Icewine

Did I mention that when we came back from Toronto (but before the crappy 2-hour delay at the border) we stopped off in Niagara-on-the-Lake, a small, picturesque town at the center of one of Canada's most important viticultural regions? We visited two wineries, the first of which was great. If you ever get a chance to visit Konzelmann vineyards, I highly recommend them. They have an extremely friendly staff, and all tastings are free, including the extraordinarily wonderful icewines (some are very expensive too: 200ml for $60). They also have a beautiful sloping vineyard overlooking Lake Ontario. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on that little side jaunt. And of course, brought home some bottles!

We went on Vacation....Together!!

Katie and I just got back from a great vacation up north. We flew to Buffalo where we visited our friends Autumn and Eric for one night. The next day, we borrowed their Mini Cooper and drove to Niagara Falls. What an amazing place. We extensively explored both US and Canadian sides of the falls by walking over the Rainbow Bridge spanning the Niagara River. The Maid of the Mist boat cruise was one of the coolest parts, which we reserved until the end of the visit since we knew we would get soaked (in spite of the blue ponchos they give you to wear). The boat takes you into the midst of Horseshoe Falls, and if you look straight ahead, all you can see is falling water all around you (even in your peripheral vision). The roar of the falls is extremely loud, and the mist it kicks up can feel like a torrential rainstorm. Did you know that the Niagara river is not really a river at all, but a strait linking Lake Erie with Lake Ontario? Neither did we. You have to love state parks and all those information signs posted everywhere!

After spending all afternoon at Niagara Falls, we drove on further into Canada up to Toronto. We stayed four days at a pretty nice hotel right on the waterfront on the western edge of the city. High Park, essentially the Central Park of Toronto, was a short walk from our hotel and we had easy access to the subway (which is quite paltry compared to New York’s) and to a streetcar that could both take us downtown. We slept late every day and then I practiced my horn (while watching baseball highlights on TV) while Katie worked out in the gym facility. One night we used the hot tub and met a nice couple from Montreal (originally from Cuba) and their daughter. They didn’t speak a lot of English, so we got to practice our French and Spanish. We didn’t do a ton of touristy stuff. We have great museums in New York, and we aren’t hockey fans, so we didn’t feel inclined to visit the art museums or the hockey hall of fame. We did take a ferry out to the Toronto Islands, which are car free. They have bike rentals and an amusement park and some great beaches, plus amazing views of the downtown skyline. We also walked the PATH, which is an underground maze of tunnels (totaling 16 miles) connecting department stores, malls, commercial skyscrapers, the symphony hall, metro stations, restaurants, parking facilities, and other buildings. There were so many shops and food courts, it was quite a sight. I would imagine that Torontonians really enjoy all the enclosed shopping when it is wintertime. Plus, you could get from one block of the city to another without walking outside or paying for the subway (which is $2.75 per ride, or $21 for 10 rides, a discount we took advantage of).

One of the highlights of our trip was the CN tower. This is tallest freestanding tower in the world (1,815 ft). The main observation deck was the one we visited, along with the revolving restaurant, 360 (at 1,150 ft.). They added a glass floor to part of the tower in the 1990s, so you can look between your feet and stare straight down to the ground over 1,000 feet below. It was pretty funny to see skittish people who refused to even set foot on the glass. Even our level-headed Katie eventually decided she’d had enough of the dizzying, vertiginous view. Since we had dinner reservations, we didn’t have to wait in line for tickets, and got up to the observation deck just in time for sunset. So we saw the city in both daylight and at night. During dinner, the restaurant actually revolves 360 degrees every 72 minutes and the view is spectacular. We got especially lucky since the moon was almost full, and in the clear night, we could see its reflection splayed out across the expanse of Lake Ontario. The food was superb and we got a yummy, non-oaked Ontario Chardonnay with dinner. (I think only British Columbia and Ontario have noted Canadian wineries.)

I’ll let Katie tell you more about dinner. She writes: "my leg got stuck to the bottom of the table by gum which was probably a remnant from some bratty kid. The restaurant manager was extremely apologetic and gave us free dessert and after-dinner drinks. He will also be paying for my dry cleaning. That is all."

