Do all the things on your bucket list that you have energy for, but top it all off with a late afternoon cruise on the three masted Kajama.
I took a cab about noon time to the new City Hall where I did see the Ai Weiwei zodiac. Then made my way to the Hudson Bay Company store where I had lunch in the Lower Level. There is an amazing array of food and all high quality-no Burger King food court here. I had two salmon and chopped fennel slaw tacos and a side slaw of diakon, carrot and occasional raisin and vinegary red onion soaked soft. I washed it down with a lemon green tea. I walked around the store a bit and was tempted by some socks, but they would actually have been quite hot most of the time, so I passed on them. Better that they warm some North Country legs this winter.
I did a bit of walking down to King street and eventually wandered into St James Church. We had heard about this church many times from riding the Ho Ho, so it's C of E interior was not a surprise, but there happened to be an organ concert and I was able to catch the last 10 minutes. Very nice way to rest my legs and much more inspiring than just the decor. I was puzzled at why there would be a pew 106 and the next pew would be 106 1/2 when all the others were whole numbers. Didn't get to ask the Vicar, though he was standing nearby, as he was engaged in conversation. We do know, from our many rides on the Ho Ho that this church had a pew tax so that the smaller church in Corktown was built for immigrants fleeing the potato famine and it did not require a fee. St James has done away with their fee, but, when the Queen is in town she worships there and the pew fee comes back. At least $400 CAD (one assumes) and higher the closer you sit to her. Though I have never been Catholic, buying indulgences seems more prudent. One wonders if the pew fee goes up if the new Prince goes to church. He could be worth is weight many times over.
Church done I decided to head down King St to take a peek in the household furnishings design shops. I also popped into a chi chi wine shop and asked the manager why I could not find any BC wines in Ontario. He did his best to promote the one red BC wine he had, but said that the government of Canada is the one responsible. That it is a long way to ship the wine. I suggested that New Zealand seemed further and I had been enjoying NZ wines in Canada. He smiled and moved on in conversation. He knew my fave, Joyeau Nobel and agreed that they made excellent wines-that they have the dry climate that makes for good wines. He also pointed out that worse things could happen than going to BC and I had to agree. Sounds like provincial wine battles in Parliament to me.
The chi chi design furniture eluded me. I was particularly intrigued by the Amish Urban, but won't get to see it this trip. I spied the St Lawrence Market and decided to take a look. It was mostly food and goddess knows we need to clean out the refer before we go, but I did want to take a look around. I found a t-shirt for MDT and will try to get a photo for you to see. It involves fishing. Then I found a bag of cheese curds and it is a longstanding thing with us that when we spot them we buy them, so I did in spite of the refer delima. Then I caught a cab back home in time to meet Suz for the sail
Kajama is quite lovely and only costs $20CAD for about 1.5 hrs. We thought that a 4 pm sailing would be about perfect and it was. We have literally thousands of photos to sort through and edit. I sampled a Steam Whistle Pilsner on board and it was quite good. When in Toronto I would suggest having one.
On the way back to the condo a short one block away from the ship's landing, we had to pass the lobster roll stand that I have been oogling for a week, and it didn't take much to convince Susan that we needed to support the local economy and get them. The partners in the condo declined, so Suz and I dined and then helped out with the cheese curd and fruit and assorted Chinese pastries. I also have a bottle of wine that I have almost cleaned up, but it's that oaky chard tasting thing, so the salted cheddar is working with it.
When I finish this blog I have to go pack. It is the saddest thing about the journey. So much to do and so little time. We are covered for the Powerball drawing, so perhaps we will be back soon.
KG
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Dicy Buddies
Good morning blogophiles. I neglected to blog last night though I had a couple of adventures yesterday. One of my travelmates has introduced me to Dice With Buddies which is basically Yhatze. We started out with one game and then she showed me how to start another game and while she was away for a bit I fiished my turns on all of the games we had started and I spied the already been won games and opted for a rematch and before you knew it we had 97 games going. I'm still not sure how it all happened, but there we were last night working our little stylus to the metal trying to finish some of those games.
