| Tuesday, September 6, 2005 | | | | Time was flying by and by this time it was already |
| Hello from Toronto (5) - Novice Golf, Driving through | | | | 3:30 pm so we had to start our return to the city. |
| the Kawarthas, a Little Off-Road Mountain-Biking & | | | | We only took back roads and my brother lost count |
| Preparing to Say Goodbye | | | | of the numerous golf courses that dotted the |
| It is unbelievable how nine days can just fly by. | | | | landscape. It was a nice relaxing drive through rolling |
| Today my brother, sister-in-law and our two Austrian | | | | countryside and we made it back to Toronto in less |
| friends are scheduled to fly back to Graz, Austria, via | | | | than 2 hours. All four of my Austrian guests had |
| Vienna. There has been an increasingly palpable sense | | | | fallen in love with the Lake District and the prospect |
| of sentimentality in the air, in light of the fact that | | | | of another vacation in Canada to explore the waters |
| this wonderful time is coming to an end alarmingly | | | | north of Toronto seems ever more likely. |
| quickly. | | | | Yesterday was their last full day in Toronto, and we |
| It's also amazing how many activities one is able to | | | | took our bikes out for a spin one more time. Since |
| cram into a short amount of time. I wanted to give | | | | we all love water we rode down to the Eastern |
| them a really good taste of everything that I love | | | | Beaches again, and leisurely explored the waterfront. |
| about the city of Toronto and my new country. So | | | | We watched some lawn bowling, and one of the |
| occasionally I put a few too many things on our | | | | participants kept coming over to us to explain the |
| plates and we ended up racing through a few of the | | | | rules of the game to us since none of us was familiar |
| activities. On the whole though, I think our European | | | | with this sport. My guests commented several times |
| guests had a fabulous time and they fell in love with | | | | on the friendliness of people in the stores, |
| Toronto, just like I did, many years ago. | | | | restaurants, in line-ups and even I myself was |
| Saturday all six of us went golfing to a little par-3 golf | | | | surprised at the approachability of Torontonians, |
| course in the East end of Toronto. None of my | | | | often known as a more reserved breed of people. |
| Austrian guests had ever golfed before, so a couple | | | | But we truly kept having very positive experiences, |
| of days earlier we started with a few buckets of | | | | equally with people employed in the service sector, |
| balls at the driving range, followed up by an indoor | | | | as well as with regular citizens, taking a stroll, playing |
| putting practice session on the carpet. Saturday we | | | | a game of lawn bowling or going for a walk with their |
| would get to try the real thing. The attempts at the | | | | dog. |
| driving range didn't look all that great, with balls | | | | Of course we admired the inukshuks by the beach, a |
| spraying all over the place, to the left and to the | | | | public play area for adults with rocks of various |
| right. But on Saturday afternoon, another gorgeous | | | | shapes and sizes that are used by passers-by to |
| day, our four Austrian guests performed quite | | | | create interesting stone sculptures. We watched a |
| admirably and only lost 2 balls in the water hazard. | | | | few tense points at the Kew Gardens Tennis Club, |
| They really enjoyed golf, a sport they had never | | | | and checked out the picturesque Kew Gardens park |
| even dreamed of playing, but the Toronto area with | | | | itself. From there we headed west past the beach |
| its several hundred golf courses, many of them | | | | volleyball facilities to the little peninsula west of |
| reasonably priced, made it easy to give this sport a | | | | Ashbridges Bay which always offers a fabulous view |
| try. All preconceived notions about golf only being a | | | | of Toronto's skyline. We took in the tranquil |
| sport for old people went out the window, and they | | | | atmosphere and soaked in the sun for a while before |
| enjoyed the challenge of trying to sink the round little | | | | we started our return back along the waterfront. My |
| ball in the hole. | | | | European visitors commented several times how |
| Sunday came our second big excursion: a driving tour | | | | incredible it is to have all this publicly accessible land |
| through the Kawartha Lakes. I had only planned two | | | | right along the waterfront and how in some secluded |
| major driving tours: a wine-tasting tour through the | | | | spots you don't even realize that you are in a major |
| Niagara Peninsula, and a second one to the lake | | | | metropolitan area. |
