Karen Ruby

Picasa Web Albums

Google came out with their latest foray into taking over the entire internet by releasing a beta, limited release of Picasa Web Albums last week. I received my *special* invite to check out the new feature today.

I've uploaded to "My Public Gallery" over a 100 pictures of my first trip to Montreal that I took last month.

Here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/Karen.Ruby

So far, I'm quite impressed with how easy it was to download and install the new Picasa2 application so that I can use the Picasa Web Albums feature. Uploading my first album only took a couple of minutes.

Picasa Web Albums allows you to share your albums or keep them private. You can choose who gets to view your albums and you're also able to bookmark "My Favourites" albums.

I've always resisted opening a Flickr account for some reason, although I do enjoy viewing my friend's albums on the site. There's no tagging in Picasa Web Albums (yet), but this is a very easy way to share my photos with friends and family (and my blog readers). I'll continue to upload selected photos on this blog (check out my numerous photo albums to the left), but since I don't want to over-load my blog storage limits, and since I take a lot of pictures, I'm very happy to be now using Picasa Web Albums to share my photos.

You can also view other people's Public albums and download all their photos to your computer. Not sure why someone would allow this, though. I've turned off this feature on my Montreal album.

I love using Picasa, and now that they have added this Web Album feature, I can see myself using it more and more to share my photos. With 250MB worth of storage space, I can really share my photos now.

Check back often to "My Public Gallery" as I'll be uploading more albums soon.

You should definitely sign up and check out the new Picasa with its Web Albums.

Tags: Google Picasa Picasa Web Albums Flickr

Toronto Harbour Boat Cruise

Isn't this a cool picture?

 

I took this picture last Saturday night when I went on the Yankee Lady III (Map) boat which cruised around the Toronto Harbour, Ontario Place and the 13 Toronto Islands. This picture is out of focus and skewed, but I thought it turned out quite interesting.

I had a great time on the boat cruise (dinner, dancing, seeing the sites) and snapped some good pictures of the Toronto skyline from the boat.

Here's a couple more pictures that I thought were pretty good:

It was evening when I snapped this picture from the top deck of the Yankee Lady III boat and it was cool that night (not like today when it's 40 degrees with the humidity). Last weekend was perfect boating weather, IMO.

Seeing Toronto from the water gives you a different perspective. Look how big the CN Tower and the Rogers Center looks in this picture. Very impressive.

If you're planning on visiting Toronto, I would really recommend seeing the city by water, it's a pretty fun and interesting way to see Toronto.

Tags: Toronto Yankee Lady Toronto Harbour

Trip to Montreal

I went to Montreal over the Victoria Day May long weekend. Check out my new Montreal photo album for some of the pictures that I took. I had never been to Montreal before and had always wanted to visit there since it's only about a 5 hour drive from Toronto and it's supposed to be such a beautiful city. I wasn't disappointed and had a great time while we were there.

We stayed in the downtown Novatel Hotel, which was really impressive with its helpful staff service, large rooms, and its central location. We were able to walk to a lot of places downtown or to the Metro to take the subway to visit the tourist spots from our hotel.

I picked up the Top 10 Montreal & Quebec City book before the trip and managed to visit a lot of the Top 10 places, including:

• Basilique Notre-Dame (stunning, a must-see)
• Chapelle du Sacre-Coeur
• Seminaire St-Sulpice
• Marche Bonsecours (beautiful building, but expensive shops)
• Place Jacques-Cartier
• Chateau Ramezay
• Biosphere (cool!)
• Labyrinthe du Hangar 16
• Casino de Montreal (had fun but didn't win any big pots)
• McGill University
• Chinatown (smaller than Toronto's but the dinner we had there was delicious)
• "Old Montreal" and the "Quartier Latin" (great for taking in the local Montreal flavour)
• Centre Eaton (just like Toronto, but with a lot of unique stores)
• Bar Jello (had a great time at this bar, live music)
• the Underground City (HUGE shopping centre and underground pathways)
• Reuben's (the BEST smoked meat restaurant, and had the BEST service)
• Simons
• walking along Crescent Street (great restaurants and shops)

The highlight of the trip was seeing the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal. What a spectacular sight! If you are planning on going to visit Montreal, this is one place that should be on the top of your list of sites to see. There was so much to take in at the Basilica - the stained-glass windows, the Sanctuary and Altar, the Pulpit, the Casavant Organ, the amazing bronze Daudelin Sculpture, and all the rest of the artwork and sculptures. Simply breathtaking. I'm so glad that we were able to go inside (cost $4) and view this magnificent structure.

