Let's Go To The Ex!

September 2016 - Toronto ON

John and I went to the EX, as the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is known. We have only ever gone once before shortly after we moved to Toronto 25 years ago!

You know that fall is around the corner when the EX is on!

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is Canada's largest annual community event. 

Founded in 1879, as the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, the CNE has enjoyed a distinguished history as a "showcase of the nation". It was "the place" where people came to experience the latest innovations in technology and commercial products as well as performances by many of the leading artists of the time. Although the CNE has changed over the years, it continues to be one of Ontario's great annual traditions.

The CNE is currently one of the 10 largest fairs in North America, and its audience truly reflects the diversity of Toronto and the region.
We only bought general admission as we don't go on rides. You would think, it's Thursday, how packed can it be??? In 2014 the CNE attracted 1.43 million visitors.

You'll be glad, for the sake of this post, that we only touched on a quarter of the grounds. But you'll get the idea, food, more food, rides, food, displays, food, games of chance (not), food, rides, spend your money.
And if you have kids, it is lots of crying and complaining, and running people down with your cadillac sized strollers. That mantra might be eat, barf, ride repeat.

I digress, the other reason we didn't stay as long as we had planned was the sky turned ominous looking and the thought of getting caught in a downpour along with thousands as everyone scurries to get on public transit.

We hadn't had lunch so we started in the Food Building. With local restaurants serving cuisines from around the world, offering a vibrant and varied mix of international flavours and traditional fair favourites, there really is something to suit every taste and budget.

John had the snow crab fries and I had the lobster roll from Jake's Lobster.

Toronto Football Club plays soccer on the CNE grounds at BMO Stadium.I so want that green ape!

There is a bar area beside this sandy beach.

There is lots to see inside the buildings on the grounds.

These heads used to adorn the Agricultural Building and have been incorporated into a wall along the entrance to the Heritage Court.

The original walls have also been kept.

This was a very cool Canadian topiary display made from moss and twigs and such.

Bear fishing!

 Moose, eh!

The International Sand Sculpting competition took place earlier in the exhibit.

Not quite sure what you call this. But it was cool.

Adorable - called The Dream.

Horticultural displays.

A safe haven for adults a craft beer and wine bar.

The Enercare Centre, divided into different shopping sections. Pass by the Warehouse Outlets and the International Pavilion.

Canadian Armed Forces exhibit.

Random.

 We didn't make any stops at the  Home Pavilion/Shoppers Market. Talk about As Seen on TV!! Tense? Get a shiatsu session for your neck. Watch a grown man pitch you a vegetable peeler with an amount of enthusiasm typically demonstrated by cult leaders.

Now to the serious stuff of fairs!

Nope, no idea, nada.

Time to head home.

 

Linking up with:

Photo Friday at Pierced Wanderings
Scenic Weekends
Weekend Snapshots
Seasons
Monday Walks
Petite Pudding
Monday Morning Blog Club
Whatever the Weather - Wednesday - Friday
Through My Lens Monday
Life Through the Lens
Tuesday Travel
Our World Tuesday
City Trippin'
Wanderful Wednesday
SNAP on Wednesday
Outdoor Wednesday
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Worth Casing Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Weekend Travel Inspiration.
The Weekly Postcard
Weekend Wanderlust

Photo Finds

1. Starts with  J

2. Week's Favorite

3. SURPRISE

The first two will be the same, except we’ll work our way through the alphabet. The second can be a favorite image or activity from the week. The third will be different each time.

Friday Finds 

ABC Wednesday

August 2016 - Toronto ON

Starts with J - Since we've covered off some famous Toronto notables such as Bloor and Gardiner we'll continue with Jarvis.

The Jarvis' family were an unsavoury lot and I'm not sure why we would have named a street after them but times change.

Samuel Jarvis fought in the War of 1812, and was part of the city's pioneering political class when Toronto was incorporated. His father, William Jarvis, was a militiaman and member of early local governments in York, the town that eventually became Toronto.

Most historians argue the Jarvis' were unsavoury characters — "turkeys," "incompetent," "lazy," "selfish," and "dishonest" are just some of the adjectives that can be found in Toronto literature to describe the father and son.
Keeping to the facts, the Jarvis family were indeed slave-holders. TheJarvises owned at least six slaves, according to John Ross Robertson's 1894 book Landmarks of Toronto, even as the mood and law in Upper Canada was decidedly anti-slavery.

