Thursday, July 29, 2010

Yay, Wineries!


I started off my trip home with a detour to Niagara-on-the-Lake and a viewing of Niagara Falls. I loved Niagara-on-the-Lake. This town had both quaint buildings and the natural beauty of the lake, but, best of all, it’s also home to some of the country’s finest wineries. We didn’t have enough time, but I think winery tours, with the obligatory tastings, followed by a tipsy picnic by the lake could be a recipe for a perfect day.

We visited two wineries: Inniskillin and Jackson Triggs. It was really neat to see Inniskillin because this wine label put Canadian wines on the map. An Italian-Canadian and old-school Austrian winemaker founded Inniskillin in 1975. These two men set out to make world class wine and actually made it. One of their major innovations was the importation of European grapes that they grew in Canadian soil. By the 1980s, they were winning prizes for their wines, specifically their ice wines. Does it get any more Canadian than ice wine? I’ll take a minute to explain ice wine in case some of you haven’t had the pleasure. It is definitely delicious, if expensive. I consider it worth it, but you’ll have to try it for yourself. The winemakers leave the grapes on the vine until the first frosts arrive. Then they harvest the grapes by hand, usually at night, when the temperature is below at least 8 C. Freezing concentrates the flavour of the wine because the water in the grape is frozen while the sugars remain unfrozen, making the wine much, much sweeter than regular wine.

I love ice wine precisely because it is so scrumptiously sweet. I’m planning on cracking a bottle at a party soon so I’ll post the recipe I decide to pair with my ice wine after the party. I also indulged in a bottle of ice syrup. This treat is not fermented making it somewhat cheaper. I haven’t tried it yet, but the saleswoman compared it to grape syrup. I’m excited to try it in desserts and maybe even some lucky pancakes or French toast. These two wineries carried other products for the kitchen like ice syrup, but also local grapeseed oil. It was a great place to find interesting local ingredients. I think these wineries have done a great job of melding European culture to Canadian geography. Germany and Austria only receive the correct conditions to make icewine every 3 or 4 years, while Canada has those conditions every single year. Yes, it may not be pleasant to have ice and snow every, single year, but hey when life throws you some frozen grapes, you’ve just gotta make icewine.

After sampling some of the lovely wines, we decided to head off to the most iconic sight in Canada: Niagara Falls. My first view of Niagara Falls was somewhat sceptical of its greatness. I thought to myself, “Well, it’s a beautiful geographic phenomenon. Not sure what the fuss is about. It looks just like the pictures.” Of course, the number of pictures I took of the falls will attest to my enjoyment of it. We also took a ride on that other great Canadian tradition: The Maid of the Mist. I have to admit that seeing the falls, and hearing the roar, from the distance of a couple hundred feet was an unforgettable experience. I find so often that falls can appear as merely quite beautiful, foamy water that I often forget just how much of a power punch that rushing water packs. Getting up close and personal with Niagara Falls made me remember that those Falls were more than just pretty, picturesque water falling over a cliff. For all its tackiness and business, I really did enjoy Niagara Falls. That pretty much wraps up my fun on the Canadian side of the border before heading into the States.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Dog Days of Kingston



So I have finally officially moved out of Kingston. I left four days ago. However, I wanted to note some of the attractions I saw in my final days in that lovely city.

Kevin and I made it out to the Penitentiary Museum. I have to admit that the prisons are one of the defining features of Kingston. Not only does it have eight prisons, but they played a part in the history. Perhaps I think the prisons are important simply because Margaret Atwood set Alias Grace in a Kingston prison and Charles Dickens also visited the prison in Kingston. Truly, the Kingston Pen has been attracting tourists for as long as it’s been open. They even offered tours at one point during the 19th century. I think the Victorians had a bigger appetite for watching other people’s suffering. Kingston also offered those tourists the chance to watch public hangings. I still don’t really understand the appeal, but maybe they would find riding elevators up tall buildings quite boring (an attraction most North American cities offer). Heck, I find that somewhat boring although much nicer than walking up all the stairs. Be careful in Europe though because the dome at the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florence has no elevator. They make you exercise. But I digress. Continuing with the prisons in Kingston, I wanted to add that right by the prison is the village of Portsmouth, founded in 1784, but which grew in order to provide housing and services to the prison staff in the next century. At the beginning of its existence, the prisoners were treated much more harshly, as well as put to work without pay. All of the iron workings, as well as the building itself, was made by the prisoners. I think it would be the worst feeling in the world to be building the tiny cells that would eventually house yourself. However, the reproduction of the current cells resembles a college dorm to a certain extent with bars for the door. The prison wasn’t the only thing the prisoners made. They also built the Church of the Good Thief or St. Diasmus. This parish still exists and provides mass for its parishioners every Sunday. It is a beautiful little church with wood paneling on the ceiling and walls, as well as stained glass windows. It was my favourite church in Kingston partly because it’s adorable, but also because of its history. I guess something good came out of the prison.

