Discovering cultures: A visit to the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre

Aga Khan Museum

We were very excited this year to get a chance to visit the Aga Khan Museum as well as the Ismaili Centre over at Don Mills and Eglinton. We had passed by the area a few times and wondered what the interesting structure was. Good thing these were part of Doors Open Toronto this year and we managed to squeeze in a few hours to join the tours.

Art projections @ Aga Khan museum

At the magnificent Aga Khan building, several rooms housed collections of Islamic art and heritage, including artefacts from the private collections of His Highness the Aga Khan. The only exhibit we saw though was the Bellerive Room which was open to the public during the Doors Open. On display were such beautiful ceramics and pottery that DD#2 just had to take photos of each and every piece! No kidding. 

One of the displays of Iranian pottery @ Aga Khan museum

The rest of the galleries required admission. They do, however, hold free nights where these exhibits can be visited free of charge.

There was a restaurant, a gift shop, 

gift shop @ Aga Khan museum

a nice courtyard, 

courtyard @ Aga Khan museum

and a 340-seat auditorium where a Disklavier piano showcased wonderful acoustics. It was a wonderful place not only for exhibits but events and functions.

Disklavier at the Auditorium @ Aga Khan museum

 The 10,000 square-metre museum was designed by Pritzker Prize winner Fumihiko Maki and was surrounded by a large park (Aga Khan Park) designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. The site was also shared with a new Ismaili Centre designed by the Indian architect Charles Correa. We crossed the park by the reflecting pond to head there next.

Overlooking the dome of the prayer room at the Ismaili Centre

Reflecting pond at Aga Khan park

The Ismaili Centre Toronto is the sixth such Ismaili Centre in the world. 

Ismaili Centre Toronto

It hosts lectures, seminars, exhibits, cultural and social events. Various works of art on display were so beautiful to behold--the Islamic culture reflected in modern art. 

at the Ismaili Centre Toronto

at the Ismaili Centre Toronto

at the Ismaili Centre Toronto

Mosaics, tapestries, metalwork and even the sculpted wall (still unfinished even after months of work) mesmerized us.  The  girls were fascinated to observe all of this. 

at the Ismaili Centre Toronto

We were able to take photos except for the prayer room, of course. Before entering the prayer room, there was another room where we left our shoes and where one can also leave coats and such. The guides were very informative and provided some very interesting facts.

It was great to be able to visit these places we would not be able to see at any other time. It was a glimpse of a rich culture that is part of Toronto’s mosaic.

Sofas and trains: a combination for fun. An event at Leon’s Roundhouse

Roundhouse Park

 A company family event took us downtown to the Leon’s Roundhouse venue. Just across from the Rogers Centre, CN tower, and Ripley’s Aquarium, this parking lot of vintage steam locomotives also housed a furniture store and a fun venue!

Vintage steam locomotives by Leon's Roundhouse

With a loft-style ambience, Leon’s Roundhouse provided a wonderful backdrop to all sorts of festivities. 

Leon's Roundhouse patio area

After our event, we checked out the old trains outside and rode the mini-train around the area—they take adults and kids!

mini train ride at Roundhouse park

Steamwhistle brewery was also in this area (called Roundhouse park)—where you don’t only get to have good beer and food, but also a tour.

Steamwhistle Brewery at Roundhouse park

There was a small Railway Museum with Lego displays and a good assortment of railway artifacts.

Toronto Railway Museum at Roundhouse park

Toronto Railway Museum at Roundhouse park

Toronto Railway Museum at Roundhouse park

There is a usual charge for the train ride and the museum, but it is for the grounds’ upkeep and maintenance.

Roundhouse park is a nice place to check out. After all, if you are already in the area for all the other fun stuff, might as well make the most of it! 

50’s/60’s lunch at Wimpy’s Diner

Wimpy's Rootbeer Float

We were in Aurora a few Sundays ago and it was about time for lunch. We see Wimpy’s Diner all the time but not quite in places we usually visit. So we decided to give it a try.

