Waiting

 

This sweet girl was sitting with a young man at the park but was staring intently down the path looking for someone else it seemed. She looked at me for a moment and I got this shot. She then continued her wait. I imagine that there was a wonderful greeting for someone.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world. 

The Big Night

 

This place looks spooky but also more friendly than yesterday's house. The kids will love racing up to this porch for some treats.

It's Coming

 The big Halloween night is getting closer and more decorations are coming out. Somehow I found these black pumpkins more scary than the orange ones and together with the dog skeletons this would be a house to approach carefully.

Street Art Toronto

 

This is the type of sign that the city puts up when they sponsor some mural painting and this is the sign that alerted me to the murals being painted down a local laneway. I have been showing some of them the last few Mondays and have lots more to show. This a great project that the city runs.

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world. 

Super Red

 

This was one of the early trees to turn red in the neighbourhood and the wind blew most of the leaves off before I got a shot. The colour of red was spectacular!

The Reveal

 

This is the finished piece that the young woman was working on in yesterday's post. It looks as if the woman in the mural has been harvesting from her small crop that was growing by her elbow and is now going to relax with a cuppa. The artist for this one is Ashton Night Hawk.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

The Artist

 

When I happened upon artists painting murals a couple of weeks ago some of them were still working while others had finished. This young woman was hard at work doing two garage doors side by side. I will show you the finished work tomorrow.

Starling

 

Large groups of Starlings are gathering and flying in packs. On this day they had landed in a Maple tree that was loaded with keys. If you don't look closely at a Starling you don't realize what interesting plumage they have with all the dots and speckles. 

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world. 

They Are Coming

 

The ghosts and goblins are starting to appear around here. This front garden was filled with all kinds of spooky things.

A Bit Of Red

 

I finally saw a bit of colour in a tree last week when looking at this apple tree in someone's back garden. The colour change has been slow this year but I have seen a bit more since this shot. This one looks like it might be a vine growing on the tree that has turned red rather than the tree itself.

To Bee

 

I was walking along and spotted the wee bee on this van and stopped for a shot. Love the bee and its path. The company, Alveole, supports bee hives on the top of commercial buildings with green roofs as well as other things. 

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world. 

Hallway Atmosphere

 

This is one of the hallways at University College at U of Toronto. The whole college reminds me of the interiors that we see in British shows. I was lucky to find it empty.

Dinner Party?

 

Recently I stumbled upon a group of artists painting murals on garages along a laneway and one of the artists was Elicser. I talked to him for a few minutes while he worked but went back a few days later to take a shot.. It feels like there are messages in this one but I'm not sure. You can see more of his work by clicking the Elicser label below. 

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

An Annex Home

 

These typical Annex homes were looking nice in the autumn light and the flowers at the front of the left one looked wonderful so of course I had to take a pic.

Camera Shy?

 

These two neighbourhood cats always come out to greet everyone but as soon as I pull out a camera they refuse to look at me and start to walk away. They always wear those big frilly collars which I have no clue about. Maybe it is to make them more visible to birds?

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world. 

More Laneway Construction

 

Yet another laneway house is under construction in the neighbourhood, replacing a garage. There are no windows allowed on the sides because it is right on the property line so a lot of these houses have large skylights. I'll try to keep track of this one to see how it turns out.

Tough Marigolds

 

Marigolds seem to be among the last flowers to die off because of the frost and colder nights. I always let them go to seed and the next year will be rewarded with lots of new plants. These ones are the progeny of plants I bought 3 years ago. 

The Doctors

 The two doctors depicted in yesterday's post are known for their work on stem cell science and have received many awards for it. The artist for the sculpture is Ruth Abernathy.

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world. 

Escaped From A Lab

 

I was surprised to come upon these fellows outside a building on University Ave where all the major hospitals are located. I thought the stools were a nice touch. I'll show you that sign in the right background tomorrow which will explain who these guys are. 

Bee Happy

 

I first posted this mural back in 2016 when it had just been painted on a building along Bloor St in the Annex neighbourhood. At the time there was no vegetation around it and so I was pleased to see how the plantings have grown up beside it. The artist is Nick Sweetman and you can see more of his work if you click the label below.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

External Stairs

 

This is a very common sight all over the province of Quebec, especially in the cities like Montreal. Small buildings have external stairs which are the main access to the upper units - not as fire escapes. It would be interesting to know if the purpose is to save internal space that staircases would take up. I have no idea of the answer.

"Hercules"

 

This comfortable guy is Hercules whose main interest in life is getting treats. He's a friendly dog so everyone offers him one.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world. 

A Fountain

 

I love a nice fountain and this one was a beauty.  I had shown you the frogs in the lower pool a couple of weeks ago and thought I should post the whole thing.

Small Door

 

One thing I noticed in a few places around old Quebec City were these small doors at ground level in homes. I have no idea what they could be for but wonder if it was something to do with coal delivery in the old days. I still remember coal being delivered to my parents house through a basement window & into a coal bin.  Any ideas?  And look how steep that street was!

Lots Of Character

 

I loved the facade of this restaurant in old Quebec City. It looks like it has been there for many years and has so much character.

