Out of the Loop

I had several errands in the West-End on Wednesday. First, it was off to get an eye exam. Despite being on the pricey end of the scale ($185), I guess they still couldn't afford the rent at Queen and Spadina. So the optometry/glasses store has relocated to the 8th floor of an older building. It was a great view looking North since their neighbours were still low-rise units. But 30-stories constructions were starting to crowd in. In any case, they won't be getting much foot-traffic anymore.

Afterwards, I was delayed getting to College St because there was a shouting match on the streetcar. Both parties were in the wrong in my view. The older gentleman didn't have to sit across from the two young women. On the other hand, they shouldn't have put feet up on the seats. Furthermore, it was pretty rich to yell about Covid distancing when you weren't wearing masks yourself. So I have to come down on the side of the old geezer.

I stopped off at Fresca to get my slice of "Toronto pizza" at the tail end of the lunch rush. The margherita, fresh from the oven and covered with Vietnamese scallion oil, was delicious. No pizzeria in Ottawa, and not many in Toronto either, can compare. I explained to the owners that I'm not around much anymore and I wished I had the cooking chops to learn their pizza-making secrets. Was the era of the 6six-style pizza nearing the end? Because 3 years after major throat surgery, one of the owner had diminished energy. They were re-evaluating their future plans to do more travelling and maybe closing up the shop.

To wrap up my West-End trip, I took the College streetcar to its terminus at the High Park loop. A family member will be visiting to see the cherry blossoms. On a map, it looked perfect: a single tram ride from the East-End at Greenwood Ave to its end-point. But it was a long, meandering walk from there to get to the trees with significant downhill and uphill sections. My relative is too old to make that trek. So it was good I had scoped out the terrain today. Instead, we'll have to start at High Park subway station. It will still be lengthy but mostly downhill. Then perhaps we can finish at Lakeshore and grab a bus back.