Gabi On The Go: From Bieber to Shakespeare to St. Mary's

We took the morning to explore a different part of town: Downie Street, where the City Hall and the Stratford Tourism Office are.

The girls want to make sure you all know they are NOT Justin Bieber's fans, but they are certainly super excited to do his tour and see places where the big star spent his childhood. We started with his sidewalk star, just outside the Avon Theatre.

The self guided Justin Bieber tour organized by the Tourism Information Office is short and sweet. You can download the map online or buy it for $1 at the Tourism Information Office. It shows places the singer used to get his breakfast, his school, and after school hangouts like the YMCA and the skate park.

It was fun for the girls to imagine him as little boy growing up here, playing basketball and being a normal kids... like them.

From Bieber back to Shakespeare.

The Shakespearean Gardens is a must visit place in Stratford.

It's a small but a pretty spot right downtown that transports you to gardens back in England and make you feel really peaceful.

There he is again: William Shakespeare.

Sofia enjoyed the sprinklers cooling her down.

Julia and I sat at the gazebo thinking of Romeo and Juliet.

Sofia reads "Captain Underpants" at the Shakespearean Gardens.

Not a romantic reading, but I am happy she got inspired to read there.

ST. MARY'S, ONTARIO

After lunch we headed with Mike to St. Mary's, a small tow, 20 minutes away from Stratford.

It's a super cute town too.

St. Mary's City hall.

FROM: https://www.townofstmarys.com/en/index.aspx

The Town of St. Marys is located at the junction of the Thames River and Trout Creek, southwest of Stratford in southwestern Ontario. Rich in natural resources, namely the Thames River, the land that now makes up St. Marys was traditionally used as hunting grounds by First Nations peoples. European settlers arrived in the early 1840s.

The Town is known by its nickname, "The Stonetown," due to the abundance of limestone in the surrounding area, giving rise to a large number of limestone buildings and homes throughout the town. In the riverbed and along the banks, limestone was close to the surface and could be quarried for building materials. Many 19th century limestone structures have survived including churches, a beautiful museum, stunning opera house, commercial blocks, and private homes. St. Marys was incorporated into the province of Ontario, officially, in 1863.

The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in the late 1850's spurred growth and soon St. Marys became a centre for milling, grain-trading and the manufacture of agriculture-related products. The railway connected the Town to the rest of the world and framed the local landscape with its two large trestle bridges on limestone pillars across the waterways.

A walk through the historic streets of St. Marys offers a first-hand look at the unique stunning limestone architecture and vibrant downtown core. The community's rich history is preserved and promoted by the St. Marys Museum & Archives who continue to tell the stories of the town through its exhibitions, special events and programs.

St. Marys is home to not only 7,265 residents, but the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and is the burial place of Arthur Meighen, Canada's 9th Prime Minister, Timothy Eaton who went on to become one of Canada's greatest retailers, who opened his first businesses in Canada in St. Marys and nearby Kirkton, Ontario.

The town's present identity is very much shaped by its relationship to the natural wonder of the land, the spirit of its residents, and unique limestone architecture.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

The town is also known by its nickname, "The Stone Town", due to the abundance of limestone in the surrounding area, giving rise to numerous limestone buildings and homes throughout the town. St. Marys Cement, a large cement producer founded in the town, capitalized on this close feed stock, and grew to be a major producer of cement in the province of Ontario.

St. Mary's has a bunch of fantastic trails around the town.

I highly recommend biking here, but we did a short part of one of the trails walking.

It's so pretty!

FROM: https://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/index.php?url=trails/view/riverview-walkway-trail

A scenic 1.5 kilometre walk along the eastern bank of the Thames River. Have a nice leisurely walk along the river, rest on a park bench and enjoy the view of Victoria Bridge, the dam (Little Falls), or the wildlife along the riverbanks. McGiveron Parkway, overlooking the dam, is a quiet retreat on the edge of the downtown core area.

Take some time this season and enjoy a peaceful walk along the river! The Riverview Walkway extends from south of the tennis courts and famous swimming quarry at the south end of town,along the river to the downtown area. St. Marys is filled with a variety of park areas that offer quiet moments of solitude or hours of activity.

THE QUARRY

Canada's largest outdoor freshwater swimming pool

The quarry was really the reason of this trip. I came across it after an on line research about place to swim in Ontario. It is really impressive in person as it was in pictures.

To swim here you need an online reservation - because of Covid - and it costs $23 per family for a two hour window. After that, they ask everyone to leave and disinfectant the area for the next group.