SOMETHING SATURDAYS
  • The Blog
  • Travel
  • Index
  • About

Pioneer Village Sunday

21/12/2017

0 Comments

 
This weekend, amidst the cold, the snow and the Christmas parties, we set off along a new extension to Toronto's subway system to step back in time at the Black Creek Pioneer Village.
Picture
Black Creek Pioneer Village.
One of numerous ongoing infrastructure projects in the city has been an extension to the Yonge-University line, which Elizabeth's company had played a role in. To celebrate the opening of the extension this weekend, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) made the subway free for a day, so on our way up to the newly opened Pioneer Village Station we were joined by many other subway tourists. Subway Saturdays are really starting to take off!
Picture
Pioneer Village Station.
But we weren't in it just to check out the brand new subway stations - we had set our sights on Black Creek Pioneer Village, newly accessible to us car-free folk. Black Creek Pioneer Village is an outdoor museum made up of heritage buildings from the early 19th century, intended to bring history to life and shed a light on the lives of Toronto's early settlers. It was an interesting spot, and as we wandered the village in the snow we stopped in at a few of the buildings - mostly for warmth, but also to learn a bit about our Torontonian forefathers.
Picture
Hanging out in the grain barn.
Among the buildings were tinsmiths, weavers, printers and doctors, and stepping inside we were greeted by costumed guides ready to share a bit of historical insight with us. Having been to similar spots in both Wales and Newfoundland, it was interesting to compare the lives of people way back when. For instance, in the saddlery we learned that Canada's first transportation law was mandatory sleigh bells, so that pedestrians would be alerted to approaching (one) horse (open) sleighs. We also made sure to stop in at the halfway house to visit the brewery in the cellar, where we samples some old-fashioned ales and learned a bit about how the recent craft beer movement in Ontario is bringing with it a revival of such old recipes.
Picture
An old-fashioned stout.
The last buildings we visited were Daniel Stong's first and second houses. Both were fairly primitive, and very small for the family of 10 that they sheltered, but the first house, a 3-room log cabin, really gave a sense of how tough life might have been in Canada 150 years ago. While the fire was roaring in the hearth to keep us warm, there wasn't much else to protect against the bitter cold outside.
Picture
Daniel Stong's first house.
On our way back home we stopped off for just a little bit of subway tourism at York University Station, one of the two stations that Arup had done the engineering for. All in all, a successful day out, and a nice chance to get outside after hiding from the cold indoors all week!
(SLIDESHOW)
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About Us

    Picture
    We're Elizabeth and Luke.
    Join us on our weekly Something Saturday adventures, where we explore somewhere new or try something new! 
    ​
    Read more about us here.

    Follow along

    BLOGLOVIN'
    BY E-MAIL
    RSS FEED

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Asia
    Australia
    Beach
    Canada
    Cheese
    City Break
    Cuba
    Culture
    Curacao
    Diy
    Dogs
    Food
    France
    Games
    Hiking
    History
    Hong Kong
    Ireland
    Mexico
    Music
    Nature
    Newfoundland
    Ontario
    Ottawa
    Sport
    Sports
    St. John's
    Subway Saturday
    Toronto
    Uk
    United States
    USA

    Archives

    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.