Attracting approximately one million visitors annually, The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is the fifth largest museum in North America, according to Wikipedia. Located in downtown Toronto almost within the compound of The University of Toronto, it is said to be walking distance from the CN tower but I will definitely not do that – not even on spring time. It is about a 3 to 4 kilometers walk if you take University Avenue. Since 2004, the museum is undergoing a massive multi million renovation and will be completed by Fall of 2007.
The museum is home to 6 million museum pieces and is housed in two permanent galleries – the World and Natural History.
The Department of World Cultures is the amalgamation of the former departments of West Asian, Far Eastern, Egyptian, Textiles, European, Greek and Roman, Canadiana, New World Archaeology, and Ethnology. Our curators actively conduct research in these areas as art historians, archaeologists and material culture specialists. The diversity of their work is reflected in a wide variety of objects to be found in our collections, ranging from Stone Age implements from China and Africa, the arms and armours from Europe, Middle East and Japan, kayaks and costumes of Canada’s First Peoples, ceramics from ancient Peru, sculptures from Southeast Asia and mummies from Egypt, to 20th-century art and design.
The Department of Natural History is comprised of 12 collection and research areas: Botany, Entomology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate Zoology, Mammalogy, Mycology, Ornithology, Invertebrate Palaeontology, Vertebrate Palaeontology, Geology, and Mineralogy.
Perhaps the most controversial artifact ever displayed here was the James Ossuary with the Aramaic inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. The ossuary was displayed here last 2002 and was scrutinized by experts and was even featured by Discovery Channel and later on appeared on PBS and other networks. After its brief display at The ROM it was sent back to Israel in 2003 and was seized by the Israel Antiquities Authority to be later declared as a fake. The authenticity of the ossuary is very important since it will be the first ever physical link and the earliest recorded reference to Jesus of Nazareth.
Read about the forgery claim by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the ROM’s refusal to retract its earlier claim of authenticity.
If you are planning to visit this place I suggest you push it back if you can until the reno is over. Or, if you also don’t want to spend any money, you can go there at 5PM where the museum entrance is free. It closes at 6PM so you have an hour to explore but it will be impossible to see all galleries in one hour so you have to come back in the next few days to see them all. We weren't able to see all the galleries and so we will come back to visit again some other time.
Next CityPass destination - Art Gallery of Ontario
Addendum:
I forgot to write that the Toronto CN Tower was honored as on one of the 7 wonders of the modern world by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as a tribute to 20th Century greatest civil engineering achievements. Other who made it on the list includes:
Channel Tunnel (England & France)
Empire State Building (New York)
Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)
Itaipu Dam (Brazil / Paraguay)
Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
Panama Canal
The last time we went to Toronto to go to the top of the CN tower we found out that there is CityPass ticket that we can buy that include admission to 6 Toronto attractions - Art Gallery of Ontario, CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, Casa Loma and The Toronto Zoo. The ticket is valid for 9 days from first use. For two weekends, it’s manageable.
This post is about Toronto's CN Tower and how it compares with Auckland, New Zealand's, Sky Tower. Every time I tour a new city it has been my habit to start at the highest elevation point of the city, with a map in my hand, and get a 360 degrees big-picture view of the surrounding area. Modern cities have their own version of super tall tower structures nowadays. Aside from using the structure as base of radio telecommunications antennas and the pride value the city gets from it, its other purpose are often hypothesized by just about anybody from the naïve (like “a lamppost providing light to the CBD”) to the absurd (like “It will provide the shadow for the worlds largest sundial when suitably calibrated for use by astronauts and other space visitors) to the comical (like “A rectal thermometer for some of the world's biggest @$$holes”) to the bizarre (like “Golf tee for Zeus”). Read the 101 uses for the Auckland Sky Tower complied by Paul Bourke here.
Auckland’s Sky Tower (completed 1997) comes very close to the CN Tower’s (built 1975) design. There are many similarities but the CN tower holds the record for being the World’s Tallest Freestanding Structure on Land by the World Federation of Great Towers at 553 meters (1,815 feet and 5 inches). The Auckland Sky Tower ranks 12th at 328 meters.
I am very fortunate to have been to both towers and here’s how they compare:
Toronto Skyline views from CN Tower - The picture bottom-left shows a partial view from the top of the Rogers Centre (home of the Toronto Blue Jays) - it would have been a nice picture if the retractable ceiling cover were open to exposed the green. On the bottom right is Toronto CBD where I work to earn a living. In that same picture you can see the Roy Thompson Hall (home of Toronto Symphony Orchestra) - the dome like structure on the bottom left hand corner.
Auckland, New Zealand, Skyline views from Sky Tower - These photos were taken 4 years ago and I have very limited memory of the landmarks because I was only visitng the place and I was living in Wellington during that time. Also the picture quality were not very sharp since I was only using a 2 megapixel IXUS 300 that time.
