The Peg

It's Colin reporting back from the Peg. He went with B and I since we were there for a wedding. The city was pretty sleepy, much more than we expected, but we did check out some cool spots. We had great sandwiches at King + Bannatyne.

We also checked out the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

We spent a lot of time in this area, going through each exhibit. We learned a lot.

The museum had these neat ramps that took you all the way to the top of the Tower of Hope. There were lots of people at the top so we opted to enjoy the view, sans photo.

Everyone told us to visit the Forks, so we did. This was the most happening place in the city while we were in town. The coffee at Harrisons was pretty good.

And for a sweet treat, we went to Oh Doughnuts. Colin was happy he had his hoodie since the weather was a bit chilly. If you have been to the Peg, let us know!

Lovebot

The Lovebot invasion is here! Colin is pleased to introduce Larry the Lovebot. They spend the day yesterday talking about kindness, computers, and the colour red.

Doors Open, Again!

Last year, I did Doors Open with Bernie. This year, Colin joined me for an afternoon of exploration. We visited only a few sites, but they were all excellent! The first one was 401 Richmond. I have passed by the building several times but have never gone in. It had some cool art on display, as well as a nice rooftop patio.

Our second stop was 1 Spadina Crescent, home to U of T's Faculty of Architecture. Colin and I did a self-guided tour. The students' works were super impressive. Here's Colin looking down Spadina Crescent toward the lake. 

Our last stop was the Bata Shoe Museum. We spent a decent amount of time here. Colin's favourite exhibit was "All About Shoes: Footwear through the Ages". General admission is $14 so it was great to visit the museum for free.

20 Hours in Paris

We extended our layover in Paris so we could enjoy the city before heading back home. Clem told Colin all about her trip last fall so he was excited to see why she liked it so much. This is the view from our hotel room. C'est parfait!

After checking out les grands magasins in the 1e, we had a very nice meal at Vivant. Colin's favourite dish was the scallops on the right.

We walked all around town, including the Latin Quarter, which we didn't do the last time. Colin watched the Eiffel Tower light show from the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge (which used to be covered with "love locks").

The next morning, we stuffed our faces with Parisian pastries at several bakeries and had a delicious brunch at Buvette. We shared both dishes, but Colin liked the dish on the left more.

Colin had a great trip but was happy to return to his pals in the 6ix. He was a bit jet lagged for a few days, but he's now back to his usual self.

Even More Morocco!

On our first full day in Marrakesh, we went to the Jardin Majorelle and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. Both were very cool, despite the long lines we waited in.

We visited the Jardin Secret on our second day in the city. It was a great place to retreat from the surrounding souks.

Colin had this bench all to himself!

The Jardin Secret was only restored recently. It was built in the 19th century, and was one of the largest riads in the Medina of Marrakesh. This door was hand painted - beautiful!

The afternoons were quite hot in Marrakesh so we would siesta at our riad. The decor was much more modern than the place we stayed at in Fes.

Like our Fes riad, our Marrakesh riad served an excellent breakfast each morning. We had the option of eating in the courtyard or on the rooftop terrace (as we did in this photo).

The Palais El Badii was built in the 16th century to commemorate the victory of a battle against the Portuguese. We spent a few hours exploring the grounds.

Colin enjoying the shade in the old palace wall.

Hello from the palace tower!

Close by the place were the Tombeaux Saadiens. About sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty are buried here. This room was the most impressive.

Some other highlights of our time in Marrakesh included Jemaa el Fna (especially Stall #71 for spiced tea!) and going to a hammam.

More Morocco!

We continued our road trip, passing through many small towns along the way. These are the remains of an older town.

We walked around the Todra Gorges and spent a night in the Dades Valley.

Ait Ben Haddou (the darker brown buildings in the background) is Morocco's most famous kasbah (and also a UNESCO site).

We climbed to the very top of the kasbah, which offered great views of the town and valley below.

To get to our final destination, Marrakesh, we had to cross the Atlas Mountains once more. The drive was very scenic.

When we reached Marrakesh, we splurged on a fancy meal at Le Jardin. We ate tagine for three days straight so fish was a nice change.

Morocco!

Colin ventured with us to a new country - Morocco! After a long day of travelling from Toronto via Paris, we were welcomed to the Sofitel in Casablanca with an unexpected room upgrade and snacks. Colin liked the marshmallows the most.

The next day we did a quick tour of the Hassan II Mosque - the third largest mosque in the world (and one of very few mosques non-Muslims can visit). We then took a train to Fes. 

Our train was delayed because of heavy rainfall. Colin was pretty tuckered out by the time we arrived at our riad.

The Riad Mazar in Fes was beautiful, and the staff were incredibly friendly. Breakfast was included in our room rate, and it was scrumptious!

We did a half day tour of Fes, at the recommendation of our riad, and it was the highlight of our time there. We learned a lot. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos of Colin since it was raining, and the alleys in the Medina were packed with people.

The next day, we embarked on a three-day desert trek. We started by driving through the Atlas Mountains.

We then ended up at the Sahara, where we took a camel ride to a desert camp for the night.

The two camels in the foreground were ours.

More from Morocco soon!

Colin Reunion

Colin reunited with New Colin in Vancouver two weekends ago. The two caught up over sightseeing, good conversation, and tasty food. They had a great time at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Monet exhibit was a real treat.

They also enjoyed walking along the waterfront. From the photo above, can you tell which Colin is which?

Fro-back

Found this funny photo of Colin on my phone.

Who knew he would look so good with hair!

Double Vision

We're super excited to be a monster host! Our new monster friend happens to look very similar to Colin. Our Colin on the right thought he was looking into the mirror. Naturally the two Colins hit it off.

New Colin is excited to meet people in different places around the world! He came prepared with his trusty passport.

We have a trip planned for new Colin later on the month. Adventure is out there!

ROM Ink

Colin's been playing way too many video games lately so I thought a museum outing with be good for him.

I wanted to check out one exhibit in particular. Before heading to the exhibit, we said hello to the futalognkosaurus dukei (dinosaur) in the atrium.

The exhibit is all about tattoos. It features a visual history of body art, markings, and ancient tools. This is from the United States...

...this is from Japan...

...and these are from Algeria.

One of the cool things we learned was that it some cultures, only women could be tattoo artists!

Tattoos: Ritual. Identity. Obsession. Art. is on until September.

Night at the Movies

Colin was super excited to watch Star Wars on the big screen! We went with my parents and brother.

Colin loves movies but hasn't been to the cinema before. He thought the lobby was spacious.

We watched the film in 3D IMAX. We were happy to reserve seats in advance because the theatre was completely full.

The movie was great! We liked it a lot. Colin is asking me to find the older ones so he can watch them at home.

Vote Today!

Colin wants to remind our Canadian pals to vote today. Do your part and get to the polls! To learn more, check out Elections Canada.