Day Trip 2021: Paris, Ontario

Since the COVID 19 pandemic has made it undesirable and inconvenient for us to travel abroad, we have been scratching our “vacation itch” by touring around Ontario. One place that we have wanted to visit for a while now is Paris, Ontario, which has been named as one of the prettiest towns in the province.  Nestled between the Grand River and Nith River, it has scenic views, green spaces and hiking trails along the rivers, a historic downtown area, interesting shops and eateries, and a unique collection of buildings with cobblestone facades.  We were excited to take this road trip, if only to be able to quote the movie Casablanca in saying “Even in a pandemic, we’ll always have Paris!”

One of the areas with the nicest views is Penman’s Dam, built in 1918 by the Penman’s Ltd. Clothing Company to provide water power to run the turbines in their mills.  From there, you can see the pretty waterfall created by the dam, and spot the outline of the downtown buildings across the water including the turret of the Arlington Hotel and the steeple of the Paris Baptist Church.  At night, Penman’s Dam is lit up with coloured lights that can be viewed from the William Street Bridge that spans the Grand River, leading from the dam to the Historic Downtown area. We did not stay overnight in the Paris on this visit, but would like to check this out in the future.

There are several riverside restaurants (2 Rivers, Stillwaters) with raised patios in the back that overlook the Grand River, providing stunning views.  This would be such a pleasant experience during a warm sunny day.  Unfortunately, we were there on a grey, chilly day so sitting on one of these patios will also need to wait for another visit.  There had been two days of torrential rainstorms prior to this outing.  As a result, the river was raging and flowing at an unusually fast pace. We encountered a canoeist who was carrying his canoe back to his car and complimented him on his fortitude in braving these rough currents.  He sheepishly told us that he and his friend had parked a car on each end of the river and only planned on paddling (or letting the currents push them) downstream.  Sadly, he had left his keys locked in the car parked upstream!

We had left Toronto early in the morning and were ready for breakfast when we reached downtown Paris.  During our trip research, Rich had found Dog-Eared Café, a hipster coffee shop/bookstore on the main drag.  This was the first time when we were required to show our proof of vaccination and photo ID before entering an eatery.  I was ready with a scanned version of both these documents on my phone.  When I showed my phone to the barista, he quipped that this was a beautiful sunset that I was showing him, but not what he was looking for.  It turned out my finger had slipped and I accidently scrolled to a different image than my 2nd dose vaccination receipt!  After showing our proper credentials, Rich and I ordered breakfast croissants and mochaccinos and took a prime seat on a pair of red Victorian-styled chaise lounges with a great view of the Grand River.  The café was decorated with paintings and drawings from various iconic horror films including Frankenstein and his bride, Nostradamus, Alex from Clockwork Orange, and the clown from It.  On a chalkboard outside the café were the various definitions of “dog-eared” as an adjective and as a verb.

Wandering around downtown Paris, we admired various historical sights including the lovely Arlington Hotel, built in the1850s and originally called the Bradford House.  With its unique turret that extends into the skyline that can be seen from Penman’s Dam, the Arlington Hotel was the site of the farewell gathering in 1940s before the first set of troops from Paris departed to fight overseas in World War II.  There is a small plaque on Grand River St. commemorating the locale where Alexander Graham Bell received his first successful long-distance telephone call from Brantford, Ontario on August 10, 1876.   A large mural covering the entire wall of a building highlights Hiram Capron, touted as “Founder of Paris” since in 1849, he purchased, settled on and developed large plots of land between the two rivers.  Finally the Paris town bell, which was commissioned in 1874 to hang on the Paris Town Hall, now sits on a memorial cairn at the corner of William St. and Broadway St. W.  The first bell ringer was paid $100 a year and rang the bell 3 times per day and also as an alarm to summon volunteer fire fighters in case of fire.

Continuing our historic tour of Paris, we sought out some beautiful old buildings and churches by following this self-guided walking tour.  We admired the marquetry patterns achieved by interlacing different coloured bricks on the facades of the Paris Public Library and the Paris Baptist Church, which also had intricate tiled designs on its spire and rooftop.  My favourite church was the Paris Presbyterian Church with its twin turrets and rose window. It was too bad that the back of the church was covered with scaffolding, hiding what looked like two tall chimneys.  We also found the old Paris Town Hall (where the bell was originally located), built in 1854 surprisingly in a style that resembled a church.  Later the building become the Wheeler Needle Works factory, whose sign you can still see faintly above the front door.

