After the full on five days of New York, being back in Toronto is definitely a different pace.
The rental bike keys have arrived so I am now commuting on a Bixi bike everyday to the office, now it was only a fifteen minute walk but this is transformed into a five minute cycle. I'd like to say this means more time in the gym but so far it has only led to more bed time...
Toronto is finally waking up from the winter hibernation, the Market stalls on the harbour front are opening, tables and chairs are appearing on bar patios and the locals are working 'summer hours' (finishing at lunch time Fridays)
Now all we need is some dry days to enjoy cycling around town...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Lazy Day 4 in NYC
Right, the tale of day 4...
After all of the walking, eating and drinking we had a little lie in, well, actually until 11 but it was an absolute necessity!
The gang all set off together but I split the group and was off alone to met Scott for lunch. Wissy, Fiona, and Paul were yet again walking, this time over Brooklyn Bridge, by 2:45 the group had reformed, I had enjoyed a delicious sushi lunch while the gang had eaten at Katz Deli, the star of When Harry Met Sally.
All of this was a precursor to the main event, a trip to Yankee Stadium to see the the Blue Jays play. Getting there I realised there are lots more Yankee fans, even before were in the stadium there were fans everywhere, luckily we weren't the only jays fans their.
After a typical early start, Bautista hitting a first inning home run, the Jays played their normal aggressive game, and the Yankees tried pitching around Bautista but the runs keep coming. During all the excitement Wissy made it onto the Jumbotron on fan cam and the people across the aisle from me got engaged!
I also got a mini baseball cap full of ice cream, winner! There were nearly 42,000 people at the game, the Blue Jays can only dream of crowds like this, even at the weekends, let alone on a Monday night... No wonder the Yankees can afford superstars.
As the ninth inning was about to start the Jumbotron showed clips of 300 to inspire the team and the crowd, I didn't have the heart to tell them that the Spartans lost and all died, which was like the Yankees dreams on this night.
Finally, after the victory, we left the Bronx, through Manhattan and back to our spiritual home, Brooklyn, a slice of pizza and we were asleep in one of the most comfortable beds.
Now, it is the end of the trip, we have to pack and prepare for our Porter flight home. Hopefully Newark isn't such a nightmare on the way out.
Here are all the pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay4May2011
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
After all of the walking, eating and drinking we had a little lie in, well, actually until 11 but it was an absolute necessity!
The gang all set off together but I split the group and was off alone to met Scott for lunch. Wissy, Fiona, and Paul were yet again walking, this time over Brooklyn Bridge, by 2:45 the group had reformed, I had enjoyed a delicious sushi lunch while the gang had eaten at Katz Deli, the star of When Harry Met Sally.
All of this was a precursor to the main event, a trip to Yankee Stadium to see the the Blue Jays play. Getting there I realised there are lots more Yankee fans, even before were in the stadium there were fans everywhere, luckily we weren't the only jays fans their.
After a typical early start, Bautista hitting a first inning home run, the Jays played their normal aggressive game, and the Yankees tried pitching around Bautista but the runs keep coming. During all the excitement Wissy made it onto the Jumbotron on fan cam and the people across the aisle from me got engaged!
I also got a mini baseball cap full of ice cream, winner! There were nearly 42,000 people at the game, the Blue Jays can only dream of crowds like this, even at the weekends, let alone on a Monday night... No wonder the Yankees can afford superstars.
As the ninth inning was about to start the Jumbotron showed clips of 300 to inspire the team and the crowd, I didn't have the heart to tell them that the Spartans lost and all died, which was like the Yankees dreams on this night.
Finally, after the victory, we left the Bronx, through Manhattan and back to our spiritual home, Brooklyn, a slice of pizza and we were asleep in one of the most comfortable beds.
Now, it is the end of the trip, we have to pack and prepare for our Porter flight home. Hopefully Newark isn't such a nightmare on the way out.
Here are all the pictures https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay4May2011
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:4th Ave,,United States
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Day three in Brooklyn again
We ate, drank, and were merry for Fiona's birthday... There was a brewery tour, a Whisky bar, and steak...
With similar Metro outages to London Tube outages at weekends we started the days transport on a metro replacement bus. Buses give you a much better view of the city, although they do also give a better view of the more unstable members of the city.