Walking around Old Montreal was another highlight of the trip and gave us a feel for the culture of Montreal. The narrow cobblestone pathways and quaint shops lining the streets gave a glimpse of what Montreal used to be like. When I visited New York earlier this year, it felt like I could have still been in Toronto, but I didn't get that impression while I was in Montreal. You knew that you were in a different city, not only because of the French signs everywhere and the people speaking French, but because of the culture and architecture of a lot of the buildings. Montreal is quite unique in Canada. They say that Quebec City is like a European city, but since I have never been there before, I think I know a little of what they mean by visiting Montreal. The history of the city jumps out at you everywhere. They certainly know how to honour their people and the city is very proud of its past.

Montreal is a very friendly place to visit. We had great service everywhere we went, from the hotel staff, the waiters/waitresses in the restaurants we visited, the shop owners, the Metro station operator, casino staff, and local people. English was spoken everywhere, which was good although throwing in a a Merci and Bonjour was appreciated.

I would certainly recommend visiting Montreal if you are looking to absorb some culture and see some spectacular sites.

Tags: Montreal

Trip to New York

I spent yesterday in New York. Check out some of the pictures I took on my New York 2006 photo album.

We left Toronto by a charter bus on Friday night at around 10:00 PM and arrived in New York around 7:30 AM Saturday morning. After a hearty breakfast at Pom Pom's (which was delicious), a group of us thought that we would brave the New York subway to take in some shopping at Century 21 - the discount department store which was recommended. Of course, we took the wrong subway and lost about an hour or so and had to backtrack, but we finally made it. I must say that I was really disappointed in Century 21. To me, this was like Winners - except bigger and not as clean. My friend bought a pair of running shoes for $50 and a pair of Micheal Kors sunglasses for $10, but I didn't buy anything while I was there.

We then went to see Ground Zero, which is just across the street from Century 21. There were a lot of people walking around and seeing the big empty space where the Twin Towers once stood. That was one of the highlights of the trip.

Another highlight of the day trip was going up to the 86th floor of the Empire State building. This was one of the best parts of the trip. It was super windy up on the observation floor, but a must-see if you are going to New York. The views were amazing, as you can see from some of my pictures posted. It only cost $16 to go up, or you can pay an additionally $14 to go to the 102nd floor. Being up 86 floors was high enough for me. Part of the walk-way was closed, as it was just too windy and cold, but most was open to the public. There was also a store on the 86th floor and I picked up some Empire State building souvenirs.

After a few hours at the Empire State building (there were lots of people going up, and there was security everywhere, but the lines moved along really fast), we then walked around Times Square and took in all the fascinating billboards and interesting shops. Walking along Broadway Avenue and 5th Avenue was great!

For dinner we went to a local TGIF's - they don't have that chain here in Toronto. Wow, was it ever pricey but I guess that's because the restaurant was located near Times Square. But, the food was really good and we enjoyed ourselves.

We ended up at the Social Bar and Restaurant on 8th Street and had a great time relaxing and socializing before we boarded the bus on the way back to Toronto.

Although the weather wasn't the greatest - it was a little cold and windy, we all were impressed by the lack of homeless people on the street. I think we only saw two homeless people the whole time we were there. Plus, there were no altercations on the street or mugging incidents or anything like you hear about. There were lots of tourists, that's for sure. Since we stayed around the downtown core area, we didn't run into any problems. If you go off the beaten path though, then perhaps it wouldn't be as safe. Oh, and we were also very impressed by the cabs and cab drivers. Taking a cab from the Brooklyn Bridge to Times Square only cost us $11 total. That's quite a bargain!

My first trip to New York wasn't very long, but it sure gave me a taste of what New York has to offer and I can't wait to return to spend more time there.

Casa Loma, Toronto

I've uploaded some very nice pictures from my visit last month to Casa Loma here in Toronto. Check them out on my Casa Loma photo album. I think I took some great pictures of the castle itself, the many rooms, the great view of Toronto, and the many historic items on display.

