On Tuesday August 22nd, one month before our milestone 5th anniversary, Sonia and I went on a very special outing.
Sonia is a fan of the Food & Beverage magazine that you can pick up for free at any LCBO outlet. It is very good for getting recipe ideas for unique and very tasty dishes. While scanning through the material, an ad with a picture of a beatiful sailboat caught her eye. Upon further reading the ad turned out to be for a tour company that offers sailing excursions out of Toronto Harbour that takes you around Toronto Island and the waters of Lake Ontario in and around the city. The price was fair (I forget exactly but something like $180 per person comes to mind) and what was offered was a 3 hr tour on a 30 ft yacht with 6-8 other people that includes lessons, wine tasting and cheese tasting followed by a 4 course meal (with a wine pairing for each course) at the Toronto Yacht Club on the island at sunset. Then a quick jaunt back into the harbour in the dark to see the lights of the city.
What sealed the deal was the wine AND cheese tasting on the boat and that one of the dinner courses was a cheese plate served with port.
The weather was perfect: 25 Celcius, no clouds and a moderate breeze. The boat was beautiful and I got to do some ‘captaining’ much to the dismay of the other passengers who were on the deck getting tossed about (just kidding).
There was a wine expert on our yacht (there were three yachts in total sailing that day) who insisted on making sure our glasses were full. The unfortunate thing is that I cannot remember the wines we had nor the cheeses we had and it’s killing me. They were some of the tastiest cheeses I’ve ever had and they all hailed from Ontario or Quebec. Some of the cheeses were so creamy it was literally sinful.
The waterfront/cityscape of Toronto doesn’t seem to be that awe inspiring when driving along Lakeshore or on the Gardiner. But from the lake on a yacht the view is quite remarkable – including the ‘eyesore’ called the Roger’s Centre. During the day and in particularly at night the city looks quite serene and pleasant. I would rank the view up there with skylines I’ve seen from the water such as Boston or San Francisco (but not Sydney – nothing beats Sydney).
The stop at the Yacht Club was unreal. It was impossible to believe that the club was only a couple kilometers from the heart of the city. The island seemed so secluded – as if you were somewhere in the Muskokas. The noise and view of the city were concealed resulting in a peaceful oasis within the busiest area in Canada.
Dinner was when all the people signed up that day could get together with the staff and captains and have a grand 4 course dinner. Again, I forget the dinner, cheese and wines. What’s important is that they were decadent and rich.
Below are some photos of the excursion. We got to know a couple on the boat with us that we spent most of our time with that were smart enough to bring a camera and emailed us some of the shots they took. It was splendid way to spend a 5th anniversary fulfilling many of the pleasures that both Sonia and I enjoy – being on the water, sipping wine, tasting fine foods and simply being in a special moment together.
