I spent the weekend in the lovely, wonderful city where I did my graduate degrees. I’m sure that when I was living there I probably had my share of grumbles, but I have quite a fond opinion of the city and am rather nostalgic for the time I spent there.

I found some time to stop in at my favourite café and, as usual, the place was buzzing. I love the delicious food and fair trade coffee you can get here, but I think my favourite part about this place is the atmosphere. Snippets of conversations about art, politics, books, and academic life mix with eclectic music, and even though it is often busy there is still a serene quality about the place that makes it a wonderful spot to read, write and think. In the summer when the front doors are wide open, it is a brilliant place from which to watch the world go by.

It was a cold weekend, but I still managed a (very quick!!) visit down to the waterfront to take a few pictures. I think I’ve been along this waterfront trail in just about every weather condition known to Southern Ontario!

When I was writing my comprehensive exams we lived in an apartment just around the corner from where this photo was taken. That summer I would often bring my books down to one of the benches or picnic tables along the water in order to catch a bit of breeze off the lake while I read. However, this weekend, as the winter wind whipped my hair into knots and chilled me to the bone, I found it hard to believe that those humid, lazy summer days I spent reading in this park could have ever existed!