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| Jill, Zoe, Kerry, Liz, Sarah, Lindsay |
Friday, July 26, 2013
Amber and Mark's Wedding
Glad I had the opportunity to be part of Amber and Mark's wedding this summer too. It was surreal to be with friends I have only known in Singapore to be driving around and having a blast in London, ON!!!! Good times!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Toronto Reunions
You know when people ask me where am I from, there is usually a short pause, (due to my confusion) but it was nice to be "home" in Toronto after 3 long years!
Great times - Molson Sisters Reunion - so glad everyone could make it! Bec, Mare, Helen, Adele, Sue and me!!!!! Wonderful night - thanks everyone!
What's summer in TO without the Jays! Great day!
The long awaited meeting (finally) and baptism of my goddaughter Nicole!
Great times - Molson Sisters Reunion - so glad everyone could make it! Bec, Mare, Helen, Adele, Sue and me!!!!! Wonderful night - thanks everyone!
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| Sue, Helen, Bec, Jill, Adele, Maria |
What's summer in TO without the Jays! Great day!
The long awaited meeting (finally) and baptism of my goddaughter Nicole!
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| Nicole, Aunt Jill and Alex
Good to meet Andrew (and see Lara and Jimmy!)
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| Jimmy Drew Lara
Adventures with Helen!
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Saturday, July 13, 2013
Visiting nephew at Camp
What a great way to spend a weekend in summer - a nice drive up north to "cottage" country!
Austin's first month at overnight camp and I was thrilled I could meet him for Parents Visiting Day! It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we had fun!
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| Picnic at Beaver Point |
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Helsinki, Finland
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| view from boat - leaving Sweden |
Mom and I arrived by ferry/cruise Silja Lines about 9:45 on Thurs. July 4 and followed the agencies directions to the tram which led us not to far from the Opera House - Crown Plaza. Though this hotel was the nicest and largest one by far, it was also the furthest one from center of town. Though we changed (finally feeling more like summer 21 degrees C) and walked the 25 minutes into town. After getting a little confused about where to find the Hop On and Off bus (our 3rd one for the trip!) we finally found one, hopped on for one stop and then hopped off again on the Market. The Market is open daily and began in the 18th century. It originally (and still does) sell fresh fish, veggies and fruits. Some of the fish were sold right from the boats! There are also stalls selling souvenirs, furs, knitted wool hats and mittens, knives and glass jewelry. This is where Mom and I bought our Christmas ornaments - wooden hand-painted bells with Finland on them. We enjoyed a typical Finnish lunch right there in the market of salmon, fried white fish (similar to smelt), round potatoes and mixed veggies.
We then got back on the bus and stayed on it for entire circle to learn more about Helsinki and see the sights. After the loop, which took about an hour, we continued shopping around. There was this major street called Esplande which was their "5th Avenue" street. We also wandered in their department store called Stockmann and headed to the 5th floor for the souvenir area. Lots of looking not much buying. we basically saw most of Helsinki, didn't go into any of the buildings but we were exhausted by this point ~ 9th day straight of sightseeing.
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| selling fish right off the boat at the market |
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| Even on a boat! |
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| last day :( We decided to choose a restaurant close to our hotel rather than going all the way back in town. After walking around to the 4 recommended restaurants, the last one was perfect... called Toole.. after the lake. Mom and I sat beside each other looking onto the lake and watching the cyclists and walkers go by on the path and saw 2 hot air balloons ascend in the sky. A perfect setting for our last dinner. Mom's flight was early in the morning, mine in the afternoon, but it was neat to say "See you in 10 days" rather me usually saying see you in 10 months or a year! Now off to Toronto - it's been 3 years! |
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Stockholm, Sweden
July 1-3, 2013
Day 1 - July 1: What a huge city Stockholm is, 2 days was definitely not enough time to see it all, but Mom and I did cover a lot. We arrived by train and once settled in our hotel Clarion Hotel Signs not far from the train station it was early afternoon. We started walking and went to Old Town (Gamle Stan ) A medieval city with narrow streets, tourist shops and other cute boutique shops. Mom and I found Xmas ornaments. The Royal Palace is the most popular place, supposedly on the island; however we only made it to the gift store. For dinner we walked a good half an hour to a restaurant Lykke's parents recommended called Riche - it was good (a little more casual than we were thinking and dressed for) I had the typical Swedish dish of meatballs, mashed potatoes, lingerberries and cucumbers.
