We got up early... but not eeeeaaarrrlllyyy – for once.
We had seen a great deal of downtown Toronto already, so we went again at a more leisurely pace. We got off at the same station as before and headed around on foot. In Dundas Square (the baby Times Square) there was a huge Uncle Ben’s promotion. There were huge signs everywhere and a little restaurant thing where people were serving Uncle Ben’s for free. It was totally hardcore. We headed back passed the Bay Building and to the CN Tower. We went up and enjoyed the view of Toronto, and of the ground when we stood on the glass floor. Back on the ground we headed past Much Music, CBC, and over to the Kensington Market. We went through the heart of China Town, and around the rest of the most of the downtown. Somewhere in there we had some street meat and more Marble Slab ice cream.
It was busy. It is hard to express the busyness because of the going to so many places just to look, and just to see, but it was super busy. The photos might speak better than my words, but so much of what was seen was just seen and taken to memory. Toronto is a big city, and it has the feel of a big city. You can see the modern people and the hip people going about their business. It really makes me feel... uh... un-hip... I guess I don’t really fit in with the world of fashion and whatever... I think I am better in the woods with a blade, or just in a suit in the world of production. Oh well.
That afternoon we met an old high school friend of mine at Union Station and went for coffee. I am used to seeing this friend only once every few years, and yet, within a year’s span I have now seen her twice. It is a nice change. She still lives on the other side of the country, but seeing her twice in a year is nice. But. For the rest of the time there is e-mail and the like.
We had to wrap up our coffee pretty quick because I had somewhere to be. We hopped back on the train and made it back to Auntie Anne and Benny’s house. I grabbed the car and headed up Yonge to the Jung Ko Kendo Club where Cruise Sensei was teaching Iaido. Somehow finding the place I met Cruise Sensei at the door and headed in. I trained with a few other students and under Cruise Sensei’s instruction I should be able to greatly improve my Iaido. I will take his feedback and work hard for my upcoming grading in December.
After training the lot of us headed to an “authentic” Korean restaurant. When I say “authentic” I mean it. The server spoke Korean... and only Korean. The guys from the Kendo Club ordered some food and we ate. There were some cold dishes like appetizers and then the server brought a little heater to the table. He put a beef dish on the flames and left it to us. The food was spicy, but good. I enjoyed the company of the guys and of Cruise Sensei and then headed back to Auntie Anne’s.
On an interesting side note, Cruise Sensei is the artist who created the Fire Sticks at the University of Calgary’s Engineering Building. There is more to the story that I would like to write up, but now is not the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment