Niagara Region and Its Glory

hi everyone, it's sunday, august 12 and it's been a while since i've written. i'm happy to say it's because i've been out and about (or oot and aboot) enjoying the fabulous weather and festivals that abound. torontonians definitely enjoy their summers while warning me on a daily basis that it's because of their severe winters. i'm still skeptical, what with global warming and all, but we shall see soon enough. i've done some cool things in the last few weeks so hopefully you'll read on.

as some of you know, i've become somewhat of a wine lover in the past year or so. i joined a cool wine club when i moved here and one of their activities is a wine tour to the niagara wine region. it was a glorious july day and the wineries were beautiful. we got some special treatment at each winery with either the president or winemaker touring us! we got to touch the grapes and even eat them straight from the vine - they were bitter...not like the ones at central market! although my buying habits have slowed since moving to T.O., i still ended up having bought the most number of bottles for the day at 8! we went to the vineland estates winery (http://www.vineland.com/), henry of pelham (http://www.henryofpelham.com/), and flat rock cellars, my personal favorite (http://www.flatrockcellars.com/). flat rock's vineyards look out over lake ontario and in the distance, you can faintly see downtown T.O....it's just gorgeous.

i met a very nice couple from johannesburg, south africa on the tour. they have taken me under their wing and even though we speak the same language, it's quite humorous when one of us says a word that the other has no idea what it means and we just stare and laugh! it has been just amazing listening to them talk about the changes their country has undergone in the last 10 years and i've enjoyed every minute of it.

one of the necessary "to do's" in T.O. is making a visit to the st. lawrence market. it is one of the largest food markets in the world and on saturdays, is bustling with people buying everything from pastries, fruits, coffees/teas to $5 filet mignon wrapped in bacon. yum! i went with the couple from the wine tour and we had breakfast at carousel bakery (http://www.carouselbakery.com/) where we had their famous breakfast sandwiches with peameal bacon (basically back bacon - i don't care for it very much but the canadians love it - it's on every menu i've seen in one form or another).

david beckham was in town recently playing the Toronto FC. the city pretty much went into pandemonium mode. i heard rumours of him being seen at roots (a canadian clothing store) and the whole street being shut down to accommodate.

i've finally found my version of "warren's" in T.O. called crush wine bar. it's within stumbling distance of my house so i can imbibe in their glorious wines all i want. so nice not to have to worry about how to get home. (http://www.crushwinebar.com/) there are a few other regulars i've seen in there and they seem to be charmed by my alleged accent. i keep reminding everyone that THEY have the accent. even weirder - the main bartender's name is my middle name and it's not a common name. it was meant to be. here are a couple of wine suggestions that i tried recently and that were delish:

2005 Dolcetto Langhe "Il Masante", Poderi Aldo Conterno
1999 Rioja Reserva "Senorio de P. Pecina", Bodegas Hnos Pecina

a few friends from texas have come up recently which i absolutely love! not only because it's so great to see them, but it helps you stay connected to your real home. and, even better is that i get to share all of my cool finds with them. it's funny when i get asked for directions on the street - i must have assimilated quite well because i get asked frequently for directions. so for all of you who haven't come up yet, it's just a short plane ride away (well, it's kinda long on continental) and my sofa can be your home away from home. we can eat, drink and be merry!