Meet Blue: Out Of The Depths

 Meet Blue, one of the nine blue whales found dead in the shores of the Gulf of St Lawrence in Newfoundland, Atlantic Canada in 2014. After several years, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto decided to keep Blue's remains for further study and to share her story to the rest of the country. The Blue whales are the largest mammal that have inhabited the Earth at 29.9 metres (98ft) and they mostly inhibit the area near Newfoundland near the Atlantic Ocean. They are bigger than the dinosaurs. They have also outlived the dinosaurs in this planet. A blue whale normally has a life span of 70 to 90 years old.  It exclusively feeds on the small fish, krill. One of the things that I learnt from this exhibit is that every natural thing is inter-connected. Who would have thought that the poo of the blue whale overrides our human release of carbon dioxide and is important for climate change? It does.  Their poo is what the krill fish eats which in turn the blue whales eat the krill fish. That's why on this Earth Day, we remember to respect and take care of our Earth. We have to recognise that climate change is for real and is an issue that will affect us if we do not take care of our planet. We have to do our part to save our planet as we are all inter-connected. 

 

The skull of Blue, a female blue whale is so huge. The rest of her body extends behind.

 

The huge bones and fins of Blue. 

 

Gulf of St Lawrence in Newfoundland, Atlantic Canada was the location where Blue was found. 

 

Blue Whales are so huge that their body is supported by water. 

 

 

 

 

J Crew philantrophic fashion for the Blue Whales.

Exhibit runs at the Royal Ontario Museum till 4 September 2017. 

Read here The Blue Whale Tale the full account of the discovery of the dead blue whales from the Toronto Star. 

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Summer @ The ROM

 Besides shopping at Bloor-Yorkville, one of the best things to do during the summer is to see the latest exhibitions at the Royal Ontario Museum. Every season, the museum present interesting and educational exhibitions from other countries. For this summer, the ROM presents Pompeii: In The Shadow Of The Volcano which showcase the story of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius over 1,900 years ago and its victims. In the spirit of the Pan Am Games here in Toronto and for PANAMANIA, which is a celebration of the diverse arts and cultures of all of the countries participating, there is VIVA Mexico!  This exhibit shows the clothing and culture of Mexico. It's a fun time visiting the museum during this time. Then afterwards, we all had a dim sum lunch at Dynasty Chinese Yorkville to fill our empty stomachs. We definitely had a whirlwind tour of the world here from Pompeii to Mexican fashion to Chinese dim sum. This is a part of Toronto that is cultural, fashionable and so diverse. 

 

 

 Map of Italy that shows the major volcanoes around the country. 

 The victims were discovered around the 1950s. The famous dog here with his bronze collar trying to avoid the heat but no one escaped this tragedy. From animals to human, fell victim to the power and might of the volcano eruption. 

Paintings of the wealthy residents of Pompeii. The bread and olives here were found in a house was covered in ash and turned black. Now these are hard as stone. 

 

 ROM also participated to celebrate PANAMANIA.

 

Cantonese chow mein fried noodles with seafood and vegetables and some Dim sum at Dynasty Chinese Yorkville.

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Toronto Summerlicious

Summer in Toronto is not only a fun time to get out there to enjoy the festivals and the shopping but also delicious. Every Summer Toronto celebrated with Summerlicious which was a two weeks Culinary event in July where the Restaurants around the city participated to offer three or four courses fixe prix menu worth from $15 to $45. Yes, believe it or not. It is our chance to eat at those expensive fine dining restaurants for a fraction of its price. One of the the things we love here in Toronto is our patios at Restaurants. Every summer, everyone comes out and hangs out in the patio to have a drink or a complete meal with family and friends. How about you? Do you enjoy hanging out at the patio for a meal during summer? Try it, its one of the best things to do in life. 

One of the meals we had during Summerlicious were the Tuna Tataki salad, Atlantic Cod with Asparagus and fried potatoes, Creme Caramel with berries and the Panna Cotta with berries.

Of course, we had some refreshing Sangria to beat the Summer heat. 

Then after our foray into Summerlicious, we walked along Bloor Street for some shopping passing by Gucci and admiring these summer flowers along the way.

We checked out Prada to see what is new and in style.

Can't resist the Louis Vuitton Art of Travel Window displays in Red and White stripes and balloons.

We also visited the Royal Ontario Museum to see the Mesopotamia Inventing Our World Exhibit featuring the collection from the British Museum in London, England. 

The Exhibit featured the art and history of  Mesopotamia which comprised of the First Cities in Assyria and Babylon. It was in these Ancient Civilisations that Writing and even Justice were first conceived.

Some of the Exhibits from one of my favourite museums, The British Museum now on loan to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). 

Some of the products inspired by the Exhibit for sale at the ROM shop.

The earrings were inspired from the Ancient jewels of the Queens of Assyria.

The colourful lanterns and bowls were just enchanting.

In Toronto, we have Vespas ready for a spin around the City.

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