Canadian Buffoon's Back to Front Vacation - Update! 05/18 - Falling Down

[pkondz]

Ah ha! I knew you could hear an eye roll....

I would have a hard time turning down a good burger for anything. We'll have to assume it wasn't a good burger.

Yep. Not a good burger at all.
Horrible.
Disgusting.

I'm over-selling it, aren't I.

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought those places would be so crowded. I never made it down to wine country, I have only been as far as Niagara Falls. But I'm really not a wine drinker, so it wasn't at the top of my list. Looks like a nice area though.

It is a nice area.
I think because it was fall,
all the new wines were in?

I want to say I have seen one of these in action before. I'm just not sure where.
The town where my wife is from, Placentia, has a lift bridge, which is a similar idea but quite a different animal than a draw bridge.

That's interesting.

Great... I take one thing
off my bucket list and now
I have to put this on.

Guess I'll just never die.

I love the look of those older homes. Some where I live have fallen into disrepair over the last 10 years or so and, due to repair/maintenance cost, have just been torn down. Sad really.

Yeah, that's too bad.
But...

So many houses,
only so much money.

Something has to give, I guess.

Agreed, you can't just walk past gelato. Cinnamon and cherry...interesting. Not a combination I would have thought of.

I never think of combinations.
Just...
"That sounds good... so does that."

I think you're justified. I have come close to doing it myself a couple times. You really shouldn't have to work to give a place your money.

The annoyance factor was high.

Interesting. I had never heard of that either. With Toronto's real estate prices, I'd bet half a house still costs double what a regular house costs in most cities (maybe except Vancouver).

I'm positive you're right.
It was fairly close to downtown.

This sounds awesome. Why have I not heard of it before?

I don't know!
I hadn't either!

After an exhaustive search I can say yes, I saw it. All I can say is pew, I'm beat.

Sorry for tiring you out.
I'll pray for you.

 

[pkondz]

Oooh this looked wonderful! I'll make sure to put it on my list for if we find ourselves back in the Niagara region any time soon.

You could do a lot worse.
I really enjoyed it.
Very relaxing.

One of our servers at a restaurant in Niagara Falls told us that there are some beautiful wineries in the surrounding area within about an hour of the falls/tourist trap.

We saw... tons.
We could have visited
many more, given time.

On that note, there are some lovely little wineries 1-2 hours from Halifax in the Annapolis Valley, for your next Maritime time, which I seem to slowly be planning for you. If you've never been, we recommend Avondale Sky Winery, and I've also heard good things about Planters Ridge. If you drive about an hour from Halifax to Wolfville, you can jump on the Magic Winery Bus and see several of the area wineries in a day.

Thanks for planning my trip!

I almost went to Wolfville.
When I was planning mine
and Elle's trip.
But instead we wound up
in Advocate Harbour
where we didn't do what
we wanted, but wound up
getting lucky with something else.

How interesting is the half house!? Neat. Funny that you knew more than the Torontonians about it. What a nice visit with your sister

That house is not something
you see every day.

And it was a really nice visit.

 

[Tracy161]

Wish I could say I was going
somewhere interesting...
But I'm not.

Darn. Wishing you safe travels, wherever boring and dull place you are heading to.

"It's a knick knack, Patty Black, give the frog a loan."

I was giddy as a schoolgirl.


uh...


In a very manly, he-man way.

I never doubted you.

Hello! It's gelato! You don't
just walk by, you know!

I know! Several years ago, I was in Boston for my youngest sister's college graduation. My parents were freshly divorced so we had to have separate celebratory dinners, 3 hours apart. Well, we had this lovely Italian dinner in the North End with my mom and were heading to the lovely Durgin Park for Dinner #2 with my dad. In between... on the walk from #1 to #2, I spotted a gelato counter and couldn't not stop. So, I had two dinners and a gelato in between in the space of 3 hours. #yolo

I looked at her and suggested we leave.
"Without paying?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

I figured we'd already paid with our time, so...


"Yes."


We left.

With the exemplary service you suffered - I mean had - they should have paid YOU.

Holy. Cow.
No, really.
It's the only explanation.
The cow that the milk
came from to craft this
ice cream must have been
divinely blessed.

