Saturday, July 28, 2007

Trip to Toronto: CN Tower

The CN Tower is tall. It's the "tallest freestanding structure on land" in the world or something like that.

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They put in a glass floor to freak people out and encourage them to do weird stuff like lying on their bellies in public.

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I could not step onto the glass. It was too high, too scary.

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But being that high up didn't put me off my appetite.

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We're not normally "eat at the top of the CN Tower" type of people, but we did want to see the view, and the meal included "complimentary elevation" (normally $21.49 per person not including taxes).

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Plus, how often do you get a chance to enjoy a bottle from the world's highest wine cellar?

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6 comments:

chuck b. said...

You guys know how to live it up!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous. Is this this the Toronto equivalent of the Space Needle, just bigger? And why would one press their belly against glass a gazillion feet in the sky?

Anyway, how was the meal? We haven't done the Space Needle rotating restaurant (despite pressure from good-natured, out-of-town relatives, God love 'em) because I'm assuming that the food isn't all that. Is this the same? Or was it yummy? Do tell.

JvA said...

Yes, we've been doing a little too much living it up lately, when we probably ought to be toiling and moiling.

Aesop's Fable About the Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."

"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

JvA said...

Yeah, this is like a really tall Space Needle. The CN Tower restaurant also rotates once an hour.

As you'd expect, the menu was extremely safe, but the food was pretty good. I had an overly salty onion bisque; tender, flavorful chicken with mashed potatoes; and a delicious peach/raspberry tart made from fresh Niagara fruit. And it wasn't cheap, but it wasn't ridiculously overpriced. My three-course meal was $51, and the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc was $41. Cocktails were only $7.

We probably would have spent nearly as much had we paid for tickets up the tower then eaten dinner somewhere else. But this way you could really relax and enjoy the view of the city.

I haven't eaten at the top of the Space Needle, either, but I've always wanted to. I mean, regardless of whether the food is superlative or merely good (you know it's not going to be bad), wouldn't it be a fun meal?

chuck b. said...

I had cherry pie at the Twin Peaks Diner in Snoqualmie (sp?) once. It was very good.

JvA said...

Just this morning I heard that someone's bidding on the Salish Lodge, used for exterior shots of the Great Northern Hotel at the top of the falls. So if you, by any chance, were thinking about buying it (new kitchen, new carpet, new lodge?), act now.