Samuel Jarvis, William's son, is also not fondly remembered. The younger Jarvis was notoriously hostile to First Nations in Toronto. At one point, he even spent time in jail for murder.

Both Jarvis men were caught stealing in their roles with Upper Canada's government, but Samuel was the first Jarvis to have to repay the money he stole.

When he was the Chief Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Upper Canada, Samuel was found guilty of embezzling some £4,000 from First Nations groups in the area.

After he was caught, the younger Jarvis was forced to sell his land to reimburse Toronto. His property, called Hazel Burn, was sold to the city to pay the debt, and a boulevard in that property is now known as Jarvis Street.

WEEK'S FAVOURITE - Not a lot of photos taken this week other than at the Ex, the CNE that I mentioned under the letter E. 

There were many of these painted chairs but my favourite was this showing the Princes' Gates with the CN Tower in the background. Not a photo you can get today as there is now a condo in the way as you can see from the next photo.

SURPRISE - when we were in Montreal last weekend we stopped (i know, gasp, surprise) to look at a church - check back on Sunday. Imagine our SURPRISE as we walked around one of the buildings and found a windmill on the shores of the St. Lawrence!

AROUND TORONTO ALPHABETICALLY

A is for Adelaide St
B is for Bloor St
C is for Chechalk Lane
D is for Dundas St and Square
E is for Exhibition Place
F is for Front StG is for Gardiner Expressway
H is for High Park
I is for Islington

British Isles Friday

Hosted by Joy's Book Blog.


April 2007 - Around Donegal

Some random photos around Donegal.

Town of Moville

Fanad Head  - Standing between idyllic Lough Swilly and sandy Mulroy Bay, Fanad Head Lighthouse has been voted one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the world.

Letterkenny

Malin Head (Irish: Cionn Mhálanna), is located on the Inishowen Peninsula, and is the most northerly point of the island of Ireland.

I first traveled to England with my Mom in 1960
My parents took us back as a family in 1970.
John and I first went together in 1986 to London.
Continuing 1986 with Oxford and Stratford.
Ireland 1991 Part 1 Dublin
Ireland 1991 Part 2 Around Ireland 
Ireland 1991 Part 3 Around Ireland
London 2005 with family
Ireland Part 1 2005 Ballyvaughan Aran Islands
Ireland Part 2 2005 Ballyvaughan Dunguaire Castle, Galway
Ireland Part 3 2005 Burren Bunratty Castle Aillwee Caves Lahinch
Ireland Part 4 2005 Dingle Kinsale Inch
Ireland Part 5 2005 Killarney Limerick Ashford
Ireland Part 6 2005 Dublin
Ireland 2001 Ballybunion
1987 London
2001 Scotland
2007 Belfast Northern Ireland
2007 Derry Northern Ireland
2007 Bloody Foreland Donegal Ireland

Weekend Reflections

Posting at Weekend Reflections.

January 2016 - El Quelite Mexico

Bill's hat reflected in the car mirror as we enter town.

September City Theme

This month's theme is LIBRARY - Click HERE

August 2016 - Toronto ON

I am and have always been an avid Toronto library user. When I worked at Bay and Bloor I would frequent this library for hard copy books.

Yorkville Branch Library opened on June 13, 1907, in what was then the city's north end. It was the first of four libraries constructed with a $350,000 grant made by Andrew Carnegie to the Toronto Public Library in 1903. Designed by Robert McCallum, City Architect, Yorkville's classical, Beaux Arts style is similar to libraries in many smaller Ontario communities. It features two pairs of columns, a projected portico, Doric capitals, a bracketed cornice, and stone quoins, band courses and keystones. Yorkville is now the Toronto Public Library's oldest library.

Then I moved to York and Adelaide so I would walk to this library on my lunch hour. It is on the ground floor of City Hall.

It is a large bright area with lots of windows. Perfect for pulling up a chair and browsing magazines. By then they had introduced placing holds by computer and you would receive a voice mail telling you you're books were in.



You can borrow books, ebooks, CDs, videos, musical instruments, musical scores pedometers, picture collections, digital equipment, magazines. You can even borrow museums and arts passes!!



The jewel of Toronto Public Libraries is the Reference Library.

The Toronto Reference Library has one of the world's foremost collections of library materials devoted to the life and work of Arthur Conan Doyle. Much of the collection, of course, is devoted to Doyle's most famous character, Sherlock Holmes. The collection is accessed through the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre on the 5th floor of the Library.

I caught a couple more as we drove about town last week as I had this topic on my mind.