I started the day by taking the GO train from Barrie to Union. Today’s destination was the Scotiabank Theatre where I was going to see my first IMAX movie. My friend joined me a few stops after. He had a Starbucks gift card so that became our first mission after reaching Union.
Google Maps, doing what Google Maps does, betrayed us. It sent us outside first before deciding that we actually needed to go back inside. Since I was already lured outside, here’s the mandatory CN Tower shot.
So began fifteen minutes of walking basically every corridor in Union Station looking for this rumoured Starbucks. We were right next to it when we started. We just took a right instead of a left, and a two-minute coffee run became a miniature exploration mission.
Finally found it. Of course I went for an iced mocha. I’ve never liked the flavour of their drinks and it seems like my opinion still stands, ad infinitum. If it wasn’t for the gift card, I would have never spent money here.
I caught this statue on the way out of Union. I really like the lighting and how the clay look contrasts with the cement and tiles all around it.
After that, the plan was Indigo. Window shopping essentially, or in our case, book shopping with low commitment.
I’ve always loved how the buildings look in Toronto. The windows especially. I think I’m developing a window fetish. I mean, just look at the geometry and detail. I could trace those lines in my head for hours. Barrie’s windows on the the hand all have a turquoise tint. It has to be government mandated.
It was a little windy above ground, so we decided to head into the PATH. It’s this underground walking path connecting most of downtown Toronto. It has a bunch of shops and is climate-controlled, so it’s perfect when it’s cold. It goes all the way to the Eaton Centre where the book shop is.
At some point my friend tried taking a photo of me using my camera. Let’s just say the autofocus and their intuition didn’t quite align. It’s blurry AF (hehe), but sometimes even the imperfect photos leave an impression. So here it is.
The Eaton Centre entrance. I like how the girl’s hair color contrasted with all the neutral tones around her.
Neither of us needed a map once we got our bearings inside. We’ve been through this corridor enough times to know where Indigo was.
There it was. Seeing the book on a shelf in the front of the store felt a little funny, ngl. It was nowhere to be found the last time I came here, around a year ago. A bit ironic isn’t it.
I read it when it first came out. It released on May 4th, 2021. I started it on the 6th and finished it two days later. Its Andy Weir, I’ve read the Martian and some of his short stories, when it comes to sci-fi, I trust his writing. Artemis doesn’t exist and will never exist.
It was a really good book that I enjoyed quite a bit. Hell, I even have a password based on it. As any source material fan, I was quite sceptical of the movie, especially with Ryan Gosling starring as Grace. I’m saying all this having already booked the ticket, without even seeing the trailer.
We then spent a while in the manga section. I was looking for the first volume of the Monogatari light novels. They didn’t have it unfortunately. They didn’t even have Days with my Stepsister. Colour me disappointed.
When heading back out, I took probably my favorite shot of the whole day. The lighting was just perfect. Same goes for the subject and the angle.
After that I went to a security guard nearby to ask for directions. That was when he politely mentioned that taking photos inside wasn’t allowed. He was genuinely very nice about it. Then he told me that he shoots film and that he’s saving for a Red camera. We ended up geeking out over my camera and what I was shooting while my friend stood next to us with the expression of someone watching two people converse in a language that doesn’t exist yet.
Foreshadowing, I guess?
We didn’t have time to do a proper dine-in, so we decided to go to the food court for a quick meal. As always, I went with rice.
We were in a hurry so we took the subway there. I’m still amazed by how often they run on that line. There’s one like every 5–7 minutes.
The station we got off at felt hauntingly empty compared to everywhere else. I even wondered if we were at the right station for a second.
On the way to the theatre we passed this seemingly abandoned building. I like how colourful the artwork is.
Finally arrived. The escalator up to the theatre is one of the tallest I’ve seen, period. One continuous run straight up for almost four stories. I didn’t dare take my camera out while going up. Because god forbit, if I fell, I might still be falling to this day.
Did a bit of a photoshoot before we went in. The skyline from the theatre is amazing.
After the movie we made our traditional pilgrimage to Uncle Tetsu’s. I don’t leave Toronto without visiting Tetsu’s at least once. Their cheese tarts are godly.
On the way to Tetsu’s we passed another Indigo. Of course we went in. Their manga section was smaller, and they didn’t have what I wanted either. Still worth checking.
The sun was finally setting, letting me take those oh so important harsh light shots. We were on a tight schedule to catch the train back, so I didn’t have much time to capitalize on it.
One last look at the tower.
Found this apartment building that looked like it was straight out of Cyberpunk. The lighting is so distinct from the rest of the buildings.
We were taking the path from Scotiabank Arena towards Union so the streets were lined with Blue Jays fans. We saw the first sign of them when we first arrived in Toronto. There was literally a guy on a crane fixing a Go Blue Jays Go sign onto a bar. Now it was in full effect. Jerseys everywhere.
That’s it folks. Last photo of the day from the train window. It was a good day. The movie was a solid adaptation. It leaned into the action side a bit more than my memory of the book serves, but it kept the heart of the story intact. So I’m satisfied.