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Greetings!
 Spring. Finally! That time of year when all good
Canadians look back and say, "That wasn't so bad, was it!" -
especially when you look forward and see the green returning to this
beautiful city carved out of a forest.
It really is a wonderful time to visit, before the summer crush
(though be assured, we welcome your visit then, too!), a time to
explore the many and diverse neighbourhoods that make up this World
Within A City, to shop and stroll and generally just "enjoy"!
See you soon!
Rog & Jim
| Hairspray comes to Toronto |
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 Opening April 8, it's Broadway's biggest musical comedy
phenomenon: Hairspray takes you back to 1962, as
16-year-old Tracy Turnblad sets out to dance her way onto TV's
most popular show. Can a big girl with big dreams - and even
bigger hair - change the world and still have time to win the
boy she loves? This mega-hit is piled bouffant-high with
laughter, romance and enough deliriously tuneful new songs to
fill a nonstop platter party.
Many of you are familiar with our unrivalled theatre
connections, so you will know: if you want the best seats to
the best productions, give us 7 days' notice and come stay
with us.
 The Producers is getting nothing but the best
reviews from our guests. And the Abba musical Mamma
Mia!,continues to have everyone dancing in the aisle.
Our new Dinner & Theatre packages include your choice
of any of these great musicals and dinner in our favourite
upscale Yorkdale eatery, Cantine Restaurant.
Other
Theatre packages... »
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| The Travelling Rog & Jim
Show |
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 Dubai! What a place! Once a small fishing settlement,
Dubai was taken over in 1830 by a tribe led by the Maktoum
family who still rule the emirate today. The discovery of oil
in 1966 completely transformed the emirate.
The forward thinking Maktoums, realizing that oil is a
depletable resource, have worked hard to make Dubai the
fastest growing tourist destination in the world. So, we just
had to go see!
The contrasts are breathtaking. The world's most striking
modern architecture (including the world's tallest hotel, and
soon, the tallest office building) soars out of the market
souks and exotica of old Arabia. Bikini-clad Russians share
the beaches with local women draped head to toe in black
abayas. Brightly lit six-lane highways cut through endless
desert landscapes.
Dubai is a shopper's paradise. There was even a whole
shopping mall devoted to cell phones! Despite the fact that
nothing is manufactured in Dubai (no Emerati china added to
our collection) we did buy a magnificent Persian carpet for
the Penthouse Suite.
Returning from a desert paradise to Canada in November can
be a shock to your system, so we made  a quick trip to Victoria BC in January to warm
up a bit. There we enjoyed staying with our B&B colleagues
and friends, at Gardenridge Bed and Breakfast in Victoria,
and Wedgwood
House near Nanaimo. Both heartily recommeneded! Quick
tours, a reception with several more B&B colleagues, and a
reuinion with Jim's sister Joy from across the Strait
completed the weekend.
Next? It's South Africa! Details next newsletter!
New York City and Dubai »
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| A Look at ... SHAPE |
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 For the full year that we've been in this location,
we've celebrated our relationship with Shape Health and
Wellness Centre, just a short jog away. But recently, we got
much closer. And it feels soooo good!
Not just a spa, it's more like a club, offering a full
range of fitness and weight training, and spa relaxation
facilities. Additional services include Yoga and Pilates, a
health bar, nutrition counseling, vitamins and supplements,
and educational seminars.
 Their personable staff is waiting for our guests,
with single and couples' massages, manicures, pedicures and
facials; and their facilities are available on a day-to- day
basis exclusively for our guests.
Try it. You'll LOVE it!
The Shape
Experience... »
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| Hurry ... while we're still
here! |
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| No, we're not moving to New Zealand, already. But we
are slipping away, pound by excess pound.
One day, a button pops. The next day, Suzanne Somers is on
our bedside table, and there's eggplant in the fridge. Rog is
swimming 50 laps a day, Jim has a personal trainer three times
a week at Shape, and ... six weeks later ... there's 45 pounds
less of us!
Before and After pictures? Stay tuned. Maybe next time!
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| What's On in TO |
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| Many of our guests take advantage of our location in
the midst of some of the greatest museums on the continent.
Threre is always something new, old and borrowed just a short
walk from our door.
At the foot of the street is The Royal
Ontario Museum, currently exhibiting Eternal
Egypt - Masterpieces of Ancient Art from the British
Museum, till June 6. A special invitation is extended to
all: Join us in the Afterlife.
Across
the street,The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
has a permanent ceramics exhibit of the ancient Americas,
Italian renaissance maiolica, seventeenth-century English
pottery, and eighteenth- century European porcelain.
Just
a block away from this is The Bata
Shoe Museum. Over 10,000 shoes are housed in
architect Raymond Moriyama's award-winning 5 storey structure.
Artifacts on exhibit range from Chinese bound-foot shoes and
ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut crushing clogs and Elton
John's platforms. That's a pair from Madonna, above.
Or,
join us on an all-day Group of Seven adventure starting
with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in the
quaint village of the Kleinburg, then back to the downtown Art
Gallery of Ontario, and the little- known treasure of the
Thompson Gallery, atop the Hudson's Bay store in downtown
Toronto, escorted by Betty Ann Jordan.
Find out more....
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