At Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 13:30:40 Stewart wrote:


>Nope.  Factor in the exchange rate and they cost pretty much exactly the 
>same, if not slightly more. [snip]

And really hard to come by....retailers are consistantly out of stock of 
these things (and the new Play Station hand-held thingy). It's hit or miss 
when the stuff is available.

>I can point you towards several excellent inexpensive restaurants, 
>especially around Yonge and Bloor, but unfortunately, most of my favorite 
>record stores in the city are no more and I haven't found much to replace 
>them.

Next time you're coming through, Stewart (September?) let me know and I'll 
give you the location of three in and around Scarborough that'll more than 
keep you busy.

>But if you're looking for day trips and you have a car, two things: the 
>zoo, out in Jaimie V. and Paul >M.'s hometown of Scarborough, is truly 
>excellent, one of my favorites in the world,

The zoo is 11 minutes from my house (and the property itself backs onto my 
parents' subdivision):-) And it's a WHOLE day affair if you want to catch 
all the attractions now that the monorail is no longer in service on the 
grounds. They've rebuilt an entire African Savannah which I wasn't able to 
thoroughly check out last year with my kids. It's a great day out and even 
when it's raining there's a lot of stuff to see inside the pavillions 
themselves. It's accessible by transit if you're not driving.

>and the McMichael Canadian Art Museum out in Kleinburg (www.mcmichael.com) 
>is a must-visit if >you're at all into art museums, if only for the 
>permanent installation of many works by the Group of >Seven, an early 20th 
>century collective of landscape painters who did some truly amazing work.  
> >(Indeed, many of the GoS are permanently installed there themselves -- 
>several of them are buried on the property!)

Good call....you'll need a day for this and, obviously, a vehicle.

>Finally, if you see a hot dog cart, get one.  Trust me on this.

Hehe....a person can very easily get hooked on our "Smog Dogs" :-) They're 
BBQ grilled and not boiled like in a lot of other cities....which also 
allows the choice of not just Shopsy Hot Dogs, but different varieties of 
sausage -- Polish, Italian, and German. I recommend ones on the South/West 
corner of Yonge & Dundas or Yonge & Gould.

is truly excellent, one of my favorites in
>the world,