Places we have been.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Weekend in Barrie

We were invited by Herbert's cousin to spend our weekend with them in Barrie. Fortunately, Herbert didn't have to work from Saturday to Monday, being a Family Day.

It was a clear sky but cold Saturday morning when we drove to Barrie at around 11am arriving there at 12nn. On our way, the landscape was beautiful, everywhere is covered with snow. As we entered the residential area I was very surprised to see how much snow they had; the roofs were covered with thick snow and on the grounds there were walls of snow around. I just wonder how long it will take to clear this up especially that the temperature is never going-up.




We had lunch with the family then we started to gear-up for the outdoor activity. We were so lucky with the weather. Our first destination was to the Springwater Park (http://www.ontarioparks.com/English/spri.html). We did hiking and wildlife viewing. It's a fantastic place for family activities.







We did see the black bear, grey wolves, coyotes, foxes, deer, wild turkeys and a variety of other birds - including birds of prey -- and animals housed along a one-km paved walkway. The birds and animals were brought to this park because they were injured or imprinted upon humans. They cannot be released into the wild and are dependent upon humans for their daily care. I really wish to come to this place again during the spring and summer time.

Thereafter, we drove to the Snow Valley Ski Resort for snow tubing. I am particularly new to this kind of activity, never heard 'snow tubing' at all. When we arrived at the resort, the parking space wass literally full that we had to wait for some time to get a spot. The resort has skiing and snowboarding hills, as well as snow tubing hill. We headed to the ticket counter and then queued outside. There are two areas for snow tubing; one is a steep hill but short path, and the other is quite gradual incline but longer path. We chose the first. It was quite frustrating because of the long wait. It took us almost 45 minutes to get our first ride.




Then came our turn, as the crew hooked-up our tube in the line, we had to sit on our respective tubes to get to the hill top. As we went higher, the view is really beautiful. I captured some in my camera. When we were on the top, we opted to go downhill together. So we had to connect each other's tube and then the crew will push us down. And, ..... there we went. Oh my gosh! I was screaming on top of my voice. The hype of excitement compounded with the anxiety being our first time, made it extremely fun. It was pretty fast, we found ourselves at the tail-end of the path. Then we queued again for the second ride. We were supposed to have four rides but then because of the long wait, we decided not to take the rest of the rides. The second ride was more fun though.





After the ride we went inside to warm-up, had coffee and hot chocolate. It was too cold outside! For almost 2 hours in the queue, I was feeling the cold already; my feet and hands started to freeze.

At around 6pm we drove to the Beer Store but unfortunately it was closed, then we went to the LCBO (the only chain of shops selling alcoholic beverages). As I have mentioned in my previous post that alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are being regulated by the government. You can’t buy any in supermarkets and other shops. Then we drove back to Herbert's cousin's home. It felt good to be warm. While waiting for the dinner, we had karaoke session with the children. They loved it!

The next day, the weather was horrible. It was forecasted to have a snow storm in the afternoon so we opted not to go anywhere. Instead, for us to drive back to Toronto in the afternoon before the storm could hit the area. It is so ironic, the weather here changes so quickly: one day fine weather with clear sky then the next day it's dark with heavy pouring rain.

We arrived in Toronto in just an hour time. The city was so wet and dark, not really conducive for any outdoor activity. Well, it was a wonderful weekend in Barrie.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Extremely Cold!

It is -18 degrees celcius outside right now. I can't believe it gets this cold.

We were in the Niagara-on-the-Lake for the weekend but we couldn't do much outside due to the freezing temperature. It was 'crispy' cold. Each time the wind hits my face, it's really painful. Before we drove back to Toronto, we invited Herbert's cousin and Aunt to a heavy Japanese lunch at St. Catherines (a town next to Niagara On The Lake).

Here are some pictures during our afternoon walk at the town center of the Niagara On The Lake.


Golf Resort by the lake


One of the beautiful Inns in the town




The carriage ride around the town.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

A visit to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)

Finally, we made our long-overdue visit to the Royal Ontario Museum happen. We were advised that we would need a day to see everything in this museum. Unfortunately, we don't have that much time especially on a Sunday. After our brunch at 12:00nn, we headed to the nearest subway station at the King Street. We decided not to take the car so we could avoid the parking hassle. It was Herbert's first time to take the subway.



Being a Sunday the streets and the station weren't so crowded. We opted to drop $2.75 for each one of us instead of buying tickets or tokens. When we got off the train, we headed straight to the concourse (underground shopping mall) in Bloor. I was showing Herbert shortly the major shopping malls in the area. Along the Bloor street is a line of high-end 'posh' stores i.e. Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Club Monaco and a lot more. I wasn't new to this place as I had been here once in one of my trips to explore the city.

I have read some facts about the museum from its website. The Museum was established by an Act of the Ontario Legislature in April 1912. The façade of the museum shows two different era. The original building along Philosophers' Walk (now the west wing of the ROM), with the main entrance on Bloor Street W., opened to the public on March 19, 1914. The ROM’s new addition, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, and the renovations to the historic buildings, are designed by Daniel Libeskind in a joint venture with Toronto's Bregman + Hamann Architects.


Annually, the Museum welcomes between 750,000 to over a million visitors. After all the stages of the Renaissance ROM project are completed (in 2008), the Museum will have the ability to accommodate up to 1.6 million visitors a year, including 215,000 students.




As we reached the entrance of the museum, we had to queue to get into the building. Then we headed to the general admission counter to get our tickets which cost $20 per person. I know that we could get it cheaper if we will buy a City Pass which will give us free access to 6 important sites in Toronto for only $59. However, the ticket is only valid for 9 consecutive days which is difficult for us. Maybe we could get it on the spring time.

