littlemissfoxblog: December 2010

SPOILER ALERT......

If you think you are Hyper-intelligent, enjoy pub quizzes and secretly get a geeky kick out of challenging yourself to remember things then I will say now just think Seven Wonders of the World and start racking your brain.

But if you couldn't care less about competing with your own muddied mind then read on and I'll just tell you!

Niagara Falls- one of the seven wonders of the world?.... Em, not sure.

Does any one really have the ability to ream them off the top of their head. We were discussing this over a glass of beer in the Red Room, Kensington Market the other day. What are the official Seven Wonders?

Following EXTENSIVE research (thanks Mr google and his good friend Wikipedia) turns out there is actually a whole series of wondrous sevens.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
-This was the first known list and is based around the Mediterranean circle. Apparently the number 7 was chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection and plenty.

This list of marvels was made back in the Middle Ages and understandably is a tad out of date. Hence there is only one Wonder out of the list still intact today....

Pop quiz.... which one is it?

The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World

You might have a better idea of guessing some of these, bit closer in the time line! And of course here is the disclaimer.....undoubtedly everyone has a different opinion of what they could be but sure history is subjective, and I am not trying to say that this is the real thing...just a version!

others up for debate include:

I'm not to proud to admit that despite a well seasoned passport and a moderate mental capacity I have not heard of about half of these places. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything but if I haven't heard about them then they must be shite. Ha ha!

Here's another one.....

American Society of Civil Engineers

Wonder	Date started	Date finished	Location
Channel Tunnel	December 1, 1987	May 6, 1994	Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom and France
CN Tower	February 6, 1973	June 26, 1976, tallest freestanding structure in the world 1976–2007.	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Empire State Building	January 22, 1930	May 1, 1931, Tallest structure in the world 1931–1967. First building with 100+ stories.	New York, NY, U.S.
Golden Gate Bridge	January 5, 1933	May 27, 1937	Golden Gate Strait, north of San Francisco, California, U.S.
Itaipu Dam	January 1970	May 5, 1984	Paraná River, between Brazil and Paraguay
Delta Works/ Zuiderzee Works	1920	May 10, 1997	Netherlands
Panama Canal	January 1, 1880	January 7, 1914	Isthmus of Panama

Well funnily enough I am actually in Toronto and haven't even bothered to go up the bloody thing! We even had our first guest and never made it. It's a alright, but you know- $25 in the hand is worth $50 in the sky! That by the way was a vague and unsuccessful twist on the saying 'A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush!'

And another list....

Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Well I've seen 2 of them but I'm beginning to feel cheated.....

What about Ankor Wat, White Haven Beach, Borbador, Mount Etna, Pompeii, Uluru, Acropolis, Eiffel Tower, Taman Negara, Statue of liberty don't they count for anything!!!!

I'm not sure about you but I'm already finding my interest in this waning slightly. I mean if there is no definitive list then the entire concept of a 'list' is pretty null and void. If there are numerous interpretations and versions of the list then it really becomes a malleable and purely subjective entity. Based not on a specific list of requirements or formula but whoever made a list on that particular day based on the places they personally liked the best. Who knows, for god's sake what they had for lunch might have even influenced their decision.

Hence, the good news about all of this is.....the Seven Wonders of the world are entirely up to your discretion.

You love Killiney Hill? Couldn't guess in a fit where the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is?
Would you rather be walking along Salthill on a sunny Saturday than bounty hunting in an Indiana Jones Set? Then by all means, make your own list.

Whatever and wherever it is, if you like it and you can spell it (or not) then it's in!

What I thought was meant to be 'one' of the infamous seven is maybe not. Who knows but the point is it was amazing.

I loved it and truly felt I saw something remarkable.

In the immortal words of Ossie and Tayto we went on a..a...aaaa.....a ju, a juh, a jor....A TRIP!!
With the latest addition of Fi, the Cabbage Town Sextet (Recently Introduced) hit the road in a soccer mom's people carrier. Another whopper satellite radio so we had a multitude of stations and decades.

Th drive from Toronto takes about 2 hours and it's a nice drive with some views of the wine country. We stopped on the way in Niagara-on-the-lake, a very 'nice' but strangely perfect town. It looks like a movie set for desperate housewives/ the beginning of a slasher movie. Too good to be true. No litter no 7/11 convenience stores, no shouting, no unpleasant smells, no global recession, no climate change, no world hunger, no AIDS epidemic in Africa,and so on you get the gist. It was very pretty and full of antique shops and bakeries but lacked soul. A sullvanian families flat pack town perfect for a visit but I'm not sure how anyone could live there full time.

