Toronto

Friday 23 Dec 2011

After a good sleep on a comfy bed we heard a little miaow at the door – the cats had come to say good morning - sleek black with a tiny white bib, and a beautiful smoky blue-grey with a question-mark tail. Lovely friendly moggies. We managed to see Jeremy and say good-bye to him as he went to work as we would most likely be gone in the afternoon before he came home.

Gough Ave is in the Greek area of town and Phoebe’s and Jeremy’s other daughter Renn had told us to look for a Greek bakery for brunch. We bundled up and set off in the sunshine – a beautifully clear day but the wind was stinging-cold. However, we braved the elements and found the Athens Bakery which was warm with fresh baking. (It really is all about the food.)

Thus fortified, we ventured underground onto the subway, using the map Phoebe had lent us. Our goal was the Bata Shoe Museum, however we found the Royal Ontario Museum first. It’s an extraordinary looking building – an ultra-modern entrance (called The Crystal, we found out) has been constructed onto the front of the old building. It’s ingenious how the two have been connected inside but it seems the people of Toronto are not so sure it’s a good thing.

The entrance fee for the ROM was a bit beyond our budget so we crossed the street to the Museum of Ceramic Art – entry was free after 4pm on Fridays there but we were too early for that so took a look in the their gift shop. It was full of beautiful things, including jewellery (I’ve now replaced a pair of the gold earrings that were stolen from me last June), and we got chatting with the two lovely ladies who were the volunteers on duty for the day. They very kindly indeed gave us a couple of free passes to the museum – we have met with such exceptional generosity here. The exhibits were marvellous – the history of bone china all over the world, early ceramics from south America, and a special exhibit of household and ceremonial china from the Tsars of Russia, some of which was very opulently decorated and gilded.

After feasting our eyes there, we went on to the Bata Shoe Museum (these places are all within a block or two of each other) where we had to pay only one entry fee because the ticket printed out at the Ceramics Museum gave us a two for one deal at Bata. What an amazing place – a whole display devoted to the 1920s when shoes became much more ornamental and a fashion statement for European women, rather than something utilitarian hidden by skirts. Another display was made up of shoes (some signed) of famous people such as Roger Federer, Pierce Brosnan, Judy Garland, Liz Taylor, Elton John, Shaquille O’Neal (a very big basketball boot), Queen Victoria (a very small silk slipper), and Justin Bieber (a young Canadian singer, I believe; quite popular with young people). Indigenous Canadians were well-represented and the exhibits showed off their craftsmanship. Shoes through the ages and from different cultures had us speculating on how certain customs arose (for example, foot binding in China).

We left the museum in a hurry after an SMS from Phoebe advising that Colleen (my friend with whom we were to stay for Christmas) was on her way to collect us.

We were lucky enough to catch Phoebe at home before she dashed off on another pre-Christmas errand (leaving Renn in charge) so we could say good-bye and thank them for having us.

Colleen arrived and we had a joyful reunion – it’s been just over a year since she left my place in Queensland after her year of study at USC. I guess you can imagine how it went with 3 women in the car – such fun. Colleen lives outside of Toronto in the country – she has a beautiful home with her husband Frank and dog Skyler, and we sat up far too late probably, drinking eggnog and talking, talking, talking.