We also experienced the historic side of Kingston by touring Fort Henry. The British built Fort Henry in 1832-1837 to protect us from an American invasion. The living conditions of the average 19th century soldier do leave something to be desired. We saw Murney Tower, one of the Martello Towers, and they also had very cramped quarters. I think I live in about the same amount of space for just me while they would have shared the same amount with 20 other people. I did find the cooking implements interesting. They had iron waffle makers, coffee grinders, pancake pans, and even a dish drier. So basically my kitchen isn’t much better than theirs would have been . . . . although now that I think about it I don’t have a waffle maker or a coffee grinder so maybe they do win. How depressing.
What I didn’t know about Fort Henry is that it’s considered one of the most haunted places in North America. The Haunted Walk we took through said that Ghost Hunters, a television show, visited this site. I did find myself becoming a little jumpy. Kevin lives right beside the Fort and our guide told us that many men died in the hidden ditches on late night walks home. Luckily, the ditches seem to be less hidden nowadays, but I’m still a little worried. Mostly there’s just been reports of strange noises and doors closing. I think there are creepier sites in the downtown area. I definitely felt jumpy for the rest of the night although this could be a result of my lovely boyfriend and best friend. I started feeling a little chilled in this one room where other tour guests had felt less than pleasant, and to aid my creepy feeling both Bre and Kevin blew on my neck. Next time I might consider leaving some people behind. . .

My final days in Kingston would not have been complete without final stops at all my favourite restaurants. I made my own pizza at Woodenhead’s, followed by coffee at the Sleepless Goat and I wrapped it up with a Lemon Currant Bun from Pan Chancho. I actually bought the Chez Piggy cook book so I can make my own Lemon Currant Buns. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. For now, I’ve said good bye to all my favourite restaurants in Kingston and I look forward some welcome back parties at these gems.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Times Square and the Theatre District: Bigger is Better

No trip to New York would be complete without taking in a Broadway show. We actually saw two shows: a classic, The Phantom of the Opera, and one of this year’s darlings, Promises, Promises. The sheer magnitude of the sets and special effects of Phantom forces you to feel the glitz and glamour of Broadway. Need I even mention the amazing score? Its 20 year run on Broadway attests to the power of this musical. And we joined the mass of fans who loved the musical. I have to admit to thinking before we went that it wouldn’t be that much better than the movie. But seeing it on stage was something special. The closeness of the sets brought you right into the action on stage: the chandelier rises from stage at eyelevel to eventually take its place right above your head. All the time with you watching, thinking “it must be magic.”
Warning: English-y part coming up. I also found, as an audience member, that the meta-theatrical references and parody of the operatic form were heightened. I especially love the moment when the theatre owners suggest that their lives could be an opera. Also, the use of the ballet replicated the use of ballet in the French opera houses, a practice which has since ceased. And there was just something wonderful about sitting in the beautiful Majestic theatre, in the pit I might add, that made me feel as if I was at the Opera Populaire in Paris.

Promises, Promises was definitely a good show, but it lacked the glitz and glamour of Phantom. Fortunately, it made up for this lack with sheer talent. Sean Hayes, of Will & Grace fame, and Kristen Chenoweth, from Glee, were the leads in this show. I have to admit that the resonance of seeing them on stage together made the show for me. Kristin Chenoweth has a phenomenal voice and it was really cool to see her on stage. And Sean Hayes, well, he’s just hilarious. He has great comic timing that shines through at the start of the second act when he (while drunk) picks up a drunken woman in the bar. The plot and the music are quite forgettable, but it is a fun show. For me, it resonated because I knew both of these actors and they just brought the cool factor up for me. I have to admit to being a bit start struck . . .

