For: Wilderness Explorers
Neighbourhood: High Park
Cost: $15/ person (Mostly for food)
I decided to plan another outdoorsy date for this week to get in as much fresh air as I can before everything gets buried under snow. Hopefully most Torontonians have visited High Park (1873 Bloor St. W) at some point, but it is so huge that most of my friends have never explored all of it. I’ve been to the “Dream in High Park” site numerous times and have visited the zoo and the cherry blossoms. I had never even seen Grenadier Pond—that changed this week.
Travelling down to Queen East on the streetcar presented us with the opportunity to take advantage of all the great food available in the area. There’s an Ed’s Real Scoop (920 Queen St. E) if you wanted to brave the cold weather and feel your teeth chatter on ice cream. I also generally drop in to Leslieville Cheese Market for a grilled cheese sandwich (891 Queen St. E) when I need a quick bite to eat. We ultimately decided to stop off at Rashers, “North America’s Only Bacon Sandwich Shop” (948 Queen St. E). I had a perfectly melted brie and bacon sandwich, which was messy but worth it.
The streetcar route to High Park took twice the time, but it was certainly more picturesque. As soon as we got on the Queensway, the sight of the lake greeted us to our left, while the shops along Queen West gave way to vibrant shrubbery. We soon caught sight of the glimmering surface of Grenadier Pond and arrived at our stop. Even as a native Torontonian, you’ll still be able to explore new areas of the city.
We followed a trail around the pond, which was dotted with informative signs about the history of the area and the plants we saw along the way. My companion wanted to read all the signs, but unfortunately I wasn’t in a reading mood, so we had to play catch-up with each other.
Finally, we made our way up a big hill to Hilltop Gardens, a small, baroque-structured garden with three fountains surrounded by sculpted hedges. The bottom of the fountain was sullied by debris, but the water created rainbows when it shot up.
Afterwards we went to the zoo, which was unsurprisingly smelly, to be later entertained by the llama feeding hour. As an aside, I would recommend you avoid going on the weekends if you don’t want to hear the sounds of young children. Making out surrounded by llamas and children is not exactly conducive to a romantic atmosphere.
There was nothing more sublime than being surrounded by autumnal-coloured leaves set aglow by the afternoon sun. We even encountered a smaller path that I wish we had more time to explore. Next time, I’m definitely giving us time to get lost.
Article by Angela Sun
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