goddesstogo

OK, I'm making a unilateral decision here.

I choose Wednesday, October 12. I'm also worried that Phipps has mostly desserts and tiny cafe tables, so what would you think about Ferraro which is also on Eglinton and (probably) a walk for annetti and N, and there's a bus stop pretty much outside the door. Here's the website with menus and map:

http://ferraro502.sites.toronto.com/index.html

We go there often for dinner. It's a casual, family place with decent pasta, pizza, salads, et al, and not too pricey.

How's noon for everyone?

annetti, if you'd like, I'd be happy to pick you up since I'm pretty sure I just live a few minutes from you.

So, who's in? So far, it's:

annetti
N
morningglory (yes?)
moi

Anyone else?

annetti

Thanks for the link. We are confirming for lunch on Wed. Oct 12 at noon for the two of us. Annetti and N.

GGG: Thanks for the ride, not too sure how we would coordinate that since I can't print our address here. It does not sound very far. We should be able to manage easily to find our way there.

annetti

And yes, Ferraro's sounds fine.

goddesstogo

Great.

I'm sure it's not too far a walk and if it's raining, I can drive you home.

Morningglory47

Yes, I'll attend lunch at Ferraro's ... see you there.

goddesstogo

Wonderful! I'm fine with it being the four of us but would welcome anyone else who wants to join us.

goddesstogo

Maybe I'll put up a little post re this.

annetti

Oh, Oh wwhat was deleted directly aove this post?

N and I picked up a rental car from Avis at Davisville and Yonge. Absolutely no problem, car was ready on time. It was around 1:40pm and we were warned driving out of the city might be difficult. We were thankful we had our Garmin, even so traffic was horrendous, it would have been a close contest which was worst LA or TO. By the we arrived in NOTL (Niagara on the Lake) it was close to 5 pm and we had made no stops. We had been told it was a 2 hour ride. I guess we needed to to have left earlier to avoid the traffic. It was midweek, a Wed, perhaps, we were picking up some of the pre Thanksgiving weekend traffic??

annetti

NOTL is a pretty, little upscale town about 20 minutes or so from Niagara Falls. The main street has wonderful displays of flowers along it, all in bloom in early Oct. The weather was mild and sunny during the day, perfect.Near Main street adjacent to it are some pretty Victorian bldgs, well-maintained,brightly painted and used as restaurants, B&Bs, hotels, and gift shops. It was pleasant walking up and down the main street, hearing occasionally foreign accents, primarily German, enjoying the weather and brrowsing. We spoke to one German couple, who remarked to us that NOTL reminded her of Sylt and though I don't see the physical resemblence, I understand the comment. There is a bit of exclusivity to the town. Further from the main street, are large suburban style home. We stayed at a B&B nearby.

Coincidently, N and I arrived at Niagara Falls on the same day, Oct 5, my parents arrived many many years ago for their honeymoon. I am sure the town felt a bit different then. It was poignant thinking how my shy parents must have reflected on this very important occasion. They were married 52 years.

annetti

The second day we drove out to Niagara Falls;Parking was confusing. We ended up paying $18 for parking, but when leaving we saw much cheaper parking at the casino for $9 and another lot for $7.

We were not original; we did what every NF tourist does, we strolled the promenade admiring the Falls, took pictures of ourselves and the others who asked us and then bought tickets for The Maid of the Mist Ride.

The sign says the MOTM rides have been operating since 1846. It takes about 30 minutes with some narration that I could only partly hear. Raincoats are distributed(included in the price); the ride takes you to the foot of the Falls. The spray can become pretty intense and for the less adventourous you can ride on the first deck to avoid some of the spray. Most people however prefer the top. I, of course stayed below and still got pretty wet. My husband loved it; it was great fun, but I think he thought if more exciting than I did. It is beautiful and worth the money and time. We also bought a ton of postcards.

The second evening was spent looking for a restaurant and wandering NOTL.

The third day we had planned to visit the wineries and see some of the countryside. It is quite pretty, though I was hoping to see a bit more autumn foliage. We ended up cutting our time short in NOTL, came home a bit early, turned in the car and spent the early evening having dinner in Chinatown and having pie at Wanda's

N finally had PIE, not another dessert and absolutely loved the pear pie. I had to agree it was pretty terrific. I spoke to the owner and she was very generous explaining to me how to make it at home, my pear pie tends to be too gooey.
Note: I have to go a bit heavier on the cornstarch.

annetti

We did not venture to new realms today, after laundry and sleeping late, we decided to revisit (our third time, I believe) the St. Lawrence Market. I knew it would be packed, right before Thanksgiving, but it was fun nonetheless. St Lawrence Market as I wrote above reminds us of our favorite Farmers' Market, the LA Fairfax Farmers' Market, which we love, but find it difficult to visit - freeway hassles and parking hassles. St Lawrence is such a pleasure for us, on so many levels, but besides that it is so much fun to eat there, it is so easy for us to visit unlike the one near us at home.

So we did what we loved, we sampled great food, watched all the people, shopped, sorry I was not making a Thanksgiving dinner, too much trouble in someone else's kitchen (also don't have my favorite recipes), and admired all the wonderful fresh foods available. Truly harvest time. Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

annetti

A minor aside to NOTL. We were meandering on the Main st one early evening when from the shrubbery appeared this beautiful white and black animal. The fur was lustrous; at first thought it appeared to be a cat, closer inspection revealed it to be a skunk. I have never seen a skunk up close - we were probably 2-3 feet away, but we quickly moved on. I have no idea if this animal is tame, part of the local scenery, but we were taking no chances. I'm glad there were no dog walkers in sight to frighten the animal. Irecommend or other NOTL locals or visitors care to comment? Is this part of the local scenery?

