Hallo Turist

Day 44 of my summer holiday - Central Europe. With my trusty Lonely Planet in hand, it was off to Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Rome. This photo is me sitting in the Old Town of Poznan, Poland. It was the Feast of the Assumption the day we visited, so there were many celebrations in the main Town Square - which is in the background. I was sitting having lunch with Angela and Noel. Being my first stop in Poland, I of course had to order Perogies - traditional Polish dumplings, plus a carrot salad. I also learnt that you don't rush a Polish lunch.

Balloon Festival - London

Finally, London Balloon Festival. If you weren't paying to ride in a hot air balloon, the main attraction was the inflating of the balloons and more importantly Godzilla. If that wasn't enough there were carnival rides - we rode the Gravitron - so cool! Plus bands playing, such as Finger Eleven.

Rib Fest - London

Everybody raves about ribs, their secret recipes, who sells the best ribs, even awards for restaurants creating award winning rib dishes. So as usual, and living the 'Canadian Way' it was off to Rib Fest. Rib Fest lasts for five days, with the main aim to eat ribs! How do you choose? I had no idea - there were kitchens from all over North America. Everyone has their own favourites, or "we tried them last year...let's try somewhere else..." I must say, it was an eyeopener to what is truly a 'Canadian' experience.

Cirque du Soleil

Summer in London is the hype of activity. As you will see the following events were all during the same week, plus more. So to start with I was fortunate enough to see 'Saltimbanco', by Cirque du Soleil. Brenda and I went together. As is the typical fashion of C.d.S, the performance was brilliant. The troupe usually performs under the 'Big Top', however they have adapted this show to suit arenas. Brenda and I laughed through the whole show, plus stared in awe at the acrobatic talent on display.

Bocce Wars

Bocce is a precision sport closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is played around Europe and also in overseas countries that have received Italian migrants, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina (where it is known as bochas), initially amongst the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community.

IF YOU ARE SHORT OF TIME, SKIP TO THE LAST PARAGRAPH!

Bocce is played on soil, finely crushed oyster shell or asphalt courts approximately 20 to 27 metres in length and 2.5 to 4 metres wide, sometimes with wooden boards of approximately 15 centimetres in height surrounding the court. Bocce balls can be made of bronze or various kinds of plastic. Unlike lawn bowls, bocce balls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias.
A game can be contested between two players, or two teams of two or four. A match is started by a randomly chosen side being given the opportunity to throw a smaller ball, the jack (called a pallino or boccino in some areas), from one end of the court into a zone about 5 metres in length, ending 2 metres from the far end of the court. If they miss twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to roll the pallino anywhere they choose within the prescribed zone. If neither team is able to roll the pallino into play as prescribed in the rules, then the pallino is placed on a spot that is marked on the court. At this time the team that attempted to put the pallino into play first gets to roll the first ball.
The side that places the jack is given the opportunity to bowl first. Once the first bowl has taken place, the other side has the opportunity to bowl. From then on, the side which does not have the ball closest to the jack has a chance to bowl, up until one side or the other has used their four balls. At that point, the other side bowls its remaining bocce balls. Like lawn bowls, the team with the closest ball or balls to the jack is awarded one point for each ball that is closer to the jack than the other side's closest ball. The contest continues until one team scores 13 points (though this can vary regionally).
Players are permitted to throw the ball in the air using an underarm action. This is generally used to knock either the jack or another ball into a more favourable position. Tactics can get quite complex when players have sufficient control over the bocce ball to land or roll it accurately.
[edit]Players

The greatest bocce player of all time is widely considered to be Umberto Granaglia who was awarded the honor of "Player of the Twentieth Century" by the Confederation Mondiale des Sport de Boules, the world's official governing body of bocce. Granaglia strictly excelled in Volo, the most technically-skilled form of the game.
[edit]Organizations

There is a cocktail called a bocce ball, made with orange juice, amaretto, and club soda. Michael DeCoste of Duxbury, MA made these popular in the late 1980s after appearing on Family Feud and touting their "delectable taste" and "clean finish."[cite this quote]
(From Wikipedia)

OK, so seriously we didn't follow these rules specifically. If you ask anyone present during my week at Grand Bend they would know that Rob S. is the "Player of the Twenty First Century". And if you managed to read through all the rules from Wikipedia and now be reading my narrative, then you have too much time on your hands. Get to work!!!!

