2.6 C
Niagara Falls
Friday, March 29, 2024
Warm friendship fights freezing weather

The streets of Old Town were cold and lonely on Tuesday, but at a patio on King Street one warm pocket of friendship was ablaze.

Outside Balzac Coffee Roasters, Jean Stewart and Magdalena Titian were dressed in full winter regalia enjoying a hot cup of coffee as temperatures reached -15C.

“We are trying to beat it,” Stewart said.

Old Town was a ghost town on Tuesday as COVID-19 restrictions kept indoor dining closed and freezing temperatures drove away the usual crowds.

Dogs were as bundled up as their owners, both trying to stave off the deep chill of winter.

But such things hardly mattered to the hardy pair sipping their coffee.

“Life goes on and we are going to enjoy every day,” Titian said.

Stewart said just because restaurants are closed and the air is cold doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy the Old Town atmosphere.

“This town is as pretty in the winter as it is in the summer,” she said. “You just have to embrace it.”

The duo hadn’t set out to sit outside in the cold. “We just like walking,” Stewart said.

“We walk whenever we can,” added Titian.

“I’m the one who wanted the coffee. My fingers were cold,” Stewart said.

Titian said the chill isn’t so bad if you are prepared.

“We’re well-dressed. I’ve got everything I own on,” she said with a laugh.

Titian shares her last name with famous renaissance painter Titian Vecelli.

And I’m a painter as well,” she said.

Around the corner, Robert and Carolyn Montgomery were out for a stroll with their dog Henri.

“It’s pretty cold right now,” Carolyn said while Henri, unperturbed by the chill, chewed on a choice stick.

“He loves sticks.”

Robert said he usually takes Henri for a walk along the shore of Lake Ontario every morning. But not in this weather.

“Yesterday was hell,” he said.

Subscribe to our mailing list