We were heading into Williamsburg for the brewery tour, 30 minutes of understanding where some of my favourite beers come from followed by a piss up in a brewery!
Well, a couple of small beers, beers brewed in the building we were in. Then off to the Whisky bar which had carded us the day before, this time we had ID and were ready, but no doorman, no carding, just mini hotdogs, cocktails and a great atmosphere.
Not being a big fan of whiskey I was nervous of the sneaky shot Jonathon our barman poured for the boys but the Tom Lawless was delicious!
For Fiona's birthday meal we wanted steak, the first recommendation was full, which was a shame, luckily Mortons was more accommodating. We passed on starters and deserts being fully aware of US portion sizes and we all still left food on the plate, delicious though, and I have never been introduced to broccoli before...
Yes this trip has turned into a walking and eating tour of Brooklyn. It is good.
Here are pictures... https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay3May2011
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
With similar Metro outages to London Tube outages at weekends we started the days transport on a metro replacement bus. Buses give you a much better view of the city, although they do also give a better view of the more unstable members of the city.
We were heading into Williamsburg for the brewery tour, 30 minutes of understanding where some of my favourite beers come from followed by a piss up in a brewery!
Well, a couple of small beers, beers brewed in the building we were in. Then off to the Whisky bar which had carded us the day before, this time we had ID and were ready, but no doorman, no carding, just mini hotdogs, cocktails and a great atmosphere.
Not being a big fan of whiskey I was nervous of the sneaky shot Jonathon our barman poured for the boys but the Tom Lawless was delicious!
For Fiona's birthday meal we wanted steak, the first recommendation was full, which was a shame, luckily Mortons was more accommodating. We passed on starters and deserts being fully aware of US portion sizes and we all still left food on the plate, delicious though, and I have never been introduced to broccoli before...
Yes this trip has turned into a walking and eating tour of Brooklyn. It is good.
Here are pictures... https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay3May2011
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Second Day - no Manhattan
We have our bearings now, also we know that breakfast in the hotel, although complimentary is not worthy of the amount of walking we have been doing, so the first order of the day was finding a diner...
A short walk from our hotel down leafy boulevards past brown stones, breakfasts of gargantuan sizes were consumed. This turned out to be a most fortuitous start as arriving at the metro stop, 5 blocks from the hotel, we found buses and no working metro... We decided to walk through Park Slope as it looked nice, and it was, lots of older hipsters on fixed gear bikes with big headphones on and young couples pushing prams.
After what felt like a marathon but apparently was only three miles we stopped for lunch (yes - it's all about the food) a burrito bar and yet more filled plates, of course not trusting the local water the menfolk had to drink beer...
Suitably sated we walked again, past several metro stops although never for the right line and a cab driver who refused to take us, but it was sunny and I had to walk off a 'chimmied' burrito so I kept my whinging to a minimum...
Finally we found the right line and managed to rest our feet on public transport. I made a decision and we got off a stop earlier than planned and were back in the sun walking, through a more 'interesting' part of Williamsburg, luckily Toto wasn't with us as even he would have realised we weren't in Kansas anymore.
A mile of almost ghetto bought us to our destination, the Cotton Candy Machine, Tara McPherson's shop, and one of the greatest places on earth, although this may have had something to do with being offered a beer as soon as we arrived by the energetic and most knowledgable shop keeper.
Much listening and browsing and purchasing was done post beer, a small photo shoot...
...and we were off again, straight into hipster town, skinny jeans and little beards and skateboards.
Our plan was to hit The Whisky Brooklyn but a strict door policy on ID sent us next door where meat platters, cocktails and Brooklyn beer slowly defused an angry Wissy. Our plan on leaving the Counting Rooms was to cab back to the hotel was derailed slightly 50 yards down the road by another bar named like my local when I lived in Balham, The Bedford... 12 oysters later the seafood eating portion of the party was content. Wissy was especially so as she had talked the chef into giving her crackling from a suckling pig she spied in the kitchen...
