Days 2 and 3 in Toronto

What a great city this is! Very much like Boston or NYC. Even though they have had a garbage strike for several weeks, the streets are very clean. Every place is also very "green" conscience and recycling is done everywhere. It is also more elaborate than the recycling we do in the US.

On Wednesday morning, we actually slept late and then headed out to the Hockey Hall of Fame. What an impressive place this was-- and I wasn't the slightest bit interested per se. The facility is fairly new and it is well designed and laid out. Everything is bright and eye catching. The history during the past 100+ years was very interesting too. The awards and Stanley Cup are housed in a separate wing--which used to be a bank. Everything is temperature and humidity controlled and more or less displayed in various types of vaults. Somehow, we spent five hours here and the time passed quickly. There were a lot of interactive games; Jeffrey and David didn't miss a one. They were goalies, shooters, sports announcers and TV directors. Everything was a lot of fun.

For lunch we went to an international food market. There were 11 different stations and we were able to get exactly what we wanted at each place. We mixed and matched and had a lot of fun. There is a place like this in the Prudential Center, in Boston. Anyway, David was not with us, because he wanted some extra time at the Hockey Hall of Fame to watch a movie. I was not paying attention to what Jeffrey was ordering and when it came time to pay the bill, I almost fell over. There was nothing I could do-- he ate it all. Thinking back, it really was not that bad-- but the amount was a bit staggering for one child and me. (me=fruit salad...)

We came back to the hotel to try and rest in the afternoon, because we had tickets to see the Sound of Music in the evening. Toronto's theater district is the third largest in the world, just behind NYC and London's West End. I slept, David was still at the Hall of Fame and Jeffrey bounced around the room. The show was wonderful. The scenery beautiful and very high tech. The mountains moved and rotated. The scenery was rich and detailed. I had seen the show a couple of times before, but this was by far a superior production. The theater was full and everyone had a good time. Jeffrey managed not to melt down and a nice evening was had by all.

This morning, Thursday, I took a day for myself, while David and Jeffrey went to see the Indians vs. Blue Jays. As luck would have it, it was "Kids Run the Bases" day and for the third time this summer, Jeffrey was able to run on a major league field. The stadium has a retractable roof and although it was raining outside, the game went on without issue. It was an exciting game and it seems each time they go to a game, the Indians manage to win. (They are competing for 4th place-- not exactly a stellar season.)

I put myself on a double decker tour bus and enjoyed the solitude. I really took in the sights and made the most of a rainy day. The Royal Ontario Museum was a real treat. I had tickets to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and the show did not disappoint. The materials are on loan from Jerusalem, and are very well displayed. It was easy to follow and each station was more interesting than the one before. The rest of the museum was also great. I saw a gem exhibit like none other-- (except for the Hope Diamond in DC), Wedgewood had an exhibit and there was a small Judaic collection. There were several other rooms, but these were the highlights. Aside from the Dead Sea Scrolls, I loved the Fashion and Textile exhibit. There were clothes on display from all different time periods, as well as different materials and accessories. Very fascinating indeed. The best part was not having anyone need me to take them to the bathroom, or complain that they wanted to move on...

I had lunch at the museum. It was typical museum fare. The reason I am mentioning it is because of the recycling process at the end. Everything was separated-- food, paper, plastic, waste etc. Everyone was very conscious to follow the procedure and it was very impressive. Even the streets have multi-compartment waste containers, to separate the recycling from the trash. Things are more green here than in the US. There are billboards that are run on solar power and anything that is environmentally friendly, is well posted.

The rest of my day was spent getting off and on the bus. I saw alot of new things and so enjoyed myself. This city has large shopping areas. One area is so big, that it covers two subway stops. The shopping is no different than Boca Raton , Fifth Avenue or Newbury Street, and there sure is a lot of it. The very high end area is ripping up all of the asphalt sidewalks and replacing it with black granite. The goal is to ensure that only the very highest calibre shops stay, because the rents and taxes are going to escalate. The Gap need not apply...

I won't go into great detail, but I also saw Casa Loma, the only Castle in Toronto. The building has a rich and interesting history, but I won't bore you with the specifics. The Beta Shoe Museum is the result of a women's personal shoe collection. The collection got so large, that her husband got her, her own museum. There are over 12,000 pairs on display! Absolutely my kind of place!

For dinner, we all went to Chinatown. This was a pretty large section of town. We had the name of several restaurants to choose from, and walked up and down the streets. There were produce markets with the most unusual things we'd ever seen. Everything was fresh and looked delicious. We had a nice dinner and waddled back to the hotel room.

Tomorrow is another day. We have a couple of different scenarios planned out, but I am not sure what we are going to end up doing. Will keep anyone interested, updated...

Thanks once again, for travelling with us!

Ellen