The Dog Fountain at Berczy Park

Dear Readers, well, here we are, back in Toronto. My husband’s Mum’s 97th birthday is happening next weekend, another Auntie is in hospital in Montreal, and all in all it felt like time for a visit. So, to fend off the jet lag we went for a walk around Toronto on the most beautiful spring day.

First up was the Dog Fountain in Berczy Park. I’ve written about it before, but I still love it, especially as everyone brings their real-life dogs here for a walk, and it’s fun to watch the real and pretend dogs interacting. I’ve never seen the fountain in action, and some of the dogs are looking a bit careworn, but it’s still a delight. All the dogs are ‘worshipping’ a golden bone at the top of the fountain.

Regular readers might remember that the fountain features one cat, who has a beady eye on two birds perched on a nearby lamppost.

So then we headed down in the direction of the St Lawrence Food Market – more cheese and peameal bacon than you can shake a stick at here, but en route you can really admire the Vertical City that Toronto has become.

Crossing past St James Anglican Cathedral, I was intrigued to see these…

There are two of these Tiny Tiny Homes parked in the church grounds – on my walk I must have passed half a dozen people sleeping on the pavement, or on the ducts from the underground system that provides a little bit of warmth. The shelter system in Toronto is completely overwhelmed, and I’ve seen a big increase in homeless people and in people with obvious mental health problems in the past few years. As in the UK, all these people were homed during Covid, only to be thrown out onto the streets again when the pandemic eased. These tiny homes provide at least some shelter and dignity for the homeless. You can see tented ‘cities’ all over Toronto too. As in London, it’s an indication of the ever-increasing gap between those with everything, and those with nothing.

St James’s Cathedral

We were hoping to see inside the new St Lawrence Market, which was just a hole in the ground when we were last around here, but it doesn’t seem to be open yet. It has a distinctly playful, post-modern look, and I’m itching to see what it’s like inside. Apparently the Saturday Farmer’s Market is in the new building, so I shall have to go and check it out.

And then back to the Cambridge Suites Hotel, where we’re in the same room that we’ve been every visit for the past five years (home from home!) to share all this with you before heading out for brunch. Tomorrow we’ll be off to visit John’s Mum to see how she’s settled into her new nursing home, and then on Wednesday we’re off to Montreal to see the Auntie. But for now, I’m just enjoying the vistas that pop up down the most unexpected alleyways. Even if they are a bit lopsided.