Toronto: North Side
Our third consecutive weekend in Toronto - this time for Keith Urban, supported by Ingrid Andress!
Kimpton Saint George “As long as they fit in the elevator, we can't wait to welcome them”. With no extra charge for pets, this is one of the most welcoming hotels Rita has stayed in. At check-in, she was presented with a goodie bag, containing a chew, poo bags, bandana and toy! Dogs may be left unattended (although this is understandably not recommended, you know your own dog!). We opted for a King Suite, with bathtub and record player! There are a bunch of parkettes nearby for toilet stops, and the accompanying restaurant, The Fortunate Fox, welcomes pets on the sidewalk patio. However, they do not open the patio for brunch; they let us sit out there anyway!
Black Creek Pioneer Village Dogs are definitely welcome at this reconstruction of a circa 1860s village, but I found contradictory information about the specific rules. The general consensus is they are allowed everywhere except buildings where food is served. It was pretty quiet when we visited and no-one told Rita off for entering the buildings anyhow! Obviously if your dog is raucous, leave them at home!
The land area where the village sits originally belonged to the Stong family, and their first and second houses still stand on the property (and their graves!). Other buildings have been transported from various locations in Southern Ontario, and rebuilt. Interpreters throughout the village, dressed in authentic costume, describe what life was like back then, and they actually conduct tasks from the time, such as tin-making and shearing sheep to make blankets out of their wool. These items are available to buy at the gift shop.
One of Toronto’s conservation areas, the village makes a nice dog walk. There was a wedding taking place during our visit and the orchestra music carried quite a distance, providing a nice soundtrack to our ventures.
What’s more, the village does not go to sleep at night! We joined The Haunted Walk’s “Ghosts of the Village”, which takes place at the weekends. Although they advertise all their tours as dog-friendly, they were not quite sure about Rita when I arrived (due to the aforementioned reasons about the Black Creek’s dog policy). However, Rita was very well-behaved and ended up coming into all the buildings with me. Our guide, Jack, was a fantastic storyteller, dramatically retelling stories of hauntings in the village. One of the buildings in particular, the Reverend’s House, carried an oppressive feel, like the air was heavy and sticky. There were a lot of stories of sightings during tours like ours. A previous tour guide was even so scared they left their job!
Brunch Sunday brunch for us was at Her Father’s, off Spadina St. The restaurant is in stark contrast to the dingy street it lies on. Rita received a very warm welcome; we were shown to the patio entrance from the street. It’s completely closed in and feels very intimate. I opted for “whipped yoghurt” and granola…it was DELICIOUS! They even brought water for Rita and minded her while I used the washroom. The restaurant has a funky feel inside – I would absolutely visit again!
Hike A short drive from the hotel is the Moore Park Ravine Trail. There doesn’t seem to be an official car park but I used street parking and entered the trail by steps down from Brendan Road. This is a 6km loop trail, but I had read that parts were closed so we went 3.5km south and then turned back. It adjoins the Don Valley Brickworks, which we visited a few months ago. The trail was shady with lots of spots for Rita to splash in the river on the hot day. It was also wide and traffic was light so I was able to let her off leash for a while, like lots of other dogs.
