….another 5.3k walk to add to this morning’s 5.0k

Actually it’s already Wednesday but I’m writing this as if it’s still Tuesday. After this morning’s walk I came home to a message from my friend, D, inviting me to join her for lunch at a little bistro in Cabbagetown and then go for a stroll to the Riverdale Farm.

I called her back and arranged to meet her at her condo, downtown, park my car and then together we would walk over to Parliament Street and have lunch at the Merryberry.

The walk took us past numerous churches and Allan Gardens. The area has really changed in the last 20 years. There are more upscale restaurants and the old victorian homes have all been renovated, numerous times to accommodate the design needs of their predominantly upper middle class owners.

The restaurant, The Merryberry, is situated directly on Parliament, just north of Carlton.  When we got there we were greeted in a friendly and welcoming manner and offered a choice of eating indoors or sitting out back on the patio. We chose to eat outside. There were lots of light fare lunch options. The soup of the day was a tomato peaches n’ cream soup. Both D and I decided on a half bowl of the soup and D had a salad and I ordered a ‘mash up’. A mash up is a sandwich with egg, goat cheese, avocado and chickpea salad served between two slices of multi-grain bread. I’m trying to eat less bread so I asked for it to be served open face. No problem.

When we finished our meal, D informed me that lunch was on her. It was an early birthday present for me. The big day is in two weeks. We ordered a lemon lime mouse to share for dessert. It was heavenly ….. light and tasty.

After lunch D and I started to walk toward the Riverdale Farm. It used to be the Riverdale Zoo and I remember going there with my parents when I was very young. Today the zoo animals are all gone and have been replaced with farm animals. It’s a great place to take city kids. There were lots of them there today, either with their parents or with a daycare or summer school group.

  After walking around the barns and the pens there are several hiking trails that one can use. We walked down a very steep embankment toward a pond that has been restored to its original condition. If it wasn’t for the noise from the cars on the Don Valley Expressway you wouldn’t know that you were in the middle of Toronto.