Day 13: Opening Doors
I was super excited for today. We finally got a day off! After working for days and days the past week and presenting our results yesterday, it’s wonderful to just take a long rest. However, I didn’t want to spend the whole day in my room resting. This was our last full day in Toronto to go out and explore, how can I make it fulfilling? Oh, right…Doors Open Toronto is today! If any of you here are unsure of what exactly Doors Open is, it’s an annual event where Toronto decides to open buildings or areas that are usually closed off. They encourage people to participate as it lets people get a glimpse of the architecture, culture, and the historic significance of Toronto as a whole. Doors Open was a perfect event for a potential adventure. I proceeded to grab my laptop and notebook and did some research.
30 minutes go by, and I now have a list of places that others said were worth visiting or places that I thought were genuinely interesting. Honestly it was super fun to do the research, as I was able to learn about places I wouldn’t usually be interested about. After showing off my list to others, we decided to go to two places: Osgoode Hall and the Design Exchange. And so, our adventure begins!
The front courtyard of Osgoode was absolutely gorgeous. There was a lot of shrubbery and flowers that were blooming in the warm sun. There were benches tactically placed under the shades of trees. I would’ve totally stayed and taken a nap or read a book if I didn’t need to go to other places.
However, the inside was even more stunning. We saw enormous paintings of queens and chancellors, tall stone pillars, and stained glass ceilings. However, I’d have to say the most interesting at that place was the courtrooms. I’ve actually never been to a courtroom, so seeing it in real life was amazing. It was significantly taller than I thought, but it was also smaller too. There were only around four rows of seats, fitting about four to five people. Interestingly, every row had a different level of furnishing and cushioning. As you got closer and closer to the front of the court, the seats were more luxurious. The front row had great cushions and golden outlined desks. On the other hand, the back row had no cushioning for the hard wooden chairs, and the desks were creaky and old. It makes sense why they may have designed it this way, as those with more experience tend to be more active in cases, allowing them to sit more in the front, and giving them amenities because of their seniority. Overall, the architecture of the building was beautiful, and it was a good place to visit for Doors Open Toronto.
Afterwards, we headed to our next destination: The Design Exchange. I was super excited going there since it was a non-profit museum that focused on design. They displayed exhibits on the evolution of radios, oddly designed chairs, and 3D printing. Not only that, they allowed visitors that day to do a screen print for free. I’d have to admit that the actual design of the print was super weird, but I did enjoy the overall process of printing it. It was so simple and super quick, but it was great getting some hands-on experience. I’m not entirely sure where to put my prints, but I’ll figure something out.
Overall, I felt like I had a pretty decent day learning and exploring Toronto. I’m happy we had the opportunity to participate events that aren’t usually available. I wished we got more time to visit other places, such as the Palace of Purification, but maybe I’ll get a chance sometime in the future! I’ll see you guys later.
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