photowalk - queen west

it was a bright autumn day. halloween to be exact. titi and i decided that we would brave the wind and go on a mini photo expedition at trinity bellwoods park.

i confess that we also wanted to try a new patisserie that titi had found online: nadège. in fact, that's how we chose the queen west area. new to the neighbourhood, nadège patisserie has had a rocky start in terms of online reputation. i had read about the flat croissants and, sure enough, i immediately noticed the row of almond pancakes... erg, croissants. i had planned to sample a croissant, cake, and macaron but i changed my mind when i saw the selection.




instead i selected a cake and two macarons. the cakes were gorgeous. tiny works of art for about $7-8 a piece. i decided on flavours that i normally gravitate towards: cassis, lemon, and violet. i don't normally like dainty french cakes but this one was lovely. i liked that the entire cake was edible - the flavours were nice: the sourness of the cassis was balanced perfectly with sweet lemon and a hint of violet.


i was pleasantly surprised by the variety of macarons! the peach, rose, and pumpkin caught my eye but i chose the two latter: pumpkin because i've never seen it before and rose because... well... i always choose rose. titi tried the cassis and pumpkin. the macarons had very nice flavour but were a little too "fresh" and therefore not as chewy as they should be. the rose was quite tasty but the filling had an odd texture like pudding. macarons always photograph beautifully.




when our bellies were sufficiently full (well, as full as they can be with dainty cakes and macarons), we headed out and snapped away. fall is one of my favourite seasons, the others being spring and summer. the colours are amazing and there is a current of change in the air.







i was photographing the playground when i had to try out the barely there slide. it was scary - basically a twisty flat surface with no sides and a little dip for your bum. i had to hang on. i can't imagine how kids stay on it.



there's something i love about peeling art on brick walls.



when we were sufficiently cold, we headed over to liberty village to shop, talk, sit, and snap.




we went to the designer's old building and sat in the new lounge area where we chatted until it was time for dinner.





for dinner that night, we went to mildred's temple kitchen and had a deliciously filling meal of ricotta gnudi, burgers, and wine. there was a delightful staff pumpkin carving contest and we each voted for our fave.