The Last of My Trip: Goodbye Toronto, Hello Chicago!

Our last morning in Toronto: it was time to hit the road. We made a last coffee pilgrimage to a yet undiscovered neighborhood, and damn! it was cool, but we didn't realize it existed until we were about to leave. So no time for exploration. So that's my latte below from Dark Horse Espresso. It was good, I was happy drinking coffee, but sad to leave Toronto. But a new adventure awaited me in Chicago.Right after we left the coffee shop, we saw this crazy house. I think it was supposed to be art. It sort of looks like my parents' basement taken outside. Yikes. The most random assortment of crap, all on display.
Joel, unfortunately, decided to just head back home to Wisconsin, so it was just Margaret and me continuing the vacation. We made a pit stop for some CDs for the drive, but alas, the shop wasn't quite open yet. No worries, we bought pizza and junk food to pass the time. Finally, it's open, and it's super cool: all Canadian music. So we bought probably 10 CDs between the two of us, and finally launched onto the highway.
The forecast was snow, and but we didn't really believe it. The sky was blue, after all! But wait, look at this (my first ever uploaded video clip):

That's right. Snow. Uh oh. But the sunshine came back soon enough. No problem. And, Margaret rented a Subaru.

We finally enter Chicago, and find our hotel. Boy, is it ever swwaaannnky! Seriously. Probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in, and really, the price wasn't that bad: $200/night for a two-bed room. They even provided Kiehl's toiletries instead of the usual crappy stuff. Kiehl's is expensive. Here's my ultra luxurious bed. Yes, that is a down comforter.The not-so-mini bar, complete with stereo, proper bar ware, and your choice of either full size or miniature bottle of high-end liquor. The illustrious bathroom, with marble vanity (notice little bottles of Kiehl's on the shelf):And the little sitting area:After a minor crisis involving me not knowing where my kit was, we were ready to explore Chicago. We weren't really sure where to go; a city guide provided by the hotel didn't seem to be much help. But Margaret thought Wicker Park might be THE neighborhood, so that's were we went. Cafe Absinthe was closing (it was after 10:00), so we couldn't go there, and the spots the city guide suggested for that neighborhood looked lame. Margaret mentioned a replica "speakeasy" that was supposed to be very cool, and very hidden. She couldn't find it when she was here a few days earlier, but I encouraged her to look again. We wandered around, got a little confused, and Margaret was nearly ready to give up. But I said "No! Press on! We'll find it!" And we did. And it was awesome. It was very hidden though: no signs up anywhere, it was pretty much just a bunch of plywood. See what I mean:But inside, leather banquettes, crystal chandeliers, and elegant (although honestly not especially thrilling) food and drinks.So, yeah. The Violet Hour was awesome. After that, we just went back to the hotel, and went to sleep. It was a fun night. Ah, my luxurious bed.

The next morning however, I woke up, opened the curtains and saw:

Oh my gosh! Snow! The weathermen were right. I didn't expect this at all. Then, when I came out of the shower later, Margaret had put the flat-screen tv (did I mention the hotel room had a fancy flat-screen tv?) on some movie called "Mousehunt" or "Mousetrap" or something. I don't know. But the snow, combined with that movie (the saturated colors, the kid-friendly material) made it feel like Christmas. Weird.
We checked out and went back to Wicker Park to look for brunch. As we were ordering, Margaret's sister called. Uh oh. Her travel difficulty saga continues. It seemed that due to the snow, Continental decided to cancel all flights out of O'Hare. My flight, on Southwest, out of Midway, was fine. Hmm.

By this time, it was seriously snowing. I mean SERIOUSLY.We stop off for gas:

And then, since Margaret's flight is non-existent, she gives me a ride to the airport, and decided to return her rental car there, to avoid excessive fees. We head our separate ways. But an hour later, she calls me. She managed to get a flight out of that airport, and it leaves approximately the same time mine does. We have several hours to kill, so go to the airport "Miller" pub. I don't drink Miller beer, as a rule. Margaret gets a Bloody Mary, and I get a martini. Both were surprisingly cheap, especially for airport food. So that's how the trip ended.
Aside from Margaret's travel difficulties, I would call it a resounding success.

