. The large size of the stone and the care taken with the tulips would tend to make me think they are attached to one of the important families. In any case, I find this memorial stone and the flowers simply lovely.
If you'd like to see more cemeteries, visit Tapophile Tragics. And you can see more red at Ruby Tuesday.
Man and koi
I found this mural on West Queen West during my recent art walk. I love the colors on this one. Once again, I couldn't find any information on the mural or the artist, but any links are welcome! In other news, today I am joining the ranks of the employed in Canada. After looking for a job for almost a year, I decided to take a position with the same company my husband works for. I'm pretty excited about it, I just hope it won't interfere too much with my blogging.
And if you'd like to see more murals, visit Monday Murals.
Knitted reflections
I found this supercute yarn shop and knitter's cafe on Queen West Street. Since moving to Toronto, I have taken up knitting as a hobby to pass the winter hours when I was home alone during the day. So far I've made almost all of my friends a hat or a scarf, but since the spring/summer have set in, people don't really need winter wear anymore. So I've taken to knitting baby items. I've got a dear friend who will be having a little one in October. I've already made several pairs of booties and now I'm working on a blanket. Maybe I'll post a photo when it's done, it's looking quite nice so far!
Until then, you can enjoy more reflections at Weekend Reflections.
More tulips
I find it's really hard to get a good tulip shot. I never know if they look better from the side or the top. In any case, these tulips also survived the squirrels in my neighborhood. My MiL and I created this bed when she came to visit last summer. My dahlias are going to look really nice there this summer.
Under the cherries
I was lucky enough to see the cherry trees in High Park in full blossom a few weeks ago. However, I was unhappy once I was at the park to find that I left my camera's memory card at home. I got a few shots with my iPhone and this is one of the better ones. I'm glad I got to see them before the blossoms were blown away. I don't think any picture could render the real beauty of being there anyway!
To see more flowers, visit Floral Fridays.
Get a room!
As promised, here's a peek inside one of the rooms at the Gladstone Hotel. This one was designed by Bruno Billio and it uses a lot of antique accessories and furnishings from the original Gladstone building, but what I really love is that red wall and architectural style drawing. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a good overview shot as the rooms are not so spacious, but I hope this gives you and idea of how nice the rooms are.
Gladstone cowboy
The Gladstone Hotel is a quirky little boutique hotel that has become a landmark of West Queen West, the arsty section of town. Each of the guest rooms has been designed and decorated by a noted artist or interior decorator. I was lucky enough to tour a few of the rooms when I went on an art walk a few weeks ago. I'll give you a peek inside tomorrow.
Until then, enjoy the cowboy elevator. It's an old-fashioned lift that riders must manually elevate by cranking the wheel. I didn't try it out, but I'd love to go back and see what it's like! If you'd like to see more signs, visit Signs, Signs.
Barn and bench
I was looking through my archives (don't worry, Toronto is a little greener than this these days!) when I came upon this lovely barn and bench. I thought it was worth showing, even if the photo was taken back in March. It comes to you from the Riverdale Farm - a real, working farm in the middle of the city. They also host a farmer's market on certain days of the week and alot of the produce is organic. It's another nice place to get out and about in Toronto.
To see more barns, visit Barn Charm.
Old York Lane
I found this mural on Old York Lane in the heart of Yorkville. It's a little section of Toronto that hosts high-end fashion boutiques and the like, but it's a nice place for window shopping (for me at least!). I tried to find some more information about this work online, but my searches have not been fruitful. If anyone knows anything more about it, or the artist, please let me know. I think it adds a nice touch to this lovely little lane.
To see more murals, visit Mural Mondays.
Blue bench
I couldn't resist stopping for a shot of this bright bench in the west section of Queen West Street! This is where all the cool kids live, there's tons of art galleries, hip bars and restos. However, gentrification is slowly setting in and I predict over the next few years the artists will be moving on to cheaper areas of the city. Until then, it's a great place for hanging out.
My garden
A few of the tulips I planted in the fall survived the hunger of the squirrels and are now blooming quite nicely. Squirrels have expensive taste when it comes to tulips! I also planted a few fancier varieties, but the squirrels bit the heads right off of those as soon as they started peeking out. The plain old red and yellow blooms appear to be safe from their greedy jaws though. Now I know what to choose for next season and I find the red and yellow ones just as beautiful as the fancier blossoms anyway.
PS: The angels came with the house and I'm just too lazy to move them to the basement.
Mandir
Unfortunately you can't take photos inside Hindu temples, so all I have are outdoor shots of the Shri Swaminarayan temple. It's an absolutely amazing work of architecture. The temple was assembled from numerous pieces, fit together much like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces were all hand-carved by artisans in India and transported by sea containers to Toronto.
The building is modeled on ancient architectural standards and stands today without a single piece of steel or any kind of internal reinforcement. I only wish the sky had been bluer that day to provide more contrast to the white stone, but I did get some lovely tulips. And if you'd like to see more flowers, visit Floral Fridays.
PS: Coincidentally, I've visited another temple built by the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. It's not quite as grand as this one, but still beautiful. You can see it here.
PS: Coincidentally, I've visited another temple built by the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. It's not quite as grand as this one, but still beautiful. You can see it here.
Into the temple
I recently visited the Shri Swaminarayan temple just outside Toronto. It opened in 2007 and it is the largest Hindu temple in Canada. This entrance actually takes you into the community center portion of the temple, you can't enter into the Mandir directly. I love all that beautifully carved woodwork. It's quite warm and inviting. On Friday, I'll give you a look at the Mandir itself. It's fantastic!
May theme day: Bakeries
May is here! What a better way to celebrate than with some fresh-baked bread? I have shown you outside Dimpflmeier's before, but I thought another view was worth showing since it is hands-down the best bakery in town!
Although this bakery is specialized in German-style breads, they also have a nice pastry counter. Photos are not really allowed inside, but I managed to surreptitiously get this one with my iPhone, I only wish this photo made everything look as delicious as it really is!
If you'd like to see more bakeries from around town, visit the CDP Theme Day page. And happy May Day!
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