Places we have been.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Niagara by Night


We spent our weekend in Niagara on the Lake. We got there in the afternoon and were treated right away with the German traditional 'Kaffee und Kuchen' (coffee and cake). Her home radiates the Christmas spirit inside and out. I was so delighted to see the 'Plätzchen' (Christmas cookies) packed in Christmas wrappers.

At around 3pm, we drove to the theatre to watch the movie 'The Band's Visit'. I wasn't expecting much from it because I haven't even heard about it before. But in contrary, it turned out to be a wonderful with subtle humour and a very charming movie. It depicts two very different cultures: Arabs and Israelis; that shows they are both ordinary people with ordinary hopes, lives and disappointments. It's worth watching. From the theatre we headed home for dinner.

Later in the evening, we decided to drive to Niagara Falls which is just about 20 minutes drive. On our way, I was pre-occupied watching the Christmas lights and decorations illuminating the streets and the neighbourhoods. It was truly overwhelming.

It wasn't quite easy to find a parking space close to the falls. Hence, we ended up walking a distance. Though it was just 0 degrees Celsius, it felt much colder due to the wind. I was concerned that I wasn't wrapped-up warm enough to stand the cold. It was great wandering around the place, the Christmas lights and decorations bring so much life to the place. Not long enough, I started to feel my toes getting numb. It was freezing cold! Nevertheless, it didn't cease my desire to stroll by the falls, enjoy the gushing sound of the water and enjoy the beautiful sight of the falls. In between, I had to take refuge in one of the shops there to warm me up because I could feel my feet frozen and the pain in my hands.


























On our way back to the car, nothing could be better than to fetch ourselves a cup of Tim Horton's coffee. While enjoying our sip, the Ferriswheel in front of us seemed so inviting however, Aunt Rosie can't so I opted to just let it pass.

We then later on hit the road back to the Niagara on the Lake. It was around 10:30pm when we got home. That long walk combined with the freezing temperature took us to bed early and gave us a very sound sleep. After our brunch the next day, we headed back to Mississauga making a two-hour stop at the Fairview Mall in St. Catharines.

Posted by: Jernie
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Christmas Holidays Coming Soon

Christmas spirit is everywhere. The shopping malls are now well-decorated and busy with shoppers criss-crossing the place. Since we will be spending the Christmas Holidays in Germany, we are not putting-up Christmas decors here. It's going to be a rush by then: setting-up Christmas decors and run for the Christmas shopping. Thankfully, my Mother-in-law has baked for us the traditional 'Plätzchen' (German Christmas cookies). We usually start baking Plätzchen middle of November. It is one of the Christmas family traditions that I always look forward to. You can check-out this website for some recipes. http://www.huettenhilfe.de/rezept-linzer-tortchen_105.html


Meanwhile, I have been to few shopping malls here in the Greater Toronto Area and I do love the Christmas decorations. I was in Yorkdale yesterday but I completely forgot to take a photo shot of the Christmas decoration. Anyway, here are the few shots I made.

Square One, Mississauga, Ontario












Eaton Center, Toronto, Ontario

The Swarovski Crystal Christmas Tree




Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Posted by: Jernie
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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Photoshots around the City Center

The first snow fall in Mississauga, Ontario.








































































Posted by: Jernie
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

AC/DC Concert in Toronto

I have never known the rock band AC/DC until I met Herbert. Though I used to listen to some slow rock and to very little hard rock music but not one from the AC/DC. Herbert is fanatic to the hard and metal rock bands, among those are Judas Priest, Metallica, The Doors, KISS and of course AC/DC. He has a wide collection of materials from these bands.

When we heard over the radio that AC/DC band is going to have a concert in Toronto, Herbert had decided right there and then that we are going. But I wasn't keen to this band so I told him that I'm not going. But later on, we learned that our couple friends are going too. So, I decided to go as well. It was also an opportunity for me to experience such an event for the first time.

Our friends took the liberty to purchase the ticket online. I never thought getting one requires speed and brilliant technique. As Christine recalled how she got the 4 tickets, she had to call an I.T. person to help her do it. They set-up two computers right next to each other, they had to access the ticket website parallel because in just a matter of seconds the desired seats will be gone. By the time one fills-up the form and click submit/confirm, seats could be taken away by anyone of the thousands of people online. Fortunately, she managed to get us four tickets. It's unbelievable that all tickets were sold out in just four hours, considering the capacity of Rogers Centre to be a whooping 60,000 seats. Due to the high public demand, AC/DC is going to have another concert in Toronto in January.

Came November 7th, we drove to Toronto. Knowing that parking is always a concern at the downtown, we decided to park quite a distance from the Rogers Centre. As we walked our way to the Rogers Centre, the Front St. was busy. Large groups of crowds were heading to the concert. As we get closer to the venue, the pedestrian lanes were jammed and the crowd was loud, screaming AC/DC. We met our friends at the main entrance. We first headed to the gate where merchandise is being sold to get ourselves some souvenirs. Herbert got a nice T-shirt and I got an illuminated pair of horns.





As we settled in our seats (had a good proximity to the stage), I was in awe to see the place was literally full from the ground level to the highest level. That was amazing! Never did I expect that AC/DC fans range from various generations. I was really wondering how did those young ones (must be 10 years old and above) came to know about this band which took-off way back in the 70s. May be I was just living in a different world then (lol).


There was supposed to be a front-act band but for some reasons it was cancelled. At around 8:30pm, the band came-out and played. The crowd went crazy and the band played on and on and on.


























That was really awesome! I would say it was pure rock music with extremely beautiful audio visual display, lightings and pyro technique display. There was no break, no adlibs and no props acts. Again, it was just pure music. If I may describe it in graph, when they started playing it went straight-up to the climax level and stayed there until the end. It was a good 1 hour and 45 minutes show. It was truly, a great and unforgettable experience.

Though we had some ear-plugs just in case it will be too loud to bear but we didn't need them at all. The venue was packed but going out was not a problem at all. It was slow but in order. The crowd was still screaming AC/DC.

The spirits were still high for the night; people were heading straight to the nearby bars. We scanned through some bars but we failed to find a place. Then we walked further down to the east and finally we found one. We spent sometime to cool down. At 12:30mn, we called it off and parted ways to head home.

Well if I would ever get a chance, I would love to watch an AC/DC concert. They are touring the U.S.A. For more information, check-out their official website: http://www.acdc.com/

Posted by: Jernie
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