Trawno
Travel day today, from Ottawa to Toronto in another little plane (80 seats). It was the same plane we traveled to Ottawa from and this trip was thankfully much smoother. The last one, yikes, I lost my stomach about 5 times. To my workmates who find landing in Wellington hard, it's got nothing on this little plane coming down through turbulence. The young boy in front of us said to his mum "I don't like it when they turn the engines off" and it really did feel like that.
Anyway, today was much smoother, and just a short flight. We took a taxi to the airport which was a luxury, and a taxi from the airport to visit my great-uncle Julian and great-aunt Rosalee, which was a slight drama when we got the address a little wrong and google didn't help. The taxi driver worked it out though. We turned up at 1ish thinking we'd have a cup of tea with them for an hour and a half then Julian said he wasn't sure what our plans were but he'd booked the dining hall for the four of us for 5.30. So we chatted with them for a few hours, then went for a walk around lake Ontario for an hour and half to give them a break (waved at America), then came back for dinner. They were such lovely people, and still sharp as tacks. I hope I'm that on to it at 93. Julian reminded me somewhat of my grandfather, his brother, which I'm not sure either of them would appreciate - but made me smile. To retell one story of his, I asked over dinner if he had any other stories about his mother as he'd mentioned her a few times and it had added colour to a person I knew only a little about. He told a story about when he was 5 years old and he was at home not being attended to. He climbed on to the piano with a box of matches he'd found and started lighting them and then shoving the sticks in the geranium which was on top of the piano to hide them (we laughed at this point, but turns out this wasn't a funny story). At some point his mother came into the room, probably drawn by the smell and the smoke and grabbed him by the hair and took him downstairs. To punish him she singed his fingertips with the matches. He went on to say that his brother in later life related it to an event of their mothers earlier life when she'd accidentally set a bed on fire with a candle when playing a game of Sardines. So you can understand where the trauma came from, but perhaps not the method of punishment. He's writing his memoirs which I hope to read one day. He seemed to have an arsenal of wonderful anecdotes of people he'd come across in his life, including one about a governor-general sitting on a chair to speak to a person at a party and the chair breaking under him.
We're now at our Air bnb, my first ever, which is a great little place, if not ideally located (closer to the airport at least for mum). It'll be a quiet morning tomorrow before mum leaves for the airport to start her journey home and I head into town to start ticking off my things to do in Toronto.
Today was mum's last day. I haven't been the greatest travelling companion. Travel challenges and stresses me out, so it doesn't necessarily bring out the best in me. I'm also so used to being alone a lot these days so my brain had to adjust to having someone else to consider. Mum bore it out well though. Typical to me I then super sad this morning when it finally struck me that she was leaving and I would be on my own for the rest of the trip. We had a quiet morning so the busy couple of weeks we've had caught up with me in a rush and I was feeling very tired this morning. We went out to find breakfast which turned out to be a bit of an adventure. I tried to find a place with slightly better food and coffee than Tim Horton's for mum's last breakfast. The place I found was 15 mins away, or supposed to be. We walked through some nice streets, some more run down streets, to a street with a few less than healthy looking individuals, to a health clinic area where there was a bunch of construction. The cafe seemed to be on the other side of the construction with no apparent way through. So we had to walk another 20 minutes to end up at Tim Horton's. It was alright though. As we were leaving some women nodded me over and handed me a business card for a family counseling clinic or some such. I'm still not sure what we did to make her think we needed it. Maybe my travel moodiness showed itself.
After TH's I stocked up on breakfast and cough drops and then we went for a wander to the park at the end of the street. On google it looked like a big open park but when we got there it turned out it dropped away to the river with no official path down. We found a track that took us to the river, something I definitely wouldn't have done on my own, but my mother is an intrepid bush walker these days so she led the way.
Then it was time to walk her to the train station and see her on to the train to the airport. I'm glad there wasn't anyone else around as the train departed so I had a couple of quiet minutes to dry my eyes before heading to the other platform to head into the city. A bit of time under headphones and getting on with plans in the city got me into the new rhythm. Toronto is really a bit city. It struck me as feeling a little like New York, only cleaner and the people are way more chill. I walked for 30 mins up to get Taco bell for lunch. If that doesn't signal I'm back to travelling alone I don't know what does.
Then it was over to the Allan Garden conservatory (cue lots of pictures of flowers again). I sat in the park for quarter of an hour too to enjoy the sun. There was certainly some interesting people watching to be done.
One I'd soaked up enough vitamin D to get me on to the next thing I headed to Eaton shopping mall. Partly for a look, partly to do exciting things like buy a new pair of pajama bottoms so I have a pair without a massive hole to wear on the train when I'll be sharing a sleeping space with a stranger.
Mission achieved it was time to catch up with a high school friend Krysten who lives in Toronto who reached out while I was in Ottawa. It was great catching up, it's been a long time so lots to catch up on. We had a G&T then she bought a round of Cava (no not Kava) for my birthday and I bought a round for her birthday (a few days before mine). Then all of a sudden it was time to get to the train to come home, I wasn't keen on walking around here on my own in the dark.
