(Dear English readers, please scroll down for English translation.)
约两个星期前的周末，老天爷大发慈悲，赐给多伦多好天气。
於是，我和Ed一大早跑去Bloor West逛及吃早餐。Bloor West是东欧人聚住的地区。 主街上有许多东欧式的店铺。我最高兴看到的是各式各样的东欧蛋糕及甜品一一 摆在店窗后，很令人垂涎欲滴 ！ 我虽爱甜品，那天很乖，忍得住, 没吃 ！:-)
吃了早餐后， 我们延着 High Park, 一路走到Lake Ontario。因天气好，很多人都出来享受阳光 – 有一家大小地出来逛或野餐，有妈妈推着婴儿车散步，有爸爸与儿子踢球，有情人手拖手, 有人听着iPod跑步，有人牵着狗走….
Ed告诉我，这里的夏天会更热闹， 更人山人海。 冬天时，人们困在家里困够了，夏天会一涌而出。三个月的夏天，有数不清的节目。 我想，加拿大人和澳洲人相似，比较会享受生活。加上，这里的空气清新，污染不严重。想起我在亚洲的生活，要野餐也难，吸进的可能都是尘埃。逛的大多数都是一间建得比一间大的购物商场。倒是有一种生活我很想念，加拿大也没有的，那就是夜市场 （pasar malam）。:-)
路上也见到一群群的加拿大雁。它是鹅类的一种。当我要拍照时，Ed吩咐我要小心，千万不可侵犯到它们的孩子，不然这种鹅会很凶。跟据我在网上读的资料，这种鹅是群居性鸟类，五大湖地区保持着很大数目。它们也会迁徙，过冬的地区多数在美国。现在在加国见到它们，像征着春天已到。
来到Lake Ontario时，看到那飘在湖面的冰片，对我来说是新奇。Lake Ontario坐落于多伦多市的南端。它是北美洲五大湖之一。面积约为18千平方公里，约为新加坡的25倍大。在多伦多人心中，它是他们心中的一片海洋。一个多伦多的朋友告诉我，除了Lake Ontario, 她从没见过海洋，没见过浪潮。至到她去Carribean渡假时，才有机会为海的冲浪振奋。
我和Ed在那天走了好几个小时。回家前，去了间pub，喝杯啤酒…过了一个湖.蓝天的周末…
Two weeks ago, we were very lucky to have a nice day on the weekend.
Ed and I woke up early to go to Bloor West for breakfast. Bloor West is like a little Eastern Europe where many residents here are immigrants from Eastern Europe. There are many Eastern European style shops in the main street. The most attractive for me were the Eastern European cake and dessert shops. Luckily, I behaved that day, tried to control my deisre, nonetheless, I still enjoyed the cake and desserts ‘window shopping’ !
After our breakfast, we walked along the High Park, all the way down to Lake Ontario. Since it was rare to have such beautiful weather, many people came out for a walk. Some families were out for picnic, some mothers took their babies out in a pram for a walk, some fathers had the chance to play soccer with their sons, some couples held their hands tight and enjoyed each other’s company, some people listened to their iPod while running, some people took their dog out for a walk…..
Ed told me, it will be more people, more fun and lots of festivals during summer. It is understandable. People must be too sick of staying home during winter (including me) and can not wait to enjoy the sunshine. At the same time, I guess Canadians are like Australians. They know how to enjoy life, especially when there is gorgeous weather like this. When I was living in Malaysia, there was no way we could have a relaxing picnic due to the severe air pollution. During weekends, we spent most of our times shopping in the big and bigger shopping malls.
On the way to the lake, I saw some Canada geese and wanted to take some photos. Ed warned me to be very careful. This is because the parents are very protective of their young ones, they may give me a loud hissing sounds if I get too close. According to online materials, Canada geese are migratory with wintering range being most of United States. The Great Lakes regions maintain a very large population. Seeing them now in Canada, signified the arrival of spring.
By the time we arrived Lake Ontario, it was already late afternoon. I was excited to see the lake half covered by ice. To me, it was something different. Lake Ontario located south of downtown Toronto. It is one of the five Great Lakes in Northern America. Its surface area is about 18,000 square km, it is about 25 times the size of Singapore. For many Torontonians, it is ‘the ocean’ in their hearts. A friend of mine who born and brought up in Ontario told me, she never saw ocean or waves, until she went to Caribbean for holiday. Only then, she could understand the power and magic of big waves in the ocean.
Just before we went home, we went to a pub for a bear, to take away the tiredness of a few hours of walking. And this was one of my experiences with the lake and blue sky in Toronto on a lazy weekend…..
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