Posterity and finger sandwiches

As is tradition with 2 friends of mine, this year we went out for high tea/afternoon tea in Toronto.

This is our third year doing so, and we decided that reviews of our visits would be wise to know which one we liked best, to go back to when we run out of teas to try (2 more to go, I think) Only took us 3 years to realize a written review would be helpful. My excuse is that I only have 1 degree, the other two: clearly napping.

So! This defunct blog has new life in tea reviews! (#stuffwhitepeopleblogabout #ipaidforthiablogappsoiamgoingtouseit)

2012: The Mill (the old mill?) Toronto

Ambience: ok? It's a lovely spot but we were all ushered into the tea solarium at the same time as everyone with a reservation, and I scorned the flowers (a potted cyclamen that was dead looking-- I traded it for the healthy one sitting on a shelf full of glasses)

Service: the mass seating meant mass serving. We were slow to get out finger sandwiches and so forth

Taste: good! Nothing to race about. Not enough cream for the scones (is there ever enough!?!) they had smoked salmon which my lady friends enjoyed, and not that, which I prefer. Scones were good! And the desserts were alright. We all ate the inside of our tarts, because we are fancy like that...and the filling was far more delicious than the pastry. Tea was tea.

Other notes: we were asked to leave by management because the lingering scent of riff raff we had at our table disturbed the sensitive nose boxes of the other patrons. Or because they had to clear is out for the dinner seatings. Fair! But not very charming. Thankfully my company was quite charming!

So it was lovely! But the king William (last year) was better (they let us stay late, were wise in tea info, gave us carry out containers for our leftovers and didn't mind our stench...not enough cream though as I recall...)

Ladies- till next year!

Let's go

Blue jays! I've turned into something of a fan.

Island life

M and I took a trip to Toronto island last week.
Highlights include:



It's a goose in a tree!



Moorage infraction



And a pretty excellent view of the city.

With a little on the side

This is how my dad does dessert

Market to market

First market of the season for La Primavera Farms




A crate full of posies, to get things started

Location:Hamilton

Early morning sun

Can be pretty beautiful,



But I think I prefer sunset. Allows for more sleeping

What's not to love?

Cute mask, striped tail, nimble hands and an affinity for garbage.



Why haven't we domesticated these guys? This one was caught at my old work. I saw him climb up a garbage can, go in and then emerge and scurry off in mere minutes. Soon he can commune with nature not warehouse garbage.

Zoom zoom

Quick trip down south with my dad.




An since we were on the coast, only made sense to have some delicious fresh seafood.

Location:North Carolina

Signs of spring

Not the first robin, but the one with the beat hair.

Needed more whistling

M and I went to a Harlem Globetrotters game/show. I didn't know what to expect, aside from ball spinning on fingertips while whistling...




It was pretty excellent-- lots of kids and jokes and I think pretty inspiring as far as getting kids interested in basketball. Kind of wwe turned wbe.

Needed more whistling though...

Passes the test

The other day I had an urge to watch Mrs. Doubtfire,




So through the magic of the Internet and downloading roommates, here I am. And unlike other movies from my youth (looking at you adventures in babysitting), it's as good as I remember.

Darran part 2

Darran's visit also included a trip to a gun range. It was weird, but interesting.
At one point the guy who was showing (a visibly nervous) me how to use the rifle said "nothing to be nervous about, it's not going ti hurt you." (me "it's a gun! It's job is to hurt things!")


This is Darran adjusting the distance to our zombie target.

Easter moon

Because Christians (and Maybe Jews? Not sure if the dates for Passover came before those for Easter or vice versa...) like taking pagan celebrations and changing them, Easter falls around a full moon. I somehow have never noticed this before but I won't soon forget it.

The moon has been amazing lately. Storybook big and yellow. Better than mini eggs.

The future

Right now I am trying to figure out what to do next- with my life and this blog. Life remains undecided but I think I'll try a photo a day on this blog for a while... See how it goes.




Here is Darran, (my Scottish friend that I met in Japan who has been living in Montreal) enjoying some sunshine, Steamwhistle, heart shaped sunglasses (mine) and Ontario countryside on a recent visit and attempt to see more of Canada.

I've been warmer...

At least snow is pretty?

Location:Home

impossible

People keep asking me "what was the best thing?" which is impossible! It's been 4 months! 7 countries! 44 cities! But people still want an answer, so I'll try.

(I would ideally add photos to this, but my 8gigs of photos wont fit onto my computer now... time to buy an external hard drive....)