We went on a very cold and windy Saturday afternoon to see the historic castle Casa Loma since I have never been there before and have always wanted to go. It's nice to be a tourist in your own city sometimes.

It's a very interesting place to visit if you are planning on coming to Toronto or even if you live near Toronto and haven't been there for a while. It's definitely worth the $12 entrance fee to see the historic site where the original owner, Sir Henry Pellatt, worked with the Canadian architect E. J. Lennox to build the largest and most expensive private home in North America for its time. They started in 1911 and it took over 3 years and $3.5 million to build the "house on the hill". As you can see from the photo album, the castle is quite a majestic sight with turrets and battlements. There is even a long tunnel that connects the castle to its stables and garage.

We walked through the three floors of the castle and the many rooms that have been preserved for over three hours. There were many people from around the world visiting the castle and there were several wedding groups getting their pictures taken in the absolutely gorgeous conservatory and library rooms. The conservatory (see my pictures in the photo album) was so beautiful.

Another highlight of the tour was Lady Mary Pellet's bedroom, she was quite an elegant lady and served as the first Commissioner of the Girl Guides of Canada. There were several items from the early period of the Girl Guides preserved, which was quite interesting to me because I rememer being a 'Brownie' when I was young girl.

Sir Henry was very involved in the military, particularly the Queen's Own Rifles, and there were many historic military items on display throughout the castle, too.

We're planning on going back for another visit since I hear that the gardens of Casa Loma are absolutely spectacular in the spring and summer. I'll upload more pictures then.

Check out the official site: Casa Loma

Tags: Casa Loma Toronto

Viva Las Vegas!

I came back from my trip to Las Vegas yesterday, full of wonder and awe over the sights and sounds of Sin City. Check out my Las Vegas photo album (left-hand side). I took over 580 pictures and uploaded a sample of some of the best ones. We were there from Thursday night (Sept 29) until Sunday night (Oct 2). I think it was the perfect long weekend trip.

I bought a couple of books before my trip, "Top 10 Las Vegas" and "Frommer's Las Vegas 2005" and I think we did almost everything listed in the Top 10 book! It was a great resource and I would recommend you buy it before you go to Las Vegas.

We stayed at the Aladdin, which was really gorgeous. We ate at the Aladdin's Spice Market Buffet (delicious, if a little pricey at $20 for brunch) and at P.F. Chang's Bistro. They had great Chinese food and was reasonably priced. I'm glad we stayed there because it was pretty close to a lot of the other casinos, particularly the Bellagio which is across the street, down the street from Paris Las Vegas, Bally's, and Caesars.

From the Top 10 book, the Las Vegas Highlights:

1. The Strip
2. Hoover Dam
3. Glitter Gulch
4. Bellagio
5. Grand Canyon
6. The Venetian
7. Aladdin
8. Red Rock Canyon
9. The Forum Shops at Caesars
10. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

We did everything on this list, except for Grand Canyon and Red Rock Canyon.

Plus, we took in the free attractions at: the MGM Grand Lion Habitat, the fabulous Fountains at Bellagio, the White Tiger Habitat at The Mirage, The Mirage Volcano, Desert Passage Harbor Gate Rainstorm, the Venetian's Gondoliers and Minstrels, the Lost City of Atlantis at Caesars.

We gambled at the Aladdin, Bellagio, Venetian, Bally's, Imperial Palace, New York - New York, Caesars, Golden Nugget and the Mirage. We didn't win big, I thought that the casinos were pretty tight in winnings. I liked playing at the Aladdin, Caesars and Bellagio. The Venetian's casino was absolutely beautiful, too.

We went on a half-day tour to Hoover Dam. That was a spectacular sight and totally worth the time and money. Actually, I thought it was a steal at $40 CAD. The Dam is absolutely huge! It was also really interesting to go down to the electrical level and see the turbines. We also went to the Hoover Dam Overlook and saw Lake Mead and it's marina. Gorgeous views. On the way back to Las Vegas, we stopped at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory, where they make fabulous chocolate. They also have an M&M World exhibit at the factory. There is another M&M store on the Strip, which we visited and I made sure that I bought some M&M's there, too.