July 2: We decided to do the Hop On Hop Off bus to hear about the history on the bus and get to all the places we wanted to see, particularly Djurgarden - this is a large island with many parks, an amusement area (another Tivoli), a zoo called S , the Vasa Museum where a ship the vasa is housed - it set sail in 1628 but only went about 300 feet then capsized but in 1961 (333 years later) it was raised out of the water pretty much intact. We didn't really see it, but we went to the gift shop.
We did go out past the busy parts of the island to the Djurgarden Gardens where there a variety of flowers and plants growing, small plants and seeds that you could buy and a great green house with a cafe in it. Mom and I, of course, went in the gift store and bought a cinnamon roll and a roll with cardamon which they use a lot but I decided I like cinnamon better.
Next we visited the new ABBA museum (opened May 7, 2013)... we actually just visited the ABBA gift store, but we did spend a lot of time in it!!!!
July 3 - We took the Hop On and Off Boat tour on the river - it was nice to see the buildings and sites from the water and it was a lovely day. In the center of town there is a small museum called Hallwylska palatset, http://hallwylskamuseet.se/en
This was a highlight of the trip, not only did the house belong to Lykke's great, great, great grandmother, but it was truly amazing how ahead-of-the-times this woman was and we would have never seen it otherwise.
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| Stockholm |
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| Mom investigating type of tree |
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| In our hotel elevator! |
July 2: We decided to do the Hop On Hop Off bus to hear about the history on the bus and get to all the places we wanted to see, particularly Djurgarden - this is a large island with many parks, an amusement area (another Tivoli), a zoo called S , the Vasa Museum where a ship the vasa is housed - it set sail in 1628 but only went about 300 feet then capsized but in 1961 (333 years later) it was raised out of the water pretty much intact. We didn't really see it, but we went to the gift shop.
We did go out past the busy parts of the island to the Djurgarden Gardens where there a variety of flowers and plants growing, small plants and seeds that you could buy and a great green house with a cafe in it. Mom and I, of course, went in the gift store and bought a cinnamon roll and a roll with cardamon which they use a lot but I decided I like cinnamon better.
Next we visited the new ABBA museum (opened May 7, 2013)... we actually just visited the ABBA gift store, but we did spend a lot of time in it!!!!
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| Dancing Queens! |
July 3 - We took the Hop On and Off Boat tour on the river - it was nice to see the buildings and sites from the water and it was a lovely day. In the center of town there is a small museum called Hallwylska palatset, http://hallwylskamuseet.se/en
This was a highlight of the trip, not only did the house belong to Lykke's great, great, great grandmother, but it was truly amazing how ahead-of-the-times this woman was and we would have never seen it otherwise.
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| courtyard of Hallwylska House |
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| kitchen |
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| dining room |
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| one of the many rooms of her collections - this one china dishes and figurines |
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Oslo, Norway
Oslo, Norway June 29-30
We arrived in Oslo at 9:45 am via the Pearl Seaways ferry/cruise boat and followed the walking directions to our hotel Thon Hotel Opera situated right across from the new Opera House. Got ourselves situated, oriented and set off to explore the city of Oslo. Initially it was a bright sunny day with blue skies and white clouds but it quickly changed. We stumbled on a "grand bandstand" in the park, saw the National Theater and continued on to the Nobel Peace Center Building. At this point it began to rain and I was hungry. After walking up and down the pier we finally settled with an Italian restaurant called Olivia's where it was warm and cozy inside.