No one best, instead I present a short list:
-Arriving at Machu Picchu after 3 days of hiking. Just beautiful. Sunshine and mist, ancient ruins, incredibly Inca ingenuity.
-The Salar trip in Bolivia. Flamingos, volcanoes, cactus, salt flats... better than I could have imagined
-The lookout on our jungle adventure in Ecuador. Jungle as far as the eye could see.
-Being on a telenovella. It just was so random and hilarious and something I never would have expected to happen
-Iguazu falls. Breathtaking and exhillerating at the same time.
-The people we met. There was just incredible kindness and goodness. Gives you faith in humanity and is truly heart warming

so there you have it. the best things. But there was also Lost City, the floats and costumes of Carnival, exploring cities (La Paz, Cuenca, Sao Paulo, Medellin...), Kuelup ruins, the gold church of Quito, seeing monkeys in the wild, paragliding in Lima, the fresh fruit everywhere....

Is it safe?

One of the most common responses we got after telling people about our adventures was "is that safe?" Many places we have visited can be dangerous, they are places where you don't feel safe to walk around without keeping a careful eye on your surroundings. We heard countless tales of tourists in serious danger. Drunk bus drivers overturning buses. Jeep drivers in the Salaar being reckless. Militants in Colombia burning buses (after everyone was off). Being held up at gunpoint in Rio. Apartments being raided in Quito leaving the tourists with nothing. South America has no shortage of scary stories.

Here are ours-- nothing as scary as what we heard, but nothing that was as safe as we feel in Canada.

Imminent Danger:
We only really came across this a few times on our trip. While in Quito there was a drunken fight outside our hostel-- cops came running, bottles were broken. Not good. A few times in Rio while walking we were suddenly very aware that there were a lot of police and a lot of drunken/shady looking characters. In these cases being smart (ie: not going back to the hostel till things had calmed down and making sure to stay in well lit and safer looking areas) was the best option.

Catcalls:
There hasn't been one country on our trip where we didn't receive catcalls from the street. There was of course a range: from harmless (whistles and a hissing that I found to be pretty gross) to crude (touching, leering, rude comments). It didn't matter how we were dressed or who we were with. It happened everywhere. Unfortunately the best response to this is to ignore it. (Which 99% of the time I managed to do.) It was tiring to feel objectified and, because the guy doing the objectifying is bigger than you, which makes you vulnerable. Argh. Feels good to be back in Canada. One of the biggest culprits of all this is terrible hollywood movies where white girls are happy to take off their clothes off 3 scenes into being introduced, and then these movies are shown on public buses to the masses. Argh.

Purse Clutching:
One of the hardest things to adjust to while traveling is not to trust people and to actively be worried about how to keep all of your things safe. It's actually emotionally tiring to live like this, but time and time again you realize that you want to, but you just shouldn't. This means that while your walking on the street you are clutching your purse. When sharing a dorm you lock up your bags. It means sleeping with your passport and wallet under your pillow. While traveling we met a girl who had her ipod stolen from beside her while she slept and countless people who had been pick pocketed. So while it wears away at your state of mind, that bit of paranoia and worry is important to hold onto.

As 2 white, female tourists in their 20s, we made an obvious target. An yet, here we are, 4 months later, with yes, a lot catcalling frustrations but also a lot of stories of kindness of strangers, all of our possessions. (Except for a few things I lost along the way... that was my fault). Here are my quick tips for general safety while traveling.

-Be careful, smart, a little paranoid, and ready for the worst
- I would often wonder what "evil Joy" would do. Am I a broke backpacker who steals to get by? What looks easy?
-If an area seems sketchy, (painfully obvious poverty, being the only tourist) get out
-purse goes on your lap. Not in the ground, not the back of your chair. On your lap where you can see it.
- Trust your instinct. If you get a strange feel from a person or place-- find somewhere new. One crappy hostel we went to (Hostel Sweet Hostel in Iguzau Argentina: DO NOT GO) someone had snuck into our dorms, unlocked our bags, rifled through them, and then locked them again so we didn't notice. One girl had $40 stolen and another her ipod. Hostel staff seemed indifferent and were overall jerks. We left as soon as we could).

The best anecdote I have is that my Dad (a big guy, not easy to mess with) has said, he's been everywhere and the only places he has been held up are Chicago and Toronto. South America: not super safe, but nothing that a little caution and paranoia with a healthy sense of adventure can't cure.

home again home again

I am back in my apartment, typing on a computer (no offense iphone, you were nice, but typing with all my fingers wins over just my thumbs), listening to music I haven't heard in 4 months and I am enjoying the good things in life.
Such as:
-leaving my shampoo and conditoner in the shower
-not wearing flip flops in the shower
-a nice, clean, cozy bed
-delicious food

and of course seeing my family. So good to see them again--even if its around 0 outside and Southern Ontario in February is somewhat less scenic than Rio. It feels good to be home.

