Category: events/places (地方)

Dec 07 2012

Jackson Triggs and Niagara Falls revisited

Another wonders of the world – Niagara Falls.  If you are a follower of my blog, you probably remember I went there with a few of my friends last month to see the Winter Festival of Lights, you can find that post here “Niagara Falls Weekend 2012”.  Most of the times my friends would drive when we travel to places which require long driving hours but this time, I had to be the host for my guest.  You might ask, why?  very simple, because I have no patience driving long hours 😛  And to be safe, I booked a hotel there so we could stay a night then drive back the next day 😛

Our first stop of the day was Jackson Triggs – Jackson-Triggs is a blend of  founders’ names Allan Jackson and Don Triggs, who established the winery in 1993.  I also went there once a long time ago, but this time I had a super cool digital camera with me, hehe  Anyways, the wine tour was great, though all the grapes died out already because of the cold weather but a look inside the machines and barrels was awesome!!!  I also bought a few wines that are not sold in LCBO too, perfect as X’mas gifts, hehe.

Second stop of the day was Niagara Falls – wonders of the world again 😛  The weather was a lot better than I expected, consider I was there a month ago, it was FREEZING… but surprisingly it wasn’t that bad this time, we could actually stay outside for a couple of hours near the falls and the main area, finally got a chance to really walk around in details and of course, tons of pictures were taken 😀  Had our dinner at one of the Montana’s – yet, another famous chain restaurant in Toronto, don’t think I need to say much about it here 😛  Anyways, it was really fun hanging out in bars, D&B and bars again the whole night 😛

More photos of the whole album on my facebook link here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151326100620211.522211.689775210&type=1&l=aaf259f425

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Dec 06 2012

Downtown hang out – CN Tower revisited + misc.

My friend Michael came to Toronto for a short visit so it was my pleasure to show him around like a tour guide, tho I have no sense of direction at all :-p.  I chose to go downtown first because it was a Thursday, not a lot of traffics and people 😉  Our first stop was one of the wonders of the world – CN Tower – world’s tallest tower at one time.  Tho I had been there a few times, the tower itself remains the same, inside hasn’t really changed much over the years but they added a new attraction on top of the tower – Edge Walk, the outside looked a little different, under construction at the moment, was told they are improving the area.

Then we headed to Eaton’s Centre, not a wonder of the world but one of the biggest mall in Toronto hehe.  After a short tour around, we stopped by Trattoria Mercatto – Classic Italian food since 1997.  I had been to Eaton’s Centre soo many times but it was actually my first time trying this restaurant.  From their interior design to their food choices, everything was pretty amazing 😀  So if you are looking for a diner after a day of shopping, this is a perfect choice since it is right inside the mall, hehe.

BTW, I got lost a few times while trying to get to our destinations in downtown 😛

More photos of the whole album on my facebook link here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151326100620211.522211.689775210&type=1&l=aaf259f425

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Nov 03 2012

Niagara Falls Weekend 2012

We planned going to this event for sometime because of the 30th Annual CAA opening ceremonies with Disney Winter Festival of Lights at Niagara Falls Ontario.  It was cold and rainy all day Friday but our trip still went on no matter what :p

After our breakfast and 1.5 hrs of driving, we arrived at our first stop, Niagara Parks – Butterfly Conservatory.  Most people know that I hate anything with more than 4 legs, but because I had never been there, I had to take a look inside…  When we first got in, I almost freaked out, seriously…  It was a glass house full of butterflies flying around, so many kinds and different sizes, the biggest one was as big as my hand…  Well, after a few minutes of walking around, it wasn’t as bad as I expected BUT I still can’t stand the fact that sometimes those butterflies would land on your head, arms, legs, etc. …  Anyways, it was a good experience for all of us for sure, it was probably a fairy land for most people but for someone that hate anything with more than 4 legs, umm, I don’t think I will go back :-p

We stayed at Embassy Suite, one of the tallest hotel in Niagara Falls with Falls view, really not bad if you are not afraid of heights :-p  Our dinner was on the 9th floor at the Keg, which also had an amazing view of the falls and food was very good as well.  We were expecting the Grace family to arrive at around 9 but instead, they arrived at  10ish…  Anyways, didn’t really do much that night, went to the bar downstairs with Simon Lam and went to bed after :-p

On to the next day, after having our breakfast at Canada one Factory Outlets, of course shopping time for me, yay!  Didn’t really buy much but we did spend a long time there tho :-p  SkyWheel for Marcus next and we killed sometime there until the time for the Winter Festival of Lights.  It was freaking cold when the event started, I think the temperature must had been about 0º not counting the wind tho but the kids there were soo excited to see Mickey and Minnie and they already forgot about the cold weather…  Anyways, it was a fun experience over all, the shows they provided were a little boring, maybe good for kids but not for me, hehee, fireworks was amazing, extremely close, thumbs up for that 😀

The most horrifying experience was the walk from the event area back up to the eating area.  Like I said, it was really cold, and the walk towards the wind up was horrible…  Anyways, if I even do this again next time, I would be totally prepared I am sure 😀  It must have been like 15 minutes walking but it really felt like 30…  Luckily, with all our toes still attached, we got to Outback, a restaurant that don’t exist any more in Toronto area, don’t really know why but everything there still taste very well :-p  Anyways, I had a great weekend really, the whole trip cost me only $130 with hotel, food and everything, not bad huh?

Tons of facebook pictures here http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151276448875211.515167.689775210&type=1

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Oct 04 2012

Hong Kong Sinfonietta Conducted by Yip Wing-Sie Toronto

I left work early today and went down town because tonight, I had the pleasure to see Hong Kong Sinfonietta North American debut 2012 conducted by Yip Wing-Sie at Koerner Hall, their third stop, Toronto 😀  I have listened and watched the Sinfonietta on TV/DVD a lot but had never seen it live, the experience was enchanted.  All the musicians are amazing and as a music director & conductor, Yip Wing-Sie does a pretty good job on collaborating.  If they come again, I am sure I will go again no doubt :-p

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Sep 29 2012

Town of Richmond Hill – 2012 Fire Prevention Week Open House

Town of Richmond Hill – 2012 Fire Prevention Week Open House.  This neat event was for the residents of Richmond Hill to come out for a fun-filled day of great food, fun games and educational activities, including auto extrication demonstrations, the Fire Safety House and a fire truck simulator, well mainly for kids really :p  I had never been inside a fire station before so I figured why not go with little Marcus and his family :-p  It must have been fun for the kids because everything was made for kids :-p  It wasn’t like what I expected, whatever I saw on TV inside a fire station, like fire fighters with 6 packs, awesome 3 storey dorms with sliding poles and exciting rescue demonstration etc…  non of that was there…  instead, we saw fire fighters with big bellies, boring interior and super slow rescue demonstration…  A little disappointing really 🙁  Or I must have watched too much TV…  Anyways, I did take some really awesome pictures to share with you all tho which is good 😀

Facebook link here for more pictures http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151224856840211.507029.689775210&type=3

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