We found the queen's palace and had read only during the summer could you tour the palace. However the tickets were harder to obtain than we thought.... The lady said we could get the tickets at a 7-11 or from our hotel - they just needed to go onto ticketmaster. Well after I tried over 6 7-11 type stores, the hotel, my own computer, we were unsuccessful - mom was quite disappointed :( The most difficult decisions we have to make is where we are going for dinner. Fortunately it was sunny and dry outside, after our late afternoon, shower, cocktails and Scrabble game. After a lot of hawing and humming, we decide to go the Opera House, in the foyer was a restaurant called S.... Brasserie. Before dinner we did walk up on top of the Opera House - beautiful views from way up there and the reflection from the windows and the white marble stone and the water was awesome. Dinner actually was better than I had expected whilst sitting in foyer! Mom and I shared a typical Norwegian meal of cured lamb, prosciutto, potato salad, pickled herring, lingeberries and some cheeses. We noticed that most of the dishes we were served and which were used at our hotel were slabs of slate.
Day 2 - Oslo - It was a warmer day - I even finally wore sandals! We thought we should do something cultural so headed to the Gallery Museum hoping to see some Picasso, Monet and Degas (as indicated in the tour book) but most of the gallery was consumed by Edvard Munch's work (even though there is a whole museum for him in Oslo). He is the famous artist of The Scream. - which we saw 2 of - a lithograph and the original which used tempera paint and crayons.
We persevered with getting into the Royal Palace (there was an English tour at 2pm) We arrived at 1pm to plea our case that we had tried many different venues about obtaining the tickets with no avail. They told us that if there were any tickets not sold, they would be available at 1:50. So we ventured off for a snack at a bakery recommended by some ladies we sat beside at dinner the night before. It was a beautiful sunny day and the palace grounds looked much greener and alive. As we headed back to the palace, we stumbled upon the changing guards and then got in line (as Mom said - "I am not moving from this spot!") And though there were 5 people ahead of us, we successfully made it in to tour the Royal Palace.
It really was beautiful! (Unfortunately I was unable to take photos). This palace had only 172 rooms and so the architecture knew it was smaller than other European palaces he designed the rooms to get larger in size until one reached the grand ballroom - which really was grand! The information we learned about the Norwegian's kings and its history was quite educational! What a highlight!
Back to the hotel for a shower, pack up the clothes, cocktails and Scrabble. We decided to go to one of the restaurants that the hotel recommended on the water. It was a beautiful evening and restaurant. The restaurant was called Solid...... Pier 34. It had open feel - well the large pane windows, some which were open and the wonderful views directly on the waterways was picturesque. The fresh fish was what is was known for. I had the 3 course meal of smoked salmon and asparagus; halibut on risotto and dessert. While Mom had the same appetizer then had a huge bowl of shrimp! She hardly put a dent in the bowl of shrimp - tails, heads and eyes!!!!
Unlike Denmark, Norway didn't seem to have a distinctive look among its people. The people in Norway (in Oslo) were much more ethnically diverse. Norway is a nation that welcomes refugees; however, it is a very expensive city and I noticed a lot of homelessness and mentally challenged people. I didn't really feel comfortable in this city. Fortunately it had day light for over 17 hours of the day. 
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| Queen's Palace |
We found the queen's palace and had read only during the summer could you tour the palace. However the tickets were harder to obtain than we thought.... The lady said we could get the tickets at a 7-11 or from our hotel - they just needed to go onto ticketmaster. Well after I tried over 6 7-11 type stores, the hotel, my own computer, we were unsuccessful - mom was quite disappointed :( The most difficult decisions we have to make is where we are going for dinner. Fortunately it was sunny and dry outside, after our late afternoon, shower, cocktails and Scrabble game. After a lot of hawing and humming, we decide to go the Opera House, in the foyer was a restaurant called S.... Brasserie. Before dinner we did walk up on top of the Opera House - beautiful views from way up there and the reflection from the windows and the white marble stone and the water was awesome. Dinner actually was better than I had expected whilst sitting in foyer! Mom and I shared a typical Norwegian meal of cured lamb, prosciutto, potato salad, pickled herring, lingeberries and some cheeses. We noticed that most of the dishes we were served and which were used at our hotel were slabs of slate.
