MOVIED-OUT, WASHED UP, READY TO MOVE ON

This was the last full week of the Winter-In-Toronto experiment and the days were full. The walkability has been 99% --- in the whole month we took transit only once. You can't miss The Toronto Railway Museum; all the choo-choo's and cabooses etc. are in full and free view. Out at the Beach the windy waves brought out polar bares and kite surfers. Pat got a pedi at her fave Vietnamese shop. We wandered unchallenged into the by-invitation-only Mercedes-Benz annual car intro (at the old Maple leaf Gardens) and catered lunch! I guess they assumed Pat was a Vice-President and I was a car-jockey?

Gong Hei Fat Choy! --- the Chinese New Year was underwhelming in nearby old Chinatown. The big dress balls and shows are in the wealthier suburban centres. Still, the crowds were festive in their search for red-and-gold anything.

At last a bonafide museum! The Bata Shoe Museum. 13,000 shoes and artefacts portraying over 4,500 years of history and cultures. From small (Barbie wore high-heels only) to large (size 38EEE cowboy boots) and everything in between. Fascinating exhibit of traditional footwear (intricate grass socks, clever duckbody slippers, etc.) from all the native peoples around the Arctic circle. Or how about the story of Men in Heels?

One objective of the month was to catch up on movies we were curious about. Raves and tears: Lion and Hidden Figures. Disappointing: Moonlight. So-so: Rogue One.

This morning was another daytrip to Kemble. A foot of new snow overnight! Beautiful homecoming but we had work to do, unpacking and packing for the next journey, starting Tuesday. What car to take? --- by the time it got back to Toronto, it needed to scrub off the road salt and sand. Now we're ALL washed up and raring to go...

GLOOMY HERE, GLOOMIER DOWN THERE

Every day this week was gloomy, especially in the USA. So, you'll notice not one sunny day in this week's pictures. Clothes NOT optional at Sugar Beach. Rain again on Cheap Movie Tuesday. Night lights try to fend off the dark.

A quick daytrip up to Kemble reminded that winter still ruled outside the city. We're moving stuff up the hill and down for February.

Downtown Toronto features extensive indoor pathways, so it's a good way to reduce the frostbite on your face. We passed through the crowds going into the hockey game, including kids who could probably play Leafs-level right now! Lots of energy, lots of buzz. Just the opposite, though, at the so-called Textile Museum of Canada. You'd expect a lot of textiles, no? A museum of displays and history, no? Well, NO and NO. Probably the most disappointing "museum" I've seen in the world. Dead silence, deserted, no colours, small space, and mostly --- almost NO textiles! A bizarre collection of videos instead of textiles and better displays in the giftshop. Do not waste your time or money.

Walking outside again, there's another urban beach! Some canoes are stacked up for the non-existent winter. But another canoe has one lone navigator! Good to see lots of public art and park among the hundreds of new condo towers. One colourful bunch are ---- could you guess ---fishing bobbers. But it's wishful thinking to be putting up a natural ice rink these days.

Last week's mystery of the zebra-striped boxes has been solved. They're part of what was supposed to be "winter installations" along the harbourside. All 5 had been designed assuming snow and ice. But with fog and warm instead, the impact is lost. Here's the contrast between artist's conceptions and current reality.

Speaking of reality shows, we wholeheartedly supported the throngs in the Women's Marches on Saturday. The massive carnage being created by the historically unpopular President has begun. The opposition and resistance will continue. Canada and Toronto already went through this nightmare recently --- but the effects from the US barbarian will be much more devastating. 

TOO BAD IT ISN'T SUMMER

This downtown/lakefront Toronto neighbourhood is full of attractions, scenery, and walks. Too bad it isn't summer when there would be more visitors and less heavy clothes! The weather has been climate-changey-freaky. The week started and ended with snow, stinging cold and wind blasts, so much that I have minor frostbite on my face. (For real --- I thought it was just dry skin, Pat knew different. I will spare you a close-up of my swollen, redded, blistered nose area.) Then a warm front moved through that melted the snow into slush and then heavy rain, all within a couple of hours. Sunny the next day, full moon in clear sky at night. Go figure.

So, early in the week it was indoor activity, like navigating Toronto's 10 kilometre underground PATH labyrinth. We only got lost a couple of times, some people never come out! And there's the Saturday markets. Or the Harbourfront Centre for arts and artisans. Wood carving, metal sculpture, glass blowing, etc. Mostly millenials trying to make a living through their talents.

Outdoors, the rink was closed and covered with rain puddles. Next day, it's frozen solid and full of kids skating (is that considered going to school??). On the bay, we were amazed at the hundreds of Long-Tailed ducks paddling about. New to us. They're here for our winter --- but it's summer for them because they migrate down from the arctic!

A good discovery walk was over to the Distillery District. A hundred fascinating buildings left from the 1800's when it was the biggest distillery in the British Empire. You've probably seen it in movies and TV series like Murdoch Mysteries; for a while it was the biggest movie set outside of Hollywood. Now it's full of shops and eateries so a lot has to be photoshopped out to keep it authentic on screen.

This area was also the base for the athletes of the 2015 PanAm Games. Pat worked the Games near here and could remember when the YMCA was  a training facility and the parking lot was the athletes' dance hall!

Last night a crew arrived down below and set up this zebra-striped structure. As of this morning nothing is happening around it. Movie set? Fashion shoot? Any guesses out there?