Places we have been.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Maple Syrup Festival in Elmvale

I have learned that such festivals here in Ontario usually start in March and culminate towards the end of April. With the help of Herbert’s cousin residing in Barrie, we managed to witness one in Elmvale.

We were so lucky for having such a great weather on the weekend. We drove to Barrie late in the morning and arrived there past 13:00 hrs. It was very interesting to see the place not buried in snow as it used to be for a couple of months.

Elmvale is just a couple of minutes drive from Barrie. As we approached the festival area, we could hear live band performance. Families were heading to the same direction. At that time the temperature has reached 30 deg Celsius, quite hot.




People wander around the place as the live band performance went on. Make shift stalls filled the streets displaying various items, among those are maple syrups, bird houses, some artifacts, clothing, delicacies and many more. We covered the whole place in less than an hour. So we then proceed to the Sugar shack to take a Sugar bush tour.




School buses were lined-up to take people to and back. After a short drive, we were dropped at the Greenlaw Maple Farm. The place is surrounded with a vast area of Maple trees. I never thought that these trees stand so high. Each one of them is tapped with plastic blue tubing.




We gathered outside the processing facility to observe the demonstration on the tapping of the trees up to the processing stage. It was explained as well that only 10% of the tree’s sap is removed when tapped and that represents only 1/10th of its nourishment. Thus, not doing any harm to the trees.



The family started making maple syrup in 1920 with 200 buckets and 2 iron kettles. They had a flat pan made at the local hardware and used it for 30 years. In 1960 they had their first used wood-fired evaporator and a new replacement in about 1970. In 1975 they got an oil-fired evaporator and put beside the wood-fired one and in 1984 it has been replaced with a new reverse osmosis machine.



Thereafter, we went inside the processing facility. It was nice to see the machines running and how the sap moved from one stage to another and mostly having a closer look at the final stage of the process. It looks so yummy and smells really good.



Having gone around, we went outside to wait for our horse-carriage ride to the next farm, Lalonde's Sugar Bush.





Again, we went inside the processing facility and wander around the farm and headed back to the Greenlaw’s Maple Farm to catch our bus ride back to the festival area. It was such an eye-opening trip. I did appreciate it so much to know and see what’s behind the Maple syrup that I see and hear a lot.

I will post a s a detailed write-up about the Maple syrup.)You can check their website for more details: http://www.elmvalemaplesyrup.ca/festival.html

From Elmvale, we drove back to Barrie and spent a wonderful time at the garden. While our host was attending to the grill, we were enjoying our drinks and were amused watching the birds. It was very relaxing. Being at the Chef’s home is truly a privilege. We had a fantastic dinner!

Since it wasn’t dark yet, we decided to go for a walk at the Arboretum, Sunnidale Park. The Arboretum is maintained by the Barrie Garden Club. It is comprised of many theme gardens. As we stroll around the place I noticed that every tree/plant we passed is labeled with their respective names and the sponsor. It’s a pity that we couldn’t see how each looks like. I was told that this place is best visited during the summer when all the plants, trees and flowers are in full bloom. Currently, there is nothing much to see except the brown twigs, green grass and some squirrels running around hunting for peanuts. We settled in one of the benches to feed the squirrels while indulging myself with my first ever Tim Horton’s cup of capuccino. Surprising huh! They told me, you are not in Canada until you have been and tried Tim Horton's coffee. But it's true, I was never and no one has ever tugged me to the Tim Horton's (a Canadian coffee chain) considering it's presence in the building where we live.

On a separate note, I had been wondering because many times I passed by Tim Horton's, it's always busy. One time at the PATH in downtown I was looking for a place to take my lunch. I saw a long queue, thinking people were queueing at the ATM machine.But as I went closer, I found out that it was a Tim Horton's shop. I was puzzled how come people are painstakingly queueing as there were other coffee shops in the area. Myself, I was more familiar with Starbucks but trying other coffee shops is not bad at all. Sorry for off-tracking. Going back to where we were, squirrell feeding was really fun! I will definitely see this place again during the summer to see the garden show.