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| Playing Scrabble! |
We persevered with getting into the Royal Palace (there was an English tour at 2pm) We arrived at 1pm to plea our case that we had tried many different venues about obtaining the tickets with no avail. They told us that if there were any tickets not sold, they would be available at 1:50. So we ventured off for a snack at a bakery recommended by some ladies we sat beside at dinner the night before. It was a beautiful sunny day and the palace grounds looked much greener and alive. As we headed back to the palace, we stumbled upon the changing guards and then got in line (as Mom said - "I am not moving from this spot!") And though there were 5 people ahead of us, we successfully made it in to tour the Royal Palace.
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| Opera House |
It really was beautiful! (Unfortunately I was unable to take photos). This palace had only 172 rooms and so the architecture knew it was smaller than other European palaces he designed the rooms to get larger in size until one reached the grand ballroom - which really was grand! The information we learned about the Norwegian's kings and its history was quite educational! What a highlight!
Back to the hotel for a shower, pack up the clothes, cocktails and Scrabble. We decided to go to one of the restaurants that the hotel recommended on the water. It was a beautiful evening and restaurant. The restaurant was called Solid...... Pier 34. It had open feel - well the large pane windows, some which were open and the wonderful views directly on the waterways was picturesque. The fresh fish was what is was known for. I had the 3 course meal of smoked salmon and asparagus; halibut on risotto and dessert. While Mom had the same appetizer then had a huge bowl of shrimp! She hardly put a dent in the bowl of shrimp - tails, heads and eyes!!!!
Unlike Denmark, Norway didn't seem to have a distinctive look among its people. The people in Norway (in Oslo) were much more ethnically diverse. Norway is a nation that welcomes refugees; however, it is a very expensive city and I noticed a lot of homelessness and mentally challenged people. I didn't really feel comfortable in this city. Fortunately it had day light for over 17 hours of the day. 
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Adventures with Mom - Scandinavian Capitals Tour - Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark - June 26-28
Although Mom and I were supposed to arrive at the Copenhagen airport within 30 minutes of each other, something of course went askew. Long story short I actually flew in first so waited for mom - her luggage didn't make it and so I waited and waited for her to come out. Meanwhile I had figured out how to get access to internet at the airport and received an email from dad saying that due to bad weather, quite possibly mom could have missed her connection; so I thought mom had missed her flight and was about to leave and then she did come out (without luggage).
We used the following travel company; which we recommend - Authentic Scandinavia http://authentic-scandinavia.com/variants/34
We successfully took the train into Central Station and walked to our hotel - The Square - great hotel and location right near Central Station and Tivoli. With no time to waste, we bought tickets for one of those on and off buses and toured the town! First stop, Amalienborg Castle.
Amalienborg Castle was first built in 1750- 4 palaces for nobles families which are around an octagonal square and the royal family has lived in it since 1794. The area was built by Frederick V. When the queen is residing there the Danish Royal Life Guards guard the place and at noon there is the changing of guards. We were disappointed that we were unable to go inside the buildings though.
Next we went to see the famous landmark, The Little Mermaid, it was created in 1913.
For dinner we went a great Danish restaurant called Puk. We had traditional pickled salmon for a starter and then I had a steak and mashed potatoes and mom had mussels.
Day 2 - We went to Rosenborg Castle which was a castle you could go in. It was built in 1603-34 by Christian IV - supposedly a favorite castle of his and other kings after him! It has beautiful garden and the botanical gardens are across the street. The castle is arranged in chronological order while walking through the rooms and there is a treasury filled with armour, wine (dating back to 1615), trinkets, jewellery and crowns.
