Places we have been.

Friday, May 30, 2008

360 The Restaurant at the CN Tower

Herbert's colleagues from US and Germany were in town for a short business trip. I was given the task to search for a decent restaurant for yesterday's dinner. They were basically here for just a day and a half.

I scanned through the brochures and run a search in the internet. I had the idea of taking them to a revolving restaurant. I had two choices on hand; one is the Toula Restaurant at Westin Castle Hotel at the harbour area and the Canoe Bar and Restaurant at Wellington St., not far from where we live. After a few calls, I found-out that the Toula Restaurant is an Italian Restaurant and is closing at 10pm. I thought it was too early if they are going to spend time for discussions. With the Canoe Bar & Restaurant, I wasn't sure if it is appropriate to have some talks over dinner knowing that it's also a bar. Then I remembered the 360 Restaurant at the CN Tower. There they can dine at the same time visit one of the most important site/landmark of the city since they didn't have the luxury to go around the city: it's hitting two birds at a time. I asked Herbert to check with the guests if they would welcome my idea. Well, they liked it.

So, I made the reservation with the restaurant. I was given few information such as; the kitchen is closing at 10pm but the guests can stay as long as they want, elevation ticket will be free of charge if the guests will order of at least 1 main dish per person, allows access to the look-out floor and to the glass floor, a ticket to go to the Sky Pod is available at the look-out floor.

360 The Restaurant is the world's highest revolving restaurant. It is one of Toronto's finest restaurants featuring unforgettable food combined with its outstanding revolving view of Toronto more than 1,000 feet below. Check here for more facts about the restaurant. http://www.cntower.ca/portal/Secure/Community/417/Documents/PressKit2005/360%20Restaurant%20Cellar%20in%20the%20Sky.pdf

Since our reservation was at 6:45pm, we agreed to meet at the lobby of the CN tower at 6:30pm. We were so lucky to have a perfect weather: clear sky and fairly warm. After few minutes’ walk, we met-up the group at the lobby. After the short introduction and handshakes, I lead them to the elevator area.

Along the path to the elevator area, on both sides were TV screens mounted on the wall highlighting the stages and timeline of the construction of the CN tower. Every screen represents a year and displays the progress made on that year in terms of height.
At the end of the path were few scanning machines where everyone should stand in for a few seconds. I was wondering what exactly they are scanning because it was not the usual X-ray scan, it was like air blowing from various points of the machine to my body. For a second I was thinking if it was a sort of disinfectant or a weapon scanning machine. As I have expected, the guests who are all engineers in various disciplines were curious too about the machine. They really took time to look at the machine and asked few questions from the security staff but she was too busy to take all the questions so we had to cut it short and proceed to the elevator area.

Before we were allowed to get into the elevator, we were asked to pose for a souvenir shot.
As we started to elevate, the engineers' mind were again working. They were looking at and talking about the things around us: the materials and the mechanics of the high-speed elevator. In 58 seconds we were lodged at the level 4 where the restaurant is located. We were received well by the staff, no waiting time and took us to the table reserved for us. The guests were so happy to see the view outside. They were grateful for such a very good choice of restaurant. Of course, I was happy to that they appreciated it.



We were attended immediately: orders taken, drinks and dishes were served accordingly. It was a nice time with the gentlemen. The view up there was fantastic. I was just looking forward to get dark so I will see the aerial view of Toronto at night.

The restaurant completes its revolution every 72 minutes so we had a good view of the city. From there, the power plant site at the harbour was very visible. I took quite a lot of pictures for them. The food was fantastic. They offer 8 various summer 2008 menus. Check their website for details. http://www.cntower.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1691



After dinner, we went down to the look-out level; it was very nice because the lights were changing and the fresh air outside. Then we went to the glass floor. There were still quite some visitors up there thought it was past 10pm. Later on, we descended to the lobby. Outside, we spent again sometime watching the CN Tower as it changes its colors and we took another bunch of pictures. It seemed they hadn't had enough time talking about this massive structure: how deep is the foundation, the technicalities of it, the engineering concepts applied on it.

Because it was getting late, we have to call the night-off. We wished them a safe drive to their hotel and safe flight back.

For us, we enjoyed the walk back to our apartment. Along the way, we passed by many restaurants and bars. The streets are still busy with pedestrians. I just hope that this weather will stay for good so we could enjoy strolling around the city at night too.

Posted by: Jernie
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Monday, May 26, 2008

A Climb Up to the CN Tower

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Sunday. We decided to climb up to the CN Tower. It is not far from where we live, just a few minutes walk. Downtown Toronto has indeed transformed into a vibrant and crowded place, far different during the winter time. The trees and flowers have graced the city’s landscape.

