The Shining

-
Ned has compared the Fairmont Royal York to the hotel from the Shining, possibly because of its hallways.


It does make one anticipate some unearthly twins in blue dresses will turn the corner :)

We stay here because it's 2 blocks from the convention center--and the incongruity between its softened glory and elevators full of Sailor Moons, Scooby gangs and Adventure Timers is just too wonderful. 

Some glimpses of the Fairmont's historic charm:








And, did I mention it's right next to the Tim Horton's?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blues Everywhere You Look

-
Image
We woke up in Mykonos to a blue world. Mykonos was a tender port, so we lined up for tickets to take these small boats from the Koningsdam to the old port of Mykonos.  Not knowing exactly how long it would take, we allowed plenty of margin for error and got the port well in advance of our tour. The wind was whipping across the port, making the day cool and clear. Since we were early, we popped into a port cafe for a quick pitstop.  The server seated us with a gracious smile, which vanished when she learned only one of us was ordering a meal.  She took away the other placemats and her smile.  Didn't faze us. Our tour stop was at the other end of the port's harbor, and we took a leisurely walk to get there that included a bathroom break, where we all learned that not all Greek toilets have seats.  (I actually bought a "personal urination device" that allows women to pee standing up months ago and--because a PUD is not usually top of ...
Read more

Another August in Toronto

-
Image
If it's the end of August, we're nerding it up in Toronto at FanExpo.  This is our third year making the trek, and it gets bigger each time.  Our first stop is always the LEGO booth, which is always filled with cool little giveaways and amazing LEGO sculptures. One of the best things about FE is the ongoing cosplay.  In the Adventure Time ice palace, we found this guy ... Sharknado!  Epic cosplay!  He was with his mom, who was passing out gummy sharks.  And, yes, reader, we took them--from a total stranger--and ate them :) No sighting of the Ice King, but did find these two semi-royals.  Note the LSP hat :) Across the way was a nice Boxtrolls exhibit.  They actually had out a cheese tray, but we declined on that :) FE brings everyone together ... even the supposed Warner Bros enemies Superman and Batman.  Let's imagine them here talking about poutine. Another of our must-do booths is the My L...
Read more

Grabbing a Pint with a Pic

-
Image
Note: the formatting on this page is really odd for some reason--let's just say it's leprechauns. We met up in our musically-themed lobby to walk over to Jay Kay's for our last Dublin breakfast.   The manager recognized us from our first visit and asked how our vacation was going--again, Dublin has a nice kinda-small town vibe. We told him how much we loved our breakfast the first time, so we wanted to return. (I was very partial to their shakshouka eggs and amazing fresh squeezed orange juice!) We had a full day ahead, starting at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland (which is somehow both Anglican and Catholic), which has roots going back to about 1190. The rough stones in the interior wall date to the cathedral's inception, when it was Roman Catholic. Over the centuries, it has changed denominations a number of times, and it also fell into considerable disrepair and was saved by several members of the Guinness family--so maybe ...
Read more