Afterwards we walked to a famous area called Nyhavn (New Harbour)- which is famous for its colorful buildings beside each other and many bars and cafes. Old red light district . For lunch we went for a typical Danish meal called Smorrebrod which is an open faced sandwich. We went to a restaurant Mette Ohlsen recommended called Ida Davidsen. I got roast beef with bernaise sauce, potatoes and carmelized onions (you couldn't even see the small piece of rye bread) and Mom had salmon, cucumber sauce and fake caviar made from seaweed. Next we walked down the longest pedestrian road in Europe called Stroget and did some shopping. We did find a LEGO store but I was quite surprised the homeland of LEGO, I hardly saw any. And there was no Lego museum or anything. For dinner we went to a Vietnamese restaurant which was good but really expensive!
Day 3 - Copenhagen to ferry to Oslo: Mom and I walked around a bit more - found this great coffee and sweets restaurant that Mette had also recommended called La Glace off of Stroget but we just weren't hungry to get anything :(.
Although Mom and I were supposed to arrive at the Copenhagen airport within 30 minutes of each other, something of course went askew. Long story short I actually flew in first so waited for mom - her luggage didn't make it and so I waited and waited for her to come out. Meanwhile I had figured out how to get access to internet at the airport and received an email from dad saying that due to bad weather, quite possibly mom could have missed her connection; so I thought mom had missed her flight and was about to leave and then she did come out (without luggage).
We used the following travel company; which we recommend - Authentic Scandinavia http://authentic-scandinavia.com/variants/34
We successfully took the train into Central Station and walked to our hotel - The Square - great hotel and location right near Central Station and Tivoli. With no time to waste, we bought tickets for one of those on and off buses and toured the town! First stop, Amalienborg Castle.
Amalienborg Castle was first built in 1750- 4 palaces for nobles families which are around an octagonal square and the royal family has lived in it since 1794. The area was built by Frederick V. When the queen is residing there the Danish Royal Life Guards guard the place and at noon there is the changing of guards. We were disappointed that we were unable to go inside the buildings though.
Next we went to see the famous landmark, The Little Mermaid, it was created in 1913.
For dinner we went a great Danish restaurant called Puk. We had traditional pickled salmon for a starter and then I had a steak and mashed potatoes and mom had mussels.
Day 2 - We went to Rosenborg Castle which was a castle you could go in. It was built in 1603-34 by Christian IV - supposedly a favorite castle of his and other kings after him! It has beautiful garden and the botanical gardens are across the street. The castle is arranged in chronological order while walking through the rooms and there is a treasury filled with armour, wine (dating back to 1615), trinkets, jewellery and crowns.
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| Nyhavn |
Afterwards we walked to a famous area called Nyhavn (New Harbour)- which is famous for its colorful buildings beside each other and many bars and cafes. Old red light district . For lunch we went for a typical Danish meal called Smorrebrod which is an open faced sandwich. We went to a restaurant Mette Ohlsen recommended called Ida Davidsen. I got roast beef with bernaise sauce, potatoes and carmelized onions (you couldn't even see the small piece of rye bread) and Mom had salmon, cucumber sauce and fake caviar made from seaweed. Next we walked down the longest pedestrian road in Europe called Stroget and did some shopping. We did find a LEGO store but I was quite surprised the homeland of LEGO, I hardly saw any. And there was no Lego museum or anything. For dinner we went to a Vietnamese restaurant which was good but really expensive!
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| All made out of LEGO |
Day 3 - Copenhagen to ferry to Oslo: Mom and I walked around a bit more - found this great coffee and sweets restaurant that Mette had also recommended called La Glace off of Stroget but we just weren't hungry to get anything :(.
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| Hans Christain Andersen |
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