The 50’s/60’s décor set us in the mood for the fun, greasy stuff we were about to have! Yum! The staff was very friendly and we were seated pretty quickly despite the almost full dining room. Everything looked good so it took some time to decide on what we wanted to try.

DD#1 who is quite the breakfast fan, decided to get the French Toast Combo. I wasn’t sure if her 10-yr-old stomach could finish 2 slices of French toast, 3 eggs, 3 pcs of bacon and 3 sausages. But she almost did! She only left behind a couple of sausages and ate everything else! Boy, someone’s in a growth spurt!!

Wimpy's French Toast combo

Grandma and DD#2 shared a 10oz famous burger with home fries while hubby had the same with onion rings instead. The burgers were huge! These surely kept them full the rest of the day! I got a taste of the burger and it was not bad. Oddly oval-shaped, but juicy and cooked well.

Wimpy's Famous 10oz burger

I got a Messy Dog with mushrooms, grilled onions, cheese and Caesar dressing—a perfect match for my rootbeer float! I couldn’t pass that up, being in a diner and all, right?!

Wimpy's Messy Dog

Each meal was about $10 and we were stuffed. So, pretty much good value. The service and ambience were good as well. We actually saw a branch closer to our place so we will be back—especially when we crave some diner comfort food. There are many other items on the menu we’d love to try!

Update January 2017: we just tried the Wimpy's at Dufferin and Steeles and we were very disappointed. The burgers were dry and the oil tasted a bit old. The pancakes were blah as well. Guess quality is not consistent...

Fun for everyone at Playdium!

Bungee Trampoline at Playdium Mississauga

A few months ago, we were invited to celebrate the girls’ honorary cousin’s party at the Playdium in Mississauga. Yes, we have been to many arcades from Chuck E Cheese’s to Dave and Buster’s but we did not expect Playdium to be so much more fun! It was packed as was expected for a Saturday evening and upon entering, my thought was that this was like a children’s casino! Lights and sounds from all sorts of fun machines and games surrounded us.

We had pizza and cake in one of the several party rooms and then the kids were off—spending their credits from their own playing cards! There were games for all ages and the girls didn’t know where to start. Eyes lit up whenever someone hit the jackpot and what seems like miles and miles of tickets were spewed out by the machines (see what I mean about this place being like a casino?). A couple of attractions which we were not able to check out (we saved some for next time!) were the MaxFlight Roller Coaster Simulator and Laser Maze. Also on the floor, they had a Wonka candy machine and a Karaoke machine among many others.

They also have bumper cars, a Baseball dome with variable-speed batting cages, mini golf, go karts, and bungee trampoline! The girls took a turn at the bumper cars and we couldn’t help but smile at the delight on their faces. For their first experience at the go-karts, hubby and I took turns in taking each girl for a lap. They do require an adult with the kids below a certain age/height and they do require the driver to show a valid license. Pretty strict huh? It was not as good as the Downsview go karts but not so bad nevertheless. The girls squealed with glee with every sharp turn!  It was so much fun not only for kids but the adults as well!

Bumper cars at Playdium Mississauga

Baseball cages at Playdium Mississauga

We took forever to redeem prizes for the tickets the girls won. The line-up was so long! And while we were not lucky enough to win one of those giant stuffed toys, Wonka Gobstoppers were enough to complete the girls’ night. They hit the jackpot at this stadium for play!

Horses and Lions: Riding the Hand-Carved Carousel at Port Dalhousie

Lakeside Carousel at Port Dalhousie

With the usual 401/QEW traffic on the weekends (or any day for that matter!), we decided to make it all about the journey and not the destination. So, before heading for Niagara Falls, we stopped by St. Catharines to check out their famous carousel at Port Dalhousie.

I have heard of and even gone on free midway rides in some festivals, but I have never heard of carousel rides still at 5c a ride. It must be a joke or it must be old info that I saw. But it was no joke—it truly still was 5c a ride! So ride we did! It was a lot of fun as we usually don’t go with the kids on carousel rides (more fun since it cost us only a quarter with grandma riding as well!).

