Just posing

These camels were also vying for attention and they got plenty of it! They also seemed pretty interested in posing for my camera. Lucky for me, they were good subjects.

The clock is ticking down on my remaining time here in Toronto. I'm glad Friday is here, but this weekend is going to be a busy one for me. There's no shortage of things to get done before an international move.

Studying?

Here's one last look at the Hart House library. I found it funny that this student would come to the library to watch a football (soccer) match. But I suppose times have changed since I was at school! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend so far. My bug seems to have cleared up and I'm looking forward to a round of golf later this afternoon.

Street scene reflected

The streets are bustling in the financial distinct downtown! Hope you've got big plans for the weekend, I'm going to make the most of mine. For more reflections, head to Weekend Reflections.

People watching

This shot was my runner-up for yesterday's theme day post. It seems this man is enjoying some people watching of his own! Hope you're having a nice weekend, for us North Americans it's a long one. And yes, the end of summer is nigh. Sigh...

Confidential to my brother: Happy birthday!

September theme day: People watching

I love to do a little people watching inside the subway. I actually caught this shot back in July when the Olympics were still on. There were maple leaves almost everywhere in support of Canadian athletes. I'm not sure these people had the Olympics on their minds as they were waiting for the subway, but who knows? Perhaps some of them have Olympic dreams of their own!

It's the first of the month again. If you'd like to see more contributions to the CDP Theme Day, click here. I've also go a bonus people shot on my travel blog.

Play me, part two!

I hope you enjoyed last week's jaunt to Ottawa, but now we're back to Toronto. If you're interested in seeing more of Canada's capitol, I'll have a few more shots coming up on my travel blog. 

So far, I've only gotten two of the 41 pianos that are around town, but I hope to capture a few more before the project is over at the end of the summer. These two girls still need a few more lessons before becoming virtuosos, but they were certainly having fun plinking and plunking on the keys. 

Happy Simcoe Day (aka Civil Holiday) to my fellow Ontarians! Happy Monday to everyone else. 

Hot hats

You don't have to go all the way to London to see the changing of the guard, you can get a great look at the traditional ceremony right in Ottawa! The guard is only ceremonial here in Canada, but it was fun to see the spectacle and hear the marching band. I bet their heads get hot in those fur hats though, especially as we've been having a very hot and dry summer. For more red, take a look at Ruby Tuesday.

Valentine's pie

This past week's cooking class landed on Valentine's Day, so our instructor thought it would be a good week for making pies. He gave us a recipe for coconut cream and they all seemed to turn out really well. Some people even used the cream to make cute decorations, like this heart. 

Which looked like this when it was finished. Very cute! If you like hearts, take a look at Random Hearts, it's sure to make you smile.

Beam me up!

Here's another look at the local ski slopes. This is the jardin d'enfants where kids (and sometimes adults) learn pizza (snow plow) and fries (skis parallel) and other skiing basics before hitting the real slopes. A convenient little conveyor belt takes them from the bottom back up to the top. Much easier than the t-bars I used when I had my ski lessons back in Europe!

Try one!

The produce display at the new Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws was fantastic. There was so much variety and it was all so beautifully organized. The people working there were also really friendly.  This man assured me the apples were all crisp and fresh. What a tempting display!

If you love red like I do, check out Ruby Tuesday.

Checking out

Here's another look at the new Loblaw's supermarket downtown. I wonder if they will always have every checkout line open here. From experience, I can tell you their other stores are not so well-staffed. But at least they're keeping up for now!

Smokin'

Have you ever heard of a RibFest? I hadn't before I attended this one in Cobourg. I don't eat ribs, but I was fascinated watching these guys work. Each one had their own technique but basically it all boils down to a simple system: slather with sauce, grill, turn, slather, repeat. 

There are several stands serving ribs, I think it would be hard to choose which one to sample, but I guess those who attend the RibFest regularly have their favorites. Or you could just choose the stand that has the most trophies. Yes, they give trophies at the RibFest. I am still amazed there is a whole festival dedicated to pork products. An interesting concept.

Cue the music

This mandolin player was part of the band playing at the Greek Festival back in June. I had sort of forgotten about these shots, hope you enjoy!

Band leader

In addition to the military reenactments, there was also a drum and fife band. I love the costumes. Quite an interesting visit!

PS: There's still time to see Crete on my travel blog!

More from the fort

I showed you an interesting perspective from the old Fort York earlier this month. Here's a look at some reenactments that were part of the fun at the fort. What I really love is the way everyone is staring down the person on the left. I wonder if someone will be doing push ups later.

Decorated dancer

It was really hard to get photos during the parade. We were behind a metal fence and everyone was moving so fast! This was the best picture I got of one of the dancers actually in motion. It really was beautiful!