Covid Vacation: Stratford, Ontario

Covid -19 forced us to cancel our already booked trip to California back in March. It was upsetting at the time and we still don't know when we'll get on a plane to go to places.

 Therefore, we had to be creative and look closer for vacation ideas. That's when Stratford was caught by our travelling radar. This small town is  probably most famous for being Justin Bieber's hometown, but is also known for hosting Canada's most famous theatre festival. 

Our vacation is here, only two hours away from Toronto, but feeling like we are having a proper get away!

We booked this charming airbnb, right on the Main Street - Ontario Street - for five nights. 

I was impressed about how clean and organized the place is. 

They also had a complementary box of masks and hand sanitizer available. 

It's an one room apartment, but it can sleep up to five people. It's extremely comfortable. 

After getting settled and getting some groceries for breakfast, we headed out to explore the Main Street downtown. Ontario Street is a short strip with restaurants, boutiques and art stores. 

From Wikipedia:

Stratford is a city on the Avon River within Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2016 population of 31,465 in a land area of 28.28 square kilometres. Stratford is the seat of Perth County which was settled by English, Irish, Scottish and German immigrants, in almost equal numbers, starting in the 1820s but primarily in the 1830s and 1840s. Most became farmers, and even today, the area around Stratford is known for mixed farming, dairying and hog production.

The land on which the area exists is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg people. When the area which is now Stratford was first settled in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Stratford was incorporated as a town in 1859 and as a city in 1886. The first mayor was John Corry Wilson Daly and the current mayor is Dan Mathieson. The swan has become a symbol of the city. Each year twenty-four white swans are released into the Avon River. 

The town is well known for being the home of the Stratford Festival previously known as the Stratford Shakespeare Festival; while Shakespeare's plays are still produced, theatre in a wide range of genres is offered each year, from May to October.

Pizzeria Pazzo - on Ontario Street - was our pick of the day for dinner, suggested by our friend and neighbour Erosia, back in Toronto. 

Hanging out at the park across the street while the food was getting prepared.

We sat outside because of the Covid. 

The restaurant put tables in the alley behind the building, and it was quite a pleasant atmosphere. 

It felt like being in the alleys in Italy.

Dinner - pizza, arugula sala and mussels - was delicious!

This interesting old building is in the back of the alley. 

I love the "mother-in-law" type of door on the top left. We learned about that on our trip to Newfoundland years ago - from our lovely friend Blanche. It's quiet a funny name!

Let's see what this town will have to offer us over the next five days.