Sunday in Toronto/Niagara

On the Sunday of the holiday weekend, Allison and I escaped the city for part of the day, heading down to the Niagara area to do a little wine tasting.  We had fine weather for it:  mildly warm, mostly sunny.  The traffic was all going the other way it seemed, either in to the CNE activities as we headed out of Toronto or out to the Niagara area for a last gasp of summer escape as we drove back home.  We weren't too ambitious, either, opting for two wineries and a distillery.

First up:  Pearl Morissette. 

A name I know from trying their wines but also because their restaurant has an excellent reputation.  Lovely to sit in Adirondack (not Muskoka, Allison!)

chairs out on the lawn and sip a tasting flight. 

The wines were interesting.  Not entirely to my taste, all of them, but interesting.  Allison and I agreed that we each liked the rose the most, and so we each bought a bottle.  A fine start to the day.

Next:  180 Estate Winery.  Allison had never been there before, but she stumbled upon it by chance.  A nicely serendipitous choice - we liked all of the wines we tried, and - even better - we had an enjoyable lunch of a charcuterie board. 

I bought a bottle of a Cab Franc white there, wishing I could buy a little more but limited in what I could pack home.

Finally:  Dillon's Small Batch Distillers. 

Not the first time there, and Allison has gifted us with things from there as well over the years.  Allison was driving, so I was the only one of us to do the tasting.  A few gins, an amaro, a couple of other items.  I liked the variety of the gins, and I settled on one for Allison to bring in November.  I also bought the amaro for her to bring down and give to Van.

We came back into the city, and Allison dropped me off at the hotel where I took a nice little nap.  Once I was up, I got ready and walked up Yonge to Terroni to meet her, Brenda,

and Catriona.  We sat on the rooftop deck as the evening cooled off.  I had a spritz,

zucchini blossoms,

garganelli with sausage and dandelion greens,

and a butterscotch budino. 

Brenda and I walked most of the way home together, and I got a cute little reminder of Conrad, back home.

The weekend wrapped up there, aside from two flights the next day (connecting through Chicago)

that got me home in time for dinner.  What a nice, mellow day to end a long weekend on. 

Rüfüs Du Sol with Allison

Oh good gosh, was this really a week and a half ago or more.  So much to catch up on.  As usual!  I should rename this blog "Peter Ten Days Later".  Sigh.

You know, this is a fairly easy blog post to write.  A lot of photos, not much to say.  Allison and I made it to the Rogers Centre (and, no, I will refer to it as SkyDome henceforth because that is what it still is in my mind) during the opening act, Fcukers. 

I'd heard one of their songs before the show, and I don't think I heard it at the show.  I also wasn't inclined to listen to more, sorry.  The sound was muddy, the vocals failing to cut through everything.  Maybe we got a bad night, and I thank them for opening, but not for us.

Before Rüfüs Du Sol came on, we got to witness something pretty cool:  the opening of the roof. 

The weather was fine for a late summer concert, and the spectacle of it opening was fun to watch.  Plus, terrific view of the CN Tower! 

Once that was done, it was on to the show.

Van and I saw Rüfüs Du Sol back in fall of 2021, and it was such a good show.  But honestly?  This was better.  More uninhibited post-Covid (he writes on an evening when Conrad has tested positive), more energy.  Rüfüs Du Sol were more polished, the show was sharp and focused.  So good. 

I was really happy to be there with Allison for her first time seeing them.

Post-show, Allison navigated us to a subway stop where we could get on the train before the crowd.  Smart thinking.  I was back at the hotel before the bar closed, getting a glass of wine from Peter, the bartender, and heading to my room.  It took a long while to wind down and fall asleep, but it was all so worthwhile. 

Saturday in Toronto before the concert

I have been to Toronto, oh gosh, ten times in my life?  Maybe more, maybe less, but I feel like it is at least that.  Three times since I resumed the blog in 2023, and I know that there were at least a couple in the in-between years of the blog and at least a couple more pre-blog.  Anyway, as a whole, it's not really new to me.  That said, I do tend to stick to the same parts of the city, and there is a lot of it I haven't seen.  And a lot of it I never will - there are sure to be plenty of residential areas that are that and nothing more, not worth wandering and visiting.  But a lot is familiar - the street names at least, even if it seems newer and newer highrises are going up.

Anyway, I did start out my Saturday morning in Toronto in such an area.  My hotel

was a block off the main drag of the gay village,

so I ambled over to a Starbucks I knew was there, grabbed my decaf latte, and got to walking around the broader area a little. 

I had a leisurely morning to enjoy.  Allison was planning to meet me after 10:00, so there was no rush.

Once she picked me up, we caught the metro and streetcar over to where we could take a ferry over to the Toronto Islands. 

Yes, friends, a new part of the city for me to see.  Hooray!

It's a short ferry ride and a very popular one at that.  Still, we got to stand along a rail and get some good shots of the skyline as we headed over.  

Once on the islands, it was hours of walking all over, enjoying the great weather

and overdue, welcome, deep conversation.  And, of course, there were the sights.  Monarch butterflies abounded. 

A cormorant sunning itself. 

Something in the mustelid family scooting across the boardwalk.  And views of the city, both through the setting of a marina of boats and unobstructed. 

Just such a nice day, broken up with a light lunch at the Riviera Lakeside Patio

and a coffee from the Runaway Cafe.

Allison and I caught a ferry back and began walking back to my hotel.  We stopped into the Eaton's Centre, into Eataly

and Simon's and Uniqlo.  Once back at the hotel, we freshened up and relaxed, and then headed a handful of blocks north to dinner.  It has been AGES since last I had Ethiopian food, and it made for a fairly inexpensive, filling, and not-too-rich meal sitting outside at Ethiopian House, the sounds of the city all about. 

A meal in our bellies, it was time to head to the show....