As we approached the CN Tower, the crowd has become bigger. CN Tower is Canada’s Wonder of the World. It is Canada’s National Tower, an important telecommunications hub, and the centre of tourism in Toronto. Its height is 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches), considered as the world’s tallest building as displayed in one of the walls in the Look-out level.

As far as I know, the Taipei 101 building (below) is the tallest in the world at the moment.
I am aware that Dubai is currently constructing the soon to be tallest building in the world, The Burj Dubai. It’s construction began in 2005 and is expected to be completed by 2008. At an estimated height of over 800 meters, it will easily be world's tallest building when finished. It will be almost 40% taller than the current tallest building, the Taipei 101.





The Shanghai's Oriental Pearl TV tower is also in line with these tall buildings. It is 468 meters high (1,536 feet).



Anyway, the CN Tower was built in 1976 by Canadian National (CN) who wanted to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry by building a tower taller than any other in the world. The construction boom in Toronto in the 1960's transformed the skyline characterized by relatively low buildings into one dotted with skyscrapers. These new buildings caused serious communication problems. With its microwave receptors at 338 m (1,109 ft.) and 553.33m (1,815 ft., 5 inches) antenna, the CN Tower swiftly solved the communication problems with room to spare. As a result people living in the Toronto area now enjoy some of the clearest reception in North America. For more information check the website http://www.cntower.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=737

Anyway, we bought the tickets at the lobby. On the screens displayed are different kinds of tickets we can buy. Check-out this webpage http://www.cntower.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=841


The tower has 4 lookout levels.
The Glass Floor and Outdoor Observation Deck is located at a height of 342 m (1,122 ft)
The Horizons Café and the Indoor Observation Deck – located at 346 m (1,136 ft.)
The 360 Restaurant - is located at 351 m (1,150 ft.) The floor rotates once every 72 minutes allowing you a complete and unobstructed view of the city below.
The Sky Pod, the World's Highest Public Observation Deck is located at 447 m (1,465 ft.), another thrilling 33 floors straight up.

We wanted to take the ‘Observation Sky Pod Experience’ (Look-out + Glass Floor + Sky Pod) however there was a 75 minutes waiting time. We were not prepared to stand there that long so we opted to take the ‘Observation Experience’ (Look-out + Glass Floor) instead.Once we had the tickets we went straight to the elevator. There are 6 high-speed glass fronted elevators. I was bracing myself against the sensation as we race upwards at 22 kilometers per hour. The crew gave us a little bit of information about the view in front of us and we reached the Indoor Observation Deck in just 58 seconds. The floor was a little bit crowded but we found ourselves a good corner to have a good look at the view outside. The view is certainly breath-taking. It was really worth the climb. Up there, we had a good view of Toronto and parts of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). If you are in Toronto, you should not miss this opportunity. Better do it when the sky is clear. Here are some nice shots taken up there. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.



Then we took the stairs to the lower level where the Glass Floor is. I have read a lot about this in the internet that it takes a lot of guts to really step on this glass floor with a direct view straight down from 1,122 ft. I thought that the whole floor is made of glass but it was just a portion of the whole floor.The people were busy taking pictures: some lying and some were crawling on the glass floor.

It looks simple though, so I tried to step on the glass floor and looked straight down. Oh, no! It was scary. Somehow I felt that I am being sucked down. Huh! I had a very uncomfortable and horrible sensation. But I was so desperate to have a shot in this floor; so the most I could do is sit at the edge of the glass floor without looking down at all.

I couldn’t believe seeing other people stepping on it just like a normal floor. The glass floor is 2 ½” in thickness, the size of each panel is 42” by 50”, with layers from top down two ½” layers of clear tempered glass, laminated together and a one inch layer of air for insulation, two ¼” layers of clear tempered glass, laminated together. Though it is said to be safe because the floor is 256 sq. ft. of solid glass that is 5 times stronger than the required bearing standard for commercial floors, it doesn’t give me enough guts to stand on it.

After we completed our round, we went up to the Horizon Café for drinks and light lunch. We chose a spot on the harbor side so we have the luxury to enjoy the beautiful sight of the Lake Ontario. The clear blue sky and the blue waters of the lake gave us all up there awesome views which were captured in our cameras. Sitting up there enjoying cocktail drinks is indeed the highlight of the day. What a wonderful afternoon we had!




From where we were, there was a long queue going up to the Sky Pod. In as much as we wanted to go up there, we just didn’t have the patience to wait for more than an hour. So we decided to head down the tower. At the lobby we spent some time at the souvenir shop and collected our souvenir photo. It was a nice shot of us but as expected they were asking a fortune for it, $23. I find it too expensive but if you want it all you can say is ‘egal’ (German word for ‘it doesn’t matter/whatever’).



Since, the sun was still high-up we decided to take a stroll along the Harbour Front. The last time we were here was last February when the place was completely covered with snow. But now, it looks like a completely different place. Sightseeing cruises are now out; there were lots of tourists around. Some private boats were also cruising around the lake. It is a nice place to spend the afternoon. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops and shopping mall lined along the Harbour Front. It is pretty interesting to see this place transformed into a summer joint.


