Our last day in Toronto, and U.S. troops invaded Fallujah last night. So very not proud to be an American right now.
Brunch was delicious and completely engaging. Astrid, and, uhm, the other girl who joined us for clubbing on Friday night, were there. We went to Sneaky Dee’s, and I had a huge omelet while Benny had a burrito. We talked politics, international policy, friendship, drama, and inside jokes. Time flew by. When we split up, Amy took us shopping through a literal market part of the city. Wares were out on the street, people were trying to convince us to enter their stores. We went into an army surplus store, where Benny almost bought a replacement for her purse. She put it back on the shelf after she found out that the symbol on it was for the Israeli paratroopers. We went into a bakery and a cheese shop that had wall-to-wall cheese. Literally. We went into a “cyber-retro” shop, where I was once more put in a feather boa. By that time, everything was closing up. Apparently, everything closes early on Sunday in Toronto. Even pubs.
So, we hoofed it back to where the cab had dropped us off, and there was no cab to be found. Not only that, but as the sun dropped, a bitterly cold wind whipped through the city. We’d left our coats back at the hotel, and Amy only had her windbreaker on. So, we were crazy-cold. Nobody was open, as far as shops went, and the few cabs that we found were already in use. Well, we decided to walk back to the hotel since Amy judged it to be about 15 minutes from where we were. By the time we got back, my backpack had killed my back – it’s been a while since I’ve worn one on both shoulders – and I needed to lay down. So, Benny and Amy got us all hot chocolates from Second Cup, and I want up to the hotel room to crash on the bed.
It’s starting to snow outside. I can’t help but smile like a crazy person. First snow of the season!
Anyway, after much hot chocolate, more talking, and Benny working on my back, I was able to feel human again. We finally got in contact with Joy. She was about to make dinner for Steph and Martin, and said that she would give us a call, so we could all hang out. After a bit, we decided to head back out. This time, we hit Hair of the Dog, a bar deep in Boyztown, Toronto’s gay district, where Amy happens to live. Great food, great drinks, and more really good conversations. Around 10 or so, we took off, said goodnight to Amy, and headed to the hotel for some “quiet married-people time.” Ahem.
—
On the train back to Sarnia now. VIA is always on time, it seems. Good thing we took Mary’s advice and got to the terminal early. Now, where was I? Oh, yes.
I woke up this morning with a terrible headache, and my back in shambles. Benny insisted that I take sinus headache medication immediately. So, being the good husband, I did. Then, she worked on my back for a bit, and it stopped screaming. I have a wonderful wife. After a relaxing shower – Benny had showered before I was even awake – we packed up the room. Somehow, this regular-sized hotel room had gotten more scattered and messy than the suite had. As always, though, we were quick packers and had everything taken care of quickly.
Once we had double-checked our packing job, we went downstairs for our last complimentary breakfast. Here, I will note some breakfast-related revelations that Benny and I have had.
Take a thermos cup to work, filled with orange juice. This will help my immune system tremendously.
When it’s emptied, and only then, fill it with coffee. This should last for the rest of the day, and both limit my coffee intake as well as keep me going.
Either for breakfast or for my first break, eat some fruit salad. The natural sugars are a million times better than High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is used in lemonade, even.
We went back up to the room and gathered our luggage. One last sweep, and we called down to check out. That done, we entrusted our luggage to the Bell Desk and headed outside for a cab. One last day of tourism, and we were going to do it up. We took the cab to Casa Loma, Toronto’s 1900’s-built castle. We toured the whole place, and damn, it was cool. I knew my knees would hate me forever if I went up the towers, so I let Benny go it alone. I toured the Queen’s Own exhibit for a bit, and then rested. She came back down, creeped out at the dark, wood-lined, cramped spaces. She went through the Queen’s Own exhibit and I patiently waited, enjoying the sofa. When she returned, we took our time going through the other two floors and the basement tunnel to the stables.
Two words: SECRET PASSAGES!
After we were done, we got something eat in the deli that just happened to be in the basement. Flash-back to the ROM, anyone? We flipped through our City Pass booklet, figuring out which site we wanted to visit next. I was grumpy, and didn’t really want to go anywhere. She convinced me, actually, after asking me what “Inuit” meant. They had an Eskimo art exhibit, I said, and was suddenly all about going. Heh. Unfortunately, after inspecting the ticket more closely, we discovered that it was closed on Mondays. Not just the Inuit exhibit, but the whole art museum. Needless to say, Benny was very disappointed. So, we left Casa Loma after taking a few more photos, welked down a LOT of stairs – they were set into a hill, and apparently designed for Casa Loma visitors – and boarded the subway. It was a bit of a longer trip this time, but it was still cool. More wishful thoughts of Detroit public transportation.
We hit Mr. Sub for lunch after having called and woken Amy. She wished us a safe trip, and we promised to keep in touch. So, we had subs for lunch, and tried to decide how to fill the hours until our train ride. We ended up visiting a used book store. Benny was enthralled, but I felt crowded and hot. So, I went to Second Cup to journal. After a bit, she arrived with two gems that she’d found. We talked about how much we missed home, and were looking forward to all of those presents. Heh. Eventually 4:00 rolled around, and we went to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, and hopped a cab to Union Station. Now, we’re on the train somewhere between London and Sarnia.
Two things that I’d like to note:
There is an extremely high Japanese population, both in Niagara and Toronto.
It was SO NICE not to have to drive anywhere the whole trip. It wasn’t even as though we were inconvenienced by not having a car. A total dream.
How will we ever thank Mary, Bill, and Jody?