Here in Toronto, we see tons of squirrels, mostly black, though an occasional gray one is spotted. I'm not sure, but I think I saw a dappled colored one when we arrived. Possible? Our squirrels at home are more mundane, just gray.

Morningglory47

There are 'red' squirrels but they look like chipmunks to me - when I'm on a walk with the field naturalists they can tell the difference. A few years ago, a neighbour's dog tangled with a skunk - the stench was horrendous even in our house. Poor dog's white coat was pink for a time after the soaking in tomato juice.

If you're thinking of going out for a Thanksgiving meal you might try Allen's on the Danforth, nearest subway stop is Broadview on the Bloor line - I just heard the owner on one of the Irish radio programs say they're serving Thanksgiving fare both today and tomorrow and still using their back patio. http://allens.to/

Next door is Dora Keogh's Irish pub - you get your own drinks from the bar like you do in Ireland and there's often traditional entertainment.

annetti

MG47: Thanks for the Thanksgiving suggestions. Our home exchangers just e-mailed us they are planning on cooking a TG meal at our house, already bought a turkey.

So, MG47, what you are telling me is that the skunk we saw at NOTL was NOT tame and we were right to be wary; I don't relish throwing away all my clothes. It certainly was a beautiful animal - the fur was lush and shiny.

annetti

Today as local Torontonians can attest, the weather was absolutely perfect, low seventies, sunny and a slight breeze. We decided that it was the pefect day to visit Toronto Islands.

We took the subway to Union Station, then traveled one short stop to the docks.Ferry fare is $6.50 per person round trip. Senior rate is $4.00. The ferry ride takes about 15 minutes. Lake Ontario was serene and blue and as we pulled away from shore, there's a lovely view of the city buildings. The ferry was crowded, but seats were not a problem, since many people prefer to stand and observe the crossing. Up on top deck gives you a good view of the city skyline.
Our home exchangers recommended The Rectory for lunch.It was on the other end of the island where we had not docked. We walked through a beautiful park, well-maintained, through some formal gardens and finally to a boardwalk facing the lake. I imagine the walk to be about 2 miles; it was fairly empty with an occasional biker or another walker like ourselves.

Just as we were tiring, someone pointed out the restaurant to us, we were probably less than 20 ft away. All service was outdoors, under sprawling old growth trees. It was a wonderful setting. Although, we were told we had an hr wait, I believe we did not sit for more than 10 minutes. We were told by our home exchangers that service was slow (if it was, I did not notice it), but it was no problem since the setting was so lovely and it felt so good to sit and rest. We bought reasonably priced sandwiches for lunch, under $30 with tip. WE took the ferry from the Warden Island dock, avoiding a return walk back. It really was a perfectly lovely day in Toronto! I don't see how we could have improved on it.

BTW, the level of civility continues to amaze us, we met two men boarding the ferry and asked them some questions; embarking the ferry, they made a point of directing us, showing us the road gave us a few tourist hints. We ran into them in the Rectory, had a brief, but pleasant conversation, and when they left the restaurant they came over to our table with a few last minute walking suggestions. A total of 4 times they offered us help!!

irecommend

We have seen that squirrel down in an empty lot near The Prince of Wales. There was a crowd of tourists photographing it at the time. I am sure it is not tame, just probably quite used to people.

irecommend

Whoops! I mean skunk.

annetti

irecommend: Probably the same animal we saw; It was drawing a lot of attention too, but I was wary, we moved on quickly. It may be used to people, but if an aggressive dog moves in, I prefer to be several blocks away. It certainly is a pretty animal, of course I only glimpsed it and moved away quickly!

prinret

I am so glad you are enjoying our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. If you enjoy the theatre, there is a lot playing in Toronto right now. There is a great production of My Fair Lady in NOTL if you happen to return.

annetti

Thank you, prinret.

Another absolutely gorgeous day, high 70s, sunny and mild. The trees are starting to turn color, almost overnight and I am seeing some beautiful reds, burnt oranges, golds, yellows, half green leaves and shades of browns.

I love crunching through the leaves. It's a dubious pleasure from my childhood since it always meant the school year was beginning.In Pennsylvania, the leaves began dropping in early August. This time I have no misgivings, and I keep reminding my husband that he needs to crunch, but since he grew up in California he does not quite perceive the pleasure of walking through autumn leaves. I'm not sure he has recognized how significant a pleasure it can be. I keep explaining that it is an important literary allusion as well!!

Apparently, we spent our Canadian Thanksgiving in a fashion not dissimilar to many Torontonians. If the street activity was any indication, a lot of people were not home cooking a turkey.

We called a few Greek restaurants, some Chinese places and everywhere the restaurants were opened. We took the subway to Dundas and the crowds at Eaton Place (a large shopping mall connected to the subway) was packed with shoppers. N wanted Chinese food again: I was ambivalent. We took the 505 streetcar to Chinatown, had lunch, then walked over to Kennsington Market. Everywhere, there were tons of people about, shopping and eating. The restaurants and cafes were filled. We arrived too late at Wanda's Pie in the Sky, hardly any selection left, so we opted to walk over to Little Italy and get some ice cream. On the way there, I met a woman from my hometown who went to the high school in the next neighborhood over; we had a nice nostalgic conversation.

Little Italy's cafes were crowded, too. However, the only ice cream place I could find -- was the overly sweet gelato place, Dolce. I'm sure it has a lot of admirers, but all I can taste is the high fructose corn syrup whenever I sample the ice cream.

From outward appearances Canadian TG appears for many to be just another bank holiday. However, our home exchangers who are in our home in California, have bought a turkey and having a Canadian TG in Calif., so I imagine in spite of the activity on the street today, many Canadians were preparing and enjoying the tradional TG foods.

Canada - Hope you enjoyed your day, however you chose to spend it.