April 17, 2010 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The American Academy of Neurology was in Toronto this year, which gives Lisa and I the opportunity for travel adventures as well as catching up with old friends.  Lisa and I had flown in and out of Buffalo and rented a car to drive to Toronto.  Southern Ontario is also home to my mother's family and although I had not spent much time in Toronto proper before, the region is very familiar to me.

Getting ready to leave for home this morning.

Thursday (April 15) we took the rental car and got out of Toronto for the day.  With our friends Billy and Amy (who were residents with me at University of Virginia), we went to Niagara-on-the-Lake.  As many times as I have been to the Falls, I had never been to Niagara-on-the-Lake before.  We had a splendid day.  The weather was beautiful - sunny and 70's F.  We did wine tasting at two vineyards: Inniskilln and Jackson-Triggs (which were actually sister vineyards, so going to Jackson-Triggs got us free tastings at Inniskillin).

Lisa and I at Jackson-Triggs vineyard

It was during these tastings that Lisa and I tried ice wine for the first time.  Billy and Amy are big fans of it and, although the vineyards we went to make table wines, the only thing the export out of province is their ice wine.  Ice wine is made from grapes that are picked while frozen solid in the winter (they have to be picked on the third consecutive night of temperatures as low as 15 F).  The freezing extracts water from the grape, leaving a mash that is essentially juice concentrate.  The subsequent fermentation creates a high sugar, high alcohol wine that is actually syrup-like in texture and perfect for a dessert wine.  They were quite tasty and the one I liked the best was actually a red ice wine - Cabernet Franc.

For $5 (CAD) each we got a tour of the Inniskillin winery.  It was quite a good deal, actually, because it included additional free tastings and  $5 off the purchase of 200 mL or more of ice wine (Lisa and bought five 2 oz. (50 mL) ice wine samplers).  The tour was quite interesting.  In addition to the four of us on the tour there was a very inquisitive young man from Toronto (and his remarkably attractive Asian-Canadian girlfriend) who must have asked hundreds of questions on the brief tour.  Some interesting, others not, but God bless him for his insatiable curiosity.

Our tour guide, Marta, was also our sommelier for the tastings at Inniskillin.  I felt like I learned a lot about wine tasting from her and have much better appreciation for evaluating the bouquet of a wine and appreciating at least some of the subtleties of flavour.  Contrast that with Colin, the affable old Scot at Jackson-Triggs who gave us no guidance and didn't even charge us for the tastings (although we did promise to return later in the day and buy wine from him.  Lisa and I bought a Sauvignon Blanc there as the table wines are unavailable out of Province...).

Billy, Amy, and I tasting wines

Between tastings, we took Colin's advice and lunched at the Golf Club restaurant, which afforded a spectacular view of Lake Ontario and the Niagara River.  The food was also excellent.  Lisa had the hamburger, which she said was fantastic, and I had a wonderful chicken sandwich with very sharp cheddar cheese.  Amy seemed quite happy with her Reuben, as did Billy with his steak frites.

After the vineyards, we spent an hour or so walking around town.  Really just up and down Queen St./Picton St., the main drag.  It was populated with all sorts of shops, cafes, and nice looking restaurants.  Many of the shops were closed, but we did browse the Irish store and a shop that sold jam and tea (where I bought something called Canadian breakfast tea for my mother).  In the center of the street was a small clock tower that served as a cenotaph for Canadians who had given their lives for their country.  At the far end of the street from where we parked (the Picton St. end) was a nice park with a historical marker plaque from which I learned that Niagara-on-the-Lake was the capital of Upper Canada when John Simcoe was the Royal Governor in the 1790's and early 1800's until it was burned by U.S. forces in 1813 (presumably the same campaign during which Toronto (then called York) was burned).  Near the park was the Prince of Wales Hotel - very posh with sort of a Victorian/Imperial decor.  Reminded us of the Empress Hotel in Victoria (B.C.) on a smaller scale.  They were serving what appeared to be a wonderful afternoon tea.  There was also an old, 19th century, apothecary, but unfortunately it wasn't open to the public until May...

Prince of Wales Hotel

We left Niagara-on-the-Lake at a little after six to return to Toronto.  Billy and Amy had included us in their 8 PM dinner reservations at a restaurant near our hotel called Bymark.  It was a little over-the-top for our taste, but very nice.  I tried rabbit for the first time and it was wonderful (my meal came with both a cut of rabbit and rabbit sausage).  Lisa had a cornish game hen and we shared lobster tacos for an appetizer.  I had a cold Guinness draught before dinner, white wine with dinner and a very nice cup of tea afterwards.

Although the meal was quite good (Lisa preferred Lucien (a restaurant at which we had eaten earlier in the week), though), what really made the evening was the company.  In addition to Billy and Amy, we were joined by Dean (who was in Billy and Amy's residency class and chief resident my first year in residency), and Kim, a pharmacist who had worked in the neuro ICU at UVa when we were residents but now works for a pharmaceutical company...  Lisa and I hadn't seen Kim since the Virginia Neurological Society meeting two years ago and I hadn't seen Dean since a stroke meeting 4-5 years ago.  The service was a bit slow, but it didn't matter, we were all having a wonderful time catching up with old friends!  A delightful nightcap to a wonderful day!