Yesterday's adventures were, for me and Marcia, the ROM, Royal Ontairo Museum. My Ho Ho pass has expired so we took a cab. Easier and quieter. The featured exhibit was Mesopotamia on loan from the British Museum (you may remember several adventures at the big BM). The artifacts were good, but what caught my attention were the little films telling about the digs and issues of the wars fought in this area. Apparently the French and British were all about the artifacts and the Germans came along and excivated the arcitecture. This brought to mind the museum Cathy and I visited in Berlin that had huge exhibits giving one an idea of the scale of these ancient cities and the skill it took to build them. I still have no idea how Nebakanazer's folks got the water to rise several stories to make waterfalls and to water the hanging gardens.
The other thing that there were plenty of were the clay or stone cylinders used for sealing. Not letters because writing was on wet clay (with stylus-full circle back to iPad) but crates of stuff belonging to important people. The little cylinder told a little story, the meaning of which was probably something like a warning with implications about what might happen to the person who broke the seal. Having dabbled in clay myself I couldn't help but think that some of the seals probably got broken by accident and how unfortunate that would have been.
The last little film I watched reminded us that the Babalonians used a base 6 number system, hence we have 60 minutes in an hour and 12 signs of the zodiac.
Time for lunch. Choices were the noisy cafe or a swank sit down bistro. The ROM lives at one end of the Millionaire Mile, where the sidewalks are paved with granite and the shops are designer. If you plan to shop here choose a sunny day as rain and ice on granite are trecherous. In spite of a forecast of rain, our day was sunny and we made it a short way down the mile to the Bistro and enjoyed a delightful lunch. Apparently we are on a Benedict binge as the thing that appealed to us both was a lobster benedict. Marcia got a bowl of gaspacho as well and it was quite tasty. I opted for the mimosa which was quite good as well. Rather tart.
Back at the museum Marcia went to the second floor to see bones and crystals and minerals and rocks and I went straight for Asia. There were some very fine 11th century Buddhas to look at as well as ancestor paintings. I particularly enjoyed some of the ceramics and have a photo or two.
We came back to the condo for a rest, and I caught up on some dice with my buddie. Suz and Charlotte had a nice stroll through the distillery which has been converted into shops and restaurants. Then took a long walk back to the condo mostly by the lake. Suz got great photos of sailboats on the lake. I'll see if she might share.
Dinner was leftovers, but what great leftovers. Chinese duck with veggies and a bit of pasta. I tried the Ontario Savignon Blanc and was not impressed. There is a little store in our block that sells nothing but Ontario wines and when I told the clerk that I liked the New Zealand Marlborough SB she enthusiastically recommended this Ontario SB. It had an oaky chard taste that was not unplesant but not my light and grapefurity NZ SB. My favorite Canadian wine, Joyeaux Nobel from BC does not seem to be available here. I wonder what is the problem? One might think that Canada would be all about promoting Canada wines whether they were from BC or Niagra. I cannot even get it shipped to the US. Who knows. Must make sense to someone.
My plans for today are modest. I want to see the Ai Weiwei Chinese zodiac statues at the new City Hall. I actually want to see the City Hall as the tourist bus just offers a sideways glimpse. I might drop by the Bay Company Store as well since it is in the neighborhood. Remember the Hudson Bay Company from 5th grade history? Well, it still exists in the form of a huge department store just catty cornered from City Hall-the old one which is next to the new one.
Sadly, tonight will be all about packing and tidying up in preperation for our flight on Wednesday. Over soooooo soon.
KG
Yesterday's adventures were, for me and Marcia, the ROM, Royal Ontairo Museum. My Ho Ho pass has expired so we took a cab. Easier and quieter. The featured exhibit was Mesopotamia on loan from the British Museum (you may remember several adventures at the big BM). The artifacts were good, but what caught my attention were the little films telling about the digs and issues of the wars fought in this area. Apparently the French and British were all about the artifacts and the Germans came along and excivated the arcitecture. This brought to mind the museum Cathy and I visited in Berlin that had huge exhibits giving one an idea of the scale of these ancient cities and the skill it took to build them. I still have no idea how Nebakanazer's folks got the water to rise several stories to make waterfalls and to water the hanging gardens.
