Garden at the top of the Royal York Hotel

We went to a centennial tea - it's the 100th anniversary of the Fairmont hotel chain, and they had a special tea for $19.07.

The tea itself was not great - sandwiches were a bit stale, the pastries were nothing special except the chocolate mousse cake, the crumpets tasted like the ones you get at the grocery store. Most annoyingly, they serve 8 tiny sandwiches for the three of us - kind of hard to divide up. Parties of two got three sandwiches each, but we were assured that it was standard procedure to give 8 sandwiches for parties of three. So you are penalized for having a larger party? Weird. These are tiny, tiny sandwiches on about a quarter piece of bread.

If you are thinking of going to tea at the Royal York, make sure to read this review first. (clue, if you must go, only go in pairs!)

Centennial Tea at the Royal York in Toronto

As part of the tea you get a tour of the herb gardens on top of the hotel. They are not open to the general public. This was the part that I liked best.



The gardens were impressive, but mostly I just enjoyed being up there and the view.

Sam the Record Man, Auction Day, Yonge Street

Sam the Record Man, Auction Day, Yonge Street, Toronto, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 047, originally uploaded by photopia / HiMY SYeD.

Sam the Record Man is a Toronto landmark - er I guess I should say it was because it's closed now. I went there on my honeymoon nine and a half years ago and it's one of the few things about Toronto I have strong memories of from that trip.

The huge records will stay up on Yonge Street as a historical site.

I thought about going to the auction, but I went to the gym instead. Plus I knew I couldn't afford anything anyway.

But, flickr to the rescue of the lazy photograper - here are some photos.

Sam the Record Man, originally uploaded by Michael Clesle.

The records light up at night and have a spinning effect.

Sam the Record Man, Auction Day, Yonge Street, Toronto, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 057, originally uploaded by photopia / HiMY SYeD.

Sam the Record Man, Auction Day, Yonge Street, Toronto, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 001, originally uploaded by photopia / HiMY SYeD.

Toronto's Other Chinatown

Toronto's Other Chinatown, originally uploaded by Melsky.

This is Toronto's second Chinatown, also known as Chinatown east. It's just east of the Don Valley Parkway.

Toronto Pride Parade 2007 - Parade Clip

Toronto Pride Parade June 24/07

Pride Toronto 2007 Weekend

pride08, originally uploaded by suresh.doss.

I didn't go to Pride. Not that I don't support gay rights but I hate crowds and heat and I'm not so keen on parades. Toronto pride is huge, it's the sort of thing where you have to go pretty early to get a good view of the parade and there's lots of arguing over who had this spot first and you stepped on my foot and stuff like that. At least there was the one time I tried to go.

But I kind of enjoy it from a distance, walking up Queen Street on Friday afternoon I saw tons of gay couples and when walking around the city on Saturday we saw the dregs of the festivities, festively dressed worn out people probably heading to their hotel rooms to recuperate from the parade so they can go out and party.

Here are more photos , video and coverage in general of Toronto Gay Pride 2007

Photos of Dyke Day Saturday at Toronto Pride 2007 Flickr photoset

Performer Jeffree Starr gets punchy

Homo Hip-Hop Gay Rap at Toronto Pride 2007

Scantily Clad Models strip down to their undies with a slide show

General Pride 2007 Slide show on Spotlight Toronto
The photo I used above for this entry is from here.

Pride Slam Poetry Slam photos and video

Pride Parade Video from Toronto Star

A lot of these links are from BlogTO. They did a great job on Pride coverage.

Toronto PRIDE 2007 338.jpg, originally uploaded by JaMmCat.

Don River

Don River, originally uploaded by Melsky.

From the Gerrard Street bridge.

Bikes a plenty

Bikes a plenty, originally uploaded by Melsky.

I was amazed by this long line of bikes parked on College Street.

Toronto really needs more bike parking. There are two and three bikes parked at every one of the spots on this block.

Sunrise on Port Credit

Sunrise on Port Credit, originally uploaded by Melsky.

This is just a little south of Toronto, on Lake Ontario. It's where I first lived when I came to Canada.

Happy Hockey Players

Happy Hockey Players, originally uploaded by Melsky.

Statue in front of the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto.

Danger, CN Tower

Danger, CN Tower, originally uploaded by Melsky.

Gate Number Four

Gate Number Four, originally uploaded by Melsky.

I took a long walk downtown today. There's a lot of construction going on. It was a sunny day and all the colours seemed bright. This is on Wellington Street.