360 degrees observation decks - CN Tower (left) & Sky Tower (right)
Glass floors (dare to walk on air) - This is where the two are very similar and yet very different. The glass floor concept is similar but the height and "fear factor" is very different. At Auckland's Sky Tower it didn't take us a long time to dare. At CN Tower, it took me a long time to do just that - my wife didn't even dare. It has something to do with the visual view of how thin and thick the joists holding the glass floor are. At Sky Tower (pictured bottom right) the joists are much thicker and so it gives you a feeling of the integrity of the structure. At CN tower, these joists are thinner that makes you think twice. Another reason that might add to the fear was at Sky Tower there is a note in the floor saying that "The glass floor is as strong as the concrete floor you are standing on" while at CN Tower the absence of that note might be construed by the doubting mind as a sort of a "disclaimer".
Both are great and should not be missed if you are visiting Toronto and Auckland. The CN Tower is a winner for me because of its sheer height. However, you cannot Sky Jump from the CN Tower like you can from the Sky Tower and that atrraction makes the Sky Tower also a winner. I have seen people did this and they shouted & squealed like pigs being slaughtered - it must really be that scary!
Next CityPass destination – Royal Ontario Museum
For two years now I have always wanted to go to this place every time my GO Train will pass by the Waterfront. There was no doubt in my mind that this is a nice place to visit, bring my camera, relax and enjoy Lake Ontario waterfront. But for so many reasons I just kept on delaying that visit until this long weekend when we finally decided to drive around Toronto from Port Credit Lakeshore Drive all the way to Gardiner Freeway to CN Tower in downtown Toronto.
Our first stop was actually Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke but I will write about that some other time. Instead, for now let’s go South Humber Park’s waterfront in Toronto. Humber Park is located near the boundary of the cities of Toronto and Etobicoke by the Lake Ontario. On a sunny weekend this place is getaway for city dwellers who want to sweat it off by trailing, biking, roller skating - or, by simply just walking and enjoying the magnificent view of Lake Ontario with downtown Toronto as the backdrop. 
Aside from a lot of things that you can do here there is a plethora of things for the lens to snap. Most picturesque of all is the Humber River Arch Bridge. This bridge is about 140 metres in length and is a tied arch structure that connects two trails. From one angle the top of arch of the bridge looks like a King Cobra that is ready to strike. There is only one way I can describe this bridge – it’s a beauty! For anyone planning to visit Toronto, this is a place to see specially if you want to take home a good alternative picture of Toronto’s Downtown skyline.
July 1, 2006 – Last Saturday was Canada Day. Since the temperature outside is downright summer we were so lazy to go out and check the festivities. Instead we waited after dinner to drive around Mississauga area and find out what’s cooking. Last year’s Port Credit celebration was a success so we decided to go there first. Since we were late for the Paint the Town Red activities we decided to stop by instead at the Port Credit Harbour Marina. It was 8:30 in the evening and it wasn’t dark yet so it is a perfect opportunity to take that long overdue picture of Port Credit Lighthouse along Lakeshore Road.
We then went to Streetsville in Meadowvale, Mississauga to catch the fireworks display. Like last year, it was a pain to get a parking space since everybody seems to be going to that direction. After getting lucky to be parked, we walked. We haven’t been to the destination yet when the fireworks started – b@#$%r! So, from a distance, I set myself up to take a picture of the fireworks but it wasn’t really that good. I guess after watching the Double-10 celebration in Hong Kong back during the year of the British handover I wasn’t expecting anything that will top that experience. But this year’s firework display in Mississauga was the worse ever. Last year’s Port Credit fireworks display was a tad better. Turned out that our short walk wasn’t a drag after all since we were among the first one to clear the crowd back to were we were park and get out of the place (last year it took us more than an hour to get out of Port Credit). Maybe next year we’ll go to Toronto to see their fireworks display.
However, the lighthouse pictures at Port Credit turned out great.
St. Jacobs is a quaint village near Waterloo, Ontario here in Canada, about an hour drive from Toronto, and is well known for its Farmers’ Market and its big Old Order Mennonite community. We come here every Spring and Fall to buy the family’s favorite home made apple pies and marmalade – the Black Currant and Blueberry comes highly recommended. The organic fruits and vegetables you can find here are home grown by Mennonite farmers. There are some 600 vendors in the market (Farmers and Flea market) that sells everything from fresh meats, sausages, cheeses and pastries to antiques, books and boots. One thing I like about the shops here are the classic handicrafts (old English and contemporary) that you can buy to decorate your patio, kitchen, or just about any part of your house. If my mom will visit this place I know she’ll drool over these crafts. There are also lots of antiques and collectible products. Of course you can also find that in other flea markets but here you can find one that is of very good condition.
I can write more about St. Jacobs but I think pictures will speak louder than words.
We visited the Visitor Centre Museum and learned about the Mennonite Story. Watching the 15 minutes video presentation about the Mennonites Story makes one reflects about their simple lifestyle and not so dependent on new technologies. I can’t even imagine how challenging life would be without email and the internet. Watching the video reminds us to appreciate what we have, our progress and what our accomplishments are. I didn’t take any picture of the Order out of respect. You can normally see them in their horse drawn carriage in their black dress. Near the farmer’s market, there is a tour that will take you to the Mennonite farms. The tour will last an hour and half on a horse-drawn carriage.
