Windsor/Detroit: Whisky, Casino and Hockey

Folks may question my choice of Windsor/Detroit as a Thanksgiving weekend getaway destination. But the area has at least three things I like:  a casino, a distillery and hockey.

Windsor

Detroit

Again, my mode of transportation for my continuing tour of eastern cities was Via Rail.  It’s a convenient and comfortable way to travel for these four-to-six hour trips.

To be honest, I was somewhat surprised that the major structure you see next to Windsor’s Via station is the Hiram Walker and Sons Distillery – a series of tall brick, industrial buildings.  I didn’t know that Windsor is a major centre for whisky production. I guess my pre-trip research was lacking. I learned all about it during a very informative $10 tour of the Canadian Club Brand Centre.

 

Successful grain merchant Hiram Walker founded the distillery that would produce Canadian Club in 1858. This distillery was established in Walkerville (now part of Windsor). During the 90-minute tour of a grand building, we see the offices, furniture, ledgers and bottles of the late 1800s. We learned how Walker built his business on 468 acres of land and all the interesting activities that took place during the prohibition era.  The visit includes a look at the “speak easy” room in the basement where meetings took place with Al Capone.

The tour concludes with whisky samples.  But, because of provincial regulations, you can’t purchase whisky onsite. I did pick up a pair of logoed whisky glasses.  On a side note, as with all such family businesses, the distillery is now owned by multinational companies.

Walkerville is being revitalized with shops, bars and restaurants that embrace the area’s history. It’s good place to wander around and have lunch before the tour.

My two-night stay was at Caesars Windsor.  Is it like Vegas?  Yes!  It is a well-appointed facility with all trimmings of a Vegas casino: big rooms with views, friendly staff, lounges, entertainment and, of course, enough food and gaming action that one expects in such properties.

As for downtown Windsor, frankly, it’s a little faded. But I did support a local business and had a tasty home-made burger and fresh-cut fries combo at Simon's Prime Hamburgers.

Business from another era in downtown Windsor

The only part of Detroit I saw, beyond the skyline view from Windsor, was the Joe Louis Arena – to catch the first Saturday night home game of the season for the Detroit Red Wings. No fickle fans here – they love their Wings.  It quite an experience heading over to Motor City in the Windsor/Detroit Tunnel on a bus filled with Canadians wearing Wings gear.

Windsor embraces its waterfront with a five-kilometre trail.  I walked the trail to work off my Thanksgiving buffet lunch.


Waterfront Trail and the Ambassador Bridge - the busiest border crossing.

Windsor, looking northeast towards Lake St.Clair

Touring in summer weather during the first week of fall

My friend Monique timed it right for her Toronto visit.  During the last week of September, we were fortunate to have some of the finest weather of the last few months for the first week of fall – plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures.  The weather was perfect for our long list of activities as we explored Toronto, the Niagara Peninsula and Montreal. 

Niagara-on-the-Lake: a pretty town

Over the last year, I’ve been to Niagara Falls several times. However, I hadn’t ventured off the main highway to explore the wineries of the Niagara Escarpment and Twenty Valley. I think one can return multiple times to the area to meander along the country roads to discover the wineries.

For this trip, we focused on testing white wines. We sampled many fine Rieslings, said to be Niagara’s most important variety that withstands the summer heat and the severe cold of Ontario’s winter. A big thank you to my colleague Elissa (a native of Niagara), who provided us with maps and tips. 

Old Montreal

The early fall colours were especially brilliant in Montreal.  After arriving by train, relaxing strolls in Vieux Montreal, shopping along Rue Sainte Catherine and enjoying Blanche de Chambly beer on a patio on Rue Crescent were the order of the day.

My friends Ginette and Yvon took us on a drive around Mount Royal that included a stop at St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. And Yvon brought us to, what he says. is a little-known viewpoint on the Mount on the west side to see some sweeping views of city.

St. Joseph's Oratory

Merci Ginette et Yvon!

 Time to say au revior Montreal and à la prochaine!

 

A Taste of TIFF

I wasn’t going to write about TIFF 14, but my NYC Broadway show buddy Jen suggested this blog. So here are my impressions of my first Toronto International Film Festival.

I knew TIFF was a big production from my years of watching reports on entertainment programs.  Experiencing it while living in the Toronto gave me some perspective on the magnitude of this festival. For weeks leading up to TIFF, the local news programs created the buzz. And once the TIFF got into full swing, TV stations had live hits each evening from the many red carpets.

I haven't been much of a movie-goer in recent years, but the excitement of TIFF got me back into the cinemas. I saw four films over the last week.

