History

 I don't know if its shown so far but I am a bit of a history geek. This is a problem in a country like Canada if you have no more than a casual interest in indigenous culture. That's a curious thing with history and archeology in general. You bump into a culture and fall in love with its history. This produces the picture of for instance an American diving into Japan and losing themselves, a Brit falling in love with Egypt and the Pharos or a Balkan scholar spending his life studying the Inca.   

I like Europe. In particular as my language skills are rather slim, the UK. I love the intense feeling of people having been living in their cities and towns for a long time.  I've felt that in only one city in North America and that's New York, a city that's been around far longer than my entire country.

Where I'm typing this if you could send me back two hundred years I might be standing in a farmers field. I'd be just as likely to be facing a moose. If you stand in Piccadilly Circus (in London) and go back two hundred years it would still be Piccadilly Circus. Technically it would also smell of horse poo and the people would look like extras in a BBC drama only most of them would be a lot dirtier and the cast would probably be more culturally mixed.

Toronto has made an effort to save at least some of its past. 

This is called the flatiron building. It was built in the early days of the city; before the city planners stepped in and said streets need to be in a grid so you could find places. Its shaped like a triangle with a very nice park in behind. 

This is one of the cities first school houses. I can't remember when it was built but they had to heat it with a wood stove.

This is from a historical home that has been preserved. Its on the northern edge of the city. I sometimes daydream of being the lady of the house and having my friends over for tea. 

Then I remember I like voting and having a say in my future and being able to express opinions on things without a man deciding I'm mentally incompetent for holding a different opinion than his and having me committed to a mental institution just on his say so. 

The past, any past, is a great place to visit. I'm smart enough to not want to live there.