Royal York At Christmas

 

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  100 Front Street West
Date:  December 2023
Website:  www.fairmont.com

  Since 1929, the Royal York Hotel has stood tall as the premier hotel in Toronto. As its name implies, it has seen Queens and Kings amongst its guests. The hotel is a special place all year round, but great to visit at Christmas.

    There is always a big Christmas tree in the lobby.

 

    Sometimes the tree is guarded by soldiers.

     The hotel has gone through some changes through the years. The photo above still includes the clock and spiral staircase that came up into the lobby. These have been replaced with the Clockwork bar which includes a different clock.

       Just like the changes in the hotel, there is always something different in the decorations at Christmas. One year there were many trees both pink and green

        We once went to the hotel for a holiday brunch and a table was set up with a gingerbread village.  It was not meant for eating.  

    Gingerbread is also a big part of the Royal York's holiday display. As you enter the hotel from the east side, you can smell what is coming.

    It's Gingerbread Lane. This part of the Royal York concourse is covered with gingerbread and icing.  It is a feast for the senses.

     All of the stores are covered from top to bottom. The smell of gingerbread is everywhere. As lovers of gingerbread cookies this made us quite hungry for a snack.

    One wall even has the Royal York logo giving it the stamp of approval.

    Is it really real gingerbread you ask? Yes it is. One time when we visited we witnessed the staff applying some more icing touches. A lot of work goes into making and maintaining this gingerbread hallway.

   In 2024 the hotel did not create a gingerbread lane. Let's hope it returns in future years. The Royal York is still always a magical place, especially around Christmas.

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Map of Our World
Royal York Hotel

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Post # 342

Leonidas Sculptures

 

Location: Sparti, Greece
Address: Triakosion 77
Date: Aug 2015
Website: visitpeloponnese.com

  "Put down your weapons" the Spartans were told.  "Come and get them!" was the reply.

  Leonidas was King of the city-state of Sparta. The Spartans were known for never backing down in a battle. Leonidas was famously killed in the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persians in 480 BC.  In 1955 a monument was created in Thermopylae to commemorate the battle and Leonidas.

 The monument includes a sculpture of Taygetos representing the highest mountain in the Peloponese.

   The monument also includes a sculpture of Evrotas representing the river which flows through all of Lakonia.

    In the centre of the monument stands Leonidas ready for battle. Most people may only know Leonidas from the 2006 movie simply called 300. In this movie based on a Frank Miller comic, Gerard Butler plays the Spartan King.

    Another statue is of the god, Eros. It represents the 700 Thespians who fought alongside the Spartan warriors.

     About 400 km south of Thermopylae is the town of Sparti. As one enters the town from the south, you will find this giant Spartan helmet in the middle of a roundabout.

    At the top of the street to the north stands another Leonidas Statue. This one was erected in 1969 and differs slightly from the Thermopylae statue.

     Both statues feature the Spartan helmet and shield.

    The Leonidas in Sparti is a little more modest and carries a sword. The Leonidas in Thermopylae holds a spear and was originally planned to stand in Sparti. It was his nakedness that caused the town to refuse the first statue. 

 

 

    On both sides of Leonidas you can find Spartan shields. If you are a movie fan, an historian or just want to see something interesting, you should visit these monuments. King Leonidas represents standing up for yourself and what is right no matter what the odds.

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Map of Our World
Leonidas Statue (Sparta), Thermopylae

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Post # 340

Ted Lasso In Amsterdam

 

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Address: Raamgracht, 1011 KK
Date: May 2024
Website: iamsterdam.com

    Ted Lasso is a television show starring Jason Sedeikis as the title character. It is about an American college football coach who ends up coaching a British football team called AFC Richmond. In England, football is the same as American soccer. In season 3 episode 6, Ted Lasso's team take a trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands. We also found ourselves in Amsterdam and while we were there we visited a few of the filming locations from this episode.

 

Higgins & Will

    The first storyline we will look at follows Leslie Higgins, the Director of Football Operations, and Will the new equipment manager. Leslie brings Will to the Prins Hendrik Hotel to explain his love of jazz music.

    Leslie explains to Will that it was Chet Baker who got him interested in jazz. Chet Baker is a well known jazz trumpet player and singer who died at this hotel. Jeremy Swift who plays Leslie Higgins is also a skilled jazz player and he proves that later in the episode on the double bass. The monument that Higgins shows Will explains that Chet died here on May 13, 1988.

    Chet fell from a second floor window of the hotel. His photo has been placed in the window. He had a history of drug addiction and his death was ruled as an accident. Higgins says, "We only know this. Drugs are bad."

Jamie & Roy & Bond

   Roy Kent wants Jamie Tartt to get some training while in Amsterdam. Jamie Tartt is a new star on the team while Roy is a veteran player and now coach of AFC Richmond. Jamie makes Roy chase him around the city. One place they visit is a bridge known as Skinny Bridge or Magere Brug. This bridge only allows pedestrian and of course, bicycle traffic to cross.

 

    Jamie points out to Roy that this bridge was seen in the major motion picture, James Bond's Diamonds Are Forever. In that movie, a canal boat passes under the bridge while Mr Wint and Mr Kidd stand on top of it taking pictures. The boat tour gets a little more than they bargained for as they see the police fishing a body out of the river. That reminds us of a boat ride we took down the Thames in London, England. Mr Wint and Mr Kidd's comments lead us to believe that they are responsible for the body in the canal.

