London-Day 2 -(Part 1)

….from Buckingham Palace to Soho

Sunday and Monday were hugh walking days – 21 000 steps and 20 000 steps respectively.

On Sunday we had prebooked tickets for a tour of Buckingham Palace. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside but the audio tour was excellent and I think trying to take photos would have spoiled the experience. Once we were in the gardens we were allowed to take out our cameras out and shoot as many photos as we wanted. I would highly recommend the tour. I thought it was well worth the money.DE191700_3_CDE_4063_93_D4_2_A79_B8_E38899
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From Buckingham Palace we walked along The Mall and through St. James Park. Near the end of the mall we went into the Institute of Contemporary Art and enjoyed a light lunch.BE7157_D4_F226_4858_AE43_5_AE4_C96_AE389
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From there we went to Trafalger Square, Soho and China Town.9_ECC2542_80_A8_4_CAC_A033_B3233_BE0_E65_B
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Which Way Photo Challenge – Sept 7, 2018

…thanks to Son of a Beach for continuing the Which Way Photo Challenge

Walking from one volunteer job in the west end of Toronto to another in the downtown area (I took the subway in between).
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An Old Fashion Corn Roast

As some of you know I’ve taken up bread baking at Montgomery’s Inn here in the west end of Toronto. The inn is an historical site and museum and depends on the generosity of time given by numerous volunteers. Every year the inn hosts a community corn roast.

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This was the first one I’ve ever attended and I was there as a volunteer. I helped roast the corn in the outdoor wood fired oven that we use for our bread baking every week. In the kitchen the volunteers cooked the sausages and more volunteers manned the tables where tickets were sold, food distributed and where coffee and tea were served. Down the hill there was an activity area for the children and under the tent there was live entertainment.IMG_4121

On the other side of the building several historical organizations set up booths to display information about their group and quite a few people were dressed in period costumes. Later in the evening the ukulele class that performs the first Thursday of every month also gave an impromptu performance for the community in attendance. I’ve been playing with the group off and on since January and I was happy to be there again after a bit of an absence. When you haven’t played for awhile three hours of singing and playing  can be hard on the fingers but wonderful for the soul.IMG_4122

For more information about the museum and list of events check out the website.

Being a Tourist in Your Own City – Part One

This past week my sister from Calgary and her husband spent five days with us. We had a wonderful time exploring different parts of the city and enjoying the food and drink that Toronto has to offer.

One of the places that my brother-in-law always wants to see is the Danforth, also known as Greek Town. Back in July this popular strip was rocked to it’s core with a mass shooting that injured 13 and killed two young girls. For days people walked around in disbelief with yellow police tape marking the three block area where the shooter took aim at innocent people enjoying a beautiful summer evening. Store windows were boarded up and make shift memorials quickly grew in front of the cafe where the girls were killed.

On Wednesday when we were there the only evidence that a tragedy had taken place was the banner ‘Danforth Strong’ that was erected in the park close to where the shootings started. All the yellow police tape had been removed, the boarded up windows were repaired and businesses and restaurants were once again busy.IMG_3734
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Next: Harbour Front

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – August 10, 2018

….thanks to Cee for hosting The Which Way Photo Challenge

Cee’s on a well deserved break. Here are my photos for the week taken on the way to the cottage and home again on the long weekend.P1060493
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