Show Me The Green

To and from my brunch at Caren's, I took the opportunity to do some walking. On the way there, I strolled mostly along Dupont and on the way back, through the streets of North Annex. There were several business closures between Ossington and Spadina, perhaps pandemic related. I was surprised that Vinny's Panini had shuttered. I thought it would be there for another decade or two. Casamiento, formerly a food stall in Kensington Market, has taken over. As I moved East, Dupont became trendier. But once past Davenport, it was full-on fancy residential.

When I crossed Avenue Rd, we were in the homes of the 1%. Streets like Macpherson and Roxborough had immaculate houses and old, stately trees. Even the city park was better. Ramsden Park stretched over 13 acres from Avenue to Yonge St., with tennis courts, rink, and walking trails. It was calm and pleasant; no homeless encampments here.

On the way back, I explored North Annex mostly along Bernard and Olive. These areas were also quiet oasis with abundant trees. Some of the houses were even larger than those on Macpherson. But given their more lived-in conditions and the presence of many 20-somethings around, they were now likely small apartment units. However, parents with young children at Jean Sibelius and Vermont Square Park hinted that the well-off professional class were taking over. I'm biased to neighbourhoods south of Bloor but North Annex could actually be better than its counterpart.

I stumbled upon The Wood Cake House (with the related Bugmobile) at 473 Clinton St. In retrospect, it seemed par for the course since several "weird houses" are located in this part of Toronto. Several baseball games were taking place at Christie Pits and there were plenty of folks gathered on the grass enjoying the sunshine, convo, and food.