Grand Bend - Beach holiday

As I have found it is the 'Canadian Way' to spend your summer holiday or weekends at a cottage. So here I found myself, thanks to Rob and Eva - spending a week at Grand Bend. Grand Bend is located on Lake Huron - yes a freshwater beach - very odd. We stayed on a cottage just ten minutes walk from a private beach. Our days were spent soaking up the sun, playing bocce, swimming, catching the odd wave and after dinner watching the sunsets. Here is a photo of just one of my favourite nights, plus a photo taken with the timer function of all standing with the lake and sunset behind us.

Peterborough Lift Lock

I have experienced many a Lock, but never a Lift Lock. Stopping in Peterborough on our way to Algonquin (sorry, forgot this page earlier) we stopped to view this hydraulic construction. It's pretty amazing actually, and we were lucky enough to be able to experience it first hand. It takes approximately ninety seconds to complete the lift, with 8 tonnes of water weighing you down and 6 tonnes lifting. Definitely a masterpiece of engineering.

Birds of Prey

After spending the night in Parry Sound we headed back to Toronto. On our way we stopped at a Birds of Prey Sanctuary. Quite an interesting visit actually. The variety of birds on display was just excellent, lets just say that their handler needed some training himself. We were all apparently unaware of the animal/bird kingdom and needed 'help' in understanding the way of the wild. We stuck around long enough for the display. Then fled for our sanity. Very interesting indeed!

You see'm at the museum - Sudbury

Heading west from North Bay, you arrive in Sudbury. This was probably the only day of rain during the week spent travelling throughout northern Ontario. One of the many tourist attractions is the Science North Museum, similar to Questacon - but with many animal displays as well. In the photos you can see me holding a giant snail. I had to wet my hands before holding it, the feeling of the snail was cool and soft. You can notice on its' back a normal sized snail, just to give you an indication of how big it was. I also have a photo of a rhino skull, and a sleeping beaver. Because of the weather, this was a kids dream day. With exhibitions relating to polar bears, Lego, computers, insects/animals and an imax theatre - what better way to spent a rainy day.

Merry-Go-Round

Including the water frontage, North Bay has a children's area with two merry-go-rounds and a train ride. But my attention was taken by the 'Canadian' merry-go-round and its' collection of Canadian animals. Very cute. Check it out!

North Bay

Staying two nights in North Bay was just beautiful. The city has a well developed water front, with walking or cycling tacks, waterfront dining and boats trips. To watch the sunset over the lake was breath taking. Even driving around the outskirts of the town presented us with many a forest and beaver dam. Very relaxing.

1,2,3,4,5, once I caught a fish alive

In North Bay one of its' major 'tourist' attractions are the Dionne Quins. Born in 1934, the identical sisters became an icon of their time. However, they were acquired by the Canadian Govt. to be taken care of. Living their life in a zoo-like environment, with the public allowed to watch the girls during viewing times each day was one of the governments requirements. They also had products made to resemble them, including dolls and clothes. In the photos I have posted you can see two nurses holding the quins shortly after their birth. To help keep their body temperature stable, they were placed inside of the large oven (next photo). Finally, here is an example of the clothing provided for the quins - NHL jersey's.

No Little Red Riding Hood in sight

After leaving from the east side of Algonquin, we headed to Haliburton. I was keen to visit the Wolf Sanctuary situated on the outskirts of the town. The Wolf Centre possesses a pack of wolves, living within a fifteen acre enclosure. They also have a thorough display museum of all aspects of wolves and their life. You can see from my photos a wold skeleton - collected from the death of their previous alfa male who had died from cancer. You can also see an image of wolf skins, showing the varying colours present in wolf colouring. For me, just to observe the wolf and its' behaviour was fascinating. Would've spent all day there. However, time to move on.

Algonquin Provincial Park

OK! So heading off to visit Algonquin Provincial Park I was excited at the prospect of at least seeing some wildlife. Algonquin is one of Canada's best known national parks. It was established in 1893 and is 7800 sq km in size. The Hwy 60 snakes through the centre of the park, enabling you to drive from the east to the west side of the park. Many people go hiking and canoeing during the summer. There is just so much to see here. Every turn, whether driving or walking presents you with such immense beauty, no matter what time of day. So back to the wildlife. Yes we travelled from the east to the west, and yes some hiking/walking was undertaken. However, to no avail the only wildlife I was fortunate enough to see were approximately fifteen chipmunks and three frogs. I suppose I will need to be patient. Still the beaver dams are just fascinating. And the spectacular beauty of Algonquin and its' history was just brilliant.