| district of the Kawarthas. We started by driving east | | | | To get back up to our house we had to climb back |
| on Toronto's 401, a 12 to 16 lane highway whose | | | | up from the waterfront and this time we chose the |
| size duly impressed my European visitors. Then we | | | | Glen Stewart Ravine, where a little brook has carved |
| headed north-east through rolling farm country to | | | | a valley into the slopes leading down to the |
| Peterborough, a rural university town with a | | | | waterfront. It is a densely forested area and when |
| population of about 70,000. From there we drove | | | | you are in there it feels like you are in a remote |
| north into the Kawarthas, a gorgeous lake region set | | | | forest somewhere, not right in the middle of |
| in the rocky landscape of the Canadian Shield. | | | | Toronto. |
| Our first stop was Buckhorn, where we watched the | | | | Once back at our house, preparation got started for |
| mechanics of lift locks of the Trent-Severn Canal | | | | our final goodbye barbeque and we had invited a |
| that links Lake Ontario with Georgian Bay. We saw | | | | few extra friends to join us to give our Austrian |
| how several boats assembled inside the lock following | | | | guests a proper sendoff back home. We enjoyed |
| by an opening of the sluices and the water level | | | | some excellent food and they sampled a few more |
| equilibrating itself with the level of the lower portion | | | | varieties of Canadian wines and beers, all of which |
| of the river. The Parks Canada lock supervisor | | | | they had commented quite favourably on. We didn't |
| explained the whole process to us and it only took | | | | sample much restaurant cuisine since my brother is a |
| about 10 minutes for the boats to reach the lower | | | | talented chef, but the fresh ingredients that he |
| level. | | | | purchased in Toronto's various markets made for |
| From Buckhorn we drove through rocky and marshy | | | | some truly delicious dinners. |
| countryside to the quaint village of Bobcaygeon | | | | In the evening we took one more spin in the car, |
| where we took an extended stroll. We had a nice | | | | first to revisit the Distillery District at night. Luis had |
| waterfront lunch, looking across to the marina, seeing | | | | wanted to buy some beer glasses at the Mill Street |
| the the boats come in an out of the canal. Particularly | | | | Brewery as a souvenir, but unfortunately the |
| our Austrian friends Luis and Isabella love boating and | | | | brewery and restaurant were closed. The whole |
| seeing the many houseboats on the Trent-Severn | | | | Distillery area was a little quiet, not surprisingly, since |
| Canal gave them a few ideas for future vacations in | | | | it was Labour Day, the last official day of summer, |
| Canada. | | | | and the final day of respite before school would |
| The lunch was delicious and we took a little stroll | | | | begin again. We continued our driving tour with a little |
| around this charming town, admiring the waterfront | | | | spin through downtown and up Yonge Street before |
| parks and picnic facilities that allow great access to | | | | we turned east on Bloor Street. We crossed the |
| the water. From Bobcaygeon we drove on to | | | | Bloor Street Viaduct and arrived on the Danforth, |
| another little picturesque country town: Fenelon Falls, | | | | Toronto's Greek area. As always, Greektown was |
| whose name comes from a waterfall in the middle of | | | | quite busy and people were milling about. We sat |
| town that has been used for electricity generation | | | | down on the patio of one of our favourite |
| since the 1870s. | | | | restaurants and enjoyed some Greek snacks before |
| After a sizeable line-up we picked up a few delicious | | | | we headed home after another long day, all of us a |
| cones of Kawartha Dairy ice cream and strolled over | | | | little sad, commenting how nine days can pass so |
| to the bridge over the falls and then down to the | | | | quickly. |
| little peninsula that sticks out into the river. From | | | | Today we'll have to take their four rented bicycles |
| there you can look into a rocky gorge where both | | | | back and around 2:30 we'll have to start the trek to |
| sides of the river are surrounded by high rocks. | | | | the airport. It's been a fabulous 9 days, an extended |
| Again, we watched boats being lifted and lowered, | | | | sleepover with four great people and we won't |
| this time in lock 33 of the Trent-Severn Canal | | | | forget this holiday for a long, long time. We are |
| System. This is another town with a beautiful little | | | | already hoping for another reunion, either in Austria, |
| park right by the locks with lots of opportunity for | | | | or back here in Canada, to deepen this fabulous |
| barbeques or simply for a relaxing snooze in the sun . | | | | connection. |