The other thing that there were plenty of were the clay or stone cylinders used for sealing. Not letters because writing was on wet clay (with stylus-full circle back to iPad) but crates of stuff belonging to important people. The little cylinder told a little story, the meaning of which was probably something like a warning with implications about what might happen to the person who broke the seal. Having dabbled in clay myself I couldn't help but think that some of the seals probably got broken by accident and how unfortunate that would have been.
The last little film I watched reminded us that the Babalonians used a base 6 number system, hence we have 60 minutes in an hour and 12 signs of the zodiac.
Time for lunch. Choices were the noisy cafe or a swank sit down bistro. The ROM lives at one end of the Millionaire Mile, where the sidewalks are paved with granite and the shops are designer. If you plan to shop here choose a sunny day as rain and ice on granite are trecherous. In spite of a forecast of rain, our day was sunny and we made it a short way down the mile to the Bistro and enjoyed a delightful lunch. Apparently we are on a Benedict binge as the thing that appealed to us both was a lobster benedict. Marcia got a bowl of gaspacho as well and it was quite tasty. I opted for the mimosa which was quite good as well. Rather tart.
Back at the museum Marcia went to the second floor to see bones and crystals and minerals and rocks and I went straight for Asia. There were some very fine 11th century Buddhas to look at as well as ancestor paintings. I particularly enjoyed some of the ceramics and have a photo or two.
We came back to the condo for a rest, and I caught up on some dice with my buddie. Suz and Charlotte had a nice stroll through the distillery which has been converted into shops and restaurants. Then took a long walk back to the condo mostly by the lake. Suz got great photos of sailboats on the lake. I'll see if she might share.
Dinner was leftovers, but what great leftovers. Chinese duck with veggies and a bit of pasta. I tried the Ontario Savignon Blanc and was not impressed. There is a little store in our block that sells nothing but Ontario wines and when I told the clerk that I liked the New Zealand Marlborough SB she enthusiastically recommended this Ontario SB. It had an oaky chard taste that was not unplesant but not my light and grapefurity NZ SB. My favorite Canadian wine, Joyeaux Nobel from BC does not seem to be available here. I wonder what is the problem? One might think that Canada would be all about promoting Canada wines whether they were from BC or Niagra. I cannot even get it shipped to the US. Who knows. Must make sense to someone.
My plans for today are modest. I want to see the Ai Weiwei Chinese zodiac statues at the new City Hall. I actually want to see the City Hall as the tourist bus just offers a sideways glimpse. I might drop by the Bay Company Store as well since it is in the neighborhood. Remember the Hudson Bay Company from 5th grade history? Well, it still exists in the form of a huge department store just catty cornered from City Hall-the old one which is next to the new one.
Sadly, tonight will be all about packing and tidying up in preperation for our flight on Wednesday. Over soooooo soon.
KG
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Ho Ho AGO
It's the Art Gallery of Ontario and Marcia and I toured it today. All of these museums are more than can be done in a day, so we took our time getting up and going this morning, left Suz and Charlotte with the laundry and took the long Ho Ho ride to stop #11. By the time we got there it was past our lunch time considerably, so we stopped at Franks, the nice restaurant next to the museum and had the bennys-eggs benedict on a croissant with a side salad. Very nice. Photo to follow.
Speaking of photos, we are being frugal with the iPhone and not doing data here because it costs quite a bit more, so the iPhotos will make it to the blog when the big girl camera photos do.
What I liked about the AGO was the portraits. In particular the shots front and profile of mostly men in Indochina in the mid 19th century. They were found in a museum of anthropology in Paris. Each photo has the person's name and age. I was struck by how they look older than their age. I can imagine that life might have been hard on them. I have a lovely photo of a portrait of the Queen, g grandmother Queen these days. She has her eyes shut. I imagine she hates the portrait, but...
We missed the Ai Weiwei exhibit which will start 17 August. We also missed a Blue Jay's home game which is really a shame as it would have been three blocks away from us. However, this condo is lovely enough to rent again, so maybe we will catch up with the Jays. I'll have to check on Weiwei's tour to see if he might come to Atlanta.
