two and a half femmes: More from the Femmes

Been a while since I said hello but have been waiting for Trina's contribution and it's not forthcoming so my turn again. Hard to remember now what we have been up to for the last few weeks but one that comes to mind is the CN Tower. Not wanting to face her fears Trina encouraged Tess and I to venture up there on a week day so that let her off the hook. It is certainly worth the trip up to the top as it was the tallest in the world until Dubai had to go one better. Afraid I couldn't make it on to the glass floor as every time I peeked down my legs went to jelly and I felt that horrible sick feeling in my tummy. The little miss however thought it was amazing. She sat on it, laid on it, walked on it and finally danced on it over and over and over and over. Such a little show-off!! She now gets excited even when she sees a picture of the CN Tower.

Oh what a feeling..dancing on the ceiling!!

During the 1900's a guy in Toronto was given a legacy by his Dad to go out and do his own thing. He invested this money in electricity and became a millionaire many times over. He then had a dream to build a castle so that is what he did on a hill in Toronto. It is Casa Loma. Unfortunately the poor chappie only lived in his castle for ten years as the Government took over the power supply with no compensation (as Governments do) and he went bankrupt. Fortunately the people of Toronto fought the developers who wanted to set a few charges and blow up the beautiful castle so it remains today with original furnishing for all to enjoy. There is an 800 metre long tunnel which connects the castle to the stables, carriage room etc which Tess was very reluctant to enter. Had a chat and she decided to go on the underground adventure (twice). She made ghost noises and wolf noises to scare any other wary travellers so it was a lot of fun. We climbed the spiral staircases to the highest turret and lunched in the landscaped garden near the spurting fountain.
Being so close a trip to the Niagara Falls was a must so we headed off on a day tour to check out this wonder of the world. How's this for a ridiculous statement..."Niagra Falls is just sooo touristy". Some of the Fall's area looks like sideshow alley. Such natural beauty surrounded by tacky commercialism but that is the way it must be when so many of us want to have the experience of being there. We took the "Maid of the Mist" boat road which is quite a unique little jaunt. Tess enjoyed the first few minutes of the ride and then...well I shall just insert the picture. The little town of Niagara on the Lake is picture postcard perfect and the other memorable part was eating strawberry pizza at the winery. I still salivate at the thought of it.

A picture is worth 1000 words!

We have visited the Pioneer Village. lots of parks and the final week Tess spent her mornings at the Art Barn, a great place for her to mix with other children and enjoy all the activities she loves so much. That was a timely exercise as we had pretty much exhausted our tourist ventures.

Tess and her Indian elephant....a sculptress in the making!

At the moment we are some thousands of feet over Canada having bid farewell to our time here in Maple Leaf country. I shall report on Montreal next time as it is another story. Before I go though I must include a little on Trina's time at the Bonnie Gordon College and include some pics for you. She has excelled and her work has impressed everyone. She has a cake in the windowat the College front and Bonnie Gordon has had her last cake professionally photographed to use on her web site. She has found the course very beneficial and has learnt a lot. She is brimming with new ideas and full of enthusiasm to move on with her business.