Riding the Subway

Since we do not have a car here in Toronto, we make use of the Toronto Transit system on a regular basis. We use the subway, the streetcars, the trains and the buses, but if it goes where you need to go, the trains; subway, GO Trains or the UP are the most efficient, as they are usually unaffected by the constant crazy Toronto traffic. 

Getting on at the Collage Station

One of my goals here in Toronto was to really explore the Subway system by exploiting TTC’s really nice two hour free transfer program. This means that you can transfer among any of the transit systems free for two hours. For example, if you are flying into Pearson Airport, you can take the UP train from the airport to UNION station downtown, take the Subway to the closest station and then a streetcar or bus to your final destination all for no additional fare so long as it is within the two hour limit. 

"Tap", your Presto card to use the system

We decided to get on the Subway at the stop closest to the condo, the College Station, and head north, stopping at every second station all the way to the end of the line at the Finch Station, which is over 13 km away. Once we reached the end of the line, we would then turn around and come back south stopping at the stations skipped on the trip north. I planned to take a picture of each station and then exit the station to snap another shot of the view outside the subway entrance. 

Waiting for the train

The stations are all different, different designs and layouts, different colours and different locations. Most are underground, but a few are on the surface. Some are stand-alone stations, where others are integrated into shopping centres or condo complexes. The only thing they all seem to have in common, is that they are all undergoing some kind of renovation or upgrading. We found exits closed, elevators not working and detours around construction to get into and out of the stations. 

The Subway to Finch Station

This 13 km trip would normally only have taken around 35 minutes, so the return would have normally been just over an hour, but stopping at every station, the total trip took us all afternoon, from 12:00 to 4:30, and surprisingly, it involved a lot of walking for a total of almost 7 km, including a lot of stairs up and down into the stations, so my new hip certainly made the experiment a lot easier. 

Riding the Subway

My original $2.25 “senior” fare lasted me all the way to the end of the line at the Finch Station and it was only on the way back down that I reached the two hour time limit and the usual “Free Transfer” that came up whenever I tapped my Presto card at the station entrances changed to the “$2.25 Fare” notification. 

Now we only did one section of the Toronto subway system; 13 km of the “V” shaped line 1 which is over 38 km long in total with 38 stops along the way and runs in a generally North/South direction. There are also two additional lines running East/West, but the additional lengths will have to wait for another time. 

Every stop is clearly marked

Outside the Subway Station

Some stations are pretty quiet

Everyone who lives near this stop must drive their car, but here comes our train!

The Davisville Station which we used a lot when Ryan lived near it.

Some stations are on the surface

Others are WAY down underground

Signs make it easy to plan your trip

Another station above ground

Last Stop, Wellesley station and a three block walk home.

Toronto Doors

I have posted before about my photos of doors. Originally I started noticing the beautiful old wooden doors in Ottawa, and that got me taking pictures of doors all over the world. I literally have hundreds of pictures of doors. I did however move from taking pictures of beautiful old doors, to noticing the interesting old doors that were more “interesting” than beautiful, and doors that are integrated into the street art that I have also been saving pictures of. 

Here are some of the more interesting doors I have photographed around Toronto in the last few months. 

Interesting colours and shadows

A lot going on here

Yes there is a door under there

A Calendar Door? 

More nice colours and shadows

Love the way it blends into the art

Yup, very "pink" door

Nice weathered wood

I do still record the nice old wooden doors

Elephant Hunting

I have been using a very helpful book called “111 Places You Must Not Miss In Toronto” by Anita Mai Genus, Clare Davenport & Elizabeth Lenell Davies to explore the city of Toronto. It has been very helpful and so far I have found 60 of the places mentioned in the book. Now I admit I have not actually visited every one; for example the Restaurant with $120 steaks was only found and walked by; the steak will have to wait, and the places unfound are mostly further outside the downtown core, but I am still working on seeing as many as I can.

In the summer, we took the Line 2 subway out to Christie Pitts to explore this park, but I should have checked the nice map at the back of the book a bit closer or I would have noticed that there was another suggested attraction we could have visited while out that way. 

Sally the Elephant, number 85 in the book,  lives a short distance north of Christie Pitts and we could have taken a short detour and crossed another “Place” off the list back when it was warm. So today, I decided to brave the cold and go back and hunt the elephant. Fortunately, a better exploration of the book showed another attraction not far away from Sally so I was able to make the outing a 2 for 1 trip. Then looking on Google maps for the best route,  Dupont Subway stop was suggested for the ideal start for our winter walk, and I discovered that this particular Subway station is one of the most attractive in the city, with some beautiful tile work and some unique architectural features, so my 2 for 1 became a 3 for 1. 

I can tell you that the Dupont Station really is worth a visit  even though it is not in the book, with lovely tilework incorporating some beautiful artwork, and open architecture and arched glass domes over the entrances. 

Dupont Subway Station

A short walk from the subway, we found the Tarragon Theatre which is housed in an old Cribbage factory. It was not open, but looks like it might have some interesting upcoming productions worth further investigation. 

Then a couple of blocks later, through some streets and laneways with some really interesting Street Art, we found Sally the Elephant standing proudly on the front lawn of a really ordinary house in a very ordinary neighbourhood. Sally, a full sized model of a female elephant,  was originally created by a student for a University courses, and went into storage for a while until a friend offered to display her on his front lawn where she has proudly lived ever since. She has been there for over two decades and has become a popular neighbourhood attraction, even making it into the 111 places book. 

Sally the Elephant

So . . . . Less than half of the 111 places still to visit.

And lots of Street Art.