These last several weeks I have taken to the cafe's of Peterborough with an interest I usually reserve for books and comfy chairs of warm breezes. I am by far one of the staunchest supporters of this city. It's got big city appeal and small town charm. We've grown slowly and steadily without the aid of major highways or factory employment. In April I moved into the heart of downtown Peterborough and haven't looked back since.
Personally, I live on Hunter St. West, though the specification of East vs. West isn't necessitated by the length of the street so much as the historical Hunter Street bridge, towering over the Ottonabee River. This neighbourhood and part of downtown has recently been revived as the gourmet and bohemian district of Peterborough, fed by the eclectic stores as much as the youthful presences of both Trent University students and Sir Sanford Flemi
ng College students. When Eaton's suffered and left the downtown core, the historical downtown suffered as urban sprawl and strip mall society threatened to overtake the city.
But I lucked out with a small bachelor apartment on Hunter. By block alone is an eclectic array of establishments and anti-establishments. From gourmet thin-crust wood-oven pizza at 'The Night Kitchen" to a Import bead Boutique. Karma's Cafe for Mongolian or Tibetan food to a Graphic Design Firm. There is a traditional Jerk Shack (Island Cream), and several gourmet restaurants (Gertis', Cervantes’s, Parkhill on Hunter, La Hacienda, and Taste of Europe). We have alternative pubs (The Rusty Snail, and the only) as well as Clancy's and The Red Dog, 2 of the oldest traditional pubs in the region.
There are still more cool places, all within a 2 minute stroll to the left or right of my front door! There' s The Gordon Best Theatre, Black Honey and there amazing organic fresh deserts and pastries, a lawyers office, 2 banks, and an independent toy store. I'm still leaving out the boutique spa, yoga studio, catering company, the barbershop I live above, the African specialty salon, holistic perfumery and the appliance store, satellite radio outlet, convenience store and a Running-Club. I'm really amazing just tallying it all up. This is Hunter St. between George and Aylmer Sts. There are a few I have forgotten and there is actually 2 storefronts that are closed because the landlords are renovating them while they are up for lease. Don't even get me started on what you can find within a 2 block radius of me! Needless to say, I love my apartment and I love my neighbourhood.
This random tangent aside, I was talking about cafe's. I get my organic tea or juice fix and 6 establishments within a block of my apartment. None of which are a Timmy's or a Starbucks. There is the emo/indie youth oriented cafe "The Spill", general public place "Haasleton's", gourmet roasting house "Dreams of Beans" where the fabled Desiree works. Plus catering company and cafe "A Moveable Feast", the afore mentioned "Black Honey" across the street from me, and the newly opened "Natas" where my friends Dahn and Meagh prepare quality, high-end espresso. There are more places, but for me, to be a true cafe destination you have to have an espresso machine and offer more than 4 kinds of tea. Otherwise you don't qualify. Sorry, in some ways even I am prejudice.
When the farmer's market is downtown, Dreams is roasting, and the Quaker plant is doing there thing, downtown Peterborough smells like Sunday breakfast as the church bells ring out each service from all corners of the oldest parts of town. I can hardly explain to you the joys I feel sitting in a cafe, reading the paper, writing in my moleskine, or here on my laptop as people come and go around me. So many walks of life, variances in ages, but everyone has there story, and sometimes I get pulled in...
Okay, I am now resigning myself to the fact that this post is descending into incoherency. Sometimes I just get so amped up about my town, my friends, and my life that I can’t quite articulate the way that I feel. I think that what I’m basically trying to convey is that, if you haven’t already figured out, I am a social being. I thrive on stimuli. From growing up in the established, old suburban neighbourhoods or this city, to moving to the country 20mins outside of it, to living in the pre-war south-end and back to the north-end of town, I have finally found my place. It’s here, where the action is. I have a fantastic apartment in a fantastic area. There are countless shows to go to, parks to play in, stores to explore and galleries to browse. I live in a neighbourhood that is my age, that shares my values, and that is constantly challenging me to challenge it. What more can I ask for?
