Friday, 6 March 2015

"Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience", Sony Centre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Faulty Towers:  The Dining Experience tonight ... he's a big fan of the series.

Direct from London's Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House!

"Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience" is an affectionate homage to "Fawlty Towers", the TV series written by John Cleese and Connie Booth.

With only a third of the show scripted, anything can happen as guests become diners in the ‘Fawlty Towers’ restaurant ... waited upon by Basil, Sybil and Manuel!

It's playing at the Sony Centre.


We'd bought VIP tickets, which was totally worth it. We had complimentary coat check and we could go to the VIP lounge upstairs before the show.

We got there a bit early ... more people arrived later on

We were given a gift bag that had a teeshirt inside.  What a nice surprise!


We were served complementary appetizers.

Jack Astor's Bar & Grill, Etobicoke, ON (Queensway)

I drove home from London today and stopped at Jack Astor's on the Queensway for lunch before heading home.  I'd skipped breakfast so I was hungry.


I got there about 12:15pm and it was filling up for lunch.  There was a fun Friday vibe!

There were Elvises on shelves on the wall

Hilton, London, ON

I have an enrolment seminar to conduct this morning in downtown London so I drove down yesterday.  I stayed at the Hilton (King Street/Wellington) as it's close to the client's office.


Here's my room ...

Thursday, 5 March 2015

The Poacher’s Arms, London, ON

I had supper this evening at The Poacher’s Arms (Queens Avenue/Richmond Street) in London.


It's in the basement of an office building.


They have a lot of space.

Monday, 2 March 2015

Book ~ "Unlucky 13" (2014) James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

From Goodreads ~ San Francisco Detective Lindsay Boxer is loving her life as a new mother. With an attentive husband, a job she loves, plus best friends who can talk about anything from sex to murder, things couldn't be better. 

Then the FBI sends Lindsay a photo of a killer from her past, and her happy world is shattered. The picture captures a beautiful woman at a stoplight. But all Lindsay sees is the psychopath behind those seductive eyes: Mackie Morales, the most deranged and dangerous mind the Women's Murder Club has ever encountered.

There is a belly bomber on the loose ... people are ingesting bombs in their food which explode, needless to say killing them.  Lindsay Boxer is a police officer and she and her partner, Richie, are assigned to finding the killer. In the meantime, one of Lindsay's best friends is getting married.  And finally a serial killer who had escaped (from a previous book) has been spotted ... is she coming to settle a score with Lindsay?

With the gazillions of books that James Patterson has written, this is the first one of his I've read.  It is the 13th in the Women's Murder Club series but it works as a stand alone.

There were three different storylines and they all involved Lindsay.  How did that girl sleep at night with so much going on?!

I enjoyed the writing style and it went at a good pace.  I liked the short choppy chapters.  The point of view shifted ... it was first person perspective when the focus was on Lindsay and third person perspective when the focus was on everyone else ... but it was easy to figure out.

I found a couple of the storylines farfetched, though ... especially the one involving pirates.  Yes, pirates in 2014!  That was my least favourite storyline.  And I wasn't sure what the point was of having the domestic violence shooting ... it didn't tie into any of the storylines.  And finally, though people were arrested for planting the belly bombs, were others involved?  Why did they do it?  I found the ending to that storyline really abrupt and obviously left me with questions.

I thought it was an okay book and the characters were likable so I will eventually go back and read the others in the series.

beautybox five - February 2015

My February beautybox five arrived today.

Beauty Box 5 is a subscription-based, beauty sampling service that delivers 5 deluxe samples and full-sized products right to your door every month.

Subscriptions are $12US a month or $99US for a year.  Shipping is free.


Here's what was in the box ...



Value = $41.88US

Moselland Riesling wine - cat bottle

When I was in the Calgary airport yesterday, I walked by a liquor store ...


... and something in the window caught my eye.  They had a lot of the Moselland Riesling wine cat bottles that Sister Sarah and I collect!


I flew home today and stopped in at the liquor store before I boarded to see if they had any that I didn't.


And they did ... a pink one with a 2012 vintage!  So I bought a couple (one for me and one for Sister Sarah).


I've been collecting them for about 15 years and now have 30.


They are all different colours/vintages and unopened.
  • 2000 - 5
  • 2001 - 3
  • 2002 - 3
  • 2003 - 1
  • 2004 - 2
  • 2005 - 2
  • 2006 - 2
  • 2007 - 2
  • 2008 - 2
  • 2009 - 2
  • 2011 - 2
  • 2012 - 3
  • 2013 - 1

Sandman Hotel & Suites Calgary South, Calgary, AB

I had an enrolment seminar to conduct this morning in Calgary.  I flew in yesterday afternoon and am heading home this afternoon.  I stayed at the Sandman Hotel & Suites Calgary South as it was close to the client's site.

Reception
The lobby

Here is my room ...

A king bed just for me ... it was comfy!

Sunday, 1 March 2015

Shark Club Sports Bar & Grill, Calgary, AB

I had supper this evening at the Shark Club in SE Calgary.  I've been to the one in Toronto and liked it.

Book ~ "Jubilee's Journey" (2013) Bette Lee Crosby

From Goodreads ~ When tragedy strikes a West Virginia coal mining family, two children start out on a trek that they hope will lead them to a new life. Before a day passes, the children are separated and the boy is caught up in a robbery not of his making. 

If his sister can find him, she may be able to save him. The problem is she’s only seven years old and who’s going to believe a kid?

Paul is 16 and Jubilee is 7.  Their mother died a few years ago and their father had just died in a mining accident.  They have nowhere to live now so they set out to find their mother's sister, Anita.  Their mother and Anita had a falling out many years ago and all Paul knows is that she used to live in Wyattsville.  So packing a few mementos and what little money they have, they set off to find Aunt Anita.

On their first day in Wyattsville, Paul is in the wrong place at the wrong time and he and Jubilee become separated.  Luckily she is taken in by a kind woman and her grandson but Jubilee is determined to find Paul and get back together with him.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I enjoyed the story.  It is the second of three in the Wyattsville series (I've read all three) ... they also work as stand alones.  It is written in third person perspective, though some chapters are in first person perspective ... they are short and italicized and the name of the person is at the beginning of these chapters so you know who the focus is.  This style worked for me as it let me get into their heads and know what they were thinking. 

Some of the main characters in this book were in Spare Change, the first in the Wyattsville series, like Olivia and Ethan Allen.  I found the writing a bit awkward and frustrating at times because the author was trying to tie some of the events from Spare Change into this one without I'm assuming giving too much away.  It's been almost two years since I'd read the first one and I couldn't remember the details.  I think she did this to explain the tension between two cops who had issues with each other.  It would be enough just to say that they didn't like each other because of a previous case and left it at that.  Paul and Jubilee pop up again in Passing Through Perfect, the third in the series so I knew what had happened with them.

I received a copy of this ebook from the author at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Boccone Trattoria Veloce, Mississauga, ON

I had to fly to Calgary this afternoon and had an early lunch at Boccone Trattoria Veloce, my go-to spot at Pearson Airport before my flight.


I usually get a Calabrese pizza but thought I'd try the Robusta pizza (without the fresh egg).  Though it doesn't have the kick of the Calabrese pizza, it was good.  The fresh tomatoes stood out and I liked the light crisp crust.  I'd get it again.



Click to add a blog post for Boccone Trattoria Veloce on Zomato