Barrie Garden Club website: http://www.barriegardenclub.com/

As it gets gradually dark, we packed-up and head back to the house.

The next day was a very nice day, warmer than it was forecasted to be 18 deg Celsius. After breakfast, we went for a quick shopping as my rubber shoes was way too warm for the day. I was so excited to wear a sandal because I have been waiting for this opportunity for some time.

We went to the Barrie Beach and Waterfront. It sits at the end of Kempenfelt Bay on Lake Simcoe. The spectacular settingoffers 7 km of biking, hiking, walking trails around the Bay via Lakeshore Drive. Beach areas, children's play areas; waterfront art shows, and festivals have created one of the best community family summer fun areas in Ontario. ()




Being a Sunday, the place was busy. The families were out with their pets. Watching people around us: skating, having picnic, jogging, biking and the likes, I felt it was already summertime. The only thing one couldn't do is swimming because the water is still ice cold. It was so nice walking by the beach despite the cool breeze coming from the lake. For me it’s always soothing to be by the water. A big portion of the water is still icy though the temperature has been high for the past week. Hence, the boats are still docked off-water. I can imagine how nice will it be during the summer to go out there in the lake fishing, I can’t wait.






We intended to have lunch at the beach front but the place offered no space for us so we decided to walk back to the other end of the beach and went to Mullies Bar and Grill. I guess we had a good walk because we really did well with the food. Thereafter, we drove back to the house and got ready to hit the road back to Toronto. It was a great weekend, indeed.


Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Jacket-free!

We are enjoying a nice weather (over 20 degrees celcius) since last week. Finally, we are jacket-free! The swift change of the weather here amazed me. Now, I have to revisit the sight-seeing maps and will be back in the streets.

I had been around downtown, carefully observing how the city has transformed from a hybernating mode of the winter to the vibrant mode of the spring. The streets had surely been a lot more busier than before and displayed a lot more smiling faces. A lot of coffee shops and restaurants had opened their outdoor sitting areas. Right below our apartment is a stretch of restaurants and coffee shops. When I look down the streets, it is so tempting to hang-around outside. It is really amazing to see how different this place has become.

Here are some shots around the city:




A live performance theater at the Yonge St. (near Dundas St.). It is currently showing 'We will Rock You'.
The old Toronto area. The outdoor bar/restaurant is usually full around lunch time until late evening.

The Hard Rock Cafe at the Dundas Square (oppsite the Eaton Centre).

A popular food joint along the Front St. East.

Spring cleaning.

A popular bargain shopping centre at Bathurst corner Bloor Sts. The "one location only" shopping centre is located in midtown Toronto in the culturally diverse, safe and vibrant neighbourhood known as the Annex. The immediate area around Honest Ed's store is called Mirvish Village, a unique shopping area featuring boutiques, book stores, artists studios, antique shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.





Drawing with the chalk on the ground outside the Eaton Centre.

Monday, April 14, 2008

It's been 24 years!

Oh! yes, that long ago since the last time I met my school friend Marizel back in my hometown Loreto. It was never in my dream that I would ever meet her again here in Toronto. It was through our common friend that I managed to contact her.

I had arranged for lunch together with Lovely and her family yesterday in our favorite restaurant Mandarin in Brampton. To keep an element of surprise, I didn't mention at all to Lovely that Marizel was joining us.

We left downtown Toronto at around 10:30am heading to North York to pick-up Marizel. It was forecasted that it will be a wet day but in contrary, a pretty sunny day. I was a bit anxious to see her after a long time. I didn't even realise that it has been more than 20 years. As we were approaching her place, I phoned her to meet us. It was a quite and pleasant neighborhood. After a few seconds, there she was! We gave each other warm hugs and really big smiles. I can't believe it, we finally met.