Overall, it was a day well spent.


For more of these pictures, check the Photo Gallery Section : CN Tower & Harbour Front.


Posted by: Jernie
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Friday, May 16, 2008

On The Technical Note

Few months ago Herbert's computer broke down; the hard disk could not be recognized anymore. We decided to fix it by replacing the hard disk. Through the internet we found computer shops in College Street West. These shops sell computers, parts, and accessories. Some of them also offer repair services. There we bought a hard disk.

When we installed Windows XP, the hard disk was not recognized by the Windows XP boot disc hence terminating the process. The driver for the new hard disk is not included in the boot disc. We spent a lot of time trying to look for the required driver to slipstream it with the bootable disc. After a painstaking search for the driver I gave up, instead we had the hard disk replaced with another brand. Again we started the same process and voila! It went through. The notebook was operational. But after few months, it broke down again prompting us to buy a new one, instead. Investing $300 on the old notebook doesn't make sense at all.

I made a trip to Best Buy and Future Shop at Dundas St. to check for the latest notebooks available. There were really good ones on display. One thing I noticed is the Sony and Toshiba notebooks for only $699. I took a good look at those as one of my friends want to get her first computer. One of those is perfect for her as she needs it only for emails, web conferences, chatting and basic word processing documents. Later on, I checked some notebooks which meet Herbert's requirements. In one of the shops, I was offered a clearance-sale unit. Those were basically units which for some reasons been opened or returned by customers and cost less than the normal units. Personally, I don't go for this. I did a comparison of all the notebooks I think is appropriate then we decided which one to take.

A personal tip, when buying a computer or any other electronic gadget like camera, phone etc, you should be clear what is the purpose of having one. From this you can derive a list of requirements and specifications that you need. Most of the time we buy gadgets with all the whistles and bells in it. But in reality we don't even use all of them. As soon as you know what you need, make a small research and list down the prospective brands or models available. Then make a comparison as per your priority for example 1. specifications 2. price 3. design/presentation 4. After-sale support (warranty) 5. Add-ons. I would highly recommend searching for some reviews about the products, there are many forums/product reviews available in the net. It's a big help in your decision making. If you have all these information on hand then you are ready to go to the shop. This way you will stay focus on what to buy and you can save a lot of time spent in the shop. It is important as well to take note of your questions so when you are in the shop you can ask and hopefully you will get the answer.

I just notice few things when we bought the notebook. We were asked if we would want them to set-up and optimize the notebook and make a System Recovery CD, for an additional charge of $99. I was wondering what else they have to do with it. What I know is that, when I buy a new notebook at least the operating system is installed and the device drivers are in. But obviously, not here. The Sales Staff had asked us so many times if we need their help but I insisted 'No'. I will do it myself. I asked if there is a System Recovery CD included but he said it is in the hard disk and that we can create a recovery CD from it or we can ask them to make it for us for a charge of $40. I asked him how come it is not included in the pack. I was told that only Dell computers have it. It’s mainly because the manufacturers have to pay for it. I was a little bit puzzled because I just bought a new notebook in Germany before we came here and it isn’t Dell but I do have the recovery and utility CDs with it.

Anyway, apart from that, he also discussed to us the After-sale warranty: the manufacturer’s warranty for a year (free), In-house international warranty including spare parts for 2 years (almost $200) and 3 years ($300) respectively. They do offer good coverage but again it depends on what you need. Since we are not staying here for long, we opted to take only the manufacturer’s warranty. Based on my experience I never had a major problem with a computer within 2 years.

When we got to our apartment I did open the computer right away. But to my surprise the operating system was not yet installed. This explains why they are offering such service to ‘set-up and optimize’ the computer. Although the process guides the user to carry-out the installation but those ones who are not familiar with these things will never dare do it by themselves. So, they have no better option but to pay $99. Of all places that I have been, only here that I encounter such a thing. I would expect at least the operating system to be installed. I just don’t know the reason behind it.

I went on with the OS installation. Since most of the programs we want to install are XP compatible, we decided to downgrade the Windows Vista to Windows XP. I know this process will not be straight forward because neither the manufacturer nor the Microsoft doesn’t provide a step by step guide to do the process. I knew that the most painful part of it is finding the right device drivers. I spent a whole lot of time to set it up. Thanks to the forums and private support group who shared a lot of significant information. First of all, I had to slipstream some device drivers to the bootable Windows XP disc, then proceed with the OS installation. When OS is in place, I had to search and install the necessary device drivers. Taking a print screen of the device manager listing before proceeding with the downgrade, made it easier for me to find the drivers needed. It was a long shot but it was worth it. Thanks to the internet resources, everything is just there.

