the forties
No, this isn't about music or anything from that era, nor is it about my fear of getting old (although it is an unappealing thought and maybe a topic worthy of discussion years down the road...) This is about hot Toronto weather. How can it be, that one wakes up to 22 when it feels like 29 and then after hitting a high of 34 (45), we end the day with 30 (but really feeling like 44?) It's 11pm. It should be nice and cool out. Gotta love the humidity. And how can you issue an extra extra heat alert? Is it possible? It's like going to a concert and saying that the music is extra extra loud. As my friend said when I told him I was cooking (and it wasn't a meal I was talking about), "It's like you're on the fricken [sic] equator." Yes. As he basks and enjoys the nice cool west coast weather.
cry girl
So much for the Cirque being my next career move! I am still sore from flying class! Not so that I'm actually crying but nothing quite like being a wounded chicken with wings/armpits that hurt every time I lift my arms... *sigh*
fly girl
I have always dreamt about the possibilities of running away with the circus. I had that chance this weekend. Dropped into the circus school and went to try the flying trapeze. I almost chickened out when I saw the height of the ladder but I went anyway. What a thrill to soar through the air and to hang freely from the bar, once I was able to finally grab it. I was like a kid trying to reach the hidden cookie jar above the fridge... no matter how hard I reached, I couldn't quite make it. I was starting to feel sorry for all the others waiting below for me! The caller (the one who yelled out when to let go and when to swing etc.) said I should consisder joining the circus. I told him I'd love to but that unfortunately I had to pay the bills. Another lifetime perhaps.
smoking hot!
To think I lucked out when I made my trip to Vancouver and missed the mini-heat wave. That's nothing compared to the weather today - starting off at 26 but when it hits 36, it's feeling like 43! I am tempted to just stay in all day but manage to make it out for lunch with one friend, to the village of
Kleinberg with another, and gelato with yet another. A productive day considering the sweltering heat. I am extremely lucky since I have the transit pass to get me to work and back this week. The weather is supposed to still be insanely hot tomorrow and not break til Tuesday at the earliest...
it's all greek to me
So apparently everyone leaves the city in the summer as was evident in my gym class yesterday. I was the only one who showed up so the instructor waited until 2 other latecomers arrived. Guess he didn't feel like running a private step class.
My friend had gone to Vancouver for a wedding so she lent me her transit pass. I took advantage of it like a get out of jail card and hit as many places as I could - Chinatown first for groceries and then here and there for errands. I phoned up almost everyone I knew but no one was picking up their phone! So I wandered over (ok, took public transit as it would take me hours to walk there and I would have probably gotten heat stroke in the process) to the Danforth and had a leisurely stroll (as leisurely as one can in 31 degree heat) in Greektown, stopping off at Sweet Tooth Dessert Cafe to devour a keylime tart.
I obviously need to find some friends with cottages...
the call of montreal
I've been wanting to take advantage of being out east to see some of the other major Canadian cities. So off it was to Montreal. It's a pretty city and reminded me a lot of Quebec City - except this time I wasn't slipping and sliding all over icy sidewalks. While there I had to indulge in
Schwartz's Deli, a famous landmark. I was impressed with the mouthwatering smoked meat sandwich, but not with the way they served it (plates stacked unhygenically one on top of another.) Apparently that's a Montreal thing. When I walked into the Burger King and ordered an ice cream cone, the girl grabbed a cone with her bare hands, topped the cone off with ice cream and
then wrapped a napkin around it. Uh, hello? I ended up asking for a spoon (which ironically was
wrapped) and scooped off the ice cream before tossing the cone.
Other highlights included being there during the jazz festival, staying at a
hotel that had once been a bank, eating tons of gelato, and visiting
Notre Dame, where Celine Dion got married. Apart from spending hours at the airport waiting for my travel partner to arrive (flights cancelled and delayed resulting in having to be bussed in from Ottawa), and almost getting heatstroke, it was a good time.