A Cool Garden and Greenhouse

A Cool Garden and Greenhouse, originally uploaded by Melsky.

I stumbled across this greenhouse/garden while walking last night. It's kind of hard to see in the photo but the whole greenhouse part is just packed with plants. I would love to have a setup like this someday.

South India Dosa Mahal Window

South India Dosa Mahal Window, originally uploaded by Melsky.

This is a restaurant near Landsdowne and Bloor, a quick walk from my house. Recently they remodeled and put photos of a lot of their dishes in the window, which I like.

You can see Bloor Street reflected in it too.

I reviewed it here: South India Dosa Mahal

Taste of Italy

Taste of Italy, originally uploaded by Melsky.

My husband and I decided to go on a walk up College Street after dinner last night. I didn't realize the Taste of Italy festival had started already. We didn't eat anything. I had a light dinner but we were really not tempted by anything there. Most of the street food was corn on the cob, sausages, and skewers of meat. The regular restaurants were open but very crowded.

I eat in Little Italy a lot, but mostly only sushi, oddly enough. My husband does not care for Italian food for the most part. He doesn't like cheese or tomatoes. I like Italian food but find it easy to make at home just for myself, so I usually don't eat it while I'm out. Sushi, however, is not something that I know how to make.

It was an interesting place to people watch though.

Construction Continues on Dundas Street

Construction Continues on Dundas Street, originally uploaded by Melsky.

What a mess.

I like how right on top of the guy crossing the street is the sign with the guy walking for the crosswalk but walking in the opposite direction, and then that arrow pointing in the direction he's walking with the construction barrels in the same colours.

Mona Lisa on the Sidewalk

Mona Lisa on the Sidewalk, originally uploaded by Melsky.

A talented sidewalk chalk artist at Yonge and College/Carleton.

College Street at Spadina, Toronto

College Street at Spadina, Toronto, originally uploaded by Melsky.

Looks kind of grim.

Czechoslovakian Baptist Church

Czechoslovakian Baptist Church, originally uploaded by jgrantmac.

I love the colours of the brick an the contrast with the grey sky.

Sex Shop in Kensington Market

This is the Birds and Bees. I've been in here and the people were really nice.

Kensington Market Posters

Kensington Market Posters, originally uploaded by Melsky.

The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Marilyn Manson and the North by Northeast music festival are featured on the wall of this construction site. The bins in front are full of dried beans.

Girls Fighting On a Poster on a Pole

Girls Fighting On a Poster on a Pole, originally uploaded by Melsky.

This is a poster for an event at a nightclub. There's no shortage of entertainment in Toronto. We have just about everything.

It's Green

This is the time of year when everything in Toronto seems green. All the grass, trees and plants go into overtime. I love it! Especially because in California where I'm from, this is when everything turns brown before the long hot summer.

This is a street between Little Italy and the Annex neighbourhoods. It's my favourite kind of Toronto residential street - old brick houses with big porches and nice gardens, big trees overhead and a strip of grass between the street and sidewalk.

Community Vehicular Reclamation Project

In Kensington Market

Snow Storm toronto

Now that it's spring, here's a snowstorm from last winter.

No Face, No Problem

No Face, No Problem, originally uploaded by Melsky.

I saw this in a photographer's shop window on Dundas Street. There is no "after' photo that corresponds. I guess if you don't have a face it's no problem, just enjoy it that way.

Toronto's version of parking meters

Toronto does not have individual meters for each space. It has a machine for each block where you can buy a ticket with coins or a credit card. Then the machine prints you a receipt showing how much time you paid for that you put on your dashboard of your car and the meter attendants will come by and check it.



Here's the meter from a few feet away. The thing on the top is a solar collector. This is on College Street in Little Italy.



These are the new parking enforcement vehicles. Most of them are still regular sized cars.

Two of these will be issued to each parking control officer to use as roller skates.

Jumpin

Jumpin, originally uploaded by Melsky.

Hot day today - 30c/85f and horribly humid. I walked up Bloor Street to Bloor West Villiage and back in the middle of the day. Way to hot. I did rest a lot so I didn't get heatstroke and I drank a lot of water and used sunscreen. But the next time I want to go on a long walk I'll go in the early morning or evening.

I did see this odd bit of street art on a house just off Bloor Street.

Three is the Magic Number

Three is the Magic Number, originally uploaded by Melsky.

Unexpected Garden

Unexpected Garden, originally uploaded by Melsky.

Near Kensington Market, a tenacious flower comes up through a crack in the sidewalk.