#47 MOUNT PLEASANT
A gorgeous, parklike cemetery and a shopping stroll puncutuated with unique boutiques are highlights of this leisurely walk.
DATE: Tuesday, June 23, 2009.
TIME: 4:21pm – 6:34pm
Was definately looking forward to this one. I love the beauty, peacefulness, and tranquility of cemeteries. This one I’d seen before, peaking through the subway windows and have always wanted to go explore. We chose this particular day over June 24, because it was supposed to be slightly cooler (26 degrees opposed to 29)….that’s little comfort as it was HOT!!!! When we passed the Baptist church (the second time around) the digital display outside said the temperature was 32 degrees. Yikes!!!! Quite uncomfortable. Hope I didn’t annoy Alma too much- as a hot, sweaty, dehydrated Monica, isn’t always a fun person to be around.
Monica, pausing in the shade for a photo op.
Alma at the corner of Yonge & St. Clair – possibly trying to hitchhike.
Maybe I knew early on that we’d need a ride.
It’s going to be a hot one! So before reaching the cemetery we stop at the Second Cup to get some green tea lemonade (mmm, lemonade!) to keep ourselves cool and hydrated.
1. Mount Pleasant Cemetery
This tranquil escape from the urban rush is the final resting place for many famous locals. Banting and Best (codiscoverers of insulin), former Prime Minster William Lyon Mackenzie King, and acclaimed pianist Glenn Gould are all buried here. A wealth of trees and plants have earned the site recognition as a significant arboretum making it popular with walkers, joggers, and cyclists.
I love cemeteries and as mentioned before I’ve wanted to come here for quite awhile. I’ve been to some of the other Mount Pleasant Group Cemeteries before – specifically the one on St. Clair near La Paloma (i think it’s just west of Ossington). That’s a really nice one too – also large, and interected by main streets but definately easier to find your way around…. We don’t bother trying to find those famous graves – we’d probably still be there if we did.
The south enterance off Yonge Street. It’s a large cemetery and is actually a couple of blocks wide (it continues on the east side of Mount Pleasant as well).
In retrospect, I probably should have examined this map a little more carefully. There are a ton of winding paths that go through the cemetary. Our goal is to simply take a nice leisurely walk across the cemetery to reach Mount Pleasant where the walk continues north. Figuring, it can’t be too hard and knowing generally where north is, we take off…
Very teacher-like! Miss De Souza which way do we go?!
This tree has camouflage bark!
Captain Fluke! What a name! It’d be cool to have a crypt….
This was an interesting memorial. Didn’t really have any information on it, but it’s also a tap.
Does this tombstone belong to an author? I can’t remember.
So not really paying attention or thinking straight, we end up on a path that ends in a round-about. We follow a couple of cyclists on a woodchip trail that leads out of the cemetery – though at the time we didn’t really think we were leaving the cemetery. Thought we were cutting across it. Obviously, we weren’t thinking straight. But it was a cool adventure. We were led onto an unpaved, muddy trail that went by the creek.
Pretty no? We take the more northern path to the left of this creek, figuring it has a better chance of leading us where we want to go. Problem is, trails like these that follow a creek, don’t stay straight… that was the downfall of those kids in the Blair Witch Project.
That’s comforting Mon… I like how windy the rocks look.
The bend of the branch seemed inviting
The trail forces us to climb up on the stone bank… The trail on the otherside looks a little more accesible. Ah, well.
I look happy (and tan!) here but going up the muddy hill made me start to question wearing a skirt. Now if only we stuck to the path! Nah, it was so cool being by the water and shaded by the trees! This path totally made our adventure ‘our own’.
Ooo, nature!
What was the name of that tree in Harry Potter that smashes things?! Well it reminds me of that. Mon! I made a Harry Potter reference!
Yea! HP! It was the Whomping Willow. I think There should be at least 1 Harry Potter reference for each entry.
Tree or bush?
Not sure if this is some kind of fungus, but it was growing all over this log. Alma, look it up in the autoban!
We need to ask Jean Marc! I swear I can’t find this in the book. I’m not one to be trusted though, I don’t do my homework on time.
After a while, we reach this bridge. Figuring this must be Mount Pleasant above us, we search for a way to exit the path. Alma asks some cyclists traveling in the opposite direction if there is an exit on our side of the path, and they say not for quite awhile. So it looks like we’re going to have to cross the creek, just as we saw another pedestrian do minutes before we arrived.
I must add that this guy did that cross with ease. Some of those rocks were rocky!
I make it to the other side and Alma is slightly diappointed to not have gotten a video of it. So I pull out my camera to take a video of her crossing.
The following is a video of Alma’s crossing. Being the genius that I am, I took the video holding the cameral vertical – as a result, the video is sideways. Enjoy!
Man I’m so awkward! The whole time that I was crossing I was saying ‘oooh!’…cause of the rockiness of the rocks… i must add… i did this crossing while somewhat balancing both our drinks in my bag, while wearing a skirt! that’s pretty impressive
Well, now that we are on the other side, time to climb the wooden stairs and look for a way out.