I need this in my life. See above comment about the lengths I'll go for frozen dairy goodness.

Or a sashay.

It was a very good
few days.

So glad to hear that! Well, I guess I did hear that already... but nice to have the accompanying pictures. Sounds like a lovely time, indeed

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Center of the Universe

Yes? You rang?

How many Torontonians
does it take to change
a lightbulb?

Just one.
But he holds the bulb
and waits for the world
to revolve around him.

Good one! Glad you remembered it.

Suffice to say that I get along
really well with my sister.
And I know that isn't always
the case for some people.
Heck, some of you haven't
even met my sister!

"It's a knick knack, Patty Black, give the frog a loan."


I know... I know...
This old joke caused an eye roll groan.

Here's a virtual one:

I ordered a stone fruit salad
(Peaches, cherries, frisee,
with raspberry vinaigrette)
and a ratatouille.

I hear ratatouille goes over well with food critics in Paris.

The waitress told us it was
on the menu.
She brought a menu
back to the table.
Nope. Not on there.
She then told us...

To turn it over.

Oh.

Oh well. My ratatouille
was good and I probably
would've ordered it anyway.

Sure, sure. Chopped veggies over meat. I believe you.

Believe it or not,
I'd never actually seen
one in action.
I've driven over many,
but never seen one raised.
And we had front row seats!

Well, that's exciting!


Ok, it's a novelty.


All right, the first 30 seconds are cool.

I was very glad to have finally
knocked that one off the list...

And now never want to be
inconvenienced by one again.

Understood.

We drove on and stopped
at Wayne Gretzky Estates
Winery & Distillery.

I hear that's a great one.

Neither of us was interested
in fighting with crowds.
We left.

We tried again at
Caroline Cellars,
but we walked in...
And walked out.
Just packed with people.

Man, there sure are a lot of drunks in Canada.

The whole area is bedecked
in flowers and there's a
steady stream of tourists,
(ourselves included)
but it doesn't feel so busy
that you can't enjoy yourselves.

Looks like a beautiful little town.

Hello! It's gelato! You don't
just walk by, you know!

This is truth!

Eventually, someone...
I'm not even sure if he worked there,
came by and I asked if I could get
a flight.

He seemed confused, but did pour
me my flight.

This story gets even better if the guy didn't work there at all.

We sat and waited for a while.
But no one came to either
take our glasses, ask about our tastes,
or to ask for payment.
I looked at her and suggested we leave.
"Without paying?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

I figured we'd already paid with our time, so...


"Yes."


We left.

Dine and dash! We've got a dine and dash here!

Later that evening,
back in Toronto,
she took me to
Greg's Ice Cream,
proclaiming it to be
the best in the city.

I was skeptical, but...
I ordered a dish of
lemon meringue ice cream.

Holy. Cow.
No, really.
It's the only explanation.
The cow that the milk
came from to craft this
ice cream must have been
divinely blessed.

High praise! I guess I need to put this on the list if I'm ever in Toronto.

It's a beautiful church,
yet seems out of place
somewhat in the heart
of Toronto, surrounded
by high-rise office buildings
and condos.

Beautiful building. I'm glad it's there.

In the middle of the 20th century,
companies began buying up
properties... half a unit at a time.
Finally, one owner refused to sell.
They tore down the other half and...

Wow. That's certainly an oddity. Never underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned property dispute.

I wasn't particularly
hungry and didn't feel
like eating chicken balls.

Now there's an appetizing description.

A pastry made of deep-fried dough
soaked in honey and cinnamon.

...and I just did a 180 in my opinion on this dish.

It was a very good
few days.

Glad you had such a nice time with your sister.

Did you see it in this chapter?

Do you think he knows the words to Amazing Grace?

 

[pkondz]

in the still shot of this video, it looks like the dog is pooping all over the floor!

It does!

Aren't you a little old to be binge drinking and puking?

There's an age limit?!?!?!?

Well... poop.

You're welcome.

I've seen two. One near Mackinac Island and the other in Epcot after Illuminations. That one is NOT cool when trying to get from Africa to Test Track.

I don't count the Epcot one.
It's a pedestrian bridge.
In any event... I don't think
I've seen that one raised
anyways.