There were many good shopping and browsing opportunities on the main streets of Paris.  We bought some chocolate peanut butter cups and caramel/pecan “tortoises” (so as not to infringe upon Nestle’s Turtles brand) from Chocolate Sensations.  At Paris Thrift Shoppe, I found a sparkly top for $5 that I now need an invitation to a New Year’s Eve or Disco party for so that I have a chance to wear it.  At Jiggs and Reel Seafood Market, which seems to stock items from Newfoundland including chocolate style “fish n’ chips” (pieces of milk chocolate shaped like capelin fish, swimming in kettle-cooked sea salt potato chips which are also drizzled in chocolate), Gros Morne Coffee, Screech flavoured Coffee and more.  We bought some seafood chowder as well as some frozen cod cheeks and cod tongues to bring home and try,  We were told to lightly fry the cheeks like scallops, but to coat the tongues with breading and fry them thoroughly or else they would be gelatinous.  At the front of the store is a plaque full of Newfie sayings including “Stay where you’re at ‘til I comes where you’re to”.  Scattered around the main streets are metal red benches with various designs on them.. I liked the one positioned in front of the Ice Cream store with cutout ice cream cones as the backing.

Our final shopping destination was a food and market hall housed in the historic building originally owned by the Paris Wincey Mills Company, whose name is still emblazoned on the façade.  Built in 1889, Wincey Mills manufactured clothing including socks, underwear, and Canadian military uniforms.  Wincey is actually the name for a British fabric with a plain or twill weave made from cotton or wool.  Once this mill closed, the building exchanged hands several times including a spell as a Canadian Tire store and automotive centre.  Now there is a cake shop, flower shop, beer store, and food stalls selling artisan breads, gelato, perogies, popcorn, cheese and more.  At the Link Street Sausage House, we were tempted by the offer of 5 breaded pork schnitzels for $10 and butter chicken sausage.  Unfortunately when we returned at the end of the day, the butter chicken sausages were sold out, but we did get the schnitzels as well as some Buffalo Wing, Jalapeno and Cheddar, and Feta and Spinach sausages.   We spent much time browsing through the cool knickknacks in the Bird & Bee Vintage Store, where I bought a necklace which is a tiny clock on a chain.

Paris, Ontario is known for its Cobblestone Buildings whose façades are lined with horizontal rows of small, round, smooth, similarly sized glacial-deposited river stones set into mortar.  There are twelve cobblestone structures within Paris, making it the most structures of this type of architectural design in Canada.  They were mostly built between 1839-1860s by master stone mason Levi Boughton, whose own home can still be found on 19 Queen St.

We took a quick tour of some of the cobblestone buildings around the downtown area, three of which stood out from the rest. The Sowden House (7 Burwell St.) is shaped like a rounded flat iron building with decorative pendants hanging from under the eaves.  This was the home of Dr. Samuel Sowden who dispensed medicines from within the building.  St. James Anglican Church (8 Burwell St.) is designed in the Classical Gothic Revival style for the windows and door and was the first commission for Levi Boughton.  Mitchell House (16 Broadway W.) was built in Greek Revival style with fluted Doric columns at the entry way and a wrought iron widow’s walk at the top of the house. The houses and church are all gorgeous in their own right, but made all the more special when you can walk up close to see the patterns made by the rows smooth round stones.

Our initial plan for the afternoon in Paris was to walk the Distillery Lane Trail and then the Nith Trail as they followed north along the west shore of the Nith River.  Unfortunately when we got to the start of the Distillery Lane Trail, we found that it had closed for construction just a few days earlier.  Luckily we found a detour that took us to the start of the Nith Trail, which began at Lions Park, a pretty green space with multiple playgrounds, a community pool, splash pad and baseball diamond with a nearby sculpture of a giant baseball.  Continuing along the Nith Trail, we found various activities to entertain hikers (especially those accompanied by children or the young at heart) including a table with a painted checkers board on top, bongo drums and a xylophone to make sounds with, a giant bug sculpture on and mushroom seats to sit on.  Yes, I admit I did all these things :)

Once we passed through the green space portion of the Nith Trail, it grew more rugged and forest-like until we reached Penman’s Pass where a bridge would allow us to cross back to the East side of the Nith River and back towards the main streets.  At Penman’s Pass, we learned more about the John Penman who founded the clothing company that became the most dominant knitwear manufacturer in Canada.  Known for his generosity, he built the Paris Presbyterian Church (my favourite with the turrets) and also financed the YMCA and community Centre as well as contributed to the cost of building the new central school.

