Canada 2023 - part 2

We left Niagara-on-the-Lake Sunday morning to visit nearby Niagara Falls, which Andrea and Katherine had never seen. Our friendly waiter the previous evening had suggested we park by the Electric Commission to avoid traffic.  We should have got more precise

instructions as we wound up going through the very commercial town and then had to retrace our steps on foot. But when we saw the Beaux-Arts style Electrical Development Co. building (which operated from 1906 until it was replaced by a newer power station in 1974), we knew it was the right place and snagged a parking place. The Falls were not visible until we had walked several blocks and turned a corner and we kept on going until we reached the Table Rock area where crowds were gathering for a good look. Despite the mist, we could appreciate the splendor of the falls and lingered, taking pictures and enjoying the atmosphere, before returning to the car.

at Niagara Falls

Our next stop was the lovely Lake House Restaurant in Lincoln, Ontario for brunch with my mother’s friend, Pat Barker. It was a great choice as the setting was beautiful and the food was amazing, maybe the best meal of our trip. Mother had met Pat at various Dorothy Dunnett events and it was lovely to see her IRL and hear how she and her mother had wound up in Canada, not to mention discussing dozens of other topics.  No pictures, I guess they are on Pat's phone, just this one of Katherine sitting by the lake.

Lake House Restaurant, Lake Ontario

Then we headed to Toronto, stopping briefly at the Foreign Affair winery, returned the rental car at the airport, and Ubered to the Windsor Arms Hotel where Andrea had booked us a suite. It is a historical hotel in the Yorkville neighborhood, near the University of Toronto as well as the fanciest shopping area of the city. We did a little walking around (fought our way through a jazz festival) and found the Cibo Wine Bar for dinner where the owner/manager apologized to us for the wildfire smoke that went south. I wanted to say it was much worse for those in Canada!

On Monday, we took advantage of the breakfast that came with our suite but either the portions were small or the waiter was not overly generous. The hungry teen had to grab a second croissant while he was out of the room!

Just a few blocks from our hotel was the Gardiner Museum’s world-renowned ceramics collection. The Gardiners were a husband and wife who were avid collectors of Ancient American ceramics, Italian Renaissance pottery, English pottery of the 17th century and 18th century European porcelain and founded the Museum in 1984 (presumably when they ran out of space at home). I especially liked reading about the “porcelain fever” of the late 17th century, as affluent Europeans became entranced by the porcelain coming from Asia and tried to replicate it. We noticed that the Canadian museum labels, sometimes called title cards, which usually include the name of the object on display, as well as its date, place of origin, and any other relevant information, seemed to not only provide more information than those at home but better indicated the item being described. A 17th-century ginger jar from the Qing dynasty reminded me of several replicas my grandmother cherished and which I may be caretaking for my brother. They look nearly as good, right?

After the Museum, we strolled through the University of Toronto neighborhood but there is a lot of it and apart from the Robarts Library (built in the 70s yet one of the few examples of Brutalist architecture that I like), it was hard to get a real feel for the campus. Of course, it was summer so there were few students around but we did find the bookstore so I could buy some notebooks. Then it started to rain so we Ubered to Lebanese Garden on College Street where we feasted on Mediterranean wraps and chickpea salad. Later that afternoon, I squeezed in a visit to an Indigo Bookstore. I was surprised by how much non-book merchandise it held, not just blank books and stationery but blenders and dishes! There were a lot of appealing books but I didn’t want to buy something I could get at home. I noticed many copies of Meet Me At the Lake by Carley Fortune, appealing because set at Muskoka, but I already had it on reserve at home. After much indecision, I bought Someday I’ll Find You, a WWII historical novel published by Doubleday Canada. The sales clerk pulled off the “autographed” sticker from the cover when he removed the price, which was odd. We had a delicious dinner at Dimmi Trattoria, marred only by the noise coming from Hemingway’s, a cigar bar next door.

Robarts Library, https://tinyurl.com/bddaazuz

On Tuesday, we were eager to see two exhibits at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), one featuring two women impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926) and Helen McNicoll (Canadian, 1879-1915). They never met but both were known for their style and for their depictions of modern womanhood, and their work influenced the development of Impressionism in North America as well as encouraging other women in art. I had not previously heard of McNicoll but the AGO owns many of her works and borrowed the rest, and I liked them as much as the better-known Cassatts. Both were from wealthy families, which helps if you’re a woman and want to study abroad, but McNicoll had the additional challenge of having become deaf at 2 after Scarlet Fever. McNicoll learned to lip read but a family member accompanied her on her travels, which included studying at the Slade in London after which she joined the Cornish School of Landscape and Sea Painting in St. Ives (which I visited a year ago).  She visited Montreal regularly but spent most of her career in Europe.

McNicoll, In the Shadow of the Tree, AGO, photo credit Jean-Guy Kerouac

Another draw at the AGO was the Infinity Mirrored Room of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Andrea had visited one of her installations previously and was intrigued. We reserved a time slot and had to leave everything outside the room except (oddly) a phone, then each group got one minute inside the room to walk around and absorb all the reflections of silver orbs. A minute goes by very quickly! Katherine and I went back later for a second minute.

Infinity Room, AGO (my face at left)

While my mother went to lunch with a Dunnett friend, Tina, the three of us set off for the St. Lawrence Market, which resembles the Reading Market in Philadelphia. On our way, we unexpectedly came across the Berczy Park Dog Fountain, near Toronto’s Flatiron Building. Twenty-seven dog breeds and one cat are featured on this fountain which has become a tourist attraction. After lunch (where I was persuaded to try a house specialty on my pasta – a combination of tomato sauce, pesto sauce, and alfredo sauce – it was good but I did not need to want dessert), we went back to the Gardiner Museum for Andrea to buy an ornate candlestick.

Dog Fountain

There was time for Andrea and me to take the metro down to the waterfront for a goodbye-to-Toronto stroll before we started trying to get home. Her journey was much worse than ours: their flight was canceled so they Ubered to Buffalo, then drove home all night. Our Air Canada flight had a gate change that involved a very long walk and did not leave quite on time, but we were home by 11:30. Altogether, a delightful few days in Ontario, and much thanks to Andrea for all the planning!

This is the Electrical Development Co. building Katherine and I are standing in front of in the very first picture.  Niagara Falls is behind it.