Well, the path seems to go on for a bit, and we can’t see an enterance from the road, so we leave the path, climb the relatively steep bank to the road (all the while Alma cursing her skirt I’m sure) to either find a break in the fence, or hop the fence. We end up walking along the fence for a bit, avoiding doggie droppings on the way, till we find a break – which is also where there is an official enterance. D’oh!
Doesn’t Monica look thrilled that I’m taking a picture of her after our frustrating walk? Monica hates me… I hated walking up that hill… my shoes weren’t the most appropriate either… i was slipping a lot. I need to keep in mind what deems as proper attire to a cemetery next time.
The path from the road that leads to the riverside trail.
That entrance/exit is much more inviting than the route we took. It’s just our luck, it’s just our walk!
The fence that we walked along.
MONICA WALKING ALONG FENCE
MONICA WALKING ALONG FENCE
I’m probably savouring my moment in the shade.
So it turns out, that we went way off track. That bridge I assumed was Mount Pleasant – it was St. Clair. We actually end up east and a tad bit SOUTH of St. Clair Station – our starting point. So be basically have walked in a circle and have to start again. Aiye… still, don’t think I’d do it differently. From what I gather, that trail we were wandering in may have been Deer Park.
Poor statue of a walking man…. destined to walk, fully clad in the sun for eternity….
Back at Yonge and St. Clair. The mishaped circle is complete.
It’s hot and we’re back to square one!
Ahhhh… the Second Cup where we got our green tea lemonades. Maybe I should have stopped in and gottne another, cause whoo, hot.
So this time, instead of entering the cemetery from the south entrance on Yonge, we walk up Yonge a search for an entrance in "the middle". We don’t find one.
Monica waits in the shade while I insist on taking this poor picture. Sorry Mon… it just had to be done.
Is there a serial mitten/glove abandonner leaving lone articles around the city.
Another mitten to add to my collection. This is mitten number 3!
Ahhhh, fungus. Hmmmm… i wonder what type….
I’m surprised that Monica doesn’t say "…i wonder what type, Alma?". You should know by now that I’m not good at doing my homework.
There is a northern entrance to the cemetary, but instead we take the overpass which is the "Kay Gardner Beltline Park" which cuts straight along the northern border of the cemetery to Mount Pleasant.
I like how the trees frame the bridge.
Some shadow art. I’m shooting Alma cause she made me stand still in the hot sun for this.
Rock, scissors, paper. I cheated.
Well, we finally make it to Mount Pleasant and start walking north to the next stop (which is ONLY stop #2) when we pass this park and note that the card is wrong! On the card, this park is labeled as "Davisville Park". But it is clearly called "June Rowlands Park".
Perhaps the name change happened recently…..
That list is getting awfully long….
2. George’s Trains (510 Mount Pleasant Rd.)
Canada’s largest model-train emporium, attracts children of all ages.
The store from the street.
I’ve never been to a train store before… and apparently, I still won’t have the pleasure of experiencing one. This store closing kinda dampened my mood… Being around the neighbourhood, it kinda made sense for a shoppe like this to be situated there. Oh well, looks like we have to venture to Markham! Mon, are you in?
Sure… why don’t you add that to the list.
Well, Mount Pleasant certainly has a lot of little boutiques and shops. And definately the place to go antiquing! We pass quite a few of those places on the way, but also a few other interesting businesses that we think should be on the cards.
There are quite a few bakeries. When I see the pretty intricate designs or the whimsical ones, I kind of feel like learning how to cake decorate.
Cafe Jules significant only because of my cousin Jules and the fact that it’s not a common, popular name.
3. Penrose Fish and Chips
It has served outstanding, newspaper-wrapped meals to uprooted Britons for more than 40 years.
They actually wrap it in newspaper! – which I think is cool. Maybe not the best idea, but still cool.
We sat on the park bench, while looking in and taking pictures. I hope we didn’t look too creepy. I wish I was in the mood for fish & chips that day…
Another one of those shops we think should have made this cards was this dollhouse place. So cool! Of course reminds me of the Friends episode when Monica inherits a Victorian style dollhouse she’s coveted all her life and Phoebe makes a super cool dollhouse out of shoeboxes and candy. Too bad it burnt down.
I thought this was funny and made Alma take a picture.
I wonder why you didn’t take the picture yourself?! Did you run out of memory? The whole photography world was still new to Mon, i guess.
Hmm… I don’t know. I took the next picture so it’s not like I didn’t have a camera out….
One of the houses on displays was a dollhouse under construction. I don’t mean still being built- i mean the theme of the actual dollhouse was it was a house being renovated. Tools everywhere, rooms half complete. One of my favourite touches was this can of spilt paint. too cute!
4. Le Compotoir de Celestin
A traditional French bakery that serves delicious pain au chocolat. It’s also known for stock an only-in-Canada gourmet maple syrup.