I love traveling, not airlines.

What to do when the people who checked you in for the Rio-Houston flight, did not also check you in to your Houston-Toronto flight, meaning you miss it by 10 minutes-- because you assume you'd make it and they'd page you, right? but they don't page you, because you aren't on any of their information- so you suddenly have 6 hours to fill before you can get on a plane?



You eat a very delicious eggs Benedict after wandering through the 5 terminals at the airport and play online scrabble using the wifi from the united lounge across from your waiting area.

One more hour yet.

Location:Houston, Texas

How sweet it is

South America has shown itself to be a lover of sugar. Our driver on the Salaar tour being the best example; the ratio for his cup of coffee was 1 part instant coffee, 6 parts sugar, 2 parts instant milk. delicious? Brazil is no exception and sweet things are easy to find. Case in point, the sweet views of Rio from Pao de Azucar (sugar loaf mtn).

...google image search it.... And apply the same additional people math as Christ the Redeemer, well, maybe a little less.

It was my last day on vacation and it was worth the line ups. The view was stunning. The harbor, the beaches, the city amidst sheer rock faces, bits of green in undeveloped places... It's one of the top 5 views for sure.

Location:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Samba!

no expensive seats for us at the sambadrome (scalpers were selling for 100$ or so); instead we had a great time walking around, checking out floats before they entered the 'drome. Then at the guesthouse I took photos of the tv.

Each float was usually led by a scantily and sparkly clad lady, followed by a hoard (the opposite of scantily clad) dancers surrounding a mind boggling float. The float often had a few more ladies on it, along with other dancers. Everyone sambas though the drome, which takes around 90 minutes. The samba-ing is smooth and it (from tv at least) almost looks like they are on a conveyor belt.


(The samadrome-- the glitter can be seen from space.)


We saw a few ladies like this (what a big... smile she has!)
but 90% of the dancers were clad in piles of polyester, sequins, faux fur, and random accessories.



Accessories include but are not limited to: camel heads, tennis balls, sheep, mesh, turbans, spears, giant fake flowers, frills, top hats, and ruffles. And usually at least 3 of these elements at the same time.

Maybe it's because I can't speak Portuguese, but some of the themes escaped my grasp of the word "theme"


(sheep + giant wheels of cheese + doughnuts?)

But all of the floats, while perhaps stretching the limits of the theme, were impressive.


(a dude walks next to the blue circle and spins it while everyone sambas around it-- trippy)

While walking around the next day we saw people assembling the floats. It is really quite impressive.

As was the whole spectacle.


(that giant tiger head moves!)

It was the carnival that you think of-- but with more polyester than you thought possible.

Location:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

With yellow feathers in her hair,

Yesterday morning, after a slower start to the day than usual (blame the capirinias) we headed off to Copacabana (copa, Copacabana) to see the crazy beach life we had seen on AmazingRace and heard about.

After a bus tour of the city (read: bus driver says "yes, this bus goes to Copacabana" what he forgets to add is "...eventually",)we arrived. It was great-- soft white sand beaches, beautiful blue water, hot sun and hundreds of people. Hundreds. The beaches at Copacabana and ipanema are busy on weekends, so the Sunday of a national holiday... busy.

We walked on the surf for a while, soaking in some sun (while we still can) and enjoyed the whole experience. The beach was packed with umbrellas and people wearing bathing suits of every variety on every kind of body type. It's actually kind of nice to see people just not care about an extra big of squish and just be comfortable in their skin.

Once we got too hot we went to a ubiquitous beach side stand and shared a capirinha. (Shared because it's just 40% booze, sugar and limes-- delicious.)

Beautiful beach, great people watching and $4.50 drinks on the beach... Lake Erie you have been outshone.

Location:Copacabana, Rio, Brazil

Do as the revelers do!

Myrie and I convinced each other that we had to buy and wear something sparkly for carnival. We are both basically magpies, so it had to be sparkly. And it's 30+ every day, so it just made sense.


It was excellent-- we jingled when we walked.


Tonight we are off to try and see some sambadrome action-- mostly seen by people watching tv, or people with 100s of dollars to spare on tickets. We will try to catch some samba action before they enter the 'drome
and see those who inspire sparkly bra purchases...

