May 2-4 Weekend

On Monday the 19th of May we had the Victoria Day public holiday, which celebrates Queen Victoria's birthday. Her actual birthday was the 24th of May, so the holiday is often referred to as "May 2-4", which just happens to be Canadian slang for a case of beer (i.e. a 24 pack). The traditional Canadian way to celebrate this holiday to is to go to "the cottage" for the weekend and consume said 2-4 while soaking up some sunshine after the bitterly cold winter.

Having no cottage, we went on an Ontario road trip for the day. We had an impromptu picnic in the sun at Guelph (a university town), walked around Elora gorge and had an ice-cream in a park before driving home again. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it is to just Sit. Outside. In. The. Sun. It's amazing to feel warm again after so many months of sub-zero temperatures!

Climbing the CN Tower

This morning I climbed one of the seven modern wonders of the world, the tallest free-standing structure in the western hemisphere and the tallest metal staircase on earth - the CN Tower!

It took me just 20 minutes and 15 seconds to ascend all 1776 steps and 144 floors. The climb gave me a new-found appreciation of just how tall the CN tower really is (plus a free souvenir t-shirt).

The CN Tower was built between 1973 - 1976 by the Canadian National railway company (hence the 'CN' Tower). At the time, it was the world's tallest tower and was designed to transmit communication, radio and TV signals across Toronto. It has become an iconic feature of the city's skyline and a major tourism attraction, hosting over 2 million visitors annually to the glass-floor observation deck and the revolving restaurant (aptly named 360°).

From now on, whenever I gaze upon Toronto's skyline, I'll be proud to think to myself: "I climbed that!".