Emily and Linda’s Travel Blog

The exhibit we wanted to see at the AGO was The Idea of North, which was mostly Lawren Harris' paintings And also some paintings and photographs by some of his contemporaries to offer contrast or parallels. His early paintings were largely of working class Toronto neghborhoods and people. One thing that inerested me was that in the early 20th century he was including black and Jewish people in his paintings with the same tone as pictures of white people. There was no casting minorities as exotic or heroic or different at all - at least not in tthe paintings we saw. Later he moved toward a much more idealized style where the "idea of north" was more evident. Linda noted that his later work reminded her of Georgia O'Keefe. 

The notes for this one said it was typical of his early work where the factory looms up behind the homes of the people working in it

Here are a few more early ones

And a sample of later paintings

After breakfast, we headed out to the Frank Gehry redesigned Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). We had an exhibit in mind, but went as much to experience the building as to see the paintings.  We particularly loved the Galleria Italia which houses the espresso bar with soaring wood beams and glass.  Good coffee too.  Linda had a great time with all the angles and reflections.

Today we woke up to a gray rainy day and I could hear Eileen Garcia's voice in my head saying, "You know what would make this better? Pancakes!"  Only this gluten intolerant girl can't usually eat them. So what a treat to discover that Cora restaurant, right across the street (named for its founder, Cora Tsouflidou) had pancakes and gluten free crepes! So pancakes after all.  

After our Vietnamese lunch, we made our way to the adjacent neighborhood, Kensington Market which was strangely fascinating. Reminiscent of the old Haight Ashbury of the early 70s with indian clothes, head shops, the smell of incense and patchouli, vans covered in bumper stickers and decals and hippie looking folk who are too young to be the originals. Interspersed are some lovely cheese, fish, vegetable, and dried fruit stores and a men's clothier shop that dates back to the 1960s. Add a few Mexican and Jamaican eateries, some vintage record shops, a medical marijuana dispensary and a place with a bubble machine. Wild to say the least. 

We got off the bus at Toronto's Chinatown in search of Vietnamese food. We found a little place called Bun Saigon which didn't look all that special on the outside, but had a pretty good crowd even at 2:30 and we were the only non-Asians so two good signs. When the first plate of greens and herbs and the dipping sauce showed up, I was already happy. We had banh xeo, a favorite of mine that is like a crispy omelette with shrimp and bean sprouts that you wrap up in lettuce leaves with mint and Asian basil. 

Next we had shrimp croquettes grilled on sugar cane, but with a twist. It came with a sort of summer-roll making kit where there are rice paper rounds and a semicircular container of hot water. You spin the rice paper in the water to soften it, add a piece of shrimp croquette, cucumber, rice noodles, mint and basil and then roll it like a burrito. Dip it in the dipping sauce, taste, and sigh. 

 Finished off with a plate of very fresh sauteed vegetables. Delish!  We may have to go back again, but then the dilemma is repeat the same menu or venture further into the offerings?

To save my feet and get a sense of the City, we got on the double decker tour bus this morning. Actually we had a partcularly good tour guide. My favorite story she told was about how there was a former governor who preferred English to Native American names and so changed the name of the town to York. However it was always being compared unfavorably to New York, being referred to as Little York or Little Smelly York  so the peolpe of the town wanted it changed back. However the governor said "Over my dead body". "So we killed him, but in the typically Canadian passive-aggressive way - we waited for him to die and then changed it". 

LOTS of building here. Feels like downtown Brooklyn in that way. Scaffolds and excavation everywhere. And so many condominium high-rises!  As in Brooklyn, it's hard to imagine where all the people to fill the will come from.  

OK, we'll stop carping about our rough time at LaGuardia

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/nyregion/reports-of-gunfire-at-kennedy-airport-prompt-evacuation.html?_r=0

We made our slow way to Toronto today. Got up early only to wait till mid-day for our delayed flight. Not too horrible, but really, LaGuardia is such an unpleasant, ill equipped airport. We'd forgotten. Next time, we take the longer trip to JFK happily. 

Further weird snags getting into the flat (reminiscent of our benighted arrival in London - Chris and Marg will know what that means).  In all the years of renting places abroad, this was the first that really left a bad taste in our mouths. Instead of a 2 bedroom place in a building with a pool, we were ushered into a 1 bedroom with no pool and no explanation.  We're making it work, 

Anyway, we still managed to find a lovely restaurant for a much needed fortified beverage and delicious food. Linda had a Southern fried chicken sandwich with jicama slaw and one of the prettiest side salads I've ever seen. I had Coconut shrimp with a spicy sweet broth, fried taro chips, and a Thai slaw. Now back at the flat, which does at least have a balcony as promised and a view of the Toronto Tower.

Hopefully we'll start the new day fresh and wash that landlord right out of out hair. 

We loved the Mediterranean Exploration Company so much that we went back for our final dinner here and had 4 different tapas plates. Again all excellent. Here's a quiz for my medical friends: we started with red wine and a plate that included fava beans and aged cheese. Very delicious, but what medication could be a potentially fatal combination with that meal?

My conference ended with lunch today so Linda and I visited the Portland Art Museum. She wanted to see an exhibit of William Eggleston's photos.  My favorite part was the Native American fashion designers exhibit::