Last week, I went downtown for the first time in 17 months. I didn’t miss anything.
Well, to be fair and honest, it was nice to see the old architecture, concentration of high rise buildings, and the lake.
I do not miss commuting downtown to work every day. I dread the thought of returning to our normal grind of commuting 5 days per week. I might as well enjoy work from home as long as we are allowed to.
Living in the inner suburbs, we don’t get to see beautiful old buildings like what exists downtown. We don’t have clusters of high rise offices, only residential condos.
The ride downtown was my first on a subway since March 2020. It was not a nice experience.
Although the train was not crowded, a disheveled guy nearest me let his mask slip beneath his nose while he talked to himself and laughed.
I promptly moved to a better seat for the remainder of the ride. I spotted another guy reading and saw his mask slip beneath his nose briefly before he quickly pulled it back up. Good guy.
I departed the train at Dundas Station, home to Toronto Eaton Centre and Yonge-Dundas Square. The first place I visited was Second Cup Coffee inside the Eaton Centre.
I ordered a Vanilla Bean latte… something I have only drank once since lockdown. After chatting briefly with the barista, I went outside to the Square.
The Square was fairly quiet considering it was midday Wednesday. I started to reminisce about the old days pre-pandemic. The digital displays really stood out to me. Was it me, or did they upgrade them? They seemed to be in higher definition than I remember. Either way, I like the screens there.
I started walking around the core and found myself at the harbour. The lake always looks so peaceful.
I felt like grabbing an ice, cold beer after relaxing by the water but nothing seemed to be open along Harbourfront. The area was eerily quiet. There were people milling about, but no events, activities, nothing at all.
I found this nice, new bar called BeerTown on University Avenue at Wellington. They had just opened late August. The staff were friendly, food delicious, and beers fantastic. They have over 40 beers on tap.
I had a good time chatting with the bartenders and listening to music. Eventually, I just wanted to go home. The subway station is nearby so I hopped on and was home within the hour.