They took me back with them to Stu's house where his mother kindly heated me up some salmon pasta which was absolutely scrumptious! After that we had Pavlova for dessert. Double yummy! We finished off the night with a game of Lord of the Rings Monopoly. I lost terribly when landing on one of Kate's spaces bankrupted me. It was okay though because Stu won by a landslide due to a sly business deal he made with his mother. He gave her the the LOTR equivilant to Boardwalk for a piece of real estate she had near the jail. Plus the other part of the deal was they could land on each other's spaces and not pay rent. Kate and I didn't stand a chance. After that we went to bed.

The next morning Stu's mom made us blueberry and strawberry pancakes. After breakfast we headed to Museum station where we met Greg. When I saw Greg outside the turnstyles I was so excited! It had been a year since I last saw him! It ended up being this big long group hug in the Subway station.

We headed into the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). They had a really neat egyptian exhibit but it was so crowded it was hard to get to see everything. Greg and I spent most of the time there catching up. I've really missed him but it was like that whole year since I last saw him melted away as we chatted. It was too bad I only had one day to spend with him.

After the ROM we headed over to Greg's ice cream on Bloor street. They make fantastic ice cream! They make this amazing roasted marshmallow ice cream which is their own secret recipe! Totally fantastic! Because it was so close to dinner I didn't want to eat anything because it would spoil my dinner at the Mandarin. The Mandarin was my favourite pig out spot in TO when I was living there last year. I can't remember how many times Greg and I conned everyone into going there for dinner.

When we got to the area that the Mandarin is in we were an hour early for our reservation. The movie theatre was also in the same general area so we decided to check out movie start times. It turned out that eternal sunshine of the spotless mind started too late for Greg so we decided that we would go see something else. The other options were Girl with the Pearl Earring and Jersey Girl.

After that we had time to run into the Indigo book store across the mall and I managed to track down Ryan's book on Adobe Encore. Stu and I sat and compared two books till we figured out which we thought would be more useful.

Upon arriving at the Mandarin we thanked Greg profusely for getting us a reservation because the line up to get in was way too long! We indulged ourselves in plates of Chinese food. It was fabulous! After dinner we headed off to see Jersey Girl.

The movie was ok. It was a far cry from Kevin Smith's usual cynical movies. I'm not sure what I thought of it really. It was cute but a little too hollywood for Kevin Smith. In that way it was disappointing.

After the movie we headed back to our respective subways and headed home to bed.

On Sunday Kate and I went over to her Aunt and Uncle's for brunch. It was in honour of Ann's birthday. Kate's Aunt made corn chowder, quiche and asparagas. For dessert we had cranberry muffins with ice cream and strawberries. Kate bought Ann devil duckie who had his own song on his packaging. "Devil duckie you are awfully radioactive tonight!" (He glows in the dark) She also got her a wind up swimming lobster which we tested in a big pot of water!

We had a great visit with Donald and Carol. I hadn't had a chance to see them since I was in Toronto last year. We didn't stay late because Kate's uncle was tired and needed to rest.

After that Kate and Ann helped me find a store called Solstice which sold Foxy Originals jewelery. (It is a line of jewelery that is designed by two girls who attended Western University) It's really cool stuff! It's all original and they are super cool designs! I bought one for me, Kathryn and Krysta.

Before I had left for TO I had checked out their website http://www.foxyoriginals.com and picked out some of the designs that I liked. I also bought a necklace made by a Vancouver designer. I ended up spending FAR TOO much money there! Mostly because I didn't see a price tag on the one necklace by the Vancouver artist.

Kate walked me back to Union where I caught the Go bus to Mississauga.

I made it to my Aunt's for dinner later than I was supposed to but we had a nice visit anyway. Auntie Janet made this awesome roast chicken from the Naked Chef cookbook. So we sipped wine and watched Trailer Park boys which their Newfie sailing partner Glenn had introduced them to. Went to bed after that though cause I was really exhausted!

Monday was shopping day. Kate and Elaine and I spent the day perusing the stores in Square one Mall. It's my favourite mall down there. I bought some t-shirts at Old Navy, jeans at Reitmans and some really awesome bras at Gap body! I have never ever worn a bra so comfortable!

We checked out this cool store where you get to build your own teddy bear! You get to stuff it and then pick out clothes for it from a huge selection of outfits! There was everything from a mountie uniform to a hawaiian shirt! Plus glasses and boots and hats! Then you name your bear and they give you a birth certificate for him/her! I definitely have to go back there and build a bear for myself!

That night my Aunt made her famous tomato vodka pasta sauce. It's so delicious! After dinner we watched Rick Mercer's Monday report and then Inspector Morse. After that it was off to bed because I had a big day the next day with Stu.

Stu and I met at Union Station at 10am. He took me on a tour of downtown TO. He took me into a couple of really cool buidings. I really should have took more pictures.

We visited his Mom at William Ashley where she works as a florist. She gave me the grand tour. I'd never seen more expensive china in my whole entire life. I was afraid to breathe in there for fear I would knock something over.

Stu's Mom gave me a beautiful rose to take with me but unfortunately I decapitated it with my umbrella. It was pouring cats and dogs that whole day. My feet were making squishy noises when I walked after that.

Stu took me through China town and bought me a coconut Chinese bun. It was yummy and by that point I was really hungry.

We then began scouring various computer stores for a USB key for my Dad and a video capture card for me. We went to three and eventually found exactly what I needed. I was so excited knowing I could now edit video on my computer!

Along our travels around town we passed the new Ontario College of Art building which has got to be the strangest and coolest thing I've seen in a long time. I took some shots of it because I couldn't explain it if I tried.

Kate met up with us after her class. Upon which time we searched for a place to eat lunch. Stu took us to an AWESOME pizza place. They had every type of pizza you can imagine and they are all cooked in a stone oven! And the portions were HUGE! It was fabulous.

After downing our pizza we took a stroll up Yonge street and then it was time to head back to Union cause I had to catch my train back to Mississauga. We sat in Union for about an hour talking till my train came. Stu and Kate plan on coming up to Tbay in July for Mandy and Ryan's wedding.

My Aunt had a curling game to get to so she had to drop me off at the airport early. I found my way to my gate and was much surprised to find it wasn't the last gate at the complete opposite end of the terminal like it usually is. I settled into a chair with In Touch magazine and a twix bar.

I'd been sitting there for about ten minutes when a lady came and sat beside me. She wanted to know if I was waiting for the plane to Thunder Bay. I told her I was and she explained how she had been sitting at a different gate for 2 hours. She told me that she was from the Phillipines and had left three girls and her husband there to come and be a caregiver for a lady in Thunder Bay. She'll be living with the lady because this woman has MS and can hardly walk anymore.

She wants to bring her family over here but she has to work for two years before she can do that. I can't imagine coming to a new country leaving my family behind knowing I wouldn't see them for 2 years! Such courage!

As it turned out a couple of other people had been waiting at the same wrong gate. There was absolutely no announcement as to the gate change. I guess us Thunderbayites aren't that important.

I ended up chatting with another woman who was carrying two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts back home to her family. I also talked to this nice retired woman who had just come back from a month in Arizona with her new boyfriend. There are so many friendly people in Thunder Bay.