here + there

    

 

Steve and I had an impromptu date-afternoon on Wednesday and with the exception of the TWO HOUR commute from Bowmanville to University and Queen in the heart of downtown Toronto (less than 80km, and we left after rush hour), it was amazing. Gams and Bups babysat and we walked around free from parental duties; in fact, we walked all the way from aforementioned intersection to what I will from now on call Toronto's best pizzeria, Pizzeria Libretto. It was SO GOOD! Better than most of the pizza I had in Italy and I'll follow up that comment with this: pizza is a beast of many colours - a chameleon if you will? It can be deep dish or shallow, have toppings galore or be less-(on top)-is-more, have a salty crust or a sweet one or a chewy one or a hard crispy one... and yes, on and on I could go. Libretto serves the real deal pizza-from-its-birthplace (Napoli) pie; it's VPN (Verace Pizza Napoletana) certified and it's good. I mean, unless you're into Pizza Hut or Hot'n'Readys or some such (ugh) thing, don't worry about it, but otherwise - if you find yourself in Toronto and want some goooooood pizza, check out one of Libretto's two locations. And, with the lunch deal - $15 for a Beet-Mozz caprese salad, a Margherita pie and some gelato - we'll be back for sure!

On Tuesday morning Steve and Hendrik and I enjoyed some family-of-three time at the Bowmanville Zoo (joined every now and then by a roaming goat) and had a great time. The weather was good, the animals were friendly (and not at all shy) and of a fabulous variety; and never have I seen anyone (Hendrik) so into alpacas! They were hands down the most memorable animal of the trip, and he'll still talk about them if you ask him; "alpaca!!!" (said with mucho gusto - more of an "al-PACA!") has been filling the walls of the Brinkman household ever since.

The dandelions were also a hot-spot; we could have spent the whole day here!

taken from the car... yows!

The main attraction for me - besides Hendrik's love for the furry llama-like creatures - was the elephant, in the zoo and out. When we were leaving she was embarking on a several kilometre walk up B-ville's busiest street, on her way to the circus. Apparently it's nothing new for locals, as she heads out for walks on a regular basis. Can you imagine an elephant walking down the street in your neighborhood? Ooh, and I also liked the zoo's tiger, and the references that Hendrik immediately made to the Tiger Who Came to Tea.... love it.

the birthday girl!

babsy wasn't the only one to receive gifts - hendrik got his first golf set from bob jr!

And even though it was a few weeks ago, last night a group of us got together to celebrate Barb's 70th birthday - yay! There was great company, killer food (see pics - and the video) and lots of eyeballs on Hendrik. He wasn't shy at all, and helped get the birthday girl her tiara and beads and blow out the candles on the cake; he handed out coffee and ate nicely with a fork and stayed up until after 9:00 before asking to go home to bed (I happily obliged).

the food was the best! if you need a recipe for an amazing white lasagna, look no further; there were zero leftovers.. so good!

Pam made one of her amazing cakes and it was so delish that Hendrik did what everyone else was wanted to do... check it:



I especially like the part where he follows the "done" with a "nooo" - as in, no, don't let it be true. This was, by the way, after not one but two very generous helpings of dessert...  just like mom, he loves his cake!

And we've spent some good time relaxing around here (in the hammock, on rocks) and getting dinner made and food in the bell-y. Isn't he the cutest? Mmmmmm I love him......

And if anyone has any idea what he's saying in this video, please let me know; for the life of me I can't figure it out - or is he just talking about Incas?



Signing off... a weekend of World League starts tomorrow!