   When Roy politely asks Jamie to stop for a second they are at the boat cruise stations beside the Rokin Canal.  Rondvaart in Dutch means cruise. There is another Bond connection here as the Rederij P. Kooij tour company provided the canal boat for Diamonds Are Forever.

    Even better, the exact boat is still operating. It changed its name from Prins Willem-Alexander to Koning Willem-Alexander when the real Prince Willem-Alexander became King of the Netherlands in 2013. The boat can be found in the Rokin canal next to the little Dutch elephant with long, yellow braids.

  Roy Kent catches his breath while sitting down on one of the concrete posts in front of the Diamond Factory. He sits on the last post which can just barely be seen (in the photo above) on the far right, between the planter and the street light. It is here that he points at the Diamond Factory windmill and declares that all windmills are fake.

    Jamie decides to round up some bicycles and go and find a windmill. It turns out that Roy has never learned to ride a bike so Jamie teaches him in front of the Allard Pierson Museum. After a little frustation, a few falls and a thrown bike, Roy finally gets the hang of it. The pair goes off in search of a real windmill.

Colin & Trent

  The next storyline follows another AFC Richmond player named Colin. He leaves the rest of the team at the hotel deciding what to do and heads out into Amsterdam by himself. He ends up at a gay bar named Prik and runs out when Trent Crimm, a reporter who is writing a book about the team, sees him there. Trent tells Colin that he knows his secret and they end up sitting at the edge of the canal near Westerkerk (the Western Church). When the bells of the church toll, Trent mentions that Anne Frank heard those same bells every night.

     Colin says she lived very close to this big pink triangle. They are sitting in front of Homomonument which was placed here in 1987. It commemorates gays and lesbians who are persecuted because of their sexual orientation.

 

Rebecca & The Man With A Houseboat

    The final storyline has Rebecca, the owner of AFC Richmond, going for a stroll through Amsterdam. She stops on this bridge where Groenburgwal canal meets Raamgracht canal because she answers a phone call.

    You can see the houses behind her. The light purple one on the left really stands out.

    As bicycles whiz past Rebecca, a man on the houseboat on the left whistles at her and says, "I have to say something to this beautiful woman."

 

     A bike rider comes close to hitting her and Rebecca loses her balance. She flips over the railing and into the canal.What is it that the mystery man wanted to tell her?  "You're walking in the bike lane."

    Rebecca gets out of the canal and the mystery man welcomes her into his houseboat. She takes a shower while her clothes dry and ends up enjoying a nice dinner and a few drinks. Her and the mystery man end up spending the night talking and having a great time. The next day she joins the rest of the team on their bus. Everyone from Ted Lasso had a great time in Amsterdam and so did we.

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Map of Our World
Roy Kent Learns To Ride A Bike , Rebecca Falls In The Canal

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Post # 337

Gillie & Marc

 

   Gillie & Marc are a married couple who are known for the sculptures that they create together. Their work can be found on public streets all around the world. They are best known for their sculptures of Rabbitwoman and Dogman. They also have a strong focus on endangered animals. You can find out more about the artists and where their sculptures can be found at gillieandmarc.com. Below are some of the Gillie & Marc sculptures we have encountered in our travels. Many of their sculptures are on temporary exhibition before they move on to a new location.

Paparazzi Dogs

 

  These paparazzi dogmen were the first Gillie & Marc sculpture that we recall seeing. They were located on Powell Street in San Francisco. They were taking photos of people coming out of an H&M store inside the Elevated Shops building. The dogmen are a combination of Marc and his weimaraner dog named Indie.

Coffee Table Of Love

 

 In New York City at Park Ave and East 46th Street you will find Coffee Table Of Love. Dogman is joined by Rabbitwoman for a cup of coffee. There are two more stools at the table for passerbys to join the half animal, half human couple.

 

 

  Rabbitwoman in based on Gillie and an unknown rabbit. Rabbitwoman holds a coffee and looks across at Dogman.

 

   Dogman holds a coffee and looks across at Rabbitwoman.

Love Negotiation

  In Toronto, Canada there is another Rabbitwoman and Dogman sculpture on Scollard Street. This time they are sitting at a smaller coffee table with no room for anyone else to join them. 

 

 When we took these pictures there had been a recent snowfall so the sculptures had a layer of snow on them. These versions of Dogman and Rabbitwoman had some colour in them. Dogman was sporting a blue suit and Rabbitwoman wore a red dress. Neither of them was dressed for the weather.

 

He Was On A Wild Ride To A Safer Place With Rabbitwoman & Dogman

  At the time of posting this blog there was another Gillie & Marc sculpture in Toronto at David Pecaut Square. Dogman and Rabbitwoman are sharing a tandem bicylce with a rhinoceros. You can join them in the last seat. This sculpture is temporary and will leave Toronto in 2025. Who knows where it might end up. 

 

 

  The rhino is there to represent the campaign called Love The Last. This is meant to raise awareness of endangered animal species. We tried to see their sculpture called The Last Three in New York City, but it was gone when we got there. The sculpture represented the last three northern white rhinos on earth. Only two remain alive today.

 
The Travellers Have Arrived

  While other sculptures show Dogman and Rabbitwoman enjoying coffee or riding a bike, this sculpture in Las Vegas is quite different. The two half human, half animals are riding a donkey naked through the Cosmopolitan hotel. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

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Map of Our World

Love Negotiation , He Was On A Wild Ride To A Safer Place With Rabbitwoman & Dogman , Paparazzi Dogs , Coffee Table Of Love , The Travellers Have Arrived

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Post # 336