In Chicago, we stayed at:
The James Hotel
55 East Ontario
Chicago, IL 60611
877-James-55
(Photos below from their website)

The speakeasy we frequented was:

The Violet Hour
1520 N. Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
773-252-1500
(Photo below from MetroMix)

Day 5: Last Full Day in Toronto

We spent the morning shopping around town, and then at the St. Lawrence Market, which was the typical produce/housewares/prepared food/crafts market you would find anywhere, except that it was huge, two stories, and had many Canadian specialties. We wandered around there, looking for souvenirs. Oh yeah, and Joel called the DJ while we were there in hopes of scoring the Drive-By Truckers tickets. The guy's phone was off. Joel left a message. Needless to say, he never called back. None of us were surprised. It would have been cool if it had worked out, though.
But now, the good part: we took a ferry ride to Toronto Island. I don't think that any explanation I write can do it justice. It was a freakin' fairyland. Seriously, that was my first thought. There were lots of little, cute houses close together. No cars, but rather bicycles and little red wagons in peoples' yards to carry their stuff around. Lots of cats and dogs. The cat pictured below was so cute and friendly, but had a big chunk of poop hanging from his butt. It made me laugh and laugh.No commercial buildings to speak of, except for a yacht club (closed for the season), a cafe (closed for the season), and some service buildings. It seemed that lots of eccentric artists must live there, here are some examples:Yes, that was a tree made out of gloves.Also, the first thing that greeted us as we landed on the island was a big tree with upside-down Christmas trees hanging from it. What the hell?But continuing on, we found an explanation for such a weird sight. It was for a bonfire celebrating the first day of spring:Also, there was a little exchange cart for people to leave things they didn't want, and to take things other people didn't want. Interesting.That night, we went to a Vietnamese/Thai restaurant for dinner (no photos), and then to another suggestion of the coffee guy, a super-cool bar with a similar concept to the late, lamented Apotheke: no mixed drinks. They served beer and, I think wine, as well as a very small selection of spirits, neat. It was called Smokeless Joe's, and I loved it. They even featured an Oregon beer from Rogue, but obviously, I'm not going to drink that, because I could have it any day. I wanted to try something different, and, hopefully, local. We all started off with beer. Here are our selections:
I had the Trois Pistoles, from Quebec. It was so good, I looked for it here in Portland after I got back. I found it. Yes!
After that, we tried a flight of Scotch. Here they are:
After the Scotch, Margaret and I followed it with some oysters. I made the executive decision to get the Prince Edward Island oysters because of, well, Anne of Green Gables. Yes, I'm a dork. But the oysters were really good. We had a really great time there, although Joel and Margaret do look rather pensive in this photo.
After Smokeless Joe's, we went back to the hostel. Margaret and I stayed up late to use the computer. In the computer room, I started joking around with a cute Welsh guy. I don't know why, but he gave me a hug. Then he said I smelled good, and gave me another hug. Did I mention he was really cute? I don't know his name. I really enjoyed that though. I was hoping I would see him again the next day, at least to find out his name, but alas, I didn't. We left the next morning. Maybe I should go to Wales.

Day 4: More Toronto

Margaret had finally arrived the night before, so we started planning. Also, we now had a funny French roommate, so I invited him to dinner.
We started the day at Manic Coffee, recommended by Margaret's sister. They have one of those famed Clover machines, but I don't think my cappuccino was made on it. The coffee and atmosphere were good though. The owner was there, and he gave us good restaurant and bar recommendations; we made use of them that very night.
After coffee, we all went to the Royal Museum, walking through the university district to get there. The university was huge and full of beautiful old buildings, the way a university ought to look:
Notice all the snow everywhere. The museum was really cool architecturally speaking, a literal blend of old and new, as you can see:
But the actual content wasn't that interesting, unfortunately. Don't get me wrong, there was some cool stuff there, but compared to other museums I've been to, it was a little lacking. In all fairness, though, they were still remodeling, so many of the exhibits just weren't in place yet.
We all walked through the museum at our own pace, splitting up. Afterwards, I found the fancy shopping street, and bought a cool new coat at Benetton. After that, I walked back through the university district and then through Chinatown. My cellphone started dying in Chinatown and beeping at me, which I found disconcerting, so I kind of rushed through it. The main highlight of Chinatown was a big Chinese bakery. You would grab a tray and some tongs and pick whatever you wanted out of the million Plexiglas cases. I got a large assortment of sweet and savory buns and pastries, and shared them with Joel and Margaret when I got back. We drank tea and ate pastries at the hostel kitchen. How civilized.
That night, we tried out a tapas restaurant the coffee guy suggested. It was the appointed evening for dinner with the funny French roommate. He thought a Brazilian girl staying at the hostel was hot, so he invited her too. She was there with her sister, so we turned into a rather large group. It was an excellent night: good food, nice people, lots of laughing. Here we all are: me, Joel, Margaret, Damien, Helen, and Doriana.After this, the Brazilian girls and the French guy went back to the hostel, and Joel, Margaret, and I continued on to a tequila bar. Sorry, no photos of that, but there was a burnt-out DJ there who was supposedly also a promoter. He got talking to Joel, and said that he could get us free tickets to the Drive-By Truckers concert the next day. So he and Joel exchanged phone numbers, and he told Joel to call him the next day around 3:00 pm. More on that in the next day's post. We took a cab back to the hostel. Goodnight.