Hopefully you went to confession to cleanse your soul after the thievery.

Why do you think
I was there?

No yacking. That's good.

Learned our lesson
from the last session.
It was a session lesson.

Yup -- Marvin did some praying for your sinners!

Someone has to!

well -- I finally finished my TR and tried to post the first chapter using google photos, but they didn't appear to work. Now going to try my hand at Flickr. Hopefully that works! Wish me luck.

Sorry that didn't work out.
Maybe PM Mark if there's
a trick to it?

 

[pkondz]

sounds interesting-no picture?

I was a bad TR photog
at times.
But especially when
I was visiting with
my sister.

Sometimes you just
have to relax a little.

I feel like I always look for more on a menu - don't want to miss 'something better'.

Well...

Geez, that burger looked good.
Ah well.

I'm with your sister...ugh...been there done that a few times. I remember it being cool when I saw it as a little kid.

It was cool.
Guess I'm a kid at hear.

see?

Yep!

Of course! It is rule #4 for gelato...must try more than one flavor...or is that flavour?

What are rules
one through three?

And if favour flavour, neighbour.

Sometimes, you just have to. I don't think this was a decision that came lightly to you.

The longer I waited,
the higher my annoyance
and the easier the decision.

Gelato and Ice Cream the same day?

Hello! I'm on vacation!
You're lucky I didn't
have it three times.

I missed out on the sorbet.

The perfect trifecta.

Confession time

Yes. I felt bad that
I had missed the sorbet.

Interesting.....looks kinda cool. I wonder if the owners beyond him/her were upset thinking they may get a good payday.

I never thought of that!
Now that is a very good point!

This is how I first enjoyed...not really wanting to. So glad I did.

Me too!

 

[pkondz]

Darn. Wishing you safe travels, wherever boring and dull place you are heading to.

Thanks!

I never doubted you.

Always know I can count
on you to have my back.

Um... you do, don't you?

Cause if you do, I'm going
to start doing a whole bunch
of really bad things.

Then you have to take care of it.

I know! Several years ago, I was in Boston for my youngest sister's college graduation. My parents were freshly divorced so we had to have separate celebratory dinners, 3 hours apart. Well, we had this lovely Italian dinner in the North End with my mom and were heading to the lovely Durgin Park for Dinner #2 with my dad. In between... on the walk from #1 to #2, I spotted a gelato counter and couldn't not stop. So, I had two dinners and a gelato in between in the space of 3 hours. #yolo

Of course you did!
I mean... #priorities

Soooo.... just how full
were you by the end
of dinner #2?

With the exemplary service you suffered - I mean had - they should have paid YOU.

This is how I always feel
when I'm forced to wait.
"Hello! My time is valuable too!"

I need this in my life. See above comment about the lengths I'll go for frozen dairy goodness.

Of course!
Here, let me help you out,
just click here.

I drove about 1,000 miles
out of my way for good
ice cream...
I don't see why you can't
do less than half that.

So glad to hear that! Well, I guess I did hear that already... but nice to have the accompanying pictures. Sounds like a lovely time, indeed

It was really nice.
And the reason for
the timing of the visit...
is in the next update.

 

[pkondz]

Yes? You rang?

Dude. No one wants
to see your belly button.

Good one! Glad you remembered it.

Here's a virtual one:

I hear ratatouille goes over well with food critics in Paris.

Believe it or not...
I still haven't seen
that movie.

Sure, sure. Chopped veggies over meat. I believe you.

Actually there was some...
I think it was braised beef shank?
in there.

Otherwise...

Well, that's exciting!


Ok, it's a novelty.


All right, the first 30 seconds are cool.

You've summed up the entire
experience succinctly.

I hear that's a great one.

Man, there sure are a lot of drunks in Canada.

Hey! It's winter up here
for most of the year.
What else do you expect
us to do???

Looks like a beautiful little town.

It really is.
Very picturesque.

This is truth!

This story gets even better if the guy didn't work there at all.

I could see myself doing that,
if I thought I could get away
with it!

Dine and dash! We've got a dine and dash here!

They had it coming.

High praise! I guess I need to put this on the list if I'm ever in Toronto.

Yes. Yes you do.

