Exploring Guelph Part 1

Welcome to Guelph!
The population of the actual city of Guelph is 131.794, up from 121,688 in 2011
I think that they need to change the number on their sign.

       When we first arrived in Guelph, Ontario at the end of October 2017, we found a tourist guide for the City of Guelph. It listed 150 (one activity for the 150 years since Canada's confederation) things that you can do in Guelph. Many of them we cannot do because the event dates have passed, we don't use Twitter or we are just not interested. It is obvious that some businesses paid to have their business placed on the list. Don't worry, we have added some of our own ideas of things to do in Guelph. Each week or so we will post 5 of the activities that we have done.

     Enjoy our list and if you ever come to Guelph look up some of these activities and participate:

     1. Catch a flick at The Bookshelf (#8 from the Guelph Tour Guide). We saw Victoria and Abdul. The Bookshelf has a small movie theatre that runs international, cultural or second runs of movies on the second floor. On the first floor is The Bookshelf bookstore. We have enjoyed a few more movies at this location since our first time.

I have always enjoyed Judi Dench from when she played in a TV show: As Time Goes By.
In Victoria and Abdul, she plays Queen Victoria for the second time during a period when people from different
 parts of her empire were treated unfairly and thought of as uneducated people.

     2. Buy a book from The Bookshelf. -- Guelph's oldest bookstore (#54 from the Guelph Tour Guide). I purchased a book on the subject of Guelph.

Showing off my purchase.

     3. Enjoy a meal inspired by Canadian History at Miijidaa Cafe & Bistro (#5 from the Guelph Tour Guide). We not only enjoyed a lovely meal but the atmosphere was unique with country decor and examples of art from local artists. It is a small venue and the one thing that I found uncomfortable was the tight seating arrangement.

An old plow made into a light fixture. Very clever!

     4. Shop your way through Stone Road Mall (#17 from the Guelph Tour Guide). We started at Sears which is now closed where we bought a few items and walked down the Mall stopping at several stores ending at the food court for lunch and tea. We have been there several times since our first walk through. This Mall is close to the University of Guelph and is probably the main place where students can shop and possibly get a job.

Main entrance to the Stone Road Mall. It is a small mall compared to the one we are
familiar with in Newmarket but it is huge compared to any in P.E.I.

     5. Drop into the Evergreen Senior Centre and play a game of euchre (must be a senior. Oh dear I hope I am not giving anything away concerning our ages!) (We added this one to the list). We started playing euchre on Friday afternoons at the Senior Centre. A great group of people. On average, there are 14 tables of 4 playing my favourite card game. The Senior Centre itself is always busy and has a very ambitious schedule to keep people busy and social. They say as you get older you must continue to maintain a social life and this is one place where many take advantage of this. Al also plays table tennis here

I am glad we can enjoy playing cards at least once a week.

     So there are the first 5 activities that we have participated in. Next week, 5 more.