This past weekend we thought we'd continue the Subway Saturday tradition by visiting a station that Luke stops at almost every week day but has never wandered around - Eglinton!
As per our new Subway Saturday concept, we picked out an area around a subway stop that we had yet to visit, in search of some hidden gems, interesting places to walk around, and tasty food.
Eglinton Station is in Uptown Toronto and is smack dab in the middle of the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood. This area has been undergoing a lot of development and has become a hub for shopping and restaurants, with a new Light Rail Transit line being constructed right under Eglinton Avenue.
Eglinton Station is in Uptown Toronto and is smack dab in the middle of the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood. This area has been undergoing a lot of development and has become a hub for shopping and restaurants, with a new Light Rail Transit line being constructed right under Eglinton Avenue.
Under Construction
High rises seem to be popping up on every corner, even in residential neighbourhoods, but that wasn't always the case. According to Wikipedia:
"During the early 19th century, [Yonge and Eglinton] was part of the largest cattle grazing region in Upper Canada (now the Southern region of Ontario). The region was the first in North America to extend the use of cowbells to all cattle."
The things you can learn on the internet!
We set off to visit Yonge and Eglinton mid-morning on Saturday and even delayed Luke's coffee habit until we made it up there. So needless to say the first thing we did was go look for a nice place to grab a coffee. We headed west to track down a coffee shop slightly off the beaten path, Crosstown Coffee Bar.
We set off to visit Yonge and Eglinton mid-morning on Saturday and even delayed Luke's coffee habit until we made it up there. So needless to say the first thing we did was go look for a nice place to grab a coffee. We headed west to track down a coffee shop slightly off the beaten path, Crosstown Coffee Bar.
Crosstown Coffee Bar is an independent cafe just west of Eglinton Park, on a residential street. The coffee shop itself is small, but it has a trendy feel and the only employee behind the counter seemed to know everyone by name as they walked in the door. In a big city like Toronto, it was surprising but gave us a good feeling about the place.
Unfortunately we didn't have much time to hang around so we grabbed our hot drinks and wandered through Eglinton Park. We were the only ones at the park, other than some birds and squirrels. After walking over to a nice vantage point, it wasn't difficult to see/feel why. It was so windy and cold! So we tried to get some shelter and wandered back to Yonge, although the park itself was a nice place to stop.
Unfortunately we didn't have much time to hang around so we grabbed our hot drinks and wandered through Eglinton Park. We were the only ones at the park, other than some birds and squirrels. After walking over to a nice vantage point, it wasn't difficult to see/feel why. It was so windy and cold! So we tried to get some shelter and wandered back to Yonge, although the park itself was a nice place to stop.
Yonge St seems to be where a good part of the action is going on, but Mount Pleasant (which is somewhat parallel to Yonge) seems to be busy as well. So we wandered north on Yonge St, passing an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants. Once we'd walked a decent ways, we turned around to walk down the other side of the street to find ourselves some lunch.
But before we found a spot for lunch, we had to stop off at a cupcake shop. After passing countless bakeries and patisseries, it finally got to us. But we didn't want to ruin our appetites so we picked up one Curious George (banana flavoured) and one Cookie Dough cupcake for later from The Cupcake Shoppe.
But before we found a spot for lunch, we had to stop off at a cupcake shop. After passing countless bakeries and patisseries, it finally got to us. But we didn't want to ruin our appetites so we picked up one Curious George (banana flavoured) and one Cookie Dough cupcake for later from The Cupcake Shoppe.
We finally settled on La Vecchia for lunch and we were not disappointed. Their prices look extremely reasonable until you notice that you need to add $4 for the meal-sized portion, but once you get over that, it is a delicious, somewhat fancy, Italian restaurant. It had a great atmosphere and we we happy to rest and enjoy some good pizza and pasta.
Our time in the Yonge and Eglinton area ended in the early afternoon, so we stuffed our cupcakes in our mouths before heading off to our next adventure - playing in the Mixed Curling finals at our curling club!
We decided to take the scenic route there and walked for 45 minutes to get to Leaside Curling Club where we spared in the finals and ended up winning! After walking a whopping 12 km (and then curling after that), we were pretty happy to take it easy for the night.
... and that wrapped up our second official Subway Saturday! It was fun to explore a new neighbourhood in this city we now call home.
Here are a few more pictures from our day:
We decided to take the scenic route there and walked for 45 minutes to get to Leaside Curling Club where we spared in the finals and ended up winning! After walking a whopping 12 km (and then curling after that), we were pretty happy to take it easy for the night.
... and that wrapped up our second official Subway Saturday! It was fun to explore a new neighbourhood in this city we now call home.
Here are a few more pictures from our day:
(SLIDESHOW)
This time last year we were listening in to East Coast Music Week and the year before that we were eating our way through the International Food and Craft Expo... and curling, of course!