As for Times Square, well, that’s the biggest and brightest part of New York. I think it’s just as iconic as the Statue of Liberty and, for me, it definitely lived up to images of it as bigger than life. I especially liked the colour from all of the ads. It just screams at you to try to take in all the excess. In an attempt to experience the excess, we visited two massive American chocolate shops: Hershey and M&M. I have to admit that M&M wins the excess contest because it had three floors worth of M&M paraphernalia. I mean three floors? How much stuff can you possibly emboss with the M&M characters (albeit cute characters)? Then again, who doesn’t love chocolate? We definitely indulged.

From the distant past to the present, New York has remained a presence in my imagination. Ok, so it proves that I watch too many American movies, but still there was something special about New York City.

Upper West Side: Chillin’ like I’m from New York

This area was my favourite. I liked it because it is quieter than other parts of New York and less touristy. Also, the best cookies in New York live in this area at the Levain Bakery. This tiny bakery, with a counter the size of an average desk, serves only 4 types of cookies, but they are definitely the best. When you arrive, you walk into a wall of ooey-gooey good smells and you leave with a bag of the heaviest cookies in the universe. Did I mention that portion sizes on cookies was also ginormous? I think these cookies could have been a meal all by themselves. I did not restrain myself to cookies, but also tried one of the cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery (it is the bakery where Miranda and Carrie buy cupcakes). While Magnolia Bakery has become a chain that even has a shop in Grand Central Station, Levain Bakery has remained small and artisanal. I might add that the cupcakes still taste good though. However, I think the humble (by which I mean the double chocolate peanut butter variety) cookie has stolen my heart and wins the award of the best thing I ate while I was in New York.

Besides, a delicious bakery the Upper Westside has many other restaurants that are a bit more reasonably priced than those in other areas. I am slightly biased about this area because I reconnected with two friends in New York and we explored this area together. Eliza met us at the Metropolitan Museum of Art so we could gossip with famous works of art and antique items within eye sight. On a serious note, the Met rivals any museum in Europe. Like the Louvre, the collection spans many different time periods and geographic regions around the world. My mother loved the impressionist section, which I have to admit was lovely, but the Cypriot section won my heart. As you might have noticed, I have a bit of a thing for the underdog. In my travels so far, including a trip to the ancient history museum in Istanbul, I’ve never seen Cypriot works before. I really liked the style of these works because they combined both Egyptian and Greek ancient statuary. Anyways, you can do more research in order to form your own opinion. If you’re going to be in New York sometime soon, I would suggest seeing the “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” exhibit at the Met. It is both an exhibit on American national identity AND a fashion show. They take you from the elaborate ball gowns of the late-nineteenth century heiress to the screen goddesses of the 30s and 40s. My favourite bit of this exhibit was the Gibson Girl clothing. The Gibson Girl was a marketing phenomenon in the late-nineteenth century. She embodied greater freedom and liberty for women through physical activity. However, I have to say how she skated or played tennis in long petticoats remains a mystery to me. But good on her for leaving her needle point behind.

However, the best part of the Upper West Side is the proximity of Central Park. The green space provides a welcome relief from sounds and smells of New York (although the sewage does seep into the part a little). Kevin and I were lucky enough to have Line, my Danish friend, show us the statue of Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Andersen. My beloved European fairy tales even have a little home in Central Park. Line If fairytales aren’t your thing, Strawberry Fields is also in Central Park with a monument to John Lennon who lived in the Upper West Side. I also loved the rented motorized sailboats floating on the lake. Central Park allows you to take a break from the rest of what makes New York special. Oh, and of course, it’s also supersized.

Lower Manhattan: Exploring the History

Since taking a course on nineteenth century American literature about the city of New York, I have wanted to see old New York (a.k.a. Lower Manhattan). This itty-bitty area was all there was in the beginning; a New York that was walkable instead of just cabable. We visited the reconstructed docks at the South Seaport Museum to attempt to get a taste of this history. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. Yes, the docks have been reconstructed. But now they include shops and loads of dockside restaurants. Needless to say, Melville’s New York feels quite distant. However, there is one spot where old New York can be felt quite easily: the print shop.