A Little Update Until I Can Finish My Vacation Posts

So first of all, I just received an email from Lewis & Clark this morning, asking if I was still interested in being considered for acceptance. Well, duh! Not sure what this means though, but I guess it's good in that they still haven't eliminated me yet. I'm still under consideration. But before, they said they would let me know by May. Now they say:

Right now, we are contacting you to see if you are still interested in attending Lewis & Clark Law School should an offer of admission be extended to you. While it could be any time from next week to late August before we make any further decisions on your file, we wanted to give you the opportunity to let us know if you are seriously interested in attending Lewis & Clark.

Ugh! So that's the latest.

Turning to other items, yesterday, I started on another post regarding my vacation, but was interrupted by an invitation, so I will probably finish it this evening. But my invitation was, shall we say, horizon broadening: I went to a baseball game.
I've never been to a baseball game before. It was the season opening game for Portland's minor-league team, the Beavers. My friend/neighbor has a friend who is the team photographer, so he had a bunch of free tickets. Why not? I'm always up for trying something new.

My verdict was that baseball is okay, but I don't really understand it, and it moves MUCH slower than basketball or soccer. It was fun, and I'm glad I went, but I think Blazer games are more my style. Thanks Joe!

Moving on, last week I went to the Bon Iver concert at Holocene. It was awesome! Bon Iver was technically one of the opening acts, but seemed like most of the people were there to see them, and not the headliner. I felt like my Wisconsin adventure has now come full circle, as Bon Iver is from Wisconsin, and even made a UP reference during the show (apparently, Wisconsins think a lot about Michigan versus Wisconsin territory). I even accidently wore my Wisconsin coffee shop t-shirt. Here's a crappy photo I took at the show:

Finally, this morning, I went to Ken's for breakfast. As I've said a million times, I LOVE going to Ken's for breakfast. Today, I had a slice of Normandy Tart (apples and ground almonds), which I've never tried before. It was delicious. Yes, I swear I will finish the latest installment of my vacation tonight.

Day 3: The First of Toronto

Our Toronto hostel was among the row houses pictured at left. It was definitely one of the nicest hostels I've ever stayed in, and the first time ever I stayed in a room with people I didn't know. We ended up with a hilarious French roommate, but more about that later.
Joel and I arrived around 2:30 a.m., so we immediately checked in and went to sleep, so nothing Torontoesque occurred until the next morning.
The hostel provided breakfast, sans coffee, so we immediately set out in search of coffee. By Lake Ontario, we found some crappy coffee and an ATM. From there, we wandered around. One of the first landmarks we saw was the CN Tower:

We also saw Lake Ontario:

We didn't really have a plan, but rather just wandered. Eventually, we ended up in old town, which was similar to Portland's Pearl district, but on a much larger and more interesting scale:Eventually, it was time for lunch. We saw a couple of places that looked okay, but nothing really struck my fancy. But suddenly, I saw this place, and knew that this was it:My instincts were correct: everything about this little place were great. It was a Belgian restaurant, with great food, a cool atmosphere, and a very hip staff. The chef was even actually from Belgium. I had a beef stew, Joel had vegetable quiche, and both were accompanied by salad and frites. We washed it all down with Delirium Tremens, a Belgian beer:



















































So those were the highlights of the first day. That evening, Margaret finally arrived. More to come....
Our hostel was :
Clarence Castle
8 Clarence Square
Toronto, Ontario, Canada