Something New...

Here in the Wanderlust Wednesday World of the vonBloggenschterns, we're all reasonably normal.

Oh, sure, we can trot out the quirky with the best of them. But in our gated community on the mellow little left-hand side of the country, on most (?) things, we are right in there with the status quo. And even though Canada is thought to be far, far away - I can assure you that we pretty much have the same reference points as the rest of North America.

Say, if I were to ask all of you fine readers to fill in the blanks, I know for a fact that none of you would have a moment's hesitation to come up with at least 5 things:

"It goes together like ________(blank) and __________(blank)"

(C'mon. Do it. I know you want to.)

I also know for a fact that your answers and my answers would not be too far off.

Cookies and milk.

Bacon and Eggs.

Starsky and Hutch.

Peaches and Herb.

Seal Flipper Pie and Maple Syrup.

Leave it then to oh-so-edgy Toronto to screw up all of this bonhomie and commonality with their weird entry: "Cows and Museums". Oh ho, ho - what will these lunatics think of next? Hockey players and donuts? That is just never gonna fly, let me tell you.

The hotel we stayed at during our last unvaccinated trip back east was almost directy across the street from the stunning Royal Ontario Museum:

The ususual feature of this museum is its integration of the old with the new. In and of itself, the Crystal Wing is absolutely eye-catching:

What also managed to catch my eye, the first day I ventured out for a morning of some rib-stickin' breakfast and exploring , was a paddock of dairy cows just outside this structure.

Not only were there cows, complete with Mr. Greenjeans, but surrounding the pen were a slew of white-coated chefs. Totally weird and, without any other visual clues to put things into context, more than a little off-putting.

I know that here in Vancouver we pride ourselves in having the highest quality seafood for our sushi, but this is kind of taking fresh ingredients to a new level.

"Yes, Francois - I'll have the steak tartar, and I choose that spotted one right over there. Merci beaucoup."

I meandered over to try and make sense of the hubbub. There was a Dairy Farmers of Ontario milk truck, a few suits, some photographers, and a half set-up podium.

I asked one of the chefs what was going on, and he said he didn't really know. Dude, you've got filet mignon on the hoof here, and you don't really know? Gah. Asshat.

I looked for a bit, dismissed the whole event as yet another pretentious 'Toronto Thing' and told #56:

"I sincerely hope you have a good day. Really. Good luck. "

When I returned to the hotel later that afternoon, I noticed there was no trace whatsoever that would have hinted at the early activities of the day.

Well, except for this new item on the hotel lounge's menu:

(photo source: hip hostess )

Ahhhh. Fresh.

God Bless, ya, #56. You did have a good day, after all.