One night we took the city bus (CAT) and went to 'old Vegas' and saw the Freemont Street Experience. It's a four-block covered pedestrian mall with a 90-ft ceiling (or Space Frame) with 2 million lights that every evening is lit up in a light and sound extravaganza show. While we were at the Freemont Street Experience we also went and saw the Glitter Gulch Lights - one of the brightest places on Earth. It was one hell of a night. We gambled at the Golden Nugget while we were there.

It was pretty easy to get around to the different sights. We bought a ride pass for the Monorail which was pretty useful to get around. We took it to the last stop to the Sahara Hotel to see the Star Trek Experience. Plus, we got on and off along the route to the different casinos. It was worth the $20 US dollars for the two of us to have 10 rides.

I don't think I have ever walked so much in my life! The casinos look so close together in photographs, but when you are on the ground they are NOT close together. There should be a new measurement - the Las Vegas uber-block. The casinos themselves are huge inside, with tons of different machines and card tables. It was pretty hot while we were there, although the locals said that it was cooler than in the summer where some days it was 114 degrees. Las Vegas is hot! Yes, it's not humid and it's a dry heat, but it's still pretty hot. There were a lot of people while we were there, but hardly any line-ups. We had to line up to go up the Eiffel Tower and the Star Trek: The Experience, but that's the only two places that I remember that we had to wait in line.

We only went to one show, 'V' The Variety Show at the Aladdin Theatre. It was moderately priced and very funny. If you go to any of the shows or attractions, check out the discount stores (Tix2Nite) for major discounts. We spent $34 to see 'V', and $20 to go to the Star Trek: The Experience. It was totally worth the price.

Some of the highlights that I thought were memorable were: Madame Tussuad's (especially the horror show inside that was super-scary), Hoover Dam, Star Trek: The Experience, the water fountains at Bellagio, gambling at the Bellagio casino, going up the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas to see the Bellagio fountains at night and view the night-scape, and the Lost City of Atlantis spectacle at Caesars.

We didn't shop very much, but walked through the Desert Passages shops at Aladdin, the Forum Shops at Caesars (gorgeous!), Bally's Avenue Shops and some stores along the Strip. The M&M World store was pretty neat with all sorts of different colour M&M's not sold anywhere else, plus all the different M&M merchandise.

I had a great time visiting Las Vegas and can't wait to go again!

Travel Podcasts and Audio Tours

I just got back from a weeks vacation (did you miss me? did you even notice I was gone?) and I want to go on vacation again - this time I want to go to Las Vegas. I've been putting it off for a while now, but if I get the opportunity to go in the next couple of months, I'm definitely going. I would love to check out Vegas.

So, I've been checking out some travel sites and came across two interesting articles. We all know how hot podcasting has become (what? you haven't tried it yet? what are you waiting for?) and now you can download a free city tour guide audio book to your iPod or mp3 player and listen to it while you are walking around and discovering the city. There's only a few places that currently offer these free audio guides, including New York. Check out the article from CNN: Trash guidebook, pack a podcast I can see this becoming quite popular, particularly in major cultural and historic cities.

Another great travel article on CNN on the same theme, except the audio tour guide file is sent to your cell phone so that you have a walking cellular tour: Dial a city tour on a cell phone.

This caught my eye from that article: "In Canada, signposts in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver offer telephone numbers allowing visitors to dial in and listen to stories about buildings, markets and streets narrated by local people." That's pretty cool, except I've never seen these signposts here in Toronto. But, now that I know that they are there, I'm going to keep my eye out for these numbers.

This automated tour guide concept is very similar to my previous post about touring Amsterdam with a tour-guide PDA, which I think it still a pretty cool way to walk around and discover a new city, if a little old-school now that podcasting is so hot.

So, which would you prefer - touring the city with your PDA, listening to a walking tour with your iPod, or listening with your cellphone? Hmmm, hard decision.

[Update: 09/02/05 -- I'm off to Las Vegas at the end of this month!!! We booked our flights and hotel today. Three days at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino on the Strip. I can't wait to see Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, win some money gambling, take pictures of some of the other tourist attractions and all the other fun stuff Vegas has to offer. Yeah!]