Beautiful building. I'm glad it's there.

Me too.

Wow. That's certainly an oddity. Never underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned property dispute.

Now there's an appetizing description.

Was wondering if anyone
would go there.

Not surprised you did.

...and I just did a 180 in my opinion on this dish.

Glad you had such a nice time with your sister.

I did!

Do you think he knows the words to Amazing Grace?

He sort of does...

Except he calls it
Amazing Race...

And it ain't about us.

 

[buzzrelly]

Soooo.....

Photobucket is back up
after being down most
of yesterday, if not all
of yesterday...

Yet I'm not seeing almost
any of my photos here.

To say I'm a bit annoyed
is a rather large understatement.

I had just bitten the bullet
and paid them for a year
of service because I didn't
want to have to go back
to all my TRs and change
all my photos over to some
other hosting site.

And now... well, who knows.
Either they're all gone for good,
and I'm going to have to try
and figure out which photos
go where or... scrap the whole thing.


Yeah... annoyed.

Hoping they'll still come back.
But just have no way of knowing.

Looks like they're back.
Still not happy, though.
Why am I paying for
aggravation?

Oh well...
Pretty minor in the
grand scheme of things.

That is so aggravating

"It's a knick knack, Patty Black, give the frog a loan."

I stepped out of the car
and took a few quick snaps
of the bridge
and the reason for it's raising.

Cool…now I can cross it off my bucket list, as well

This time she caught the attention
of a young man who asked
what she would like.
He took her order and proceeded
to pour...
And then walked off and never came back.
My sister stood there, with her flight.
looking at me, empty handed, and then
back at the departing back of the server.

We kept waiting.

And waiting...


And...


Waiting...


Eventually, someone...
I'm not even sure if he worked there,
came by and I asked if I could get
a flight.

He seemed confused, but did pour
me my flight.

Really odd. This kind of happened to me on Halloween…I walked into a local pizza shop to pick up our pizza. They were super busy so I stood at the counter next to someone who was already getting waited on and I was patiently waiting my turn when another girl comes up and starts yelling to the guy behind me asking if he was being helped. Huh?? Uh, hello…I was standing right here…which is what I interrupted and said to the girl and she got all snippy with me saying she thought I was being helped But if she could ask the guy behind me if he was being helped, why wouldn't she first ask me who was obviously in front of him Such a weird encounter Maybe I shouldn't have paid either!

In the middle of the 20th century,
companies began buying up
properties... half a unit at a time.
Finally, one owner refused to sell.
They tore down the other half and...

What remained was... half a house.

Crazy! Why don't they add some windows over there now though?

Did you see it in this chapter?

I did not, and I went back twice to look

 

[Tracy161]

Always know I can count
on you to have my back.

Um... you do, don't you?

Cause if you do, I'm going
to start doing a whole bunch
of really bad things.

Then you have to take care of it.

Yep, sure do! Thanks for the warning

Of course you did!
I mean... #priorities

Soooo.... just how full
were you by the end
of dinner #2?

Indescribably so. Good thing I have a brother-in-law with a metabolism like I've never seen. He was the closer

I drove about 1,000 miles
out of my way for good
ice cream...
I don't see why you can't
do less than half that.

I don't see why not either! I mean 4+ hours for good ice cream? I've driven farther for less.

 

[pkondz]

That is so aggravating

Juuuuuust a little bit.*




*aka... a lot

Liked that one, didja?

Cool…now I can cross it off my bucket list, as well

Living vicariously through me?
Good! Tell me to do more
bucket list crossing off.

Really odd. This kind of happened to me on Halloween…I walked into a local pizza shop to pick up our pizza. They were super busy so I stood at the counter next to someone who was already getting waited on and I was patiently waiting my turn when another girl comes up and starts yelling to the guy behind me asking if he was being helped. Huh?? Uh, hello…I was standing right here…which is what I interrupted and said to the girl and she got all snippy with me saying she thought I was being helped But if she could ask the guy behind me if he was being helped, why wouldn't she first ask me who was obviously in front of him Such a weird encounter Maybe I shouldn't have paid either!

That's... weird.
And... excuse me, I'm not
overly fond of snippy-ness
in lieu of contriteness.

