Toronto - Caribana (Caribbean Festival)

One million people were expected to come and see the parade and although we didn’t count, there were definitely lots and lots of people there! It’s the biggest Caribbean Festival outside of the Caribbean and although we didn’t plan to be in Toronto for it, we decided to go and check it out since we were in town.

Of course, it had to happen on the hottest day we were in Toronto – it was supposed to feel like +41. And it did. We managed to find a tiny bit of shade just where the parade began, but we had to keep moving as the sun did! We saw heaps and heaps of colourful costumes – basically bikinis with feathers, but they were pretty cool! All shapes and sizes and colours J.

I took a photo as they were having a group photo haha! 

This guy was dancing soo much, I had to take a photo. He was so into it! It was great!

Caribbean passion!

We stayed there for a couple of hours and ate all our snacks and drank lots and lots of water and then it was time to find some real food. My significant other (or whatever he should be called) decided the direction we would walk for food – back towards the city, but there was nooo food. Except hot dogs and corn. So we had a hot dog and headed back to town (a good idea cos I was pretty hungry and we needed the change for the bus/tram back). It was fun day, listening to loud Caribbean beats and seeing all the happy dancing people. 

Prince Edward County - Sandbanks Provincial Park

Leaving Ottawa, all I wanted was to go swimming/sun baking at a beach/lake! Sandbanks Provincial Park in Prince Edward County (not to be confused with Prince Edward Island) meant I could do both! Day use is $16, but if you stay at the campgrounds nearby, they waive that fee. In the park itself they had 6 spots left (none were with power) for $41!!!?! And outside the park they had spots for $46 with power AND water (park entry was included and we were five minute walk from the beach). Guess which one we went for!!

About 3-4 hours from Ottawa, Prince Edward County is really pretty and according to Lonely Planet, has a similar climate and soil type to the region of France where burgundy wine is produced. Apparently making burgundies is the area's newest claim to fame. For me, I was just happy with a nice sandy beach and beautiful clear, warm water. Just like the property manager from our last apartment promised (he's a Kingston boy). On our last day I went for a swim three times! And we left there at 1.30!! I was a very happy little traveller! Apart from one heavy rain shower, it was gorgeous weather (don't worry, we kept ourselves occupied watching Game of Thrones Season 2) and we ended up a little more tanned than we had been when we arrived...

The park is on Lake Ontario and it is the first Great Lake we've been swimming in. There are waves, but it was still weird knowing the water was fresh and not salty! I kept expecting to be covered in salt every time a wave hit me!

Lots of people! 

Going up the crazy bridge to cross into Prince Edward County. Couldn't quite get how steep it is! 

View from the bridge as drove over.  

Will driving us over the bridge. 

View out of my window as we crossed the bridge. 

View from the bridge as we entered PEC. 

Huge swan papa with family - at the campground. 

Mama and Papa (huge) swan with bubbies - at the campground. 

Toronto - Steam Whistle Brewery!!

A special post - by WILL:

After going up the CN tower (blog post to come) we discovered the Steam Whistle Brewery!! It is a very nice looking brewery in downtown Toronto inside an old train shed (there is also a railway museum).  There is a miniature train out the front for little kids to ride on (and big kids...).   Steam Whistle Brewery only makes one type of beer which is a smooth and tasty "European style" Pilsner!  The brewery started brewing in 1998 as the dream of a group of friends on a canoe trip in the heartland of Ontario, Canada. They pride themselves on being eco friendly. All their delivery vehicles are old-school "vintage" cars which they have converted to electric to be more eco friendly. Each year they win awards for their great beer as well as for their eco friendliness. 

Here in Ontario all alcohol you buy from the store requires you to pay an extra 10c per bottle as a deposit and when you return them you get the money back.   The bottles are then returned to the brewery to be re-filled.  Steam Whistle have designed a bottle which can be refilled 35 times before needing to be recycled which means a lot less carbon use! What's not to love?!

Of course, the brewery just looked funky too, with lots of brick and of course lots of merchandise and TAPS for beer! We went in to have a look and as we were checking it out, we were asked if we wanted a free sample - of course we said YES! And it was 1.30pm so not too early. As we sipped we could see all the retro decor and also some of the vats in the brewery itself. The little (but full) glasses we had were pretty cool so we went to see how much they were and were offered another sample by someone else - we said YES! We went and sat down again, used their free wi-fi and generally enjoyed the beer. A third time to the counter to ask how much the bottles of beer were and we offered another sample, but Jen was feeling a little tipsy by this point and so we said no - can you believe it!! 

Tours were $10 and then you were given a souvenir glass or bottle opener, plus a beer to carry around while you checked out the brewery. We definitely needed some food before we even attempted stairs and another beer, so we wandered off, intending to come back later. As it is, we are already nursing three souvenir glasses in Betsey and hoping they don't break, so Jen told me we couldn't get another one :(. Hopefully these ones make it back to Oz! Unfortunately we didn't go back, but if you are in Toronto, it's definitely a cool place to check out! We have the Alexander Keith brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in our sights though!! 

