(no subject)
I'm having a great time in Toronto so far. Today I went to the Bata Shoe Museum for a bit; it was interesting, but somewhat small and not so exciting. I think I was there for about an hour or so. Had cheap but tasty Mexican for lunch, then I went walking around a couple of the downtown neighborhoods for awhile (The Annex and Yorkville) and checked out the new facade of the Royal Ontario Museum, which is pretty amazing. They attached this huge geometric glass "diamond" to the building... like, affixed it right on top of the old building. It's hard to explain, but it is incredibly striking. I then walked across town to visit Casa Loma, which is a mansion that looks more like a castle built by a super rich guy in the early 20th century. On the way there I went through some really gorgeous residential neighborhoods.
When I arrived at Casa Loma, they mentioned that several rooms were closed off due to a private event. I couldn't help but ask the girl who sold me my ticket if she knew what the event was - I guess I assumed a wedding or something. Turns out that Ozzy Osbourne was having a CD release party. Not that I could get so much of a glimpse - they managed to keep visitors away from any possible vantage point from which you might see anything. But I could hear it going on the whole time, including copious amounts of organ playing, even from three stories above. Even without Ozzy, I was really glad I decided to go there. Exploring the house and gardens was really interesting, and you can even climb up to what is probably the equivalent of the 6th floor into the top of the towers by way of a number of narrow staircases. Lovely views of downtown from there. The Ozzy thing was loud and distracting (might have been more excited if I could actually see him, or watch it going on, but being kept from that, I just wanted to ignore it), and there was a huge gaggle of loud, sweaty junior high schoolers whom I wanted to smack. Otherwise a great experience.
I made my way back to Dan and Tomoko's neighborhood and sat reading by myself for awhile at a coffee shop, and Dan came and met me a bit later. We chatted for an hour or so, then headed home and he made a tasty veggie and tofu stir fry for dinner. Tomoko got home somewhat late after work and her tap dancing class. Was a great day with tons of walking and interesting things to see and do, and was glad to have some time to relax towards the end of the day and chill with Dan.
Tomorrow we're meeting up with Katie and going out to the islands, which are a ferry ride from downtown. Should be lovely weather for it.
It's great seeing Tomoko and Dan again. I can't believe it's been three years.
When I arrived at Casa Loma, they mentioned that several rooms were closed off due to a private event. I couldn't help but ask the girl who sold me my ticket if she knew what the event was - I guess I assumed a wedding or something. Turns out that Ozzy Osbourne was having a CD release party. Not that I could get so much of a glimpse - they managed to keep visitors away from any possible vantage point from which you might see anything. But I could hear it going on the whole time, including copious amounts of organ playing, even from three stories above. Even without Ozzy, I was really glad I decided to go there. Exploring the house and gardens was really interesting, and you can even climb up to what is probably the equivalent of the 6th floor into the top of the towers by way of a number of narrow staircases. Lovely views of downtown from there. The Ozzy thing was loud and distracting (might have been more excited if I could actually see him, or watch it going on, but being kept from that, I just wanted to ignore it), and there was a huge gaggle of loud, sweaty junior high schoolers whom I wanted to smack. Otherwise a great experience.
I made my way back to Dan and Tomoko's neighborhood and sat reading by myself for awhile at a coffee shop, and Dan came and met me a bit later. We chatted for an hour or so, then headed home and he made a tasty veggie and tofu stir fry for dinner. Tomoko got home somewhat late after work and her tap dancing class. Was a great day with tons of walking and interesting things to see and do, and was glad to have some time to relax towards the end of the day and chill with Dan.
Tomorrow we're meeting up with Katie and going out to the islands, which are a ferry ride from downtown. Should be lovely weather for it.
It's great seeing Tomoko and Dan again. I can't believe it's been three years.