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

An Acrobat

 

This sculpture by Nicole Taillon brought Cirque Du Soleil to my mind.  The figure looks like one of their acrobats or clowns don't you think?

Laneway Ruler

 

This fierce looking guy was spotted in a laneway and I think no one will dare to tag over him.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

Clock

 

I loved the style of this clock found over the entrance to a store in old Quebec City. 

Disrupted

 

I have been seeing flocks of birds gathering and heading south while the House Sparrows have been gathering and grazing on all the seeds from weeds and grasses. Sometimes there can be more than a dozen of them in one patch. These two were is such a group that I disturbed by accident and they flew up to the top of a fence and gave me the evil eye.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world. 

Beads

 

"Remembering Through Beads" by First Nation artist Ludovic Boney references the wampum beads that First Nation peoples used for trading and recording history & events. This piece was located at a high park overlooking the St Lawrence River.

A Car In The Doorway

 

I never did figure out the story behind this Fiat parked in what looks to be the entrance to a cafe or gallery. I only saw the doorway opened once so never got the story. It makes for a great shot though.

Contrasting Hotel

 

As a complete contrast to yesterday's large hotel, the vast majority of hotels in old Quebec City are small like this one which looks like it is in what had been an old house. Cute isn't it?

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world. 

A Grand Hotel

 

This is the Chateau Frontenac hotel, one of the grand railway hotels built by the Canadian Pacific Railways in the late 1800s. It was built in 1893 and sits at the edge of the upper old Quebec City and looks down across this wide boardwalk to the St Lawrence River. There are over 600 rooms in the hotel which is a designated historic site.

Open Walls

 

Another mural found in the lower town in old Quebec City, this one shows what we might have seen going on behind the walls of the building in the past. Unfortunately that gate was always closed and locked so we see only the upper floors with many different activities. 

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

A Chapel

 

This small church is the chapel of the convent of the Ursuline nuns. It was quite pretty inside and out. They also had a museum showing the history of the nuns in old Quebec City.

A Boy With Bears

This boy with his teddy bears was spotted in the front garden of a home that had been converted from a monastery to a house. The artist is Willie Verginer.  I hope the bears can count as creatures for Saturday's Critters.

To see more creatures from around the world click HERE.
 

Evening Meal

 

There are a lot of restaurants in old Quebec City but also a lot of tourists so reservations are usually needed. In the evening all the lights come on and the streetscape is wonderful. I particularly liked the look of this one.

An Old World Street

 

This is a typical side street in old Quebec City with its cobblestone road and buildings with apartments and sometimes a cafe on the ground floor. Some of these places are even small hotels.

An Irish Pub

 

There seem to be a lot of Irish pubs in Old Quebec City which I guess isn't surprising when one thinks of all the Irish people who landed there in the 1800s and have assimilated into the French culture. I did try out this Pub St-Patrick. Once again Blogger  has really darkened this pic. 

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Walking The Hills

 

It feels like all of the streets in Old Quebec City are uphill but there are a few that are not really steep.This is a fairly steep one which I climbed several times a day. That is a nice little cafe for a bit of lunch and a glass of wine.

A View From Below The Cliff

 

The Old Quebec City has 2 sections, the lower part which is at the bottom of the cliff that completes the parts not surrounded by the wall, and the main part which is the upper city. This mural was painted on the side of a building in the lower town and shows a typical street scene looking up the hill towards the top. Those are really steep streets to climb. The whole of old Quebec City is an UNESCO heritage site.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

Notre Dame Cathedral Quebec City.

 Notre dame Cathedral in Quebec City is the oldest church in Canada. There was a mass being said when I entered so I was unable to get close to the altar. The exterior of the building is undergoing a major restoration so was surrounded by scaffolding and building materials. It was quite a majestic place inside.

Frogs

 

I spotted these wonderful frogs in a fountain in Quebec City. I loved them.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world. 

A Walled City

 

Quebec City can be divided into two parts by these thick walls that separate the old 17th century town from the more modern areas. It is the only walled city in North America north of Mexico. I spent my whole time in the old charming city walking up and down the very hilly streets.

Quebec City

 

I have just returned from a trip to Quebec City and this is the train station there, the Gare Du Palais which was built in 1915. The train ride from Toronto was great fun and much easier than driving or flying. I will be showing some pics from the trip for the next several days.

Chips

 

Old Dutch potato chips have been found in Canada since the 1950s. They are a bit hard to find but worth the search.

Taking part in Signs2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the word. 

Outside of Cloister

I thought that I would show you the outside of the cloister that I showed you on Sunday. I love all the detail work and carvings on the wooden supports. There are so many lovely wood carvings at University College.

 

Flowers

 

I really like the simplicity and graphic design of this mural. Too bad there is no artist name with it.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

A Cloister

 

While wandering around University College I headed out into one of the quadrangles which was full of new students so I quickly went along this cloister and away from the crowds. I love the details. 

A Dragon

 

This wonderfully carved dragon was spotted in the University College building which I showed you yesterday. It is probably the best of all the beautiful carvings found throughout the building. Once again I have no live creature for Saturday's Critters.

Click HERE to see more creatures found around the world.