Thereafter, we drove to Brampton. I can't wait to see Lovely's reaction seeing Marizel. They arrived at the restaurant earlier than us. As we were closing in to the table, Lovely was trying to figure-out whom we were with. Voila! We went on with the usual greetings and big smiles. It was really funny.







We did a lot of cathing-up over lunch. Three hours seem to be not enough though, so we agreed to go somewhere. We found ourselves at this vast flea market. I don't know where exactly it was but within Brampton.





This place is so huge. You won't even know where to start. All we did was just a run through the shops, picking-up few interesting things we passed by. It's a nice place, really.

Then it was coffee time, we drove to the Shopper's World nearby. But to our dismay, the shops were starting to shut their doors. We didn't realise that it was already 5pm. Hoping that the coffee shops will still be open, we went to one of those but it was closing too. Tough luck, we were left with only one thing to do but to call the day off. From there, we parted our ways. We started to hit the road to North York to drop Marizel off and drove home. It was a great time. I know it won't happen too often in as much as we wanted to considering our respective schedules. Nevertheless, I guess everyone was happy that we made it.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

It's Spring Time!

The weather is now getting better. In the past couple of days we had clear skies, snow-free pavements and above zero temperature allowing comfortable stroll around the city.

When I passed by Royal Fairmont Hotel one fine day, it was so unusual to see more officers manning the traffic flow. Then a vehicle with a car loaded on it with all the cameras on drove by. I realised they are filming a movie, a French movie as I overheard it. It was quite interesting to witness how they filmed the stunts.









Further on, I bumped into the PATH(underground shopping complex) that I haven't been so far. This is really amazing! I thought that I have covered the whole place already but still day by day I'm discovering more of this humongous underground complex. It was even surprising to know that it is very close to where we live.

PATH is downtown Toronto's underground walkway linking 27 kilometres of shopping, services and entertainment. Follow PATH and you'll reach your downtown destination easily in weatherproof comfort.

PATH provides an important contribution to the economic viability of the city's downtown core. The system facilitates pedestrian linkages to public transit, accommodating more than 100,000 daily commuters, and thousands of additional tourists and residents on route to sports and cultural events. Its underground location provides pedestrians with a safe haven from the winter cold and snow, and the summer heat.


Check out the official website: http://www.toronto.ca/path/index.htm



The TD Towers. Below pictures are actually taken inside the TD Towers. This is still part of the PATH. This place is packed: people shopping, dining, heading to the different transport stations. You can technically spend the whole day here because everything is available in this complex; from shops,restaurants,services,office,banks, even some hotel lobbies are connected to it.(i.e.Royal Fairmont Hotel, Sheraton etc). PATH really provides a perfect refuge especially with the freezing temperature outside.






Last weekend, we have invited our friends to dinner at Lemongrass in Bayview Ave. So far, it was our first time to be in this place, north of downtown Toronto. It seems to be a busy street.Both sides have a long stretch of shops, mainly restaurants. We were told that this place is crazy busy during the summer.

Well, the restaurant is not that big but very cozy. They serve Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. One of the house specialties is the Drunken Crab (wok fried in roasted garlic,lemon butter and wine sauce). Oh, that was delicious! As we say that having crabs on the table is too much work. With the tools we had, it was really fun and of course very much worth it. Being in a Thai restaurant, dessert is one thing I always look forward to. I had the black,sticky rice in coconut milk with mango slices on top, yummy! Over all, a nice restaurant and very good food. Highly recommended.




We spent the Easter in Niagara On the Lake. On Friday evening, we watched a choral concert by the Niagara Community Male Chorus. The group is composed of men (50 plus years old) from all walks of life, many of whom are retired, represent numerous churches across the Niagara Peninsula. It was a very nice performance. The next day since the weather was nice, we decided to take a walk in the town; people were out and the streets were a lot busier than before. As we passed by the busy shop which is The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, I can't resist to take few shots of the yummy stuff they have on display.