Once a year in Toronto around May there is an Open Doors event where you can access 100+ buildings that are usually off limits to the public, culturally important or historical, it's a chance to peek in somewhere usually out of bounds
http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen/

We happened to come across a similar event in little ole Niagara...The Freemasons society were having an open house. We walked by a relatively small 2 storey house and saw the sign. Since we had already sampled the bakery we were fresh out of activities in this hub of activity so we decided to take a look.

In my shameful cloud of ignorance I didn't quite understand the significance of 6 young girls trooping up a creaky wooden stairs to a large reception room dripping in portraits of men dressed like Victorian kings, decorative thrones and carpets, curtains etc covered in the Freemason's symbol.

Apparently we had entered some body's 'lair'! The place was almost empty so when we arrived the men waiting to give tours we over in a shot.. Too late to leave now. So after a few minutes of listening to a spiel about founding fathers, there came the dreaded pause.

'Have you any Questions?'

We stared wide-eyed at each other. the man in the cloak was saying nothing so we had to come up with something.

I feel some words bubbling up out of my throat, great I wonder what I am about to say...hope it's something very intelligent.. Wait no....
I believe my question was....

' So....like...whats the story?'
'Excuse me?' he said
'You know, like, whats the story here?' Apparently not well received- he spieled some more about the historical nature of this organisation, while the girls whispered things to me like. I think they do ritual sacrifices and murder people. Oh right, prob best if we leave soon.

I interrupted him to enquire about a lovely looking ornate chair in a platform in the corner,
'what a lovely chair, excuse me I'm just going to take a closer look'...ha ha enjoy the propaganda talk girls!

There was certainly a strange if not slightly sinister atmosphere, and they were trying way too hard to make us come on board. Anyways we didn't stay long, but it was interesting all the same!

www.booking.com best website ever. We found the ideal little romantic getaway.! $60 a night for a honeymoon suite complete with a red plastic heart shaped Jacuzzi bath. Anna and I were treated to a complimentary bible and open packet of Durex in our side cabinet. the Ritz this was not. But in terms of your a-typical North American Motel, it was perfect!

The motel wasn't far from the falls so we took a drive that evening to have a look. We were unlucky in that there are often wonderful light shows at night over the falls but not the weekend we were there. There were illuminated with tinted colours and looked impressive none the less. Driving along the edge of the river banks we caught our first sight and it was really was thrilling. Poor Bobs was driving and desperately trying not to crash the car while take a look. The parking situation around the falls is a bit of a night mare there are no look out spots so if you want to stop the car for even a moment it is designed that you are forced to go to the pay parking...grrr!
But we pulled over for a min hopped out, ooohed and aahed and hopped back in! We just wanted to see it!
Back to the Motel for a drink and a communal foot spa in the jacuzzi! Then we headed into town to explore all the tackiness that Niagara has to offer! Bright lights, Casinos, & I'm with stupid t-shirts!

Sunday morning we recovered with a slap up North American breakfast in a pancake house down the road. French toast, pancakes, bacon, maple syrup...yum yum. Our older waitress even gave me a hug...still not sure why but it felt nice! Maybe she was looking for a big tip???

We were blessed with a fab day of clear blue skies and sun. Perfect weather for viewing the falls, with the sun beaming thought the spray cloud that kicks out from the centre of the falls we saw rainbow after rainbow, with the parting view of the falls producing a complete and full double rainbow. I have never seen anything like it, absolutely stunning.

following tradition we hopped onboard the maid of the mist, luckily we were there in Mid-October and got the last weekend of the boat tours before they stop for the winter season. You are given a charming blue bag to wrap around yourself but it's pretty useless as the spray flies up and down and soaks you regardless but it's all part of the fun!

It feels a bit like you are entering the end of the world as you approach the centre of the falls. The sound of the water crashing down and the huge cloud of spray above you. In the very centre all you can see is the white of the water falling down almost on top of you and the roaring of the falls. The maid of the mist was a definite highlight!

You can walk in behind the falls which was great fun, you can feel the tunnels trembling from the velocity of the falls above and standing at one of the look out points where all you see is a wall of water falling in front of you it is mesmerising. The urge to jump out into it with a bogey-board is also worryingly strong!

Now it would have been us if we hadn't taken a few trips to some wineries....
Ice wine turned out to be really nice, like liquid honey gold! But very sweet so in small doses. We oohed and aahed and nodded and left without buying anything!