Nothing can beat 5c a ride @ Lakeside Park Carousel

The Lakeside Carousel was hand-carved sometime between 1898 and 1905 by Charles Looff’s factory in Brooklyn, NY. It has 68 animals—not only fancy horses (which apparently has real horsehair tails!) but also camels and lions, along with chariots. The accompanying music was played by an antique organ with uses a system of paper music rolls. Hubby rode one of the five existing Looff lions in all of North America and it was the only one that has its head turned to watch the onlookers! I, of course, chose one of the horses which go up and down :)

Apart from this famous carousel, we just walked along the Lakeside Park beach (unsafe for swimming) and admired the lighthouses (built in the late 1800’s). This is a good place to relax if you have an hour to spare (or even less) in the area.

Getting a Fix at Chocolate F/X

Chocolate F/X Niagara on the Lake

Taking side roads from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Niagara Falls, we chanced upon this Chocolate factory in St. Davids . It looked quite similar to the Lake Champlain one in Vermont so we decided to take a detour. Okay, okay, we would have detoured for any chocolate factory anyway.

The girls headed straight and stayed mostly at the chocolate tasting bar to decide which ones we should get. We also checked out the chocolate production viewing area but skipped on the tours. They use the panning method of coating which was used by the Ancient Egyptians and which has become an artisan standard of excellence.

They have pretty much everything chocolate you can think of--fruits, nuts, truffles, molded chocolate, gift baskets, etc. They even sell chocolate mulch! I was super-tempted to buy so that my backyard will smell like chocolate but I didn’t want my backyard friends (Mr. Racoon and Squirrel family) to enjoy their stay in our yard as well!

We ended up getting some blueberry chocolate balls, macaroons and peanut butter & banana balls. I wouldn’t say it was cheap at $8.00 for 265g, but well, it was good and artisan…and, I just figured it was like subsidizing everything the girls “tasted” at the chocolate bar. 

Goodies from Chocolate F/X @ Niagara on the Lake

They were delicious! Well, as they say: if you can't dip it in chocolate, it's not worth eating!

A stroll at the Universal City Walk, Orlando

Universal City Walk

On our last day in Florida, we explored the Universal City Walk. We had lunch at Bubba Gump, which was the girls’ first visit. We got all sorts of shrimp, of course, and we all enjoyed it!

Shrimps galore at Bubba Gump, Universal City Walk Orlando

After lunch, we checked out the store at the world’s biggest Hard Rock Café as well as the NBA store. We spent a big chunk of our time at the Universal Store where we relived the fun memories of the previous day. Merchandise of all sorts for Minions, Harry Potter and Marvel superheroes were abundant. Wish my credit card and baggage allowance were unlimited!

 Biggest Hard Rock Cafe in the World: Universal City Walk Orlando

The City Walk, much like Downtown Disney, is better experienced at night. There are shows, bands, parties to guarantee an exciting evening. As we were there during the day, there was not much action as I expect there would be at night. So, after going to the open stores and skipping all the other restaurants, we were done discovering the City Walk. Besides, the heat was draining what was left of us. We just had some ice cream at Cold Stone before heading to the airport. The girls claim they had the best week of their lives so far. I think it would be pretty hard to beat!

Universal’s Islands of Adventure and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade

Universal's Islands of Adventure

When we got to Hogsmeade via the Hogwart’s Express, we decided to finish all the rides first before breakfast and browsing. 

Hogsmeade at Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal IOA

 We first went on the Dragon Challenge while DD#2 stayed behind with Grandma. She did not make the height requirement. I had my eyes closed the moment the ride moved as I saw from the outside that the coaster took you sideways, upside down and all other ways! DD#1, meanwhile, had the most awesome time!

Dragon Challenge ride at Wizarding World of Harry Potter--look for the Triwizard Cup within!