I really wanted one but we do not have space/money for this.....So sad!

As soon as we walked in the door they offered us a free sample!!  We then went up to the counter to
ask how much it would be to buy a glass and they gave us another sample!!! I was a very happy camper!

This cool "retro" bike has tapping gear at the back just behind the seat!

Maple syrup whiskey

New bottle - new label. Old bottle iced from being in the freezer!

Made in Quebec, this concoction is actually cheaper in Ontario. A bit like Australian wines in Canada, which are more expensive in Australia haha. On Australia Day a colleague of mine brought a bottle of this delicious whiskey to our evening of festivities (we reciprocated with Tim Tam slams – yes we found Tim Tams here! Gooo Loblaws!!). Then of course we had to buy our own from LCBO (the government-owned and licensed liquor company in uptight Ontario - the only place to buy alcohol, except beer which you can get from The Beer Store. Seriously. No imagination!) Incidentally, one would assume that this whiskey would be found in the whiskey section of LCBO, but we had to ask when we couldn’t find it and found out it’s actually in the liqueur section. Go figure.

 

What does it taste like?

Sweetness with the warming burn of whiskey. Delicious. Just like maple syrup, but alcoholic and therefore a wee little bit dangerous!! Perfect on the rocks. YUM! I wish I could take a couple of bottles of this home. J

Beavertails

In winter. 

In summer. 

Continuing on with the heart attack material is the deep fried treat known as a ‘beavertail.’ It’s wholewheat pastry that is deep fried, then sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, or with sliced apple on top, or nutella or even cheese. We had one that was sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar and served with a wedge of lemon to squeeze on top. It’s called the Killaloe Sunrise. We’ve also tried to apple one and the chocolate one J. They are shaped like a beaver tail (I haven't seen a real beaver with its tail, so I cannot confirm if this is accurate), hence the name. 

Ooops, I couldn't wait! The beavertail doesn't come with a bite mark like this one...

There is a stand that sells these year round and I walk past it almost every day on my way to work and observe the many tourists that line up for this tasty treat. Apparently in the past you could only buy these once a year at Winterlude, but now you can get them any time. Well, up until about 10pm at night, 11pm on weekends. Though the Winterlude ones were actually a little more expensive! So definitely get them from the Byward Market! Did I mention it's super touristy?? 

Snippets of Ottawa - eating Greek style

Apologies as my blog posts are kind of tapering off as we prepare ourselves for the next adventure! The last couple of days have been filled with packing and trying our best to sell furniture. Then after Saturday the blog posts will be completely sporadic as I don't know what our internet access will be like :( 

Yesterday, however, we did take some time off to go eat some Greek food with one of my best mates, here, Maria. Her family is from Crete and with her, we've had a tour of Greek eateries in Ottawa, including her parents' restaurant (see the blog post on Arnprior). Here are a few pics - I didn't actually take the camera and I forgot to ask her to take a pic of the actual pitas, but trust me, they were yum. 

I had the pork pita (like I did the first time we went here, sans Will) and he had the lamb. So good. Also we had Greek fries which are fries doused in olive oil and sprinkled with crumbled feta and dried oregano. 

For anyone that lives in Ottawa and wants to try it out, The Souvlaki Shack is on Bank Street, just past Lisgar. :) 

Apparently the Greek symbols in the name are s's not e's. Grssk. 

Poutine

Posh poutine we had just last night! Our friend ordered it and when we saw it, we couldn't resist. Smoked pork belly poutine. Amazing. 

This dish is definitely a heart attack waiting to happen, but it is sooo good! It’s pronounced ‘pu-tin’ by the locals (not poo-teen as Will and I originally thought). It’s a French-Canadian dish. It’s especially good in winter when all you want is some tasty, hot comfort food. Or some quick Candian fast-food. Or if you’re hungover...

What is it?

It’s basically French fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy. Special poutine gravy. And if you want to go gourmet, you can get meatlover’s with smoked meat, vegie, with obviously vegies on it and so on. Apparently some places around Ottawa have 40 different types of toppings!

Apologies for the next three pictures - they were taken with our iPod Touch, so the quality is not very good. It's just a little more subtle than our big Nikon and I don't always carry my little Olympus with us! You get the idea though. And yes, we have had a couple of different types - my waistline has not been grateful for this new culinary discovery! 

Poutine in Bancroft.

We first had poutine at a chip wagon on the highway from Sault Ste Marie to Ottawa. Since then we’ve tried a few different versions and have even made our own at home. We did use a sachet of gravy mix, which you add to water and boil, but apparently you can also make your own homemade version with beef stock.

Homemade poutine. Looks a little like ice cream and caramel sauce though - someone was a little carried away with the cheese curds! 

Smoked meat poutine at The Works. 

It doesn’t look that pretty, but it does taste amazing. And this is coming from someone who hates Aussie chips and gravy! 

Yum!