Friday, August 26, 2011

Visiting Reta

Last Sunday John and I visited my mother in St Catharines. Each time we visit we like to walk a new route to her home from the bus station. This time we walked along the Victorian townhouses of King Street.
King Street truly has some lovely old buildings like this one that is now a YWCA.
We peeked into the window of Ivan's Barber Shop on Court Street before walking towards Welland Avenue. John loves traditional barber shops and has decided he wants to get his hair cut there soon.
We loved this ghostly white house in a dramatic setting where Court St meets Welland Avenue
and this classic car-wash further along Welland Avenue.
Reta had lunch ready for our arrival. After eating we like to settle in to watch a DVD, share some wine and chat. Here Reta and I are trying to rationalize the generally unlikeable characters and confusing scenarios of Something Borrowed. In the end we three agreed that we'd enjoyed the flawed movie.
We always take Reta out for dinner after watching our movie. Check out the storm clouds gathering as we walked along the Terry Fox Trail to a favourite, local restaurant.
We arrived at Coppola's Italian Restaurant just as the storm was about to break.
As the rain poured down outside we settled in to a table to enjoy Coppola's Vegetariano pizza and a shared chocolate bundt cake for dessert. Happily by the time we'd finished eating the downpour had ended.
As usual after eating we visited the Buns Master on Carlton Street so that Reta can buy some bread and local fruit and vegetables. As we left with our purchases the skies were looking threatening again.
We scurried along Rodman St back to Reta's place before the next storm cell arrived and headed off to the bus station for our return to Toronto. The weather certainly added visual drama to this visit with Reta!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Peggy Lee: I Only Have Eyes for You

We are thrilled by Peggy Lee's version of this song. Lee is one of our adult role models. Please remember to double-click to see full-screen.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Sunday Bird Market

After visiting Sainte Chapelle on the Île de la Cité the last Sunday of our stay in Paris, Bill and I visited the bird market on the island. Bill caught this portrait of one of the sellers.
The birds certainly were beautiful in their tiny cages.
Hard to imagine them not going a bit stir-crazy, though, having only each other to talk to.
These fluffy, feathered friends reminded Bill of Big Bird. What ARE they?
If you click on this picture you can see the birds move.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Paris Metro

John and I love the Paris Metro. It is an efficient, inexpensive way to get around Paris. It is always a pleasure to enter one of the Art Nouveau entrances designed by Hector Guimard.
Some stations send you into the depths below the city. Here John has caught me descending into the Saint-Michel station.
The Paris buskers are of a higher than usual calibre. John captured this string ensemble of young musicians entertaining the commuters.
Most stations are streamlined and clean, with curved walls
lined with advertising gods and human travellers.
Parisians are fun to watch wherever you find them.
Climb aboard and find a seat
to be whisked off to your destination.
Wherever we come back up into the City of Light is sure to be an adventure.
We loved the Palais-Royal stop with its playful, modern exit decorated in huge, glass beads by Jean-Michel Othoniel whose work was being shown at the Pompidou Center during our stay last May.