Thanks to Mark, I found this and this for my old laptop.
For
Accomplished
Unpacked from weekend trip – check.
Clean laundry put away – check.
Dirty laundry put in now-empty basket – check.
Order PCMCIA ethernet and wireless adapters – check.
Clean kitchen – on my way.
Clean bathroom – procrastination, my good friend. :)
Uhm, okay.
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Honeymoon Post #8
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?
But snow is HAPPY! *sigh*
Okay, I’m a yutz. No Luna for us tonight. Cancelled due to inclement weather.
Oh, yeah!
Tonight, I – and a bunch of other cool peoples – will be at Luna.
Be there. Seriously. :)
Honeymoon Post #7
After a bit of confusion – the first cab we came upon didn’t have enough room for our luggage – we got in a cab and were on our way to our hotel. We arrived just before 9 PM.
I think that we were spoiled rotten by the brand new Embassy Suites in Niagara. The Courtyard by Marriott immediately struck us as more dirty. Benny didn’t like the guy that checked us in, and the construcion and layout of the place was so odd that it struck me as accidental. Our room is on the 9th floor – the top – of the North Tower. Only one suitcase rack, no little mini kitchen, and you have to press yourself up against the bathroom wall to close the door. But at least we’ve got in-room internet access, right?
Wrong. Neither hte wireless nor the wired worked that first night. So, after a few minutes of fiddling, we gave Amy a call up. It turns out that she’s two blocks away from us, tops. She’s not up and around, so we go and grab some food. Amy says to just walk down the block, and we’re guaranteed to find something that we’ll like. Tht’s what’s great about our hotel. Location, location, location!
So, we just cast our glance up and down the street, and: two fast food joints, a pizza place, a Japanese restaurant, and an Italian pasta place. OH! And a sub shop. Amy wasn’t kidding. So, we went to Sushi Sky. Benny had a sampler and I had a sushi special. She decided to try sushi once again, and she ended up liking it this time. I think that she loved all of the different dipping sauces that she had. I also had some gyoza, and the outer layer of the dumpling had been cooked well done enough that it was crispy. That was a first for me, but it was tasty nonetheless. The bill came, and it was only CAN$22!! An authentic Japanese meal, and it was cheaper than in the US! I just about had a cheap-gasm. Anyway, we called Amy back, and she said she’d meet us in the hotel lobby.
We waited on a couch there for her, content in our post-sushi coma. When she arrived, the three of us hopped in a cab and were on our way to the FunHaus Club. It was a pretty cool goth joint, and the DJ played only good tracks. The playlist must have been downloaded straight from my subconscious. Two shots of Jager and a Red-Headed Slut rounded out my drinks. Benny had an Amaretto Sour and this cranberry vodka drink. We ended up – okay, I ended up getting sleepy around 2. So, the three of us hopped back in a cab and ended up parting ways by the hotel. Benny and I crashed hard.
We woke up just in time to get our free breakfast. We’d made the mistake of closing the curtains all the way, so no light came in to wake us up. The hotel smelled a bit funny, so we opened up a window to let it air out. I even tried a little bit more troubleshooting – I even called tech support – all with no results. Wiring problem in the room, they said. We took the laptop down to the business center and got our bearings a bit. Subway map, streetcar map, and just a general map. We confirmed our findings with the hotel desk clerk, and got more specific directions to the closest subway station.
We went down a level, and then compared our map with the one on the wall. Everything looked kosher, except for these route transfer numbers. We took some time trying to figure it out, and then a random lady asked us if we needed some help. I was floored! We said yes, and she basically told us to ignore the route numbers and we’d be just fine. So, since we didn’t know how many attractions we were going to visit, and how many times we were going to use the subway, we bought a day pass for each of us. We were also instructed that we should smile when we showed our pass. Way cool ticket-master.
The subway was a subway. Much like the above-ground trains and their stations in Japan, right down to the acceleration and deceleration.
Oh, wait, I forgot a critical part. I had the hangover from the 9th level of hell. Dizziness, flashes of vertigo, dehydration, and migrating headache. After only three drinks! Goddamn cranberry juice. Or schnapps. Whichever.
Anyway, so the subway was sweet. I could totally get used to this public transportation schtick. Actually hailing a cab from the street. So, we got off at the Museum stop, and completely toured the Royal Ontario Museum. Besides struggling through the hangover, the exhibits were extremely cool and engaging. Benny called me a little boy when I wanted to go through the dinosaur exhibit, and took a great amount of fun in pointing out my “relatives.” We stopped a bit for refreshment at the deli in the basement, and I marvelled at how the museum was continually being added on to. Not only that, but there were kids and teenagers throughout the entire place. And they were enjoying themselves. At a museum! Well, I can’t begin to see how Canada isn’t a stronger superpower than the U.S.
From there, we debated returning to the hotel for a rest or continuing on to the CN Tower. We decided to continue on. We took the subway to the Union Station, which was also where our train had come in to the night that we arrived. We took the Sky Walk over to the CN Tower, and used our City Pass to get in. That gave us access to all three levels of the tower.
By this time, Benny was starting to get a headache. I don’t know if it was a delayed hangover or from dealing with my whining. My knees and back were protesting by this point. Anyway, we went up the tower in an elevator that was going 15mph, and explored all three levels. I marvelled that even in a city with so much convenient public transportation, the highways were still gridlocked at 5:00 PM. The red of thousands of brake lights shone clearly up to us. Filled with our share of vertigo, we went down the tower and searched through the gift shop. Eventually, we got so lost in this circular, modular place that we had to ask how to leave. The clerk, joking, demanded to see what we had purchased before letting us out. After a couple of nervous laughs, she pointed the way and we were on our way back to our hotel through the Sky Walk, subway, and two blocks of street. We were both hungry, so we stopped in at the Italian pasta joint. Location, location, location!
It was, of course, fantastic. I had fetuccini alfredo and Benny had linguini in chicken pesto. And, drum roll please, the bill came to only CAN$14. Toronto is clearly the place to eat.
We headed back to the hotel and realized that we weren’t going to be able to do the whole DarkRave thing that we’d planned with Amy. We were both feeling like ass, so we cancelled, and laid around on the hotel bed all night long. There was some Pocohantas, some Back to the Future, and some coffee. Oh, and of course, chocolate. We are so never going to be able to finish all of the chocolate.
And now we sit across from each other, in the Second Cup coffee shop, and I’m about to finish my apple cider. We’re going to brunch with Amy, and then hopefully meet up with Joy somewhere. How amazing is that? She’s in Toronto the same weekend that we are!
Honeymoon Post #6
Back to the Future is on CBC, and I’m reminded of the power outage. We watched Dad’s DVD in the Yukon.
Anyway, we’ve been in Toronto for about 25 hours now. Our train pulled out of the Niagara station 45 minutes late. Once again, it was an Amtrak train. Spacious seating and never on time. I was able to finish up a Carnival entry and begin the next Steven entry. I got a little frustrated with hauling the luggage onto the train, so Benny calmed me down with a bit of a neck rub. I may have also indulged in one of the two more Pocari Sweat drinks. It may also have been very tasty. Besides that, the trip was totally uneventful. The Toronto Union Station looked like a warehouse as we de-boarded and hauled our luggage into the station proper.