Walking tours
I love exploring cities. I love walking & learning about our shared histories through buildings and streets and people. So I love giving walking tours. My tours are discussions about particular neighbourhoods, and right now I'm focusing on a few areas of Toronto, including Beaconsfield Village and Union Station.
Right now, no Toronto walks are currently scheduled, because I'm madly rehearsing for some story-telling performances of "Rats of Las Vegas". Check back here at the end of the summer for walk updates, and visit the Calendar page to get exact performance times. Thanks for reading!
Meanwhile, Toronto people, for an entertaining diversion, check out this blog about terrible "improvements" made to Toronto Bay & Gable houses!
On Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010, I led my "Secrets & Lies: Beaconsfield Village" tour, wherein I weave a tall tale of Napoleon's Illegitimate Daughter, to explore the very real history of this neighbourhood. Come out to talk about Captain John Denison's obsessive gardening, learn about the 1890s debut of the Toronto Girl Problem, and find out why the now-demolished Parkdale Train Station was such a fascinating landmark...meet me at 1:30pm on April 4th, on the sidewalk in front of the fabulous Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West. The walk costs $5 per person.
The walk on April 4th will last approximately 90 minutes and will include historical photographs of the 'hood. Please wear comfortable shoes...we'll walk rain or shine!
On March 7, 2010, I led an unusual walk called "Blind Pigs & Card Sharks - the seedy side of Toronto from the 1920s through the 1940s." The walk started at Union Station and will be happening again in early June, so stay tuned. In June, I'll be talking about Toronto's legacy of gangsters, bootleggers, and cardsharks...the underworld that helped to inspire my new novel, Rats of Las Vegas.
Imagine arriving at Union Station in the 1930s...what did the city look like...smell like...feel like? And who knew Etobicoke was the place to be on the horse racing wire in the 1930s? How did the city sound when the Leafs actually won their first Stanley Cup? How did Toronto look during the dark days of the Depression?
I've also led a lot of walking tours in Paris, France. I especially enjoy its rich architectural history and the amazing cultural legacy of artists in Paris, from Dante to Mme de Stael to Ernest Hemingway.
If you're curious about walking tours in Paris or in Toronto, drop me a line: pasoldla (at) gmail (dot) com