A Second Chance: A Danish drama about a cop who makes fateful decisions involving a pair of junkies and a baby. Set in winter around Christmas, the film had many foreshadowing scenes of frigid, grey waters off Denmark’s coastline.  Academy Award-winning director Susanne Bier and star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau were on hand for a Q and A at this world premiere.

 

Cut Bank:  This film, set in Cut Bank, Montana (said to be the coldest spot in the USA), is about a crime scam gone wrong.  Performances by veterans Bruce Dern and Billy Bob Thornton were highlights in an otherwise basic movie. It didn’t help that I nodded off during this 10 p.m. showing and missed a few minutes where there was an important plot development.

Kill Me Three Times:  From Australia, this black comedy was engaging and entertaining. Lots of plot twists, schemes and scams in this murder tale, but all is logically linked. Of note is the cinematography described as “sun-punched.”

Cake:  I’ve never seen Jennifer Aniston in a dramatic role.  I was impressed with her performance (a departure from romantic comedies) as a woman dealing with physical and emotional trauma.

The only star I saw on the red carpet was John Travolta, on my way home along King St. on Friday night. I joined the crowd and took some Smartphone photos, just like every other star-spotter!

 

 

Thanks to @erin_braincandy for arranging all the tickets and being my #TIFF14 viewing partner.

Giving my Regards to the Great White Way

A late summer trip to New York City turned into a weekend of theatre – four Broadway musicals in four nights.

Hooking up with Jen Lucas from Vancouver, who was in NYC to catch early action at the US Open tennis, we had only booked one show in advance of the trip.

On my first night, I got a discounted ticket at 6 p.m. for Pippin (Tony winner, best musical revival, 2013). It’s a colourful and entertaining show that’s easy to watch.

Friday’s show was Kinky Boots, winner of six Tony Awards last year including best musical – a great choice for Jen’s first Broadway show. It’s an engaging show with great costumes and big musical numbers.

Since I had a ticket from tkts from my first show, we skipped the line at the half-price booth at Times Square and picked up tickets for Hedwig and the Angry Inch.  The show won four Tony Awards this year including best actor in a musical for Neil Patrick Harris. His run ended on Aug. 17. Andrew Rannells stepped into the role on Aug. 20, so it was great to see him perform this demanding role in his first two weeks.

Capping off the weekend was yet another discounted ticket (and skipping a long line again – keep those ticket stubs!) for Rock of Ages.  Now in its fifth year, I can just describe the show as a fun party with all those 1980s songs.

“I love the variety,” said Jen as she summed up her first exposure to Broadway theatre. "For a Broadway newbie, what I found most interesting is that most of the theatres are fairly intimate. You are not that far from the stage.  Also I am constantly amazed by people go to a show and don't know how to act. Show up on time, don't use a flash or your cell phone during the performance! These people work hard putting on a show and it's disrespectful."

Other highlights of this trip:

The United Nations. With all the current conflicts around the world, a tour of the UN is a reminder of all the important work this organization does.

A leisurely morning coffee visit on the concourse at Times Square – great place to catch up if you can get a table. Lots of food and coffee trucks to choose from.

Lunch at Sardi’s.  In my NYC searching before the trip, the idea of lunch at this institution popped up. Much to our surprise, when we arrived for our 11:45 reservation, we were the only people in the restaurant for 45 minutes. Our waiter, an aspiring actor from Tennessee (yes, he just moved to the Big Apple a few months ago) said it was very unusual for it to be so quiet.  Later during the weekend, we did see more people in the restaurant.

 

Sunday morning walk in Central Park with all the walkers, joggers, boaters and cyclists.

 

9/11 Memorial Museum.  Just opened this spring, the museum is carved out of the lower levels of the World Trade Centre.  The timeline of the events has a full accounting of what happened on that day.

 

 

A trip to the observation deck of the iconic Empire State Building and a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge – nothing but Manhattan skyline views.

 

 

And, of course, a quick stop at Macy’s on 34^th Street, the largest department store in the world, for a bit of shopping to cap off the weekend.

Battle of the Fairs

Well, it’s not quite a battle – just me checking out Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) for the first time after years (way into the double digits) of attending the annual Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver.

Living just blocks from the PNE grounds in east Vancouver for most of my life, as soon as the PNE banners go up on Hastings St. each August, you know that the end of summer is just around the corner.

It looks as if the same can be said for the CNE (The Ex). On a mid-August summer evening, I definitely felt a bit of an autumn chill in the air. But I’m told this year isn’t a typical Toronto summer as we haven’t seen the usual above 30-degree temperatures and high humidex values.

