Fleurs de Ville, Vancouver

Flew out to B.C. to visit my sister in Vancouver and spend Christmas with her. The weather was cool and rainy, but no snow!

I noticed an advert for “Fleurs de Villes – Noel” (a floral trail on the streets of Vancouver).

I thought we should check out the displays and take some pictures to show our friends, AND post on my blog.

These pop-up installations (over 40 of them) ranged from couture mannequins and holiday wreaths, to flowers adorning the doorways of some businesses. 

It began in the  lobby of the Fairmont Hotel, where this "Lady in Red" is showcased.

 

        Nearby is another one, that is adorned with white orchids.

  

Outside, on the streets, there are lollipops and a few reindeer.

All are created with fresh flowers and/or confer stems.

 

There is a "Sugar Plum Fairy" atop a bus shelter on Robson, and a telephone booth surrounded by a floral display.
 

                   

This is of course, is the Eiffel Tower.

An interesting installation was the mannequin at the Hawksworth Restaurant (Johnny Walker).

This pop-up was a mannequin on a rental bicycle (sponsored by Mobi).

 

Lastly, a picture of my sis beside a toboggan filled with flowers.

 

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

What a great birthday surprise, 4 days in Montreal, courtesy of my friend.
On the first day I spent several hours touring the exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. (Pictured here)
 

I specifically wanted to see the newest exhibit by Thierry Mugler, a French fashion designer, photographer, and producer. 
He also has his own line of perfumes.
Here are some shots of the dressed mannequins in one of the seven sections. 

This dress is made with mostly crystals, but you must visit the museum yourself to appreciate the whole show.

The Runnymede Library

Located at 2178 Bloor Street West, near High Park; this branch is nationally recognized for its distinctive Canadian style of architecture.

It was designed by John M. Lyle in 1929 and is dominated by a steeply pitched slate roof with bell-cast eaves.
The walls are made of variegated red and yellow Credit Valley limestone. 
The doorway is framed with totem poles of stylized ravens, beavers and bears.

The aboriginal theme continues in the building's ironwork, which includes inverted triangle and arrowhead patterns. 
Other Canadian motifs highlighted in the stonework are lilies, pinecones, plus keystones of squirrels and native Indian heads.

As part of  Heritage Toronto's Plaques and markers program, an unveiling of a plaque took place in June of 2008.

According to this plaque, the branch was featured on a postage stamp celebrating Canadian architecture in 1989.

Like most libraries, these days, this one has had a couple of renovations done in order to modernize and enlarge the space.
It was renovated first in 1978, and then again in 2004. 
Thankfully, the architect's original building was carefully restored.

The Toronto Islands

What is a Blog, if not for posting stuff about the City and its environs.
So, herewith is some pictures and trivia taken over the years about Ward's Island - which is part of the Toronto Islands.
First of all, you must take one of three ferries to these islands (there are 14 islands in all).

Pictured above, is the Ongiara, an open concept ferry that runs to Ward's.
It is my favourite ride, and is able to carry work vehicles.

 
As the plaque here explains, these islands are simply a sandbar that was created about eight thousand years ago.

  

Exploring Broadview Avenue

One Saturday in September, Heritage Toronto, in conjunction with the Riverdale Historical Society, conducted a tour of a Broadview Avenue with some history.
We assembled behind the Dairy Queen at the corner of Broadview and Pottery Road./Mortimer Avenue.

 

Here, the tour leader spoke about the surrounding area, and what it was like around the turn of the century. Nearby, (where Sobeys is now located) was the Todmorden Hotel.
One could have a pint, while the blacksmith (across the road) worked on your horse.

At the bottom of Pottery Road is Todmorden Mills, which is now a heritage site.

• It started out as a lumber mill in a small settlement around 1795.
• The Skinner family operated this mill that produced construction materials
• In 1820, a brewery was built next to the mill and was operated by Thomas Helliwell

BTW, the Helliwell House (which still stands on the site) is believed to be haunted.
To read further about this, you can go here.


Have a look at his picture of a ghost-like vapor hovering around the chair in the house.

But, I digress....on with the tour!
We left the parking lot and walked south along Broadview (originally named Don Mills Road).
We then turned onto Chester Hill Road and proceeded down to the end of the street, where there is a lookout. 

If you get a chance stop by the lookout and catch the view.
It is especially grand during the fall when the leaves have turned.
There is also a zodiac painting  that was done by Victor Fraser.
You can check his works out by logging into "whatsvictorupto" on Instagram
                                                      Here are a couple of views:

From this street, we moved along to Cambridge Avenue, and pass by a few "workers cottages" that were built by the local businesses for their employees.

Back to Danforth Avenue and continuing south on Broadview, we pass by Riverdale Park East.
This is a 18 - hectare park that is popular for winter tobogganing, and has 3 softball diamonds as well as a ice rink.
Further south near Langley Avenue, is the St. Matthew's Lawn Bowling Clubhouse.
It was moved from its original location on Gerrard Street in 2009, so that the land could be used for the expansion of the Bridgepoint Health facility.

Here we watched the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the clubhouse history.

    
                                                          Photo by Alan Brown 2015.