Category Archives: Leisure

Georgian Bay – Creemore

Georgian Bay forms an almost separate lake at the east of Lake Huron and is a relaxing 2 hour drive or so from Toronto. As such, it is an obvious year-round weekend playground and is often referred to as ‘cottage country’.

Creemore, Georgian Bay - the roads go on for ever . . .The city gives way to rolling countryside, cut through by almost straight roads in a gridded roller-coaster.  On a hot summer’s day, it is hard to realise that many of these ‘hills’ become ski slopes in winter.  Stranger still to a Brit used to the world grinding to a halt when it snows, there are plenty of people who commute daily from the area, even in winter.  As someone pointed out to us, it makes a huge difference not having to brake constantly for bends! I’m not sure I’m quite ready for this challenge just yet.

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An invitation to an exhibition opening at the Mad and Noisy Gallery (Silicamorphous   GLASS VARIATIONS – inspirational!) took us to Creemore, considered one of the prettiest small towns in Ontario.  Sitting between the Mad River and the Noisy River, Creemore lived up to its reputation and we spent a relaxing afternoon just mooching, before eating a mountain of meat in a very well established Hungarian restaurant – yummy cabbage rolls as a starter and Apple Strudel to die for! (The Sovereign Restaurant is the building you see at the foreground of the first picture above.)

The longest freshwater beach in the world

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Yesterday we walked on the shores of Lake Huron along Wasaga Beach, the longest freshwater  beach in the world!

The empty beach volleyball courts lie waiting for their potential champions, whilst further up the bay the kites paint their ever changing patterns against the clouds . . .

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The McMichael Canadian Art Collection

222px-Lawren_Harris_-_North_Shore,_Lake_Superior A stunning place! Gorgeous setting (which we will have to explore properly when we live here); fabulous collection of the work of Canadian artists; an exhibition of industrial images and portraits by Yousuf Karsh, one of the most important portrait photographers of the twentieth century; and ‘Challenging Traditions: contemporary first nations art of the northwest coast’, a temporary exhibition which opened yesterday.

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Canada Day (1st July)

With the city workers’ strike causing the cancellation of a number of local Canada Day events, we decided to head to Ontario Place, not least so that we could catch the stunning firework display that forms part of the Festival of Fire.

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The Beach

What better way to unwind after a long flight than to walk down the leafy streets  join Toronto in laying claim to the glorious summer’s day on Woodbine beach? Grassy parkland gives way to the Boardwalk and shady trees before opening up onto the blistering hot sand of the bay and the blue horizon of Lake Ontario.

 

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