So, what do I think of the CNE? 

Well, just like the PNE, it’s in an urban setting, there are farm animals, craft displays, midway rides, a casino and merchants hawking their latest gadgets. And both fairs have the Superdogs show.


Then there’s the food. Over the last week, I would say the CNE PR folks did their job getting the media to talk about the “new and wacky” food such as chocolate fried chicken, thanksgiving waffles and s’more bao. 

I stuck to the basic fair midway fare:  a roasted corn on the cob and a tasty sausage on a bun with fried onions and green peppers from Corrado’s Authentic Italian Cuisine. I figured it was a reliable choice as it was voted the CNE’s best food concession in 2013.


There are more buildings to house the exhibits at the CNE compared to more green space at the PNE. And like everywhere in Toronto, one can pick up a Tim Hortons coffee to go at The Ex.

Overall, I would say the CNE satisfied my annual summer fair fix – this year in Toronto.

A couple of facts: the CNE was founded in 1879 and is currently one of the 10 largest fairs in North America.  Last year, the CNE attracted 1.36 million visitors over 18 days. The first PNE took place in 1910 and has become the largest annual ticketed event in B.C. drawing 900,000 visitors over 17 days.

The Princes' Gates were opened in 1927 by H.R.H. Edward, Prince of Wales
and his brother, Prince George.

One of the many historic buildings on the CNE grounds.

 

A Vice-Regal Trip to Ottawa

The title of this post may be misleading. I wasn’t in Ottawa to receive a Vice-Regal appointment. I didn’t see the Prime Minister and didn’t have an audience with the Governor General. I just like the term Vice-Regal. 

I must say that the national capital is a regal city with all of its institutions, monuments, memorials, churches, museums and, of course, the seat of our national government.

Visiting the centre and east blocks of the Parliament Buildings provides an easy way to learn about Canada’s history and the role of government. What a great job for the summer students who provided excellent, fact-filled tours.

On the museum front, the Canadian War Museum tells the story of Canada’s involvement in conflicts in a logical and chronological order.  And with the 100^th anniversary of the start of First World War this summer, I rediscovered much of what I have forgotten from my high school history classes. I was also honoured to learn more about the Second World War to supplement all the stories my father told my family about his time in that war.
 

Across the Ottawa River, in Gatineau is the Canadian Museum of History.  A highlight for me was a special exhibit that exposed me to an incident that I knew nothing about – the sinking of the Empress of Ireland.  Dubbed, Canada’s Titanic, two ships collided on May 29, 1914 in the St. Lawrence River. The Empress of Ireland, with 1,477 people on board, sank in less than 15 minutes. An estimated 1,032 passengers and crew perished.

On the lighter side, a temporary exhibit at the museum called Snow, revels how snow has shaped the Canadian identity. I certainly got my identity shaped with the worst winter in 20 years in Toronto!

Other stops included tours of the Supreme Court of Canada and Rideau Hall, home to the Governor General and a cruise along the Ottawa River with a perfectly-bilingual tour guide. And yes, I did manage to find time to visit Casino du Lac-Leamy.

Changing of the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill

Rideau Falls

My radio news career never took me to Ottawa, so humour me when I sign off this post with “this is Sam Corea on Parliament Hill.”

A Visit to Quebec City: Discovering 400 years of history and a Distinct Society/la société distincte

Vieux Quebec with the Chateau Frontenac

Back in grade nine, our social studies course, called Canadiana 9, focused on the history of the nation. New France, Upper Canada, Lower Canada, the Plains of Abraham, Wolfe and Montcalm are historic topics and words that have stuck in my mind over the decades. 

As a reporter in the 1980s and 1990s, the seemingly endless constitutional debates between Canada and Quebec were mainstays of the daily news. As a westerner, I don’t think I fully appreciated all the points of view in Quebec.  


The National Assembly

Proposed amendments to the Constitution would have inserted the phrase “distinct society” to recognize the difference of Quebec from the rest of Canada. But since the 1990s, the distinct society phrase appears to have faded and with this year’s Quebec provincial election, Quebec separation  also seems to be on the backburner.

 In any event, my four days in Quebec City in June prompted me to take another look at my views and come to the conclusion that Quebec is in fact a distinct place – within Canada.   

St. Roch Church



Putting aside the political discussions, Quebec City is a great visual, cultural, historic and architectural destination with all of its churches, cobblestone streets, terraces, staircases, pointed copper roofs and expansive vistas of the St. Lawrence River. 

Place Royale



400 years of history   

Quebec City fast food - avec poutine

Quebec's newest member of the National Assembly?