Part of the reason for visiting Paris, Ontario was to check out the nearby 18.6km Paris to Cambridge Rail Trail that followed old railway tracks that used to run between the two locations.  We were scouting it out to see if it would be suitable for a biking excursion next year.  I am a bit of a diva when it comes to cycling conditions since I like surfaces that are relatively flat and without larger or loosely packed gravel that might make my tires skid if I hit a small stone.  I deemed the path to be acceptable and would add it to our list of possible bike trips for next season.  We started at Glen Morris, the midway entry point to the trail and hiked about 2km to the ruins of the German’s Woollen Mill in Brant, another defunct clothing mill run by the German family, early settlers to the area.  While the ruins looked interesting, we could barely see them due to the trees and foliage blocking the way.

After spending most of the day in Paris, Ontario, we decided to find somewhere to eat dinner rather than trying to drive back to Toronto in rush hour.  When we were heading towards Paris in the morning, I had spotted a cool looking building with a sign for the “Olde School Restaurant”.  We called and were able to make reservations for an early seating.  I mostly wanted to go there so that I could take photos of the exterior, but when we walked into the restaurant, we were blown away by the interior décor.  We were led into a room with a pressed tin ceiling, stained glass windows depicting school-related scenes, and high back chairs with intricate wood carvings.  As indicated by the name of the restaurant (and the “Teachers” door on the side of the building), the restaurant was originally a schoolhouse dating back to the 1870s when it was known as the Moyle School.

We saw more signs of this in terms of old school desks and chairs displayed up high as decor and photos of the original one room school house as well as other memorabilia from the old school days.  There was also a photograph of the last school teacher as well as some former class photos.  Leading down to the washroom were more paintings of teachers and school children, possibly drawn by former students.  The Moyle School closed in 1964.

The food was fun and reminiscent of an old 70’s steakhouse. Prior to our order, we were served fresh, warm bread that came with an artichoke spread which was so delicious that we had seconds.  We ordered the “Touch of Each” Chef’s dinner special which started with the “Dean Martin Shrimp Cocktail”, consisting of 5 large shrimp hooked to a martini glass with a bed of shredded lettuce and shrimp cocktail in the middle.  Next we were given a small plate of lemon sorbet as a palette cleanser.  Then came our main course of medallions of veal in a peppercorn sauce, served with a good-sized lobster tail.  The candle-lit butter warmer for the lobster was a nice touch.  Finally our set meal came with a choice of either gelato or buttercream cake with raspberry sauce for dessert—all for the price of $49.95!

During the meal, we were serenaded by a live pianist and singer who crooned old jazz tunes and show tunes including Crazy by Patsy Cline, Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from the musical Evita and Memories from the musical Cats.  We learned that Queen Elizabeth II had visited at this restaurant back in June 1997, in the same room where we currently sat.  There was a photograph of her visit as well as a commemorative painting hung on the wall over the table where she dined.  They were so proud of this fact that there was note boasting about it on our printed bill.  After we paid, we were handed a “report card” that we could use to grade our food and service.  I kept it instead as a souvenir, but had I filled in the survey, I would have given passing marks in all categories.  This was a fabulous experience and a great way to end our day trip.

We definitely want to return to Paris when the weather is nicer.  I would like to stay overnight in the Arlington Hotel, preferably in the cool turret but also in any one of their fun themed rooms that include Dr. Seuss, Stan Lee, Stanley Kubrick, Monty Python, Lewis Carroll, Agatha Christie, Leonard Cohen, Ernest Hemingway, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and more!  By staying overnight, it means we would be able see the Penman’s Dam all lit up in multi-colours.  And hopefully on a bright warm sunny day, we could sit on the one of the restaurant terraces overlooking the Grand River and enjoy the view.