Weekend fun

Oh what a fun weekend it was! Aside from my exercise routine, some house chores, and grocery shopping for the week, we explored a few outdoor events that were free to the public.

On Friday, we checked out the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition at Nathan Phillips Square. It’s Canada’s largest and longest running outdoor art fair, in its 56th year, with over 340 artists this year. If you’re looking for art work for your home, or a unique gift, you’ll find something beautiful here. The artists are on site with their art work displayed in the white tents so you can chat with them. It was a WOW for me to see so much artistic talent in one location. When we left the fair, I felt energized by what I saw. The first picture below shows the fair with Toronto's Old City Hall in the background. The second picture shows Toronto's "New" City Hall in the background.

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition 2017

On Saturday, the weather was perfect. We packed our picnic basket and went to HTO Park which has grassy hills and a sand beach along Toronto Harbour water’s edge. The willow trees around the park provided lovely shades and the breeze from the lakefront made it quite pleasant. The lake view never gets old. The yellow umbrellas and Muskoka chairs are visually attractive. There were sailboats, kayakers in the harbour, and people sunning on the beach.

I was so relaxed at the park, I thought I was going to fall asleep. We got up to check out the nearby Waterfront Artisan Market. It was busy with shoppers. I spotted a few interesting food and drink offerings.

On Sunday, we attended a concert by the Sadies band, as part of the Shield to Shore music festival. This is a rock and roll, western country music band, formed in 1994 in Toronto. You can read more about them here. The band put on a passionate performance and the audience showed appreciation with long rounds of applause after each song. When the audience lingered after the concert was supposed to be over, the band returned to the stage to play a few more songs.

The Sadies, Shield to Shore festival

As we left, I looked out to the lake and saw a sailboat floating by with a swan and ducks in the water. Did I say the lake view never gets old? Such a lovely image to close out my weekend.

Swan, duck and sailboat

I hope you had a nice weekend, too. I’d love to hear about it! Have a great week!

Playa Grande, Costa Rica

I had the pleasure to plan a grand family vacation. It was grand in size because there were four families and together there were sixteen of us, ranging from age 8 to middle-aged adults. We all agreed to go to Playa Grande (Grand Beach), on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, for a week.

Playa Grande, Costa Rica

I did a few things right as the designated family vacation planner and would like to share my experience with you:

1. Chose a destination that can be reached by non-stop flights from Toronto. We flew to Liberia International Airport in Costa Rica. It was simple and straightforward. Liberia airport was easy to navigate as it is not as busy as San Jose International Airport.
2. Found a villa (Villas Costa Grande) that can house sixteen people from Home Away. We had to stay in two houses, each was fully furnished with five appliances, and offered enough beds for everyone. The gated villa has a swimming pool, and is a 3-minute walk to the beach.
3. Booked airport pick-up and drop-off before leaving home. I did the arrangements by e-mail. Upon arrival in Liberia, our driver welcomed us with a big sign with my name on it. Then we piled into two shuttle vans and went directly to our rented villa...Worry-free!
4. Booked grocery shopping and delivery to the villa before leaving home. It was fantastic that this service was available. I e-mailed the list of grocery items to the property manager. She was on site when we arrived with a long bill but the fridge and freezer were full and ready for our meal preparations. Again...worry-free!
5. Chose Costa Rica which has sights and activities suitable for our various age groups. We were within walking distance to Grand Beach, and Marino Las Baulas National Park. We could also book excursions to visit an estuary, try out zip lining, hiking, hot springs. etc.

How did we do?

• We had the villa and its swimming pool to ourselves the entire week. Just luck that the other three houses were vacant during our stay. Our rented houses were spacious and the beds were comfortable.
• The beach was grand for everyone, and the pool was a big hit with the children. A maintenance worker came to clean the pool daily.
• The natural settings and bio-diversity in Costa Rica were wonderful. We had different birds visiting us every morning. We were all fascinated by the pelicans, fish, birds, iguanas, howler monkeys, alligators, crabs, butterflies, dragonflies, to name a few. Click to enlarge the pictures below.

Bird on our balcony

Birds by the pool

Iguana

• We loved the plants and trees around our place, too. The children saw papaya trees, mango trees, lime trees and various flower plants. Tropical fruits such as pineapples, rambutans were sweet and delicious.

Sweet rambutans

• We all went to visit the estuary by boat. The mangrove jungle, the narrow waterways, and wildlife kept all of us entertained for several hours.

Heron at the estuary

Howler monkey

Alligator in the river - Can you see it?

Idyllic fishing boats

• The teenagers and some of the adults went on a tour that included hiking, horseback riding, zip lining and visiting a hot spring bath. They really enjoyed their excursion.

• During our stay we only had to go to a local store for small grocery items as our fridge and freezer were fully stocked upon request. By cooking our own meals, we saved a lot of money and had a lot of fun family meal time. The available appliances made dish washing and laundry a breeze.

• We collected shells on the beach and watched a few spectacular sunsets.

Shell on Playa Grande

It was a “grand” family vacation for all of us. We shared a special time and still talk about it. As the children described in one word: “Awesome”!