Ummm.. the name doesn’t match exactly, but it must be the place. Perhaps another mistake of the card?
5. Le Feuvre’s (683 Mount Pleasant Rd.)
"…delicious handmade truffles crafted from premium Belgian Callebaut chocolate."
I wonder if the people that made this walk actually went to every store and ate every shoppe in one go… I just don’t see how fish and chips go well with chocolate truffles.
6. The Bead Goes On (256 Soudan Ave.)
"..where locals search for stylish antique accessories; Dustin Hoffman frequently shops here for antique eyewear."
Really? Dustin Hoffman? Rainman? FREQUENTLY??? Come on really!? Who is their source? The store owners who of course have nothing to gain but good PR from saying a celeb frequents their store!? I’m betting he came in once or twice. The first time he saw a pair he liked and purchased them. The second time he remembered the store and the cool frames he got from them, returned, and may or may not have gotten a second pair. I mean, really, how many pairs of antique frames do you need??? I guess this is something only someone who wears glasses would have to understand. And since neither of us do, I guess we’ll never know…. …… Oh, wait! Alma… you wear glasses?!?! …. ah, the memories….
I do wear glasses! Oh man, I don’t know how we passed Fungi with our awful note-taking and not understanding Jean-Marc.. But I digress… This shoppe is tiny!! The store isn’t deep at all. It looks like you could pick something unique though. I think Mon and I were looking at something that looked like a brooch… due to the size of gems but it turned out to be a ring! The ring size was massive too… like one for a man’s thumb! Definitely not one for dainty fingers…
The store is closed (all these boutiques close by 6:00pm) but the price tags we can see through the window are quite steep. Hence Alma’s expression in the picture below.
Or maybe it’s something I said…..
Well, "The Bead Goes On" was the last stop on the card. But we’re not done for the day since we’ve decided to grab a snack before departing. So we walk and search. By the powers of the nose or the fact that I sort of picked the place last time, Alma’s picking this time.
That’s probably why I’m making that face! I’m always picking!
We don’t eat here.
We end up walking to the Yonge and Eglington area. To my shock and utter distress it appears my favorite Lick’s location (where Asal, Sean and I once got a free sundae) is no longer here! It’s hot, we’re both getting uncomfortable and so when Alma finally shows the slightest bit of intrestest in a place, we go in. Can’t remember the name of the place, but it’s a tiny mom and pop’s kind of diner with quite a few old couples that don’t talk much. We (meaning Alma) are quite loud. Such a disturbance! Can’t take her anywhere! Anywway it was a hightly amusing dinner. Alma, said she wasn’t hungry, but was quite impressed with one of the specials and the amount of food for the price and was enticed to get it. Eyes bigger than her stomach….Oh man… I don’t know why I was being so loud. If Mon didn’t point it out… I’d probably would’ve continued talking in such a loud volume. There were only like 4 ppl in that diner too.. that’s including staff. I guess one way to shut me up is food..hence the ridiculous amount of food that I ordered. Seriously! I didn’t realize how much food it would be until dictating it aloud to the waitress.
I completely regret ordering that meal but was a bit too embarrassed to back out.
Purelling… actually it’s not purell. I think it’s from Body Works. The twins got it for as part of my X-mas gift. It has a very strong scent.
Couldn’t stop laughing at this. The glass to the left, is the glass of apple juice that I ordered. The glass to the right is the glass Alma got that came with her enormously large meal. Now I know that this pic shows the difference in size, but it doesn’t really show how tiny Alma’s glass is. I could finish it in one sip.
Yeah, that was pretty hilarious! Cheers to apple juice! I did get some tea as part of my meal as well! (what didn’t I get?!)
This picture doesn’t even show all her food. By the way, there was a black hair in my food. But I was in no mood to complain and wait for another plate to be made. So I just didn’t eat the homefries on that side of the plate.
What did I get myself into?! I was filled to the brim after this meal… that picture was just the beginning too. Should’ve taken a before and after pic.
Alma‘s rice pudding.
I think the last time I had rice pudding was when I was a kid… Eating so heavily doesn’t make me want to finish this and it probably will leave a bad feeling next time I have it… But yeah, it was yummy. They had cinnamon sprinkled on top and it added to the rice pudding’s flavour.
Mon… you have to knock some sense into me next time…
Alma Rating: I want to say 3.5 too, but I really enjoyed the cemetery portion of the walk and finding that trail. So maybe I’ll say 3.75 out of 5… very close to 4. Also, this was my first time being in this area and there are several stores/shoppes I’d like to explore some more, like those pastry shoppes! Overall it wasn’t a bad walk… maybe it was just too hot for our liking and some of the stores were closed but let me tell you.. it’s no entertainment district!!
… that’s 3.75 almost 4 beaches out of 5!So apparently, I'm a moron - or a bad typist. I meant to say 75% which is 3.75 not 3.5. Anyhoo, you get my drift.