Finally a cab, I spent a happy 20 minutes in the front discussing baseball and why Bautista is going to hit home runs on Monday, before a brief detour for dumplings and then to bed... Day two done, pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay2May2011#
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
A short walk from our hotel down leafy boulevards past brown stones, breakfasts of gargantuan sizes were consumed. This turned out to be a most fortuitous start as arriving at the metro stop, 5 blocks from the hotel, we found buses and no working metro... We decided to walk through Park Slope as it looked nice, and it was, lots of older hipsters on fixed gear bikes with big headphones on and young couples pushing prams.
After what felt like a marathon but apparently was only three miles we stopped for lunch (yes - it's all about the food) a burrito bar and yet more filled plates, of course not trusting the local water the menfolk had to drink beer...
Suitably sated we walked again, past several metro stops although never for the right line and a cab driver who refused to take us, but it was sunny and I had to walk off a 'chimmied' burrito so I kept my whinging to a minimum...
Finally we found the right line and managed to rest our feet on public transport. I made a decision and we got off a stop earlier than planned and were back in the sun walking, through a more 'interesting' part of Williamsburg, luckily Toto wasn't with us as even he would have realised we weren't in Kansas anymore.
A mile of almost ghetto bought us to our destination, the Cotton Candy Machine, Tara McPherson's shop, and one of the greatest places on earth, although this may have had something to do with being offered a beer as soon as we arrived by the energetic and most knowledgable shop keeper.
Much listening and browsing and purchasing was done post beer, a small photo shoot...
...and we were off again, straight into hipster town, skinny jeans and little beards and skateboards.
Our plan was to hit The Whisky Brooklyn but a strict door policy on ID sent us next door where meat platters, cocktails and Brooklyn beer slowly defused an angry Wissy. Our plan on leaving the Counting Rooms was to cab back to the hotel was derailed slightly 50 yards down the road by another bar named like my local when I lived in Balham, The Bedford... 12 oysters later the seafood eating portion of the party was content. Wissy was especially so as she had talked the chef into giving her crackling from a suckling pig she spied in the kitchen...
Finally a cab, I spent a happy 20 minutes in the front discussing baseball and why Bautista is going to hit home runs on Monday, before a brief detour for dumplings and then to bed... Day two done, pictures here - https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay2May2011#
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, 20 May 2011
First full day in the Big Apple
So last night I think I left you all after our hellish travelling to the hotel with some notes on how after everything that happened on our journey the hotel was great.
Well not long after I posted the blog our friends arrived, and with the hotel bar out of commission for refurbishment we headed back to the Hoxton-lite of 5th avenue Brooklyn. More great drinks at Brooklyn a pizza roll and back to bed. And yes, the hotel beds are by far the best I have ever slept in - ever, and everyone agrees... This will be a restful trip...
Morning beckons, the hotel, without a restaurant offered some baked goods, although these did not live up to the hype, we left the hotel hungry and in search of culture, after photo opportunities at the Ai Weiwei zodiac sculptures
and a brief sojourn in the Apple Store we found a genuine Belgian waffle truck, we all tucked into variations on fried batter with strawberries, bananas and Spekuloos spread, extra breakfast sorted we were ready to face the rain and Central Park.
The Park turned into a search for statues, our first target, Peter Pan, didn't exist, luckily we found ample replacements in Hans Cristian Andersson,
and all of the Alice in Wonderland characters...
The John Lennon memorial confused me, as it was a quiet zone, for a man who made his name and money singing loud catchy pop tunes? Oh well...
As the deluge continued we headed for a bar, sustenance came in the form of beers, cocktails, wings and meaty sandwiches... Finally we dried off and the real retail therapy could start... Another short subway journey and we were in kidrobot, a favourite for all of us damp travellers, money parted we were off again, suddenly the day started to feel like a pub crawl but really we were looking for shelter from the rain...
A unilateral decision to take some rest before a supper somewhere in Brooklyn has given me a chance to write this blog and upload more pictures.. See here for the full stash https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay1May2011
More tomorrow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Well not long after I posted the blog our friends arrived, and with the hotel bar out of commission for refurbishment we headed back to the Hoxton-lite of 5th avenue Brooklyn. More great drinks at Brooklyn a pizza roll and back to bed. And yes, the hotel beds are by far the best I have ever slept in - ever, and everyone agrees... This will be a restful trip...