Finally, we drove back to Buffalo, interrupted by an exceptionally crappy 2-hour delay at the border crossing. We spent a few more days with Autumn and Eric and their two little girls. Those kids were adorable. Naia is 2 and talks a blue streak and Chloe just turned 1 and has a very sweet temperament. One of the great things about the vacation was that we were able to get away from New York together. We’d both traveled a little earlier this summer, but separately. Now we had some time to get reacquainted, since Katie has been working so hard on her degree and we don’t really see each other during the week when she’s in school. Next week I start teaching again and Bird starts her clinical rotation in surgery at the nearby Interfaith Medical Center…sounds exciting, and possibly messy.

Don't forget to check out all our new pictures (click here)

Dan's True Colors Revealed

It won’t surprise any of you to know that Dan is a criminal. And it’s finally been confirmed by one of the largest enterprises is the United States: the NY Yankees. It all began innocently enough; my Dad was visiting on business and wanted to see a game at Yankee Stadium during his trip. Fine. After quite a lot of other adventures (Coney Island, a Mets game, my white coat ceremony) we found ourselves in the swarm of people converging on Yankee Stadium that fateful night. We scaled our way to the pinnacle where our seats were located and settled in for an exciting NY experience. I, of course, was plowing through the first of many non-medical texts since the end of the summer semester as Dan and Dad happily spouted forth facts from their reserve of seemingly infinite baseball knowledge. Before long a brood of frat boys set up shop right in front of us, obviously intoxicated and pretty vocal about their disgust for the opposing team. And then it happened…the literal spark that will forever be ingrained in our memories; the most inebriated of said frat boys lit a cigarette. A wave of protest went up all around us and at least four people asked the guy to put it out, as the smoke was billowing toward us all. When I finally asked him to put it out because it was aggravating my asthma, he made some flippant remark and blew smoke in Dan’s face. Suffice it to say, that didn’t go over well. The details remain a bit blurry, but a hat was aggressively ripped from the guy’s head in protest of the smoke, followed shortly by the entire row of frat boys holding their buddy back as he attempted to attack Dan. Words were exchanged. Security was called. Dan was kicked out. Okay, he did go willingly at the hearty request of the frat boy’s friends (frat boy was screaming at security that they would have to drag him out). As we watched Dan descend the stairs flanked by two security guards, I said to my Dad “that’s the son you never had.” I don’t think he’s ever been so proud. In the end we joined Dan on the outside because we’d already missed the most exciting part of the actual baseball game while Dan was in the midst of “Frat Boy Battle.” So ends the saga of Dan being ejected from Yankee Stadium, a mere confirmation of what we already suspected about Dan: he is trouble with a short fuse and should be dealt with cautiously.

Running

So, here's a quick note: Katie is making me run. Miles of running. Her school shut down the gym for 2 weeks for maintenance and so she is making me go to Prospect Park to run with her. I haven't run distance of any measurable length since college, so, obviously, I am dying. Today, our friend Jara was visiting (she runs marathons and has her own blog about running, to which I've put up a link over on the right) and totally kicked our butts, mine especially. But we are out there running about 2 miles at a time. We took this picture when we returned after running for 40 minutes; notice, if you will, how fresh and fit Katie and Jara look while I am standing off to the side, a somewhat pleasant grimace on my shiny face, indicating that I am totally drenched with sweat. (Click on the picture above for the full size if you dare.) Not that I am complaining, I'm in better shape now. Also, check out the new pictures we took with Jara's computer! It has a photo-editing program that makes regular photos into fun-house style photos, and other types of effects (pencil sketch, comic book, etc.).

Now it's off to the Botanic Garden (it's free Saturday mornings) where we will feed the fish, ducks, and, if we're lucky, the turtles (they are so slow, the ducks and fish mostly beat them to the food). Jara leaves this afternoon, and Katie's Dad comes this evening. We'll update you on his visit in the next post.