Tonight the moonrise has been spectacular as I look out my hotel window. It was a little bit of grace to end a lovely day.
Started off the morning at a clean cheery breakfast place. The menu was expansive and eclectic. Only in Canada would they have breakfast poutine. Three eggs on top of what is already death on a plate. I demurred any personal impulses toward self destruction and simply had the breakfast special. This consisted of three eggs, three pieces of bacon, two pieces of toast and home fries. I only ate the egg whites. I did use copious amount of ketchup. I am so ashamed.
From there we headed off the Stratford and then subsequently to St. Mary’s. Stratford has changed. Stores that have been there for years have now disappeared. The goofy toy store, the Tim Horton’s, the science toy shop, the old clothing and traditional places are fading and falling by the wayside so very fast. The last of the felines that used to roam Watson’s china shop died last June. Wow, the first time I went into Watson’s, probably on my first trip to Stratford some thirty years ago, there were five cats inside the china shop and some were sleeping next to costly tureens and others were wending their way amongst the crystal. The incongruity was a delight.
Methinks (good word for a town that holds a Shakespeare festival) is that I have outlived the things about the place I loved, well except for the live theatre. Life is change and while I appreciate that I cannot step into the same river twice even if I put my foot in at the exact same locale because the water is totally different, Stratford now is a pale memory of what I liked about the place. All the stores now are the equivalent of t-shirt vendors on the boardwalks of the Atlantic coast. Yeah, I can hear you thinking, “I bet he yells at kids hey get off my lawn”.
Thank goodness for St. Mary’s. This little burg still has the small town Ontario vibe I have always loved. The ever present Chinese restaurant, the diner/coffee shop with butter tarts and black coffee, an ancient pharmacy not swallowed up by Walmart, plus a chocolatier and the amazing used goods store all are standing there giving progress the finger. It is still the early 1960s on Main Street (well, Queen Street-this is Canada).
I don’t know where he gets his stuff, but the guy at the used merchandise store (and it really is a Needful Things kind of place) always has great leather jackets at unbelievable prices. For about $50 US he had ¾ length soft leather coats today. No two are alike. I always have the feeling he must have a deal with a funeral parkour or a hospital emergency room. I don’t ask questions.
Anyhow the town also has a modern coffee shop with expensive lattes. Modern coffee shops have decaf fixated coffee, the diner has a cold look when you ask for decaf. St. Mary’s, the stone town so named for its quarry, also has a pet store with two of the cutest kittens ever. I had great fun just walking in the sunshine and taking in the glories of a small town.
The ride through the country showed us how far out London was growing. It stretched its tentacles way north of its old boundaries. The traffic has become a pain in the tail. Still it was fun to see the towns that used to have a tea room and a general store, places we used to stop. New housing is going in but the yellow brick of old Ontario still stands out in the United church buildings and various civic structures. I grow old. I grow old.
Back in town we ate at a fern bar, one of the Irish persuasion. I had a salmon and cream sauce puff pastry with a green dinner salad. I went for the smaller dish. The food was surprisingly good. Everyone else has headed off to the Christmas tree lightening ceremony. Me, I am feeling a little off and so I decided to just stay in the room tonight. Tomorrow we have places to go, the farmer’s market, the old south neighborhood and then a wander back home. It will be fun to see what wares they have displayed out there at the farmer’s market. Christmas brings out all the weird little nick knacks and decorating flourishes.
I will leave it there. Happy post Thanksgiving rush to Christmas. I did not buy a damn Black Friday deal of any kind. Kind of proud of that.
The ride through the country back to the hotel showed us how far out London was growing. It has stretched its tentacles way north of its old boundaries. The traffic has become a pain in the tail. Still it was fun to see the towns that used to have a tea room and a general store, places we used to stop. New housing is going in but the yellow brick of old Ontario still stands out in the United church buildings and various civic structures. I grow old. I grow old.
Back in town we ate at a fern bar, one of the Irish persuasion. I had a salmon and cream sauce puff pastry with a green dinner salad. I went for the smaller dish. The food was surprisingly good.
Everyone else has headed off to the Christmas tree lightening ceremony. Me, I am feeling a little off and so I decided to just stay in the room tonight. Tomorrow we have places to go, the farmer’s market, the old south neighborhood and then a wander back home. It will be fun to see what wares they have displayed out there at the farmer’s market. Christmas brings out all the weird little nick knacks and decorating flourishes.
I will leave it there. Happy post Thanksgiving rush to Christmas. I did not buy a damn Black Friday deal of any kind. Kind of proud of that.
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