Gourmet Goddess Pantry: Road Trip

It was road trip time in our household , plans had been hatched many a time over the last ten years , and we finally made good our promise and descended upon the beautiful city of Toronto Canada.

As usual, in keeping with the frenetic pace of my life at times , we departed our hometown of Chicago at a moments notice and within 48 hours we were on the road to Toronto. The car was packed , mapquest directions printed, Penelope (our cat) was left in charge of the household with a list of last minute instructions. The drive was uneventful , at times picturesque, filled with naps, songs and times of silence that needed no explanation . We took in the dulcid tones of Shirley Bassey, Elvis Presley and Santana ..... along with obligatory snippets of baseball scores.

While in Toronto we were expertly guided by Andrew T-Tours a personally handpicked tour guide providing us with all the ins and outs the city had to offer . Several of the photos included in the post are courtesy of Andrew T-Tours ........ highly recommend his services .

We enjoyed a tour of the island directly opposite the downtown area of Toronto , as a member of the garden club I was completely enamoured with the stunning garden beds and beautiful parkway . There was a beach and a lagoon within the park which was enjoyed.

entering the waters of lake Ontario

getting ready to tackle the lagoon ....

taking it easy with dad at the helm !!

one day my garden might look like this.

what to they feed the plants ??

We also took a drive to Niagara Falls , enjoying a beautiful drive through vineyards, a quick stop at Niagara on the Lake , a beautiful picturesque town with adorable gift stores and places to eat . Again the garden beds were stunning :

We then took a walk down to the Niagara river and were met by two mermaids sitting on the rocks :

As we drove to the falls we stopped and admired ...... I use that word loosely - because my heart was in my mouth and I was dizzy just watching- the boat tackle the whirlpool caused by the water from the falls.

Once we got to the falls all I can say is - they are loud and the water moves quickly and they are a sight to behold. I do not think any photo I could take would ever do them justice - it was overcast and rainy by the time we arrived there - so I will spare you the photo of us looking like drowned rats . Take time to listen to the video and hopefully this will give a feeling of what the falls are like.

We enjoyed a trip to the Science Museum , highlight of the trip was the Harry Potter exhibition. We enjoyed eating in some great restaurants - a "glowing" review to follow in a future post . We enjoyed getting to know long lost family members, we enjoyed quality family time and above all it was great to get away for a few days .

Needless to say we were hounded relentlessly by papparazzi and along the way brushed shoulders with some famous people ..... also had some funny moments.