Though, as we stepped out of the car and looked at the grey sky and considered the snow we had driven through to get to TO, I cautioned the kids that the CN Tower might have to wait for another day - "afterall," I said, "why go all the way to the top on a cloudy day when you can't see anything ..."
They agreed as we walked toward the Subway station and began our jaunt for the day ... With the purchase of an All-Day Pass for the TTC, we were off and the kids had their first ride on a real subway, though for the first two stations they wanted to know when the subway went underground ...
We arrvied at Casa Loma and after a brief walk up the street, then up the magnificent stairs that border it on the south east, we arrived at the front door and began our tour of the beautiful, but more than slightly ostentatious building ... The kids enjoyed it, and marvelled at the scale and grandeur of the place ...
The 800 foot long tunnel from the main building to the equally magnificent stable building was of particular interest to Noahkila, Ms H and Beetle ... we pondered if part of the new building project in Minnedosa could be the construction of such a tunnel (of almost the same length) from our house to the new Church ?? (we doubted that the Church Re-Building committee would even consider it).From Casa Loma we hopped back on the subway (after a walk back down the stairs) and headed south to The Royal Ontario Museum.
We spent a couple of hours roaming the various exhibits in ROM before pausing for lunch. The Egyptian Galleries were a favourite for the kids, and the collection of Samurai armour and swords drew Noahkila's attention.
"Imagine the carnage we could inflict with THOSE swords," he muttered, with his nose pressed closely to the glass of the display case.
Wee Beetle still curls up her nose at the thought of the mummy and the pre-Dynastic burial on display in the Egyptian galley.
A wander through the special Italian Design exhibit was a highlight of the visit to ROM, though the one painting that caught mine and Noahkila attention made me appreciate his ability as an art critic ... The painting in question was simply a frame around a beige coloured canvas. On the canvas were two slashes through the thick fabric ... that was it ...
Noahkila looked at the painting on the wall and said, "Hey Dad, we could start doing those kind of paintings in our basement and make a "fortune" (He stretched out fortune ...)" A man next to us nodded in agreement.
After our lunch at$ ROM, it was back on the subway for the quick ride to The Art Gallery of Ontario.
The Art Gallery of Ontario, is under massive renovations, so much of it was closed, and many of its pieces were tucked into storage. But what we saw was wonderful. The room of Henry Moore sculptures was simply amazng - the diversity of the forms and shapes of the various reclining figures lead us to a discussion about abstract art and the vision of the artist. From there were headed into a gallery where we marvelled at a William Kureluk painting, an Emily Carr and a beautiful Paul Peel. The Alec Coville painting of a woman in her bath, was of particular interest to Noahkila (he is afterall 12 and girls are getting less yucky all the time).
Then Noahkila and I went into the gallery of Ansell Adams and Alfred Einsenstadt photos. I was VERY, VERY impressed with the Adams photos. They are simply breathtaking ... Noahkila and I marvelled over the images themselves, the play of light and darkness, and the use of tone and colouring in the processing of the negatives. A series of photos taken from the top of a cliff of the waves washing in over a beach was of particular interest to me. The capturing of the motion and patterns and so on was simply stunning.
It was a delight to see Adams photos and to spend time just savouring them ...
From AGO we walked the five blocks back to the subway, then headed to the CN Tower.
I love the CN Tower - it is a favourite place for me. I was up it within the first six months of its opening, and have taken great delight in visiting it over the years - it's been a long time since I've been there, so it was special to take Noahkila, Ms H, and Beetle ... The day cleared, so it was brilliant and sunny and a clear blue sky - we joined the huge crowds and stood in the long, long lines to get to the top. It was a good day to visit ...
The see-through floor was ventured on only by Beetle - her bravado was impressive ... perhaps she was making up for the fiasco at Niagara's House of Frankenstein ... but whatever the reason she was the only one willing to step out on the floor and lie down for a picture ... Something even I couldn't stomach ...After the CN Tower we walked through the SkyWalk to Union Station where we paused for supper, sitting watching wave after wave of Blue and White Clad hockey fans coming for the Leafs game at The Air Canada Centre (is it me - or does that just NOT sound right - shouldn't it be "the game at Maple Leaf Gardens"??).
While we were having dinner Ms H commented on visiting Casa Loma "yesterday". I said - "it was this morning ..." She looked startled and said - "it's been a long day ..." We all nodded in agreement.
From Union Station we took a meander on the subway before returning to our car and heading back to Stratford for a good night's sleep ... one that well earned!!
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