Age means what you want it to

This morning after an early night last night, we ventured forth to the giant Jesus that overlooks Rio-- Christ the Redeemer, one of the new 7 wonders of the world. It's enormous-- it is a wonder how they ever got it o the top and assembled it...

Take a moment to google image search it ... Now add about 4 cruise tour groups and a pile of other people to whatever photo you searched. It was crowded. But totally worth it. It is also the site where my oldest sister was proposed to (awwwww) by her now husband.

We also met some incredible travelers-- a couple in their 70s who had just finished a cruise, were spending 4 days in Rio, home then cruise around Mediterranean, and then for their 50th anniversary they are taking their whole family in a cruise along the st Lawrence. There was also a woman who was 70 and grew up in Rio but now lives in Florida. She had photos of 7 year old her on the beach in Ipanema. She had just taken a cruise to the antarctic. Impressive!

These awesome and intrepid people inspire me, just like my Oma's amazing life of adventure does. I hope to one day travel and experience as much as she had.

Location:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When in Rio for Carnival...

Do as the Brazilians do!

Location:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Big bad Rio

The view from our "home stay" (read: not clean, guesthouse that happens to have a family living in it charging too much...like everyone in Rio right now...)


Good view!


Crazy land lady.


Not sure how many photos I will be taking with the iPhone.. But I will try to do word updates at the least.

Today after our nightbus and getting to the disappointing homestay we met some really friendly people. We all went downtown to go costume shopping, as everyone parties in costume all week long (fun fact: costume in Portuguese is "fantasia" I like it!) and then back to our neighbourhood, Santa Teresa, for their big "bloco" aka street party. It was packed full of people drinking and dancing-- just a 5 minute walk from where we are staying.

An early night tonight so we can get to the Christ the Redeemer statue before heading to ipanema for another bloco...

Location:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Small town

One last walk around unesco heritage site small town goodness,



A little shopping...


And a little parade, with giant puppets,


Before we take a bus to big bad Rio. (don't worry we will be careful)

Location:Orou Preto, Brazil

Bus laden plans...

We planned on taking the bus to bustling beach town Paraty. No seats left till the next day... So we went to Oro Preto instead!

11 hours on an overnight bus later,


I think it was worth it.



It's a former gold mining town full of pretty churches (none as gold as the one in Quito though) and surrounded by rolling green hills.



Throw in some delightful cafes, jewelry stores and



Pre-carnival drumming in the square outside our hostel window... Hard to beat.

One more day till Rio!

Location:Oro Prato, Brazil

History

Over 40% of the African Slave trade ended up in Brazil.


I am not used to thinking about the enormity of the slave trade. In Canada i feel we skim the surface. The Afro-Brazil museum shines a light on it.


It's frightening how people can be so terrible.

Location:Sao Paulo, Brazil

You're-in luck (say it fast)

"there is a free one inside, it has everything" are excellent words to hear (free and everything! Excellent!) but why are you so excited? Of course there is a free toilet for you to use with toilet paper, running water and soap; you are not a backpacking hobo.

However one of the quirks of South American travel (aka time spent as a backpacking hobo) is that you rarely know when your next toilet is going to appear and what it's going to look like. On our trip we have had "free with everything" and we have also had to pay for a gross, bespattered, no running water, hole in the floor, with a remarkable stench (Bolivia's "Eco-toilets" I am looking at you).

The unknown (when will I find another an in what condition will it be in?) factor means:
-think twice before downing a bottle of water, 2 coffees and a fruit juice. Before and during bus trips we are mean to our bodies and are usually dehydrated. Few things are worse than bus toilets (we know, we had the misfortune of sitting next to one in Colombia. Gross)
-always carry toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you. Always.
-find water substitutions if you're not sure when the next toilet will appear. yogurt and ice cream are my preferred options

Paying to pee is not a new idea- I remember the first time I encountered it was in a small German town, 1995, I had just seen the door where Martin Luther nailed his thesis, and had not yet learned the rules. I don't remember how much it cost, but I remember thinking it wasn't worth the price. This is often the case: just because you've paid to pee doesn't mean anything more than just that. Toilet paper usually comes with the fee but cleanliness, running water, soap, toilet seats* and locks in doors are perks.