Morning beckons, the hotel, without a restaurant offered some baked goods, although these did not live up to the hype, we left the hotel hungry and in search of culture, after photo opportunities at the Ai Weiwei zodiac sculptures
and a brief sojourn in the Apple Store we found a genuine Belgian waffle truck, we all tucked into variations on fried batter with strawberries, bananas and Spekuloos spread, extra breakfast sorted we were ready to face the rain and Central Park.
The Park turned into a search for statues, our first target, Peter Pan, didn't exist, luckily we found ample replacements in Hans Cristian Andersson,
and all of the Alice in Wonderland characters...
The John Lennon memorial confused me, as it was a quiet zone, for a man who made his name and money singing loud catchy pop tunes? Oh well...
As the deluge continued we headed for a bar, sustenance came in the form of beers, cocktails, wings and meaty sandwiches... Finally we dried off and the real retail therapy could start... Another short subway journey and we were in kidrobot, a favourite for all of us damp travellers, money parted we were off again, suddenly the day started to feel like a pub crawl but really we were looking for shelter from the rain...
A unilateral decision to take some rest before a supper somewhere in Brooklyn has given me a chance to write this blog and upload more pictures.. See here for the full stash https://picasaweb.google.com/gbozward/NewYorkDay1May2011
More tomorrow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:4th Ave,,United States
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Getting to New York
Today has been an experience, not always for the right reasons...
My day started at 6:00, this was expected, after the normal morning ablutions and waking up Wissy at 6:30 everything was going to plan, we set off, a short walk to the airport, yes, a short walk, also following the short walk we experienced the shortest regularly scheduled ferry ride in the world, 20 metres.
At the front of the queue we realised we hadn't applied for our ESTAs, a requirement of the security theatre. In Heathrow we would have been banished to work it out ourselves, but Porter let me behind the desk to use their 24 inch iMac where I applied for the requisite documentation online, mine sailed through, but Wissy's application apparently required 72 hours, my heart dropped through the floor, luckily the nice Porter girl fixed it all and the sweating stopped.
Off to the free lounge to eat free snacks and drink free soda, unfortunately the realisation that the fog we had walked through may have a material affect on our ability to fly, the 6:45 flight was just taking off at 8:30, the flight after ours had been cancelled and yet again we doubted our ability to get to america.
The next announcement was all about us, unfortunately our plane had landed at the wrong airport, a 40 minute coach ride away, while sitting and waiting the coach arrived, ready for the third mode of transport a cheer inspiring message over the tannoy, our plane had made it all the way home and would be ready for us at the right airport.
Forty minutes later we were on the plane, joy oh joy, with full skies we couldn't take off for another half an hour, luckily iPad scrabble saved the day, no boredom... Up up and away and above the fog the skies were beautiful, barely a free and a salty snack later and we were landing in Newark (1 hr 15 min later - this will be important)
Off the plane and into the stygian hell that is American immigration, queue, queue, queue, bored bureaucrat queue, I have never felt such internal rage at a badly organised processes I did in Newark, Wissy put it best, having lived through a bird strike and a pilot dying and this was still worse...
After finally making it through the kafka-esque limbo we had to collect our luggage, made infinitely more difficult by it not actually being on the carousel as we had spent 1:30 minutes getting through the airport. Yes 15 minutes longer than it took to get to the US... Happy happy joy joy. The lack of luggage led to difficult questions about our travel insurance, luckily we were yet again rescued by a member of the Porter staff who tracked our luggage down in the oversize section...
Finally we were the right side of the airport in a cab, we thought we were going to get public transport to the hotel but after the day we had a cab was well deserved...
The hotel in Brooklyn is great and we are one street over from the New York equivalent of Hoxton, 5th Avenue, where we managed to get proper beer, a margarita properly made and some cheap Thai food, the holiday has truly started and I am finally forgetting the queue from hell...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
My day started at 6:00, this was expected, after the normal morning ablutions and waking up Wissy at 6:30 everything was going to plan, we set off, a short walk to the airport, yes, a short walk, also following the short walk we experienced the shortest regularly scheduled ferry ride in the world, 20 metres.
At the front of the queue we realised we hadn't applied for our ESTAs, a requirement of the security theatre. In Heathrow we would have been banished to work it out ourselves, but Porter let me behind the desk to use their 24 inch iMac where I applied for the requisite documentation online, mine sailed through, but Wissy's application apparently required 72 hours, my heart dropped through the floor, luckily the nice Porter girl fixed it all and the sweating stopped.