I'll let Marcia tell you herself about what she saw. We learned a long time ago to go our own ways in a museum and share later. She did have a good time.
We came home to find Charlotte under the weather with stomach troubles. She has had several OTC remedies and is now up, so it looks promising.
The Phillies and the Braves are all tied in in the 12th, so we have a game going. Soon back to bed to rest up for another day.
KG
Speaking of photos, we are being frugal with the iPhone and not doing data here because it costs quite a bit more, so the iPhotos will make it to the blog when the big girl camera photos do.
What I liked about the AGO was the portraits. In particular the shots front and profile of mostly men in Indochina in the mid 19th century. They were found in a museum of anthropology in Paris. Each photo has the person's name and age. I was struck by how they look older than their age. I can imagine that life might have been hard on them. I have a lovely photo of a portrait of the Queen, g grandmother Queen these days. She has her eyes shut. I imagine she hates the portrait, but...
We missed the Ai Weiwei exhibit which will start 17 August. We also missed a Blue Jay's home game which is really a shame as it would have been three blocks away from us. However, this condo is lovely enough to rent again, so maybe we will catch up with the Jays. I'll have to check on Weiwei's tour to see if he might come to Atlanta.
I'll let Marcia tell you herself about what she saw. We learned a long time ago to go our own ways in a museum and share later. She did have a good time.
We came home to find Charlotte under the weather with stomach troubles. She has had several OTC remedies and is now up, so it looks promising.
The Phillies and the Braves are all tied in in the 12th, so we have a game going. Soon back to bed to rest up for another day.
KG
Ho Ho Hos
We all have passes for the Ho Ho bus. All except Marcia who was not feeling well enough to go yesterday. My plan was to do a whole loop without getting off and then have another Dim Sum with Marcia.
The city reminds me of Chicago. Several Art Deco buildings and lots of glass and steel. Like Chicago, fire was a threat and the city burned several times. After that they realized that just because wood was plentiful it might not be the best building material for a city and they passed laws about brick. These days it is all about glass and steel and there is quite a bit of it. And more to come. We are totally blown away by the amount of construction all over town. There is big money floating around. Who knew that three cents on the dollar would promote such growth. Or is it the other way around?
Dim Sum was quite good again. The restaurant has windows all around and the center is three steps higher than the window side tables, so there is really not a bad table in the house. The boats on the lake sail casually by as one picks delicious little treats from the rolling trays. Our landlady tells us that people come from around the world just for this restaurant. She also promises to send us a list of her favorite restaurants.
After lunch I caught the Ho Ho bus again. Susan and Charlotte rode the morning bus with me to their stop, #11-Chinatown, AGO (art museum), Kensington, and the general sites of Spadina St. They had lunch in Chinatown and visited the Ding Dong Bakery before taking a long walk home. I rode the bus again. By the time I got to the AGO myself it was 1.5 hrs before closing and there isn't a two day pass, so I decided to wait till another day-perhaps today. The disadvantage of the Ho Ho is that it is not direct and takes a long time. Sometimes this is just fine as we have energy for just doing the museum and riding the bus is low energy entertainment, but it didn't work for me yesterday. It did work in the sense that I got a nice walk around Chinatown and Kensington, which is like a hippy district with retro boutiques and Tibetan Clothing and lots of food markets and little restaurants. Since they never have my size and I couldn't even find an appealing scarf and we had done the marketing, it was a quick trip for me. When I was really hot and thirsty there appeared before me a cane juice stand. I remember seeing them in China. The canes are sliced down the middle and fed through a little press and the juice is caught. I had the guy fill my cup to the top with ice and then he poured in the juice and sealed it with a thin aluminum foil cover. One grabs a straw which has a pointed end and perforates the foil and voila-a form of Gatorade. My rejuvenated electrolytes made their way through the rain and back on the bus. I was able to get a seat on the bottom level which was fortuitous as the skies opened up a short time later.