October 10, 2009 - Prague, Czech Republic

Lisa and I got into Prague today (Lisa's birthday) to start our vacation.  I have wanted to visit Prague ever since the Cold War ended (The Czech Republic was then Czechoslovakia, an eastern bloc country under Soviet domination) and have finally arrived!  I have only been here a few hours (I write this at 9 PM and we arrived at our hotel at 4 PM) and so far it doesn't disappoint. 

Our cab ride from the airport was interesting (we flew from Baltimore via Detroit and Paris).  The driver was a maniac and I had flashbacks to our cab ride from Brick Lane in London in 2003.  He rode everyone's bumper and was off like a bat out of hell as soon as they got out of the way.  But, we made it in one piece for about $35 USD or 600 crowns (Kc).  There was almost no customs inspection and no passport stamp at the airport...

Our hotel (Hotel Rott) is very nice.  The room is small, but actually one of the large rooms in which we have stayed in Europe, and very clean.  The hotel staff were super courteous and the hotel cafe looks nice.  The location is perfect.  Just off the Old Town square and a short walk to the Charles Bridge.

After settling in, we went over the Old Town Square.  What a place!  It was filled with people, tourists and locals alike, and bustling with activity.  Vendors were selling everything you could think of - hot dogs, sausages, fish, chicken kabobs, and all sorts of sweets and pastries that I couldn't put a name to.  The smell of grilling meats permeated the air and there was also a vendor selling beer!  Prague is all about the beer and it is as good as it is cheap.  A pint from the vendor cost 35 Kc ($2 USD) and it was really nice beer!  Unfortunately, I cannot recall the name...  In Prague you can walk around any street drinking beer from an open container.  And, where we ate dinner, the beer was the same price as soft drinks for a 0.5 L draught!

Astronomical Clock

The bustle of the square gave it the feel of a medieval marketplace, which I am sure was the initial purpose.  However, the buildings lining the square were baroque, and stunning. The highlight of the square was the astronomical clock, which we got to watch change at the top of the hour (5 PM).

Some sort of chanting was going on at the square amongst a gathering of Polish soccer (football) fans (Poland was playing the Czech team that night).  It seemed benign enough to me, but all of a sudden several scary looking policemen in riot gear stormed into the square and set up a perimeter.  They looked like throwbacks from the communist era and like they meant business.  We decided it would be a good time to leave for dinner!  Never did find out what happened, but several of the Polish fans hot-footed it out of there and as we were leaving a police helicopter was circling overhead.

Old Town Square, Prague

From the square, we walked over to the Charles Bridge.  Although currently marred by some construction, from the bridge there are beautiful views of the Vlata river and the city - especially Prague Castle in the Little Quarter (Mala Strana).  Several statues adorn the bridge, including one of St. John Nepomuk (who was drowned in the river at the order of King Wenceslaus IV for refusing to divulge the contents of the Queen's confession, a martyr to the sanctity of the confessional) - rubbing his brass relief with your left hand (which I did) is supposed to bring you good luck.  Street vendors lined the bridge as well as some pretty talented street musicians.

We had dinner on the other side of the bridge in Mala Strana at a restaurant called Gitanes.  Not only was it recommended in our guide book (Top 10 Prague), it was also highly recommended by Lisa's Uncle Mick, who is a chef and gave us the great recommendation of the Falcon Hotel in Stratford in 2007.  He and Pam liked it so much, they went back a second time - and I can see why.  The decor was very eclectic but the food was fantastic.  A talented band consisting of a pianist, a violinist, an acoustic guitarist, and and upright bass player provided live music while we dined.  The served rolls, that were really more fried dough, with cream cheese to spread on them.  Delicious, although I am sure terrible for your arteries.  I had a Balkan salad - cheese, cucumber, tomato and green pepper dressed with oil and vinegar (also delicious).  My entree was called Pork Tobasco - an above average piece of pork covered with a tomato sauce that tasted like the sauce my paternal grandmother (maiden name Wiener) used to make for stuffed peppers, only with a little spice to it.  In the sauce were grilled onions as well as green, red, and yellow bell peppers.  It was absolutely delicious.  I washed it down with a Gambrinus, a delightful light (in colour) lager (pilsner) that is apparently the best selling beer in the Czech Republic.

Unfortunately, I don't think Lisa enjoyed her meal much.  Probably from the travel, lack of sleep, and missed meals (we'd been on the go since breakfast), she developed a migraine and subsequent anorexia.  By the time we had finished, I was feeling a bit tired too and we walked back to the hotel.  The Charles Bridge is just as impressive at night, but by then it had started to rain.

We'll call it a night early tonight, but tomorrow night plan to take a free 1 hour walking tour to get an overview and then will take it from there.