Off to the free lounge to eat free snacks and drink free soda, unfortunately the realisation that the fog we had walked through may have a material affect on our ability to fly, the 6:45 flight was just taking off at 8:30, the flight after ours had been cancelled and yet again we doubted our ability to get to america.
The next announcement was all about us, unfortunately our plane had landed at the wrong airport, a 40 minute coach ride away, while sitting and waiting the coach arrived, ready for the third mode of transport a cheer inspiring message over the tannoy, our plane had made it all the way home and would be ready for us at the right airport.
Forty minutes later we were on the plane, joy oh joy, with full skies we couldn't take off for another half an hour, luckily iPad scrabble saved the day, no boredom... Up up and away and above the fog the skies were beautiful, barely a free and a salty snack later and we were landing in Newark (1 hr 15 min later - this will be important)
Off the plane and into the stygian hell that is American immigration, queue, queue, queue, bored bureaucrat queue, I have never felt such internal rage at a badly organised processes I did in Newark, Wissy put it best, having lived through a bird strike and a pilot dying and this was still worse...
After finally making it through the kafka-esque limbo we had to collect our luggage, made infinitely more difficult by it not actually being on the carousel as we had spent 1:30 minutes getting through the airport. Yes 15 minutes longer than it took to get to the US... Happy happy joy joy. The lack of luggage led to difficult questions about our travel insurance, luckily we were yet again rescued by a member of the Porter staff who tracked our luggage down in the oversize section...
Finally we were the right side of the airport in a cab, we thought we were going to get public transport to the hotel but after the day we had a cab was well deserved...
The hotel in Brooklyn is great and we are one street over from the New York equivalent of Hoxton, 5th Avenue, where we managed to get proper beer, a margarita properly made and some cheap Thai food, the holiday has truly started and I am finally forgetting the queue from hell...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:4th Ave,,United States
Sunday, 15 May 2011
The Dull Weekend
So next weekend we will be in New York, this meant we are doing nothing saving all of our fun for America.
Of course we still had to fill time, although as it was raining here, and has been since Friday...
Saturday was a trip up Queen West, we needed essentials, new vinyl toys and tights (for Wissy, not me). After a snack of wings and ribs we hid from the the deluge and watched baseball and dozed until it was time for bed...
Sunday, yet again rainy, not exactly perfect weather for the Toronto marathon, luckily not as big as the London marathon as it passes our condo in both directions. They only closed the bike lane, I think on our walk we saw maybe 30 runners...
We decided to pass up the chance to spectate and instead headed up to the AMC cinema to catch a pre-matinee $6 special, the film of choice, a cinematic spectacular, Fast Five, more Michael Bay than Martin Scorsese but definitely fun and having cars and explosions it ticked most of our movie boxes!
Deciding to up our intellectual quotient we headed home via Longos to watch Mulan, no not the Disney cartoon but a live action Chinese movie, this was good, good enough to almost make Wissy cry and even with subtitles it kept us figured for two hours.
Next I decided to stretch my culinary skill, I have not cooked many desserts but having lots of eggs I managed to cover every surface in a variety of substances making custard from scratch, although slightly lumpy it was delicious, and as we had fresh fruit in the condo pudding preceded supper!
Now with 4 egg whites left I turned my hand to meringue, at first I tried whisking by hand, luckily I found a hand machine and after 2 hours in the oven it was edible... More experimentation is required although Wissy says this will be bad for us!
Of course we still had to fill time, although as it was raining here, and has been since Friday...
Saturday was a trip up Queen West, we needed essentials, new vinyl toys and tights (for Wissy, not me). After a snack of wings and ribs we hid from the the deluge and watched baseball and dozed until it was time for bed...
Sunday, yet again rainy, not exactly perfect weather for the Toronto marathon, luckily not as big as the London marathon as it passes our condo in both directions. They only closed the bike lane, I think on our walk we saw maybe 30 runners...
We decided to pass up the chance to spectate and instead headed up to the AMC cinema to catch a pre-matinee $6 special, the film of choice, a cinematic spectacular, Fast Five, more Michael Bay than Martin Scorsese but definitely fun and having cars and explosions it ticked most of our movie boxes!
