Family Reunions

Sarah’s parents arrived on Thursday. It had been a year since we saw them last so it was lovely to see them again. Being the caring, attentive hosts we are, we dropped them off at a shopping centre on Saturday whilst we went to our friends’ son’s 1st birthday. Nathan had a great time, especially when he got to mash up his cake. In the evening, we took Sarah’s parents out for dinner in the Byward Market. We went to Foundation. The décor and ambience was great and the food was really good. Sarah really liked the champagne cocktails too!

We had an early start on Sunday morning as we needed to go across the US border to get a visa for a boat trip we had planned. We met Sarah’s aunt and uncle and we all went on a boat cruise around the 1000 islands with a couple of hours visit to Boldt Castle, which is on an American island so that’s why we needed the visa. It was an enjoyable trip. The castle was built by a wealthy American as a sign of his love for his wife. Sadly his wife died before the castle was completed and, heartbroken the husband left it incomplete. After the cruise, Sarah’s parents went back with Sarah’s aunt and uncle to stay with them for a few days in Kingston.

Ta-ra Toronto

Since we are leaving Canada soon we wanted to visit Toronto again and say goodbye. We stopped off at Sarah’s aunt and uncles’ on Friday and had an enjoyable dinner and a good nights sleep. We had a walk around their 16 acre property in the morning and saw 2 coyotes!

We got to Toronto in good time and went straight to the Historic Distillery District. The area has been converted into bars, shops and workshops. Whilst walking around we were able to see various designers making their products. We then drove to Fort York, a defensive site built by the British. Originally positioned on the waterfront, it is interesting to see how the shoreline has changed and how Toronto has developed around this little fort. We eventually found our hotel, way out of the city centre, courtesy of our Airmiles. Having a free nights accommodation was lovely and the upgrade was even lovelier. We didn’t fancy going downtown so went for dinner and to the cinema. We saw Mission Impossible 3.

The weather on Sunday was awful. We went to another hotel on Spadina and then went to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Currently the museum is having a new, modern exterior added. We enjoyed the exhibits on Asia and Egypt. We spent the remainder of the day wandering around the shops on Bloor Street, Yorkville and in the Eaton Centre. We had a lie-in on Monday morning, a public holiday due to Queen Victoria’s birthday, and drove back to Ottawa.

Canadian Queer-sine

It's been a while since our last message. Things have been quiet here. We've decided that we are moving back to the UK. We have enjoyed it in Ottawa, but we both feel homesick and want to move back to settle down and make a home. We're a boring old married couple now. However, it has been really problematic organising things for the move back, so we decided that we would treat ourselves and eat out for lunch today.

We had lunch at The Works in the Glebe. We had seen it before and meant to go for a while. We didn't know exactly what food they served, but we didn't expect what we found. Sarah had a straight forward chicken burger with fries, but I fell for the Fruit Loop burger: a thick beef patty topped with a pineapple ring, half a pear, banana slices and melted cheese! It was delicious. I think these Canadians may be on to something. We highly recommend it.