*this can be a pro or con depending on squatting above or sitting upon preferences

Ways to avoid the pay-to-pee situation, aside from the aforementioned dehydration tactic, focus mainly on learning about the good free places. They include:
- mcdonalds (or other evil mega chain)-- they are usually cleaned hourly and usually come fully equipped. Also no pressure to buy something as there are enough people there that they don't notice you
-fancy hotels-- as long as you don't actually look like the hobo you are (no giant backpack) and walk with enough authority, hotel staff will leave you alone. Hiltons, Hyatts, Four Seasons or other fancy looking places with fresh flowers on display are good bets. (Our best so far was in Cartagena, Colombia-- the disposable towel to dry your hands with felt so nice it felt wrong to throw them out).
- of course the snowsuit rule also applies- take advantage of situations before you've made them predictably much more difficult

Ultimately, it's about taking advantage of what you have (staying with friends for a few days? Drink up!) and being prepared (yes, both of you should take a roll of paper on the Inca Trail.) and remember: always always look to see if there is paper first.

Nananananana...

Part of our adventures between busses in Sao Paulo led us to take a bus past the Sao Paulo Cemetery (or necropolis in Portuguese), which I remembered was next to Boca de Batman, also known as an alley covered in graffiti.



Some really talented artists have left their mark.


Apparently it changes as different artists come along.


I particularly liked this guy.

The neighbourhood was full of interesting galleries, clothing and jewelry stores with work by local designers, and eclectic cafes. Reccommended.

Location:Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazilian Bus Adventures

Enjoying the hospitality of Josh, we decided to stay another nigh in Sao Paulo. With an extra day, we headed for Embu-- a former artist colony on the outskirts of the city.

Armed with directions from Josh we set out to the bus station. 10 minutes into our attempt we were closer to being lost than anything else. Thankfully Brazilian kindness pulled through and with #1 Helpful Brazilian Stranger told us the name of the bus to catch, #2 HBS wrote down in Portuguese how to ask for our connection #3 HBS was the money taker on the bus and got off and pointed us in the right direction for the connection.

Once we got to the town, it was lovely.


Filled with nice handicrafts and things for my one day home...

Then it was #4 HBS who told us where to catch the bus, #5 helped us catch the other and one more #6 was the driver of the bus who helped us transfer to our last bus of the day.

Those who have heard of our Mexican bus trips know that we often wind up relying on helpful strangers to guide us through our misadventures, thankfully Brazil seems to be fully stocked.

Location:Sao Paulo, Brazil

Fearless football fans

Today Myrie and I convinced our host, Josh (a friend we made while traveling in Colombia who is teaching at a fancy English private school in SP) that he wanted to go with us to a soccer game. And not any game, one of the big rivalries in Sao Paulo: SPFC vs Corinthians Paulista:
Fancy SPFC vs blue collar Corinthians. We were in the Corinthian stadium and cheering section. Lots of hooligans and drunk fans around... Enough that we were a little worried about safety so we took the bare minimum with us, so no photos.



(Bieber is tough enough to hang out with Corinthians)

We also did not have tickets, and it was sold out. So or the first time (for me at least, can't speak for Josh or Myrie) we bought tickets from a scalper. A bit nervous if they would work, and they did. Score one for us.



(scalped, and blurry in this photo, but real)

Once in the stadium, instead of trying to find our actual seats we tried to find a spot that had a higher percentage of families with small children than drunken hooligans. We were moderately successful. 2 families in front of us, one loud drunk guy behind us (who had a pretty limited vocabulary, small enough that if you were playing a drinking game using one portuguese swear word, you'd be in the ground by halftime).


(photo from tv recap)

The corinthians scored the first goal into the first half, and also the only goal of the game (joy counting us getting in). We left the game early for post game soccer hooligan fear and to better get a taxi. Score again for us--- taxi in 3 minutes and no hooligans. We felt pretty fortunate -- walking though the bleachers there were more than enough big, drunk, scary looking dudes. Also, it had POURED rain for almost the entire game.

Now, with 10 days to go, we have been to Brazil's legendary beaches, seen a crazy football game and it's fans... Just carnival left to complete the trifecta.

Japan-aries!

Yes, japan-aries. That was Myrie's suggestion for the title of this post and I am keeping it.

We went out to Liberdade neighbourhood, home of a Japan-town. I went in hopes of purchasing delicious ume-shu (plum wine) and chi-hai (like vodka tonic in a can, but amazing). Success for the ume, sad disappointment for the chu-hai. If we were looking for pretty dishes, would have been success!



But I already have foolishly carted dishes between countries. Not again. Although I did love a cute bowl with a crab painted on it... No! Be strong!


It didn't take long for Myrie to get back into the Asian frame of mind. Peacu! And plastic food. So Japanese!

We also bough anko-fish (yum!) and canned ice coffee (not yum).

It was a happy trip down memory lane, leaving me with delicious ume-shu to comfort me when I am back in (suddenly) snowy Canada in 11 days (!suddenly!)

Location:Sao Paulo, Brazil