By Mercy Maliglig
After dealing with some health issues, on my last article I said “Back on the Road Again”. At least that’s what I thought until my cardiologist got a hold of me June 27, 2 days before my birthday celebration, a special day my kids had meticulously put together.
With my luck, after the ECG, the doctor decided to keep me in the hospital overnight for stress test the following day. The one test that I had rejected strongly from the day he first suggested it.
One of my best friends years ago died while doing her stress test. Like before, I used every excuse in the world to get out of it but Dr.Balmain stood his ground, didn’t leave me a choice this time.
For assurance that nothing will happen he promised to be present during the test and true to his word, he was there early the following morning. I passed the test and was sent home June 28 the day before the celebration. If the test turned out positive, he would have sent me for angiogram and on June 29, a hundred people will be at the party without the celebrant. I say, that was a close call.
The experience made me realize my own mortality and that I can never travel anymore like I use to. I would fly to Paris 3 to 4 times a year, leaving on a Sunday, coming back on a Wednesday and no one would even know. I just adore the genuine antiquity of Paris in contrast to the modernistic world that we live in. I love the crowd that never fades day or night and the fact that people mind their own business. The feeling of being in a safe place could be a feeling of false security. Nowadays, no place in the world is perfectly safe anymore.
In Paris, I had never experience any untoward incidence in all the time that I was there. Even in the middle of the night, if I wanted to see the light illumination of the Eiffel Tower, I can hop on the bus and nobody would even care since they are all doing the same thing, savoring the experience of being in Paris. There’s just so much life in this place. No space is wasted in the city, Street Cafes are on the front, on the side, in the back of buildings, and there are no backyards, just perfect for a city person like me.
My current health issues prompted me to write about Casa Loma, a gorgeous castle perched on the hill above Davenport and Spadina Street in Toronto. No travelling necessary, it is a couple of blocks away from where I live. My love for flowers and colors would keep me feasting my eyes for hours on the 25 acres of flower garden surrounding the castle.
The castle is a Gothic Revival house with 98 rooms. The original owner, Sir Henry Pellat, a pre-war Canadian financier, built the house in 3 years in 1911 with a crew of 300. Unfortunately, World War 1 broke and the finishing touches were interrupted. With 98 rooms, it was the largest private home in Canada constructed with unimaginable luxuries that any man with money can think of. Underground stables, elevator, washroom faucets made of gold, secret passages, vertical passages for pipe organs, sunroom and all kinds of amenities that one can only appreciate if seen in person.
During the depression, the city of Toronto increased the $600 annual taxes to $1,000 dollars monthly. Sir Henry, an extremely luxurious man, overestimated his wealth, this time he realized he is running out of money and decided to auction off art collections and furnishings to the tune of $6.5 million. With the kind of lifestyle he was accustomed to, the $6.5 million dollars lasted him another ten years to enjoy his castle. Towards the end, the city of Toronto seized the property for unpaid taxes at the amount of $27,303.
Kiwanis Club of Toronto negotiated to lease the Casa Loma. In May of 2011. The city of Toronto reached a financial settlement with the Kiwanis Club making the City of Toronto in complete control of the castle.
Now, Casa Loma is one of Toronto’s most popular tourist attractions. *****