Toronto, Ottawa and Back in the USA

Toronto, Ottawa and Back in the USA 

8/31/19

Toronto is the most multiculturally diverse city in the world: over 140 languages are spoken here and over half of the city’s residents were born outside of Canada. Last night we celebrated this by going to a Mexican restaurant staffed by recent migrants from Mexico. This morning we went to the wonderful Pow Wow restaurant serving Native-American fusion food. Amazing food!

Getting back to work, our first stop was the superb Toronto Reference Library. It was pretty snazzy when built in the 1970s and it is still great today. Its giant atrium provides good views of all parts of the library and reminds me of a similar style of a library in Stuttgart, Germany that I photographed in 2016.

Toronto Public Library – Toronto Reference Library, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Toronto Reference Library, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Toronto Reference Library, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Toronto Reference Library, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Toronto Reference Library, Toronto

The Bloor-Gladstone branch library was located in a very diverse neighborhood that is trending towards hipster. The traditional Carnegie style library had wonderfully incorporated a new addition that was filled with afternoon light and people on computers. Like most libraries it was packed with people and the librarians have to gently kick everyone out at closing time.

Toronto Public Library – Bloor/Gladstone Branch, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Bloor/Gladstone Branch, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Bloor/Gladstone Branch, Toronto

Toronto Public Library – Bloor/Gladstone Branch, Toronto

Our last library was the Scarborough Civic Centre Library in a nearby suburb of Toronto. Our timing was good as the light was great on the library and the sparkling surrounding high-rise apartments. A group of African-Canadians dressed for a party were having a great time outside the closed library. It seemed that the diversity of this city really works as most everyone seems to get along.

We ended our day at the Bluffs Park on Lake Ontario watching the glow of the sunset over a lake that looks like the sea. Literally everyone here was from South Asia or Africa. The easy-going vibe, the different styles of clothing and music people are dancing to helps me understand why this city is considered so attractive to migrants from all over the world. Diversity seems to work here.

9/1/19

Today was an easy-going drive of only five hours. I photographed an interesting looking library in upscale Perth, ON. It had a fascinating tower and canal outside the library.

Perth and District Union Public Library, Perth, ON

Perth and District Union Public Library, Perth, ON

Perth and District Union Public Library, Perth, ON

But the main goal of today was the Library of Parliament in the capitol city of Ottawa. This building was undergoing a massive renovation and it was surrounded by fences and construction material. It was situated on a bluff next to the Canadian Parliament and looked over the confluence of two rivers. The soft sunset light and the harsh construction lights made for a rather striking scene. I spent some time in the one spot that I could try to capture it all. As we walked back to our car we go by the other side of Parliament and saw hundreds of people watching a massive light show on the front of this impressive structure.

Library of Parliament, Ottowa, ON

9/2/19

Our last day of driving took us from Ottawa to Montreal and then on to our little cabin in the woods in Vermont. As we were driving into Montreal, we got a text from our son Walker that we would be driving right by the French market called Marche Atwater which we had visited years ago when we got the best croissants ever. Of course, we screeched in amidst the construction, downpour and traffic and found a parking spot right in front. The croissants were still the best and it brightened up what could have been a long, slow slog-of-a-day. Thank You Walker!

Crossing back into the USA was quick and uneventful. Because it was Labor Day, we knew it might be hard to find a place for dinner. But our old favorite Sandy’s happened to be open and their classic veggie burgers were sublime. We stumbled through the dark to our cabin down a dirt road off a dirt road. It was very remote and we were astonished to find the family name on the dirt driveway to the cabin listed on our Prius navigation system. After driving 4,960 miles it was good to have a place to lay our heads down for more than one or two nights.

More later. Until then…