A few minutes after I got my bearings back, we went to the Forbidden Journey ride. I have to say that waiting in line for this (although at that time it was only 15 minutes) was not bad at all. We were going through Hogwart’s Castle and there were so many things to look at while you were there. It did not feel like being in a line but more like being inside a museum with rails to guide you where to go. There were talking and moving paintings and newspapers, the sorting hat was there, and Harry, Hermione and Ron also made an appearance.

Now, am not sure if it was the Dragon Challenge or Forbidden Journey which made me a bit queasy as both turned me around and around! But the ride left me a bit shaky for a while. Forbidden Journey simulated being on a broom through a Quidditch match, among other things. Still, it was a good ride and worth the wait.

Hogwarts Castle: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Universal Islands of Adventure

The last ride at Hogsmeade was the Flight of the Hippogriff, which had one of the longer waits so far. I think it is most likely because it was the ride with the lowest height requirement (38”). As we were outside, there was nothing much to keep us entertained in the line except for the occasional barking from Fang by Hagrid’s hut. It would have been fine if we missed this.

By now, we were quite ready for breakfast. So, we headed over to 3 broomsticks and got some pancakes and bacon. 

Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade: Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Universal IOA

We were just a few minutes early for lunch which would have been a better deal than our $15 pancakes, but we were already hungry. We also got some butterbeer (we skipped the pumpkin juice) and it was just delish! Now, am on a quest to discover the recipe! 

Cold Butterbeer (minus the souvenir cup)

Pumpkin Juice at Hogsmeade

You can also buy Gilly Water at Hogsmeade: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The rustic tavern seemed so authentic with so much attention to detail that I would not be surprised if we saw Harry and his friends over in one of the tables!

We caught a show from the Triwizard tournament teams (a Spirit Rally) of Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy. Then, the girls giggled with delight as they ate Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans we got from Honeydukes. They tried black pepper and soap and DD#1 swears she took a bite of earwax! I lucked out and got some lime and cherry when I tried these.

Check out Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans at Honeydukes

Hogsmeade: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

We exited the world of Harry Potter to check out the rest of Islands of Adventure. First, we went to Jurassic Park River Adventure which we all enjoyed. The girls wanted to try the Pteranodon Flyers also in the Jurassic area so they lined up. As this was a kids’ ride, Hubby and I could not go. The girls were quite disappointed with the ride as the line-up was too long for such a short ride. This one we should have skipped.

We took lots of photos at Toon Lagoon. We wanted to try the Dudley-Do’s Ripsaw Falls but the wait time was over an hour.

Toon Lagoon: Universal's Islands of Adventure

Our new strategy for Universal was to take the Single Rider line as much as we can. Good thing DD#2 was big enough to know to wait by the exit for the rest of us. As we used the Single Rider line, we were able to ride the Amazing Adventures of SpiderMan. At Incredible Hulk CoasterDD#1, though, and Hubby abandoned the Single Rider line as it was just taking too long.  We had some pizza instead at Café 4 and later got some photos with Storm and Rogue (from Xmen).

Spotted Spidey in Marvel Super Hero Islands

We breezed through the Lost Continent, though, if you have the chance, check out Poseidon’s Fury. 

Poseidon's Fury at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Because we love the Cat in the Hat, we lined up for this while Grandma browsed the stores.  I totally loved this area with a Green Eggs and Ham restaurant, Truffula trees outside, and so many other classic scenes and characters from our fave Dr Seuss’ books!

Green Eggs and Ham at Seuss' Landing

Then, we were back at Hogsmeade and waited 40 minutes in line to get back to Diagon Alley. We really could have walked but did not want to go back all the way to the entrance. Good thing, the trip at the Hogwart’s Express to King’s station did not have dementors this time, but a different scene. At least we saw something new. There was a different scenery by the window showing how we were getting into London and with the Hogwart’s students peeking through our cabin. We were totally immersed in Harry Potter’s world and loved every minute of it!

The Hogwarts Express

What did the girls do a day after getting back home? Well, watch Harry Potter, of course! This trip was really one for the books!