Still.... weird.

Crazy! Why don't they add some windows over there now though?

Might not be so easy.
According to what I've read,
that wall was a major retaining
wall that separated the two halves
of the house.

Plus...

Not much of a view!

I did not, and I went back twice to look

Marvin can be sneaky.

 

[pkondz]

Yep, sure do! Thanks for the warning

It's the only one you get.
Everything else will be
a surprise!

Indescribably so. Good thing I have a brother-in-law with a metabolism like I've never seen. He was the closer

"Here. Eat this..."

nom nom nom...

I don't see why not either! I mean 4+ hours for good ice cream? I've driven farther for less.

Great! I'll meet you there.
Only a twenty-one hour drive.

 

[buzzrelly]

Might not be so easy.
According to what I've read,
that wall was a major retaining
wall that separated the two halves
of the house.

Plus...

Not much of a view!

Okay, well don't ask me to design or build your house

 

[pkondz]

Okay, well don't ask me to design or build your house

“Let’s tear down this wall.
What could possibly go wrong?”

 

[SoccerDogWithEars]

I know... I know...
This old joke caused an eye roll groan.

Or a laugh that I tried to stifle and resulted in a coughing attack.

An apple cider, a peach cider,
a Riesling Gewürztraminer and a
Cabernet Sauvignon ice wine.

This sounds delicious!

I know, not much else to contribute. It's been a long couple of weeks for me, with our American Thanksgiving taking a sad turn when Joe's uncle passed away the Sunday before. So our trip to Cincinnati (I told you I don't like Ohio) for a family lunch turned into a trip for a funeral.

In other, lighter news, you were in my dream last night (though don't be too flattered, my boss and a random customer also were). Joe and I met you at a restaurant and had pancakes. And were in Canada. So, apparently that's what my subconscious links with you.

 

[mustinjourney]

Hey @pkondz -- I think I figured it out. Hopefully it works!

Now you can read all about my Daddy Daughter Disney Dash!!!

 

[Self_resqing_princz]

Those hulless popcorns are AMAZING! I love the buttery ones because it's like eating a slightly fried piece of butter (I'm assuming).... IT'S SO GOOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T SEE MARVIN IN THE BAG! Blarg!
That half house is cool looking.... and I saw him in the pew of the church! Ha! You can't (always) hide from me!

 

[Pluto0809]

"It's a knick knack, Patty Black, give the frog a loan."

It made me laugh but then again I do have a bit of a warped sense of humor.

While we were dining,
a waiter brought a really
good looking burger
to another table.

Mmmmm, that's probably what I would have gotten. Love me a good burger.

Believe it or not,
I'd never actually seen
one in action.

I honestly can't say if I have or not but I have seen the bridge go up in Epcot. Does that count as a draw bridge?

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Looks like a very cute town.

Cabernet Sauvignon ice wine.

I tried ice wine for the first time at Food and Wine at the Canada booth and really liked it. Bummer that the one you got wasn't that good.

What remained was... half a house.

Interesting. Seeing the fence around it and the sign in the window, I'm wondering if it will be around much longer.

Loukoumades.

Hadn't heard of them so I googled them. Sounds like donut holes to me.

Did you see it in this chapter?

Yep, didn't know that Marvin was religious.

 

[KathyM2]

Trying to get caught up on a LOT around here!! I've been MIA from the DIS for a while...trying to see what's up with everyone!

Neither one of us thought
to turn the wooden plank
over to see if there
was another paper
on the other side.

I found this funny because I can totally see myself doing that. I would have been disappointed to have not seen the burger on the back too!

They both looked at me
with confused expressions.
Ha! Two Torontonians
and I knew about something
in their own town that
they didn't.

You can add me to that list, Torontonian for life and don't know anything about this. I might have to venture down there...

 

[QueenJen]

What are rules
one through three?

1. Never pass up gelato.
2. Push all others out of the way.
3. Sample all of the flavours.

Hello! I'm on vacation!
You're lucky I didn't
have it three times.

No judgement here. I just wanted to make sure I read that right.

I missed out on the sorbet.

Yum.....sorbet. Lemon is my favorite - nice and light after gelato and ice cream. I think I just gained a pound even thinking of that.