I love walking to work with my teeny tiny ipod. I plug in and stroll along. At Johnnie's my route takes me through Little Italy, then down to Kensington and along side China Town. It's a lovely walk. Quiet streets budding with beautiful trees. Even Kensington and Chinatown are asleep in the early morning. A few stray garbage bins, store keepers watering the side walk, gangs of pigeons and early morning runners. On a good day I'll spot some cats.This morning I walked along King St. From Beattie to Spadina, I experienced a much different walk. It was stinky. There was lots of undesirable characters. A lot of noisy traffic and a lot of pigeons (especially under the bridge). I thought there would be sections of calm and green, but the smell from the hog plant ruined the views. My walk was brisker. My day dreaming was at an all time low. All in all, it sucked. No wonder I take the streetcar from home (old home - Elm Grove).
Sure Little Italy is way different than King St, but I had hoped that on this gorgeous spring day the characters of Parkdale would be on their best. I was wrong. I got honked at twice. A car pumping terrible music slowly pulled up along side me and a man scratched his privates while looking my way. Charming. I did see a bunch of cats and a few cheery squirrels. So it wasn't all bad.