Today was a the day off before rehearsals began. I had some errands to do: groceries and find an umbrella. Groceries done, umbrella not found but found one by loan through my fabulous billet Lesley.
So with errands as the excuse, with curiosity in my mind and a desire to explore I headed out for a long walk through London. I am short jaunt from downtown and the houses in this area are stunning. Old, historic, Victorian looking places, that remind me of a time long lost. Truly a beautiful place. I marvelled how I could not hear the cars on the major roads nearby. The city has a freshness to it that I am not use to. A peacefulness that invites me and I love it.
I worked my way into the downtown core, to find the theatre and do some exploring (hopefully find an umbrella, with a week of rain forecasted). What a change. The boarded up stores, heavy layer of street life, students from the colleges, and a smattering of business folk completely beguile the serenity of the walk I left behind. It was almost hard to believe that it was the same city. And yet, this contrast makes the city all the more inviting.
To know that there is such a breadth of change in such a few streets brings intrigue and interest. Contrast to spice things up. I continued my exploration and by end of day I had come to St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica. This European structure took me back to my stay in London England. The beauty of it took my breath away. Stained glass, hard wood, and the brass on the huge pipe organ in the choir loft, wow. I stepped outside to experience a different edge of downtown. An area not so inhabited by the riff raff of the central core. A more inviting atmosphere flanked by the large Victoria Park.
A park which was originally a Garrison Reserve during the early 1800's. It appears the military had a great presence here for a long time with the war of 1812 and the threat from American Civil unrest. This old garrison area is now a gorgeous park. The day was wearing to a close and my tired feet were asking for a rest so I began the jaunt home
One last occurrence; I ran into the director of the show, Susan Ferley. A wonderful little coincidence. We spoke briefly, she told me how she was working out the details for cooking on the stage in her head, welcomed me to London and our rehearsal process which begins tomorrow. A wonderful way to cap off the day. I am meant to be here right now.
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