Cheerio!

We heard the graffiti at Leake Street was decent so we checked it out one morning.

We also continued with seeing the most famous sights in the city, including Westminster and Big Ben...

...as well as Buckingham Palace and St. James Park.

After some window shopping in Mayfair, we had a leisurely afternoon tea at the British Museum.

The museum was crazy busy so we didn't stay too long. Buddy liked this moai from Easter Island.

He also found the sculptures from Greece to be impressive.

The London food scene was extremely diverse. We had Burmese food on our last night. It was delicious.

And before we heading back home the next morning, we had a great Indian brunch at Dishoom.

Our trip to London was quick yet fun! We arrived back in Toronto in time to ring in the New Year with B's parents. We hope everyone's 2023 is off to an awesome start!

Walking Through London

Buddy was keen to walk around town. For our first few days, we were taking the Tube since it was rainy. We walked across the London Bridge to view the Tower Bridge...

...we ate sausage rolls in Borough Market...

...we walked by Shakespeare's Theatre...

...we saw some cool art at the Tate Modern...

...such as this Jackson Pollock...

...we had cocktails on top of the Gherkin...

...and an over the top dinner at Gloria.

Buddy had a great sleep that night since we packed in so much in one day. 

Arriving in London Town

Buddy ended 2022 on a high note with a trip across the pond. B upgraded us to business class. Lying flat to sleep was fantastic.

Our flight was delayed so we didn't get in much sightseeing on our first day. We saw the play, Life of Pi, that evening. It won five Oliver Awards. I can see why, especially for the animal puppets.

We had a late dinner after the play at Duck and Waffle. The view 40 storeys up was great. The restaurant was quite busy since it is open 24 hours.

The next day we had brunch at my cousin's house. Buddy enjoyed meeting her friends. The love for plushies runs strong in my family.

Buddy was pretty jet lagged so he stayed in at our hotel while we had dinner and drinks with B's cousin.

Spitafields Market was a neat place to visit. We checked out a bunch of stalls and bought a few snacks, including this matcha wheel cake.

No trip to London would be complete with some good old fashion fish and chips. These were pretty good. The portions were large.

One of the places we reserved in advance for dinner was Noble Rot. I have read their magazine before so was curious what their restaurant would be like. The food did not disappoint. We left a little hungry though.

More Buddy in London pics to come! Gotta catch up on some posts.

Bon Appétit

Buddy ate his way through Montreal a few weeks ago. He had poutine at the Time Out Market...

...dinner and natural wine at Boxermans...

...a big salad at Mandy's...

...and brunch pizza at Cafe Parvis.

Not pictured: a three-course lunch at Marcus, pastries at Mamie Clafoutis, dinner at Gia Vin & Grill, bagels from Fairmont, and coffee at La Finca. Yum!

Clem went to Montreal last year so she helped Buddy pick some spots to try. Thanks, Clem!

Pop!

How is everyone doing? Things are opening up here in Toronto. This morning, Buddy and I went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

We saw many of Andy's iconic pieces. Buddy counted the number of Campbell soup cans in this piece. There's 100! Andy painted this by hand, but used stencils to help him with repetition.

There were lots of portraits of celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe. Buddy liked how colour this set was. While there are eight portraits here, the full set includes ten portraits.

Buddy asked me if I can make him a wig like Andy's. This self portrait is from the 1980s.

The exhibit is on until October 24. If you check it out, let us know!

Home for the Holidays

Mr. Ji and Buddy moved back home from Boston with B, just in time for the holidays.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday and a very happy 2020!

Day Trippin'

Buddy, B, and I had a leisurely day trip to Provincetown (a.k.a. P-Town) last weekend. We took a ferry from Boston, hoping to see some whales along the way. We spent the morning in P-Town checking out the shops and art galleries along Commercial Street. Buddy enjoyed smelling the flowers wherever he could. Everyone's garden was in full bloom.

We had lunch at Canteen. It didn't quite live up to the hype. Buddy gave the meal a 7 out of 10. We shared a lobster roll and shrimp banh mi.

For the afternoon, we sunbathed at Race Point Beach, an easy $2 shuttle ride away from town. We contemplated renting bikes, but we wanted to take it easy. If you really want to take it easy, Uber is also an option.

We had an enjoyable dinner at Sal's, which is on a quieter stretch of Commercial Street and right on the water. After dinner, we grabbed froyo at Bliss. We ended up napping on the ferry ride home.

Thanks for a nice day, P-Town!

A Quiet Sunday

Buddy and Mr. Ji escaped to Portland, Maine with B and I for some rest and relaxation. We stayed at The Francis, a lovely boutique hotel. This photo was taken in a sitting area right outside our room. We hope everyone had a fab weekend!

A Snowy Day in Cambridge

Oh hello there! How is everyone these days? We've been keeping well. B is in Boston for a one-year fellowship. Buddy is there with him to fulfill his lifelong dream to study at Harvard. Buddy is majoring in Monster Studies.

Buddy was keen to show us around Cambridge last weekend. We paid our respects to John Harvard...

...We sampled a cannoli at Mike's Pastry...

...we picked up some school supplies at the Harvard Co-op...

...and we had a cocktail and snack at the newly opened Longfellow Bar.

Thanks for being our tour guide, Buddy! And good luck studying!

Hotel Escape

B and I hit the road for a mid-week getaway. Our new pal, Mr. Ji, and Buddy joined us for the fun. The weather was pretty blah but our hotel was nice and cozy. Mr. Ji and Buddy were happy to have their own queen size bed!

Beautiful Banff

Buddy and Bernie went to Banff over the Labour Day long weekend. They had front row seats in the car ride to and from Calgary...

...they soaked up the views at Lake Louise (and elsewhere)...

...and they joined us for a paddle on Emerald Lake!

We had a great time exploring Canada's stunning national parks and celebrating a wedding of a good friend. The summer flew by. Onward and upward for the fall season!

Out West

Buddy was on the west coast with B and I a few weeks ago. We were in Vancouver for a wedding, and did a side trip to Portland. The weather in both places was phenomenal!

We braved the line at Go Fish for some...you guessed it...fish and chips. Buddy guarded his lunch from the seagulls flying around the patio.

We also visited Granville Island. The local fruit looked delicious!

In Portland, we played everything by ear and walked all over. Buddy really enjoyed Powell's Books. We were tempted to buy a few used cookbooks.

We also visited the International Rose Test Garden. There were over 500 varieties of roses!

The food scene in Portland was decent. There were lots of food carts. Buddy really enjoyed this sandwich from Lardo.

Peace out, West Coast!