AGO South Side

Location: Looking north from Grange Park, near Dundas and Beverley

Date photo taken: 12 May 2015

When you think about the Frank Gehry redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario building, your mind likely jumps to the stunning wood and glass gallery running along Dundas Street, but I have a soft spot for the more understated south side. In an interview prior to the re-opening of the gallery Gehry noted that this building and the neighbourhood around it was one that he had grown up with and knew well. He was concerned about the effect that a new tower would have on Grange Park and on the Georgian manor home that had housed the early collections. He managed to create a building that plays with its surroundings, providing a blue wall that on bright sunny days disappears, leaving the sculptural staircase to seemingly float in mid-air. On grey days, it provides a promise of bluer skies to come.

Food at the Ex

Location: The Midway at the Canadian National Exhibition

Date photo taken: 26 August 2015

For many, one of the biggest draws of the CNE is the food. The Food Building was always a favourite with me as a child - I still remember the year that President's Choice launched their Decadent Chocolate Chip cookies and bags could be bought super cheap - and a day at the Ex was not complete without at least one package of Tiny Tom donuts.  While family favourites abound, presenting at the CNE also gives vendors a chance to experiment and each year there are new and often over-the-top offerings. This year is no exception. For the those who love all things pig, there's a fried pig ear sandwich or the pulled pork cinnamon roll. If you prefer your food on a stick, there's The Big Pickle Dog, an ingenious cross between a corn dog and a deep fried pickle. For the indecisive in the crowd who can't decide between dinner and dessert, there's the Philly Steaklair. And if you want to sample the food of the future, head over to Bug Bistro and try their Bug Dog.

Face by Bruno Smoky

Location: Down an alley near Church and Wellesley

Date photo taken: 11 May 2016

I just love it when artists use the physical structures on which they paint to inspire their creations. 

Freedom for Hungary

Location: Budapest Park, Lakeshore Rd.
Date photo taken: 3 June 2016

This memorial sits quietly on the waterfront just east of the Sunnyside pool complex. It is a tribute to the Hungarian Freedom Fighters who rose up on October 23, 1956 to oppose Soviet rule in Hungary. During the tumultuous period that followed, Canada opened its doors and welcomed close to 40,000 Hungarian refugees. This was the largest intake of refugees in Canada’s history at that time and it had lasting effects on Canada’s immigration policies.

The Doris McCarthy Trail

Location: Between Kingston Rd. and the lake, Scarborough
Date photo taken: 9 September 2013

The Doris McCarthy Trail is one of those magical places in Toronto that let you forget for a moment that you’re in the big city. It’s green, it runs beside a lovely little stream, and it leads you to the shores of the lake. Perfect for a brief summer escape.

Doris McCarthy was a Canadian artist who lived on the Scarborough Bluffs. In 1986 she donated a piece of land on the east side of her property to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It is through this land that the trail now runs. Her home, Fool’s Paradise, was donated over a decade later to the Ontario Heritage Trust and is now run as an artist-in-residence centre.

The entrance to the trail is just south of Kingston road off Bellehaven Crescent in the Cliffcrest part of Scarborough. From here it runs down through Gates Gully to the lake where it joins the waterfront trail. It’s a bit steep in places but generally easy to manage.