we're home!
froggie & i left thursday around noon for toronto, and once we got there we were itchin to go. problem was, we didn't know WHERE. so we hung around the hotel most of thursday leeching wireless web service in the hotel so we could find places to go & people to see. we ended up finding Casa Loma, and we had already planned to do Ontario Place, as well as either the Ontario Science Center or the Toronto Zoo, depending on the weather. the other thing i really wanted to get to do was simply wander around downtown people-watching, but that never seems to happen when we go anywhere
.
anyhow, friday we got up early to be awake for the room service breakfast we had ordered the night before, only to have it never show up... so we went to the front desk and complained, and then went to the hotel restaurant for a not-so-wonderful buffet breakfast. after that we left to go to Casa Loma, this absolutely gorgeous pile of rock and wood that i would love to even PRETEND was mine. we did the whole self-tour thing, minus the silly cell-phone-looking "tour guide" voice box. we prefer to stick our noses in wherever we can, waiting for someone to tell us not to go in a place before we really think twice about it. there are MANY places on those castle grounds that don't have "don't go here" on them
.
Casa Loma only took us a couple hours to do, we decided to head on to Ontario Place, considering we had to be there by 3:30 for the 4pm show anyway, and we got free admission to the park with our Alegria tickets. Honestly, we expected more from Ontario Place than we got. It gets alot of hype, so we figured it would be fairly fun... most of it was shut down, and what wasn't was crawling with ill-mannered screaming children. one gift shop we went into actually had about 20 kids in it, all of them waiting in line to buy $1.50 worth of candy, and all with $1.25. fun. took us half an hour in line to cash out the leather bracelet cuffs and the scarf i found there. once we got out of the shop, we wandered down to the boat show that was being held there, did a bit more shopping and a bite to eat, then headed over to the big yellow & blue tent that apparently is a Cirque Du Soleil icon. Of course, we shopped there too
... got each of us a long sleve 20th anniversary shirt. they are beautiful. we also got a program, and after the show i bought the CD.
The Show... was amazing, phenominal, one-of-a-kind, fantastic, awe-inspiring... i can't really explain it, but i'll try.
first, they create a liquid environment. the entire inside of the tent becomes the stage, and as an observer, i was also part of the show. the clowns, the band, the ringmaster, the singers... they all come down from the traditional showplace to become a performing part of the audience. they make you look at the people around you, just to make sure they aren't in costume, and just to make sure you're not missing anything. then, there is a story told. the story at first doesn't seem like a story, merely a combination of odd characters put together to create a certain atmosphere for each "scene". a story it is, certainly, with the performers, the contortionists, flying man, acrobats, and musicians portraying emotions. the story itself almost gets lost among the emotions, but that is part of the point. emotions carry us through every day, sunny or stormy, and they are very much a part of what makes each person individual. so it would make sense that the emotions, the performers, dominate the stage... but behind them, intertwined within their talents, there is a love story (that's all i'm saying. you have to see it to understand).
can you tell, even after seeing the regular performance on tv, watching the screen-adapted movie, and hearing all of the music, i was STILL blown away?
even going to the CN Tower was a bit anticlimactic. i was so off kilter i rode in 4 packed elevators and looked down from almost 1/2 mile up without a flutter. normally i don't do crowded anything or heights with any grace...
so that was friday. yesterday we ended up going to the Science Center, since it was a bit chilly & VERY bright--froggie lost his sunglasses somewhere & somewhen during Alegria. they were on his lap and then just gone. sad, really, losing magnetic sunglasses.
the Science Center was alright... alot of the exhibits were in the works or in crates... no fun either way. but the standard stuff was still there. my favorite is, and forever will be, the rainforest room
.
last night we stayed in & ordered Van Helsing to watch in our room. good movie, that. i like how the different stories were meshed together. this morning, we just got up, moseyed our way out of the hotel, and made a leisurely stop at Niagara Falls on the way back to spend the rest of the canadian money we had. well, most of it anyway.
when we got home, our house smelled icky... add froggie's mother's ash tray smell to dog and local air, and it's about enough to make ya gag
. thank the gods for my rainbow. once we finally got his mother home (i.e. the hell out of my house!), my dad stopped in with his scary girlfriend. my dad NEVER stops in. we had dinner & a nice visit. i was waiting to hear there was something wrong.
so anyway, that comes to now, and i'm done with the update. like i said i'm home now & i'll be on for a little while.
love ya!