At the lobby there were Chinese live performances and ceremonies in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Level 1 showcases the galleries of Canada: First People and Early Canadians, China, Korea and Japan, We headed straight to the “First Peoples” gallery. The gallery shows the cultural context of Canada's earliest societies and reveals the economic and social forces that influenced Native art. There is also a theater which shows films about the first people.



Then we headed up to the level 2 where galleries of the “Earth and Early Life” and the ‘Mining and Gems’. We went straight to the Dinosaurs as most of the people and families do. This is by far the most crowded area in the museum that day. It is really amazing to see and read information about these remains of the different species of dinosaurs some 200 million years ago.




Then we were at ‘The Age of Mammals’ area. This is really educational. Then we went to the Minerals and Gems gallery, unfortunately it was closed.


Then we proceed to the Birds then to Reptiles gallery. It was so much fun for the children in this area. There were corners where children can have some activities such as drawing, playing and even reading books. It’s a very good concept for the families to spend time together.



Level 3 showcases the cultural aspects: history and style of Europe and other countries. The `Africa:Egypt` and “Asia and America” galleries were close. The European gallery displays the ‘The Evolution of Style’ in different era.

Medieval Era: Symbolism and Devotion (AD 500-1520)
Renaissance: Naturalism and Classicism (1400-1620)
Baroque: Grandeur and Extravagance (1600-1750)
Rococo: Lightness and Sensuality (1730-1770)
Neo-Classical: Simplicity and Idealism (1760-1840)
Victorian: Historicism and Eclecticism (1830-1900)
After 1890: Diversity




Also in Level 3 is a gallery of ‘Special Collections, Topics and Themes’. Display of armours in different era, paper eights from different countries, ornaments and a lot more.

In

a corner, is a room displaying the Black Star Sapphire of Queensland. This is one of the largest gem quality sapphires in the world. This brilliant six-point black star sapphire is on display for the first time since 1969.
This incredible gem was found in the 1930s in the town of Anakie in Queensland, Australia. It weighed an amazing 1156 carats. It was purchased uncut by the Kazanjian Brothers in 1947 and later cut and polished to its present-day 733 carats. It is now surrounded by 35 sparkling diamonds in a white gold setting.
The Black Star Sapphire of Queensland explores the beauty and science surrounding sapphires — how they are formed in nature, where and how they are mined, and their significance in various cultures. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to catch this shining star before it’s gone.
Source: http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/special/blackstar.php




At level 4 which is a gallery of Textile and Costume is fairly empty. There was nothing much on display. So we decided to go down to Level 1. Since we still had time, we decided to visit the galleries of China, Korea and Japan. By then, the live performance was still on at the lobby but we opted not to watch it, instead we headed back home.

I think the 3 hours we spent in the museum was fairly enough. We covered everything except for those ones which are close of course. Overall, it was a very good and educational trip. It is highly recommended to pay ROM a visit.

Very close to where we live is the Church Street. As the name implies there are major churches stand in this street. I am fascinated with the building design and it's architecture.

St. Michael's Catholic Cathedral:

St. Michael’s Cathedral was consecrated on September 19, 1848, more than 150 years ago. The cornerstone had been laid on May 8, 1845 by Bishop Michael Power, the first Bishop of Toronto, who contracted Typhus and died on October 1, 1847 having ministered to the sick and dying among the great influx of Irish famine immigrants. Bishop Power’s own financial resources together with the Sunday penny collections of the Irish immigrants, a clerical tax, donations from across the diocese, generous contributions from Europe, especially France and Vienna, as well as the benefices of financial benefactors such as The Hon. John Elmsley and Samuel G. Lynn Esq., both Anglican converts, all contributed to purchasing the land and seeing the Cathedral through to a debt free consecration.

The building, designed by the architect William Thomas, is patterned on that of the fourteenth century gothic York Minster in England. The great stained glass “crucifixion” over the sanctuary, a masterpiece of the noted French artist Thevenot, was donated by the Most Reverend Armand-Francois-Marie Count de Charbonnel, second Bishop of Toronto and was installed in 1858. To this day the Cathedral houses splendid art, stained glass windows and magnificent gold chalices. High above the main altar hangs the Red Hat of His Eminence James C. Cardinal MacGuigan, who served as the first Cardinal of Toronto from 1946 to 1974. Within the Rectory of the Cathedral is kept the throne used by Pope John Paul II who celebrated Mass in the Cathedral in 1984 during the episcopate of Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter.
What is most important however, is that from its founding until today, St. Michael’s Cathedral has stood in the heart of Toronto serving the people of God, poor and rich alike, English, Irish and multicultural. The fundamental mission of the Cathedral is to be a place of prayer and worship with a special commitment to the preaching of the Word and service to and with poor persons. Today, the Cathedral serves as a heart of worship to the nation.
Source: http://www.stmichaelscathedral.com/index.html






The Cathedral Church of St. James (Anglican Church of Canada):

The Cathedral Church of St. James is both a parish church ministering to the historic St Lawrence neighbourhood and a cathedral (the church where the bishop's chair or throne - the "cathedra" - is located), making it the spiritual centre of the diocese and a focal point for the civic life of Toronto, one of Canada's most prominent cultural and financial centres.

Please visit below website for it's brief history and detailed information:
(Source: http://www.stjamescathedral.on.ca/HistorybrArchitecture/tabid/63/Default.aspx )




The Metropolitan United Church:


Visit the website for it's history and detailed information. http://www.metunited.org/node/26