Meanwhile, Suz and Charlotte had made it home mid afternoon and were lounging and indeed napping. Marcia made us dinner of roti chicken, linguini with pesto and shiitake and campari tomatoes and onions, steamed asparagus and ourfavorite chibatta baguette. We got deserts from the Sobey's and Suz and Charlotte got Ding Dong deserts, so it was more desert than I usually have, but it was all so good. Even the Ding Dong was quite nice.
Down below us at the harbour front is supposed to be a rather large Caribbean festival this weekend. Our Ho Ho guides said that 2 million people are expected at the parade. We don't know where the parade route will be, but under our balcony seems unlikely as there is massive construction going on and you can barely get a bus through the maze of fencing. You certainly wouldn't know there was a festival about to happen looking down there now, but it is fairly early yet. Island time, ya know.
Charlotte could probably turn cartwheels all the way to the Casa Loma from here, but Suz and I are knackered. I'm hoping that the big cup of coffee I just had will prompt me to get on the bus and go to the museum, but it's not looking good at the moment. Maybe a nice hot shower will make a difference.
KG
The city reminds me of Chicago. Several Art Deco buildings and lots of glass and steel. Like Chicago, fire was a threat and the city burned several times. After that they realized that just because wood was plentiful it might not be the best building material for a city and they passed laws about brick. These days it is all about glass and steel and there is quite a bit of it. And more to come. We are totally blown away by the amount of construction all over town. There is big money floating around. Who knew that three cents on the dollar would promote such growth. Or is it the other way around?
Dim Sum was quite good again. The restaurant has windows all around and the center is three steps higher than the window side tables, so there is really not a bad table in the house. The boats on the lake sail casually by as one picks delicious little treats from the rolling trays. Our landlady tells us that people come from around the world just for this restaurant. She also promises to send us a list of her favorite restaurants.
After lunch I caught the Ho Ho bus again. Susan and Charlotte rode the morning bus with me to their stop, #11-Chinatown, AGO (art museum), Kensington, and the general sites of Spadina St. They had lunch in Chinatown and visited the Ding Dong Bakery before taking a long walk home. I rode the bus again. By the time I got to the AGO myself it was 1.5 hrs before closing and there isn't a two day pass, so I decided to wait till another day-perhaps today. The disadvantage of the Ho Ho is that it is not direct and takes a long time. Sometimes this is just fine as we have energy for just doing the museum and riding the bus is low energy entertainment, but it didn't work for me yesterday. It did work in the sense that I got a nice walk around Chinatown and Kensington, which is like a hippy district with retro boutiques and Tibetan Clothing and lots of food markets and little restaurants. Since they never have my size and I couldn't even find an appealing scarf and we had done the marketing, it was a quick trip for me. When I was really hot and thirsty there appeared before me a cane juice stand. I remember seeing them in China. The canes are sliced down the middle and fed through a little press and the juice is caught. I had the guy fill my cup to the top with ice and then he poured in the juice and sealed it with a thin aluminum foil cover. One grabs a straw which has a pointed end and perforates the foil and voila-a form of Gatorade. My rejuvenated electrolytes made their way through the rain and back on the bus. I was able to get a seat on the bottom level which was fortuitous as the skies opened up a short time later.
Meanwhile, Suz and Charlotte had made it home mid afternoon and were lounging and indeed napping. Marcia made us dinner of roti chicken, linguini with pesto and shiitake and campari tomatoes and onions, steamed asparagus and ourfavorite chibatta baguette. We got deserts from the Sobey's and Suz and Charlotte got Ding Dong deserts, so it was more desert than I usually have, but it was all so good. Even the Ding Dong was quite nice.
Down below us at the harbour front is supposed to be a rather large Caribbean festival this weekend. Our Ho Ho guides said that 2 million people are expected at the parade. We don't know where the parade route will be, but under our balcony seems unlikely as there is massive construction going on and you can barely get a bus through the maze of fencing. You certainly wouldn't know there was a festival about to happen looking down there now, but it is fairly early yet. Island time, ya know.
Charlotte could probably turn cartwheels all the way to the Casa Loma from here, but Suz and I are knackered. I'm hoping that the big cup of coffee I just had will prompt me to get on the bus and go to the museum, but it's not looking good at the moment. Maybe a nice hot shower will make a difference.
