tour-guide duty

Had visitors this past week so I took some time off to spend it with them (otherwise I'd never get away from the office; I'm the sort to take my work too damn personal).

Picked up my cousin and her boyfriend from the train station late Tuesday evening. Got some Tim Horten's in us before coming back to the house (it's a pretty long drive when you think about it).

Wednesday: Rainy out, took our time. Made a big bacon-egg breakfast. Taught them to play Guitar Hero. Stopped by Taco Bell (unplanned, but we were hungry and and it was still rainy). Went to the Science and Tech Museum. Took a VR trip to Mars (it was pretty neat, like a miniature Hydroid'94). screen was a little bit on the small side... not sure how educational it was. Participated in an "Anatomy of a Murder" interactive exhibit. That was pretty cool. Cousin's boyfriend solved the case (I missed a very important clue at one of the stations that threw me off). Stopped at the mall to kill pre-supper hour. Stopped by Mongolian Village. It was a good except it felt weird because it wasn't actually a buffet - you paid by weight like a salad bar. I prefer the Great Khan in Toronto where it's paid one price and eat until you get sick. That way you're not constantly thinking about the price. Cousin forgot glasses and pills, so we called it a day and headed home.

Thursday: beautiful day out. Organized a picnic and ate in the park next door. I was introduced to "pinwheel sandwiches" - a spinach, red-pepper, cream-cheese in tortilla wrap affair that looks like sushi when cut up. More Guitar Hero for the afternoon. Saw Transformers and then stopped at Lone Star for Tex-Mex themed meal.

Friday: really weird day out. Lazy morning... more Guitar Hero. Introduced Taiko Drum Master (realized I hadn't needed to worry about coming up with boardgames or anything; my PS2 provided endless entertainment). Visited the Museum of Nature. It was... odd. My cousin did not remember going there (but I recall taking her before with her ex-boyfriend). However, it was hardly recognizable thanks to the construction going on (last time the other half was undergoing renovations). We saw a neat evolution-of-the-planet film presentation complete with lighting and wind and mist effects. Had Vietnamese "pho" noodles for supper. By this time we'd decided to watch the new Harry Potter movie after I'd get caught up (and they'd get refreshed).


Saturday: pissy weather - seemed nice at times, and at others it would rain unexpectedly. I took the tourists downtown for a Sharwarma lunch. The diner clearly wasn't dirty enough because the wraps we got were a little too touristy for my taste (its content was practically a salad rather than the greasy humus and pickled turnip I'm used to). We walked around and took in Parliament Hill. Stopped in a bookstore. Went for gelato (Italian-style ice-cream). Then made our way back to the car. Got take-out pizza (can't fool me; it tasted just like McCain Delissio!) at a local pizzeria. Then went out again for the movie... It was raining again when we left the theatre. Cousin was moaning about her vacation being over by then.

She made an omelette breakfast with some of the leftover stuff I had in the fridge. I brought them to the train station for noon and made our goodbyes. I came home and did some laundry ...the usual sort of thing and enjoyed being alone for a while.