We Take Ourselves With Us

Sleeping in our room--which overlooked a darkened, super silent, domed baseball stadium--gave us an idea of what it would feel like to sleep in a bunker far below the earth.  So, when we emerged drunk with sleep into the sleety, grey-bright of day to discover this massive sculpture far above our heads, we were ready to slip-slide down the hill from Rogers Centre to breakfast at Cora's --the only place anyone in Toronto should ever think about breakfasting! Cora's is a Canadian, breakfast/brunch only restaurant we discovered on one of our FanExpo sojourns. The Toronto Cora's is smallish and always draws a queue. In nicer weather, these windows--which are actually garage doors--open to the street. I was dreaming of nicer weather ... but settled for a table full of nicer breakfasts. Fully stuffed, we slogged our way through sloppy streets and dropping temps to the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Hence our artsy self-portrait. We w...

Ai Weiwei's traveling exhibit had just opened at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) last week.  I had loved it so much when I saw it at the Hirschorn, and thought we should see it together.  AGO is a short walk--and one Indian all you can eat buffet lunch--away from FanExpo.  So, off we went ... The kids felt strongly about the exhibit--really engaged by the story of Weiwei's rebellion against the Chinese government after the Sichuan earthquake.  I'll say that if anything, the impact of the works was magnified, not lessened, by a second viewing, especially with my kids along. And, then, of course, there's also such an element of fun in his work, which keeps the more powerful messages from being overwhelming. AGO was renovated and redesigned in 2008 by Frank Gehry (we actually went there first just after it reopened), and one of the most significant additions was this glorious long gallery filled with light and sculptural wood.  It ...