Deciding to up our intellectual quotient we headed home via Longos to watch Mulan, no not the Disney cartoon but a live action Chinese movie, this was good, good enough to almost make Wissy cry and even with subtitles it kept us figured for two hours.
Next I decided to stretch my culinary skill, I have not cooked many desserts but having lots of eggs I managed to cover every surface in a variety of substances making custard from scratch, although slightly lumpy it was delicious, and as we had fresh fruit in the condo pudding preceded supper!
Now with 4 egg whites left I turned my hand to meringue, at first I tried whisking by hand, luckily I found a hand machine and after 2 hours in the oven it was edible... More experimentation is required although Wissy says this will be bad for us!
Friday, 13 May 2011
A Weekend of Walking
Walk a mile in another mans shoes... well I was wearing my Vibram Five Fingers and we walked about 5 miles this weekend, but before my tales of tired toes lets zoom back to Friday where the weekend started...
It was my colleague Alex Lakey's birthday so of course a steak dinner was in order, Houston Steak and Bar seemed like a good choice and with a couple more work chums and Wissy I tucked into a delicious dinner of red meat. Wissy ordered her steak blue, which looked and tasted delicious although this shocked Dave - Wissy does like her meat walked through the kitchen, with it's hooves and horns removed and slapped on its arse, then it's ready.
Of course this was a Friday night and a birthday, with me, Wissy and Buca Dave I am sure you can imagine the fun we had... This was not one of those Fridays, I was in bed by 9:30 watching crime drama, and I am pretty sure everyone else was too, maybe I am getting old!
Saturday, we had an early start, off to the farmers market, we bought some odd pickles (cauliflower and turnip), some very strong mustards (XXX, Horseradish) and some elk jerky! In the evening I experienced my first girls night out in a long while, I will say no more about this experience.
Sunday was a new adventure down Queen East, five miles from away from condo, we marched back, via thrift stores, cafes, ice cream shops until we reached the distillery district, we were going to have a quiet lunch but we spotted a oyster bar and a decision was made. Six naked cowboys and six kusshi later and we had tasted fabulous wild oysters we had never had before. Searching for naked cowboys on google was certainly an experience!
After this we were going to be lazy and get a cab back home but with only two miles to go we sucked it up and carried on the march... Finally we were home and my poor aching feet had a chance to rest, Sunday afternoon and already we had managed 6 miles practically barefoot.
Another fabulous weekend in, what is now a sunny, Toronto.
It was my colleague Alex Lakey's birthday so of course a steak dinner was in order, Houston Steak and Bar seemed like a good choice and with a couple more work chums and Wissy I tucked into a delicious dinner of red meat. Wissy ordered her steak blue, which looked and tasted delicious although this shocked Dave - Wissy does like her meat walked through the kitchen, with it's hooves and horns removed and slapped on its arse, then it's ready.
Of course this was a Friday night and a birthday, with me, Wissy and Buca Dave I am sure you can imagine the fun we had... This was not one of those Fridays, I was in bed by 9:30 watching crime drama, and I am pretty sure everyone else was too, maybe I am getting old!
Saturday, we had an early start, off to the farmers market, we bought some odd pickles (cauliflower and turnip), some very strong mustards (XXX, Horseradish) and some elk jerky! In the evening I experienced my first girls night out in a long while, I will say no more about this experience.
Sunday was a new adventure down Queen East, five miles from away from condo, we marched back, via thrift stores, cafes, ice cream shops until we reached the distillery district, we were going to have a quiet lunch but we spotted a oyster bar and a decision was made. Six naked cowboys and six kusshi later and we had tasted fabulous wild oysters we had never had before. Searching for naked cowboys on google was certainly an experience!
After this we were going to be lazy and get a cab back home but with only two miles to go we sucked it up and carried on the march... Finally we were home and my poor aching feet had a chance to rest, Sunday afternoon and already we had managed 6 miles practically barefoot.
Another fabulous weekend in, what is now a sunny, Toronto.
Friday, 6 May 2011
Charity...
Before I forget...
Sunday evenings have occasionally become a trip up to Woodys, which is about as far north as we currently adventure and at the heart of Toronto's gay district. Last Sunday was special, so to start the evening right we gathered up Alex Lakey and hit A&W burger (The Best Burgers in Toronto) to get some stomach lining before the night started...