Posted by: Jernie
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

In and Around Ontario

Downtown Toronto:

Dundas Square: (You can click on the picture to view zoom in)

 An impressive live band performance at the Square. The double decker sight-seeing bus (hop-in,hop-off) is now out. I have inquired at the information booth, a ticket costs $36 valid for a week. It is still a little cool for me to take such ride, will wait for few more weeks. There are so many things to do here during the summer, looking forward to it.

still at the Square
pretty tulips at the College Park

The Sony Center of Performing Arts: http://www.sonycentre.ca/

Where we live is surrounded by 'The St. Lawrence Center for the Arts', the 'Sony Center of Performing Arts' and the Opera Theater.


It was too late when I learned that a Filipino artist Gary Valenciano was having a concert at the Sony Center on April 26 at 7pm. It was April 26 morning when I switched to the 'Filipino Eh! program that I learned about the concert. So, I quickly browsed through the website if there's still available tickets. I know it was too late to hunt for tickets but I tried my luck. We went down to the box office but unfortunately it was already closed. Tough luck! I missed the opportunity.

CanadaOne Factory Outlet in Niagara Falls: http://www.canadaoneoutlets.com/store-list.asp




We came here the previous weekend to shop for spring/summer clothes. Being a Sunday, the place was not so crowded. We scanned through some shops but not all. I think it's a good place to shop. Just one thing I didn't like there, the washroom. It was not well kept at all, it stinks and toilet papers litter around. There's a small food court 'Burger King' in the area but if one needs otherwise, restaurants are just few minutes drive from this place.

The Brandt in Mississauga : http://www.brandtmeats.com/

Looking for a very good European/German deli products? Well, this is the place to be. One of Herbert's friends has recommended this place to us. It is about 25 minutes drive from downtown Toronto but certainly worth the drive. When we got into the shop, we felt like we were in Germany. We found pretty much everything we wanted.

We used to drive 40 minutes to Mississauga to shop for Asian food but now, not anymore. Herbert discovered this shop while driving from his work place back to our apartment. It is a big relief for us as we can save a lot of time. The line of products here is not very different from those ones in Mississauga. Of course, one can shop as well in the China Town in Spadina but we find those stores very dirty, crowded and noisy. This is way more convenient than than those ones in China Town.

Brampton:

On the first week of May, we were invited to the birthdy party of my friends' (Lovely & Edward) daughter Trisha. It was a nice time to get together again and most of all endulge ourselves with Filipino food. The weather was fair then so we had the luxury to have a BBQ at their garden. On our way there, we picked-up a friend Maricel at the North York. We spent the whole afternoon literally eating. In addition to the food Lovely prepared, our friend Zeny brought our favorite delicacies 'ginataang bilo-bilo' and 'cassava cake'. That was delicious! While the girls were busy playing around, we kept ourselves busy with the food, talking about anything we could possibly think, dancing and throwing jokes at each other. We didn't even realise that it was past 10pm and we were still sitting around the table. Time really flies so quick when we are having fun.




Posted by: Jernie
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Cool May

It's been mid May but the temperature is still below 20 deg Celsius. I have been watching the weather forecast lately anticipating for warmer chain of days, weeks and maybe months soon.

We had to cancel our planned trip to Ottawa last weekend due to unavoidable circumstances. Instead, we spent the Saturday at home setting-up a new computer and on Sunday, we were invited to join a Mother's Day celebration of our friends Annalou and Eric in Oakville. Oakville seems to be a very nice place. It is about 30 minutes drive from downtown Toronto via the QEW highway. That neighborhood we've been is beautiful and quite. We were so keen to know a little bit about the place as we will be moving to this area later on. On our way there, we passed by several shopping places, nice playgrounds and pretty residential areas. Transportation is also very accessible. It's gonna be a different environment.

We were so delighted to meet their family for the first time. I have never expected that we will ever meet them here in Canada. It's really a small world! We had a fantastic dinner and even treated myself with my long-craved 'Bibingka' (sweet glutinous rice cake), one of our delicacies back home. We were also served with a Mexican food. I didn't get the name of it though, but it was truly delicious. It was so nice to be with the family, it felt like home.
Well, time seemed too short for us talking about life back home, life in Canada and of course sharing our respective travel experiences. Indeed, we had fun and wonderful time with the family.

More than two weeks ago, Annalou and Eric came over to meet us after almost 4 years. I was so happy to meet them both. Since it was rainy and cold, we opted to stay in our apartment. Later on, they invited us to dinner at the 'Spring Rolls' restaurant which is right next to the building we are living in. It was funny though because for 6 months we have never been to this place. I thought it was a small place but no, I was completely surprised because it's big and very nice inside. Their menu has a wide variety of asian food, kind of 'fusion'. The food was great, highly recommended.







Posted by: Jernie
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