froggie & i left thursday around noon for toronto, and once we got there we were itchin to go. problem was, we didn't know WHERE. so we hung around the hotel most of thursday leeching wireless web service in the hotel so we could find places to go & people to see. we ended up finding Casa Loma, and we had already planned to do Ontario Place, as well as either the Ontario Science Center or the Toronto Zoo, depending on the weather. the other thing i really wanted to get to do was simply wander around downtown people-watching, but that never seems to happen when we go anywhere
.
anyhow, friday we got up early to be awake for the room service breakfast we had ordered the night before, only to have it never show up... so we went to the front desk and complained, and then went to the hotel restaurant for a not-so-wonderful buffet breakfast. after that we left to go to Casa Loma, this absolutely gorgeous pile of rock and wood that i would love to even PRETEND was mine. we did the whole self-tour thing, minus the silly cell-phone-looking "tour guide" voice box. we prefer to stick our noses in wherever we can, waiting for someone to tell us not to go in a place before we really think twice about it. there are MANY places on those castle grounds that don't have "don't go here" on them
.
Casa Loma only took us a couple hours to do, we decided to head on to Ontario Place, considering we had to be there by 3:30 for the 4pm show anyway, and we got free admission to the park with our Alegria tickets. Honestly, we expected more from Ontario Place than we got. It gets alot of hype, so we figured it would be fairly fun... most of it was shut down, and what wasn't was crawling with ill-mannered screaming children. one gift shop we went into actually had about 20 kids in it, all of them waiting in line to buy $1.50 worth of candy, and all with $1.25. fun. took us half an hour in line to cash out the leather bracelet cuffs and the scarf i found there. once we got out of the shop, we wandered down to the boat show that was being held there, did a bit more shopping and a bite to eat, then headed over to the big yellow & blue tent that apparently is a Cirque Du Soleil icon. Of course, we shopped there too
... got each of us a long sleve 20th anniversary shirt. they are beautiful. we also got a program, and after the show i bought the CD.
The Show... was amazing, phenominal, one-of-a-kind, fantastic, awe-inspiring... i can't really explain it, but i'll try.
first, they create a liquid environment. the entire inside of the tent becomes the stage, and as an observer, i was also part of the show. the clowns, the band, the ringmaster, the singers... they all come down from the traditional showplace to become a performing part of the audience. they make you look at the people around you, just to make sure they aren't in costume, and just to make sure you're not missing anything. then, there is a story told. the story at first doesn't seem like a story, merely a combination of odd characters put together to create a certain atmosphere for each "scene". a story it is, certainly, with the performers, the contortionists, flying man, acrobats, and musicians portraying emotions. the story itself almost gets lost among the emotions, but that is part of the point. emotions carry us through every day, sunny or stormy, and they are very much a part of what makes each person individual. so it would make sense that the emotions, the performers, dominate the stage... but behind them, intertwined within their talents, there is a love story (that's all i'm saying. you have to see it to understand).
can you tell, even after seeing the regular performance on tv, watching the screen-adapted movie, and hearing all of the music, i was STILL blown away?
even going to the CN Tower was a bit anticlimactic. i was so off kilter i rode in 4 packed elevators and looked down from almost 1/2 mile up without a flutter. normally i don't do crowded anything or heights with any grace...
so that was friday. yesterday we ended up going to the Science Center, since it was a bit chilly & VERY bright--froggie lost his sunglasses somewhere & somewhen during Alegria. they were on his lap and then just gone. sad, really, losing magnetic sunglasses.
the Science Center was alright... alot of the exhibits were in the works or in crates... no fun either way. but the standard stuff was still there. my favorite is, and forever will be, the rainforest room
.
last night we stayed in & ordered Van Helsing to watch in our room. good movie, that. i like how the different stories were meshed together. this morning, we just got up, moseyed our way out of the hotel, and made a leisurely stop at Niagara Falls on the way back to spend the rest of the canadian money we had. well, most of it anyway.
when we got home, our house smelled icky... add froggie's mother's ash tray smell to dog and local air, and it's about enough to make ya gag
. thank the gods for my rainbow. once we finally got his mother home (i.e. the hell out of my house!), my dad stopped in with his scary girlfriend. my dad NEVER stops in. we had dinner & a nice visit. i was waiting to hear there was something wrong.
so anyway, that comes to now, and i'm done with the update. like i said i'm home now & i'll be on for a little while.
love ya!
avafalls:
Sounds like a busy weekend 
The heart is & hearts ; With no spaces
The heart is & hearts ; With no spaces