With my love of books and book history, you can imagine that I adored the print shop. Bowne and Co., Stationers have been in business for over 100 years. They might even have been printing works while some of the greats, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, were writing. The beautiful row of old brick buildings (including an old-school lamp post like the one in Narnia) allowed me to touch the piece of New York we’d studied in class. It gets even more exciting inside. They had two nineteenth century printing presses on display with the itty-bitty iron type set letters. Behind the display, you could see the old presses that are still in use in the print shop. We just missed the printer, but I’m sure he would have been happy to explain some of the finer points of these old machines. I am happy to say I did buy some cards printed on these old machines though. As much fun as it is to peruse nineteenth century newspapers on an online database, these cards printed in the here and now on the old presses are more special because they are more tangible. In a world of screens, I think the feel of paper becomes more important since we so often do not get to touch what we read.

The museum also had two restored ships hanging out in the harbour. One was a cargo vessel powered only by wind made in the early 19th century called Peking. This vessel plied the trade between Hamburg, Germany and Valparaiso, Chile. I was shocked that wind powered vessels remained a viable shipping option until well into the twentieth century. Touring this vessel made me realize I never ever want to be a sailor. The close quarters with my ship mates and uncleanly kitchen (the cook would just push dropped food into the corner to rot) would get to me fairly quickly. Plus I like to cook and the bigger the kitchen the better. I wonder if the kitchens are bigger in New York too because I’m all for supersized kitchens.

Anyways, back to the ships. We also toured a little light ship. I was confused by the name at first and started wondering if this ship was for people on a diet, but no, it actually led ships through the shallow channel to the harbour. I also think it would have been boring to shuttle back and forth between two places. I’ve always imagined sailors voyaging to new ports, but, in reality, these ships would probably have plied the same waters year after year. So even the one benefit of being a sailor, exploring all parts of the globe, would have been lost! Definitely not becoming a sailor anytime soon.

At the same time, seeing the ships at New York’s dock was something special. New York made its way in the nineteenth century through trade making the docks the lifeblood of the city. Its status as a financial capital began with the commercial trade of the nineteenth century. The docks also brought new immigrants to New York. From Battery Park, at the tip of the island, Kevin and I saw the most iconic image of New York City that has brought hope to thousands of immigrants: the Statue of Liberty. I can’t say I fell in love with the Statue of Liberty, but it is nice to say I’ve seen her from a distance.

I felt the presence of immigrants most clearly in Chinatown and Little Italy. We had the pleasure of walking in Columbus Park in the heart of Chinatown. This park was once part of the infamous Five Points district (or more accurately slum) in nineteenth century New York. Dickens describes this area by saying, “all that is loathsome, drooping, and decayed is here” (Chapter 6, American Notes). Obviously, it housed one of the poorest areas in America at the time, but also one of the most multicultural. Poverty made this the region that down-on-their-luck immigrants, escaped slaves, and other miscreants gathered. I found the park a touching tribute to this chequered past because it proves any region can be transformed into something beautiful. I especially loved seeing the children playing because they were breathing new life into this area.

Little Italy also felt like a breath of fresh air. The terraces at the restaurants allowed for a special dining experience that at once felt relaxed while engaging in the pleasure of street watching. Our restaurant played classic jazz tunes that melded the Italian dining experience with a uniquely American style of music. We danced (in the way of all the waiters I might add) to a rendition of “Time after time.” Dinner followed by cannoli from a street vendor made my experience of Little Italy absolute perfection and an absolutely perfect ending to exploring historic New York.

Intro to New York City: Hot Child in the City

So, as most of you know, I’m going to Kenya in a couple of months. In honour of the occasion, I’ve decided to start a blog. Also, I just went to New York and obviously nothing could be more exciting to blog about than a trip to the Big Apple.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure I would like New York. I thought it would be big and American (i.e. boring). But it was big and American with style. I kept staring at the sky scrapers that littered the island no matter where we went; eating my way (and usually only half succeeding) through large portions of food; walking supersized blocks; and generally consuming in every which way and loving every New York minute of it.

I’ve decide to split the trip up into geographic sections to explain more easily to all of you wonderful people exactly how cool New York is. It will be split up into separate postings so you can decide which parts interest you or read it all at once or in little bites. Hope you enjoy reading about New York as much as I enjoyed visiting it!