We arrived at 4pm, where lots of members of Dave's riding team (read his blog and sponsor him here) where already in attendance. There was free food, although having indulged in burgers I abstained, and we managed to get a good view of the bar and also of some of the screens.
The charity part of the evening involved lots of entertainment from Miss Conception, by far the most entertaining drag act I have ever seen, and a viewing of her appearance on Wipeout Canada, which is surprisingly so much easier to watch after a jug of beer and being surrounded by lots of gay men laughing hysterically.
I failed to win a Blackberry Playbook and the 50:50 raffle, but as it was all for a good cause I am not too upset... (bah humbug)
I will examine all of the pictures taken of the evenings festivities and some of them may make the next montage, possibly...
Sunday evenings have occasionally become a trip up to Woodys, which is about as far north as we currently adventure and at the heart of Toronto's gay district. Last Sunday was special, so to start the evening right we gathered up Alex Lakey and hit A&W burger (The Best Burgers in Toronto) to get some stomach lining before the night started...
We arrived at 4pm, where lots of members of Dave's riding team (read his blog and sponsor him here) where already in attendance. There was free food, although having indulged in burgers I abstained, and we managed to get a good view of the bar and also of some of the screens.
The charity part of the evening involved lots of entertainment from Miss Conception, by far the most entertaining drag act I have ever seen, and a viewing of her appearance on Wipeout Canada, which is surprisingly so much easier to watch after a jug of beer and being surrounded by lots of gay men laughing hysterically.
I failed to win a Blackberry Playbook and the 50:50 raffle, but as it was all for a good cause I am not too upset... (bah humbug)
I will examine all of the pictures taken of the evenings festivities and some of them may make the next montage, possibly...
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Boat Trip! (or The advantages of having a Wissy in your life)
I had lead a reasonably successful life in Toronto, I had spoken to lots of locals and very often drank with the same people in the same pubs for conversation and everything that goes with hanging out in pubs...
The difference a Wissy makes though has become very obvious in the first month of her trip here, at the weekend we were on a boat. Now I am sure I was in the same pub as Patricia and Stephan on more than one occasion, in fact we share two locals in the downtown area but having Wissy here a conversation in the pub about baseball is very different to finding out someone has a boat, and then managing to get invited on it!
Yes, thats our condo building, the short one in front of the CN tower...
After an afternoon of motoring around Toronto Island, seeing lots of birds, boats and a little too much sunshine we parked up (sorry, moored, for all you boating types) on the Island and settled down for some beers, food and solving the worlds problems...
After the sun had set and the conversation had run out (although for some people this took longer than others) a night of being rocked to sleep by the gentle undulations of the lake made for a very restful night...
I took lots and lots of pictures, all available here... Boat Trip there are 258 pictures so don't feel obliged to view all.
After a quick slightly greyer trip home the next day we yet again experienced the upside of boats and living near the lakeshore, our walk home was 2 minutes as they dropped us off opposite our condo.
Big Thanks to Patricia and Stephan and also Wissy, for being chattier than I am!
The difference a Wissy makes though has become very obvious in the first month of her trip here, at the weekend we were on a boat. Now I am sure I was in the same pub as Patricia and Stephan on more than one occasion, in fact we share two locals in the downtown area but having Wissy here a conversation in the pub about baseball is very different to finding out someone has a boat, and then managing to get invited on it!
Yes, that is us on a boat, before we set sail at the weekend, and yes, Wissy did grin the whole time we were out.
The other upside to being on a boat is taking lots of pictures that no one else on the project can possibly have taken, because they were not on a boat...
After an afternoon of motoring around Toronto Island, seeing lots of birds, boats and a little too much sunshine we parked up (sorry, moored, for all you boating types) on the Island and settled down for some beers, food and solving the worlds problems...
I took lots and lots of pictures, all available here... Boat Trip there are 258 pictures so don't feel obliged to view all.
After a quick slightly greyer trip home the next day we yet again experienced the upside of boats and living near the lakeshore, our walk home was 2 minutes as they dropped us off opposite our condo.
Big Thanks to Patricia and Stephan and also Wissy, for being chattier than I am!
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