That's plenty of talking for tonight. See you all tomorrow for my last post before I get on the train and get more intermittent with communication.
Anyway, today was much smoother, and just a short flight. We took a taxi to the airport which was a luxury, and a taxi from the airport to visit my great-uncle Julian and great-aunt Rosalee, which was a slight drama when we got the address a little wrong and google didn't help. The taxi driver worked it out though. We turned up at 1ish thinking we'd have a cup of tea with them for an hour and a half then Julian said he wasn't sure what our plans were but he'd booked the dining hall for the four of us for 5.30. So we chatted with them for a few hours, then went for a walk around lake Ontario for an hour and half to give them a break (waved at America), then came back for dinner. They were such lovely people, and still sharp as tacks. I hope I'm that on to it at 93. Julian reminded me somewhat of my grandfather, his brother, which I'm not sure either of them would appreciate - but made me smile. To retell one story of his, I asked over dinner if he had any other stories about his mother as he'd mentioned her a few times and it had added colour to a person I knew only a little about. He told a story about when he was 5 years old and he was at home not being attended to. He climbed on to the piano with a box of matches he'd found and started lighting them and then shoving the sticks in the geranium which was on top of the piano to hide them (we laughed at this point, but turns out this wasn't a funny story). At some point his mother came into the room, probably drawn by the smell and the smoke and grabbed him by the hair and took him downstairs. To punish him she singed his fingertips with the matches. He went on to say that his brother in later life related it to an event of their mothers earlier life when she'd accidentally set a bed on fire with a candle when playing a game of Sardines. So you can understand where the trauma came from, but perhaps not the method of punishment. He's writing his memoirs which I hope to read one day. He seemed to have an arsenal of wonderful anecdotes of people he'd come across in his life, including one about a governor-general sitting on a chair to speak to a person at a party and the chair breaking under him.
Photos from our walk.
I always knew parsnips were bad for me.
Erm, what?
Toronto city in the background
We're now at our Air bnb, my first ever, which is a great little place, if not ideally located (closer to the airport at least for mum). It'll be a quiet morning tomorrow before mum leaves for the airport to start her journey home and I head into town to start ticking off my things to do in Toronto.
Today was mum's last day. I haven't been the greatest travelling companion. Travel challenges and stresses me out, so it doesn't necessarily bring out the best in me. I'm also so used to being alone a lot these days so my brain had to adjust to having someone else to consider. Mum bore it out well though. Typical to me I then super sad this morning when it finally struck me that she was leaving and I would be on my own for the rest of the trip. We had a quiet morning so the busy couple of weeks we've had caught up with me in a rush and I was feeling very tired this morning. We went out to find breakfast which turned out to be a bit of an adventure. I tried to find a place with slightly better food and coffee than Tim Horton's for mum's last breakfast. The place I found was 15 mins away, or supposed to be. We walked through some nice streets, some more run down streets, to a street with a few less than healthy looking individuals, to a health clinic area where there was a bunch of construction. The cafe seemed to be on the other side of the construction with no apparent way through. So we had to walk another 20 minutes to end up at Tim Horton's. It was alright though. As we were leaving some women nodded me over and handed me a business card for a family counseling clinic or some such. I'm still not sure what we did to make her think we needed it. Maybe my travel moodiness showed itself.
Intrepid mother.
Bye mum!
After TH's I stocked up on breakfast and cough drops and then we went for a wander to the park at the end of the street. On google it looked like a big open park but when we got there it turned out it dropped away to the river with no official path down. We found a track that took us to the river, something I definitely wouldn't have done on my own, but my mother is an intrepid bush walker these days so she led the way.
Then it was time to walk her to the train station and see her on to the train to the airport. I'm glad there wasn't anyone else around as the train departed so I had a couple of quiet minutes to dry my eyes before heading to the other platform to head into the city. A bit of time under headphones and getting on with plans in the city got me into the new rhythm. Toronto is really a bit city. It struck me as feeling a little like New York, only cleaner and the people are way more chill. I walked for 30 mins up to get Taco bell for lunch. If that doesn't signal I'm back to travelling alone I don't know what does.
Taco bell with KFC chips as the side? Is this perefection?? No it wasn't as the chips had no seasoning.
Then it was over to the Allan Garden conservatory (cue lots of pictures of flowers again). I sat in the park for quarter of an hour too to enjoy the sun. There was certainly some interesting people watching to be done.
One I'd soaked up enough vitamin D to get me on to the next thing I headed to Eaton shopping mall. Partly for a look, partly to do exciting things like buy a new pair of pajama bottoms so I have a pair without a massive hole to wear on the train when I'll be sharing a sleeping space with a stranger.
Mission achieved it was time to catch up with a high school friend Krysten who lives in Toronto who reached out while I was in Ottawa. It was great catching up, it's been a long time so lots to catch up on. We had a G&T then she bought a round of Cava (no not Kava) for my birthday and I bought a round for her birthday (a few days before mine). Then all of a sudden it was time to get to the train to come home, I wasn't keen on walking around here on my own in the dark.
That's plenty of talking for tonight. See you all tomorrow for my last post before I get on the train and get more intermittent with communication.
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