KG
Thursday, August 01, 2013
Tuckered in Toronto
I woke up wondering where was the truck that ran over me and realized it was an airbus. So I decided to put up my feet and rest in hopes of stockpiling some energy for the rest of the week. I had my breakfast shake and coffee and by 10:30 I was ready to do my exercises. Suz and Charlotte were texting from the Ho Ho bus which can be caught at the Raddison which is across the street and about a block away. They now have a week pass which will serve as transportation to the sites we want to see around town. Museum, museum, museum!
Marcia found a Japanese restaurant across the street in the Terminal building which is a combo business center and mini mall harbourfront. By 12:30 we were ready to cross the street. Turns out there is a little Sobey's grocery in the terminal as well. Also turns out the Japanese restaurant is in a little food court and next to it is a sit down Chinese restaurant called Pearl which serves Dim Sum daily from 11:30 to 3pm. We were down for Dim Sum in no time flat. Beautiful views of the harbour and good food-light and easy. We'll probably be taking Suz and Charlotte soon as there is a Caribbean Festival in the park next to the terminal and across the street from us and as the weekend comes it is likely to get fairly crowded. Of course, there will be live music that will probably be able to be heard from our balcony and I'm sure the food vendors will be out. Jerk chicken, pigeon peas and rice and plantains fried. Works for me. Regge on!
So, we came home and had more rest which now feels well worth it. Suz and Charlotte joined us mid afternoon full of useful info about the Ho Ho bus and a bunch of photos. Charlotte and I took off for Longos for some Salmon and other supplies that we didn't get yesterday. That was plenty of exercise for me.
I did mention that wine is expensive, but today I bought laundry detergent- an average sized bottle of unscented Tide for almost $11 CAD. One has to factor in that the Sobey's is on the harbourfront, but ex-pen-sive! We are clean though. Suz for one appreciates a harbourfront condo with laundry service. Scullery is my specialty!
Tonight's menu: Salmon a la Charlotte, ww pasta, Brussels Sprouts Marcia and the lovely chibatta baguette from the Longo bakery. There is also a selection of lovely tarts. The special French bakery is 16 blocks away, so we will see if the Ho Ho will take us near there.
KG
Marcia found a Japanese restaurant across the street in the Terminal building which is a combo business center and mini mall harbourfront. By 12:30 we were ready to cross the street. Turns out there is a little Sobey's grocery in the terminal as well. Also turns out the Japanese restaurant is in a little food court and next to it is a sit down Chinese restaurant called Pearl which serves Dim Sum daily from 11:30 to 3pm. We were down for Dim Sum in no time flat. Beautiful views of the harbour and good food-light and easy. We'll probably be taking Suz and Charlotte soon as there is a Caribbean Festival in the park next to the terminal and across the street from us and as the weekend comes it is likely to get fairly crowded. Of course, there will be live music that will probably be able to be heard from our balcony and I'm sure the food vendors will be out. Jerk chicken, pigeon peas and rice and plantains fried. Works for me. Regge on!
So, we came home and had more rest which now feels well worth it. Suz and Charlotte joined us mid afternoon full of useful info about the Ho Ho bus and a bunch of photos. Charlotte and I took off for Longos for some Salmon and other supplies that we didn't get yesterday. That was plenty of exercise for me.
I did mention that wine is expensive, but today I bought laundry detergent- an average sized bottle of unscented Tide for almost $11 CAD. One has to factor in that the Sobey's is on the harbourfront, but ex-pen-sive! We are clean though. Suz for one appreciates a harbourfront condo with laundry service. Scullery is my specialty!
Tonight's menu: Salmon a la Charlotte, ww pasta, Brussels Sprouts Marcia and the lovely chibatta baguette from the Longo bakery. There is also a selection of lovely tarts. The special French bakery is 16 blocks away, so we will see if the Ho Ho will take us near there.
KG
KRISTINA T MESSAGE
I have your keys but not your email. Will be in Toronto for a few days. kayeliz@bellsouth.net Besides that, would love to see you if you are in town and not touring Europe. Should we look in BP or on the Spanish Steps?
Kay
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