The Old Vic

On Friday, I headed to Toronto for the week-end. I booked a 2-day stay at Victoria's Mansion near Church and Wellesley. First, this guest house was slightly cheaper than a chain hotel. Second, it would give me a chance to check-out this East End neighbourhood.

The train ride was sold-out but arrived about an hour late. Because of track construction, it had to detour via Go tracks through Markham, north Toronto, and the Don Valley instead of the usual route along the lake. This was for sure the less scenic ride to downtown. With an actual passenger next to me, I got to talk to a pleasant older lady. Originally from Duluth, she had spent 40 years in Ottawa raising a family. She was on her second marriage after recently connecting with her childhood (grade 5) friend. Her plans to extensively travel after retirement was scuttled by the pandemic, although she snuck in a 3-week European trip 3 years ago.

Whether Victoria's was ever a mansion, it has been a heritage building since 1984. It looked like one of the bigger Toronto homes. But inside, it was divided up into 11 rooms so although the queen and studio rooms were likely larger, my standard single was tiny. But it had a good-sized bathroom (bigger than my old apartment's). The renovation looked recent if shoddy: loose laminate strips, uneven bathroom tiling, TV cable shoved under the rug instead of being fastened along the wall. On the other hand, I saw rusty water stains on the underside of the sink bowl. So even if the reno was newish, its upkeep didn't bode well for down the road.

The cleaning seemed also mixed with everything looked clean overall. But then there was no liquid soap in the shower. I found soap scums on the sink, tiny flakes of potato chips on the floor (from the previous guest?), and dried leaves trapped in cobwebs by the radiator (since the summer?!). The mouse trap in the corner was a concern or maybe the weeks of dust on it? I nit-pick for two reasons. First, $130 (fee + tax) is still not that cheap and undoubtedly I am expected to tip the cleaning staff daily. Second, I was looking for a place in case I wanted to stay for several weeks. Did I want to give this dame more dimes?

I walked along Yonge from Wellesley to Eaton Centre to do some Christmas shopping. Then I made my way back on Church. Both streets have lost much of their charm with the few old buildings left surrounded by new condos 20-times taller. Only from about Alexander St. was there a few welcoming blocks of small businesses and restaurants.