I have just eaten one of the most fabulous meals of all time at the Monk Restaurant at The Templar Hotel in Toronto ... quite/very unexpected ... but VERY, VERY welcome indeed ...


This 27-bedroom boutique property is in the "entertainment/fashion" district of the city & is set in an unassuming 8-story modern building.


The property is named after The Saint ... Simon Templar ... It's a very highly designed hotel ... minimal ... functional ... and yes, even though I am an old soul, I am quite enjoying the look, feel and taste ...


My Suite - 2.3 - is quite Japanese ... all the furniture is modern, sleek but comfortable ... it is also Apple-tastic ... which for me is yuk .... but for Jack is divine. My bathtub is EIGHT feet long ...


There's a small spa & pool ... the Monk Bar (named after Thelonius) ... and loads of little modern touches.


It fully opens in September ... and will do rather well ...

Lunch ... Gin-Sin cocktail ... rose wine from Provence ... and delicious chicken & fresh fries!

The GM  - Andrew Van Buskirk ... with lovely Tanya (Front Office) ...

Our man from the Tourist Board - Rey ... 

Tim & the new cameraman - AWESOME chef - Roberto Fracchioni

Nice new Robert Graham shirt ...

Last night's view of the CN Tower from the Thompson hotel bar ... a delightful evening with the fabulous ladies from the Four Seasons ... 

The boys are out in Toronto filming the city in bright, warm sunshine ... I am stuck in my suite working ... hmmm ... there's something quite wrong there!

This morning, we sadly checked out of The Hazelton and headed out to the MIA - or Museum of Inuit Art. There are three groups of Aboriginal Canadians - First Nation, Metis and the Inuit. The Inuit can be found in Greenland, Russia and in the northern territories of Canada ... but some have more recently "moved south" to Ontario area...

They lived like the "Eskimo" ... in igloos ... in a rather harsh environment but still managed to express themselves in art - using soapstone, whale bone - and the more contemporary artists with pencil drawings. Tusk from walrus was fashioned into tools ...

The MIA (found in Queen's Quay Terminal) is the history of the Inuit through the art ... and with Alysa Procida, my guide, I was taken on a journey. Some of the art - especially the sculptures - are amazing ...

Tomorrow we film at The Templar - the boutique hotel I am now staying in.

At work

Sculpture

With Alysa

It's been Hazelton Hotel filming day ...


The hotel was opened in September 2007. It has 62 rooms & 15 suites.


There's a mini-cinema, spa with pool, therapy rooms and a gym, the One Restaurant - delicious cuisine from Chef Mark McEwan ... and if you sitting outide, you are in for a treat - and meetings rooms.


My suite - Avenue Suite - is 120 m2 in area - and like the rest of the hotel - was designed by the great interior design firm - YabuPushelberg ...


The living room has a love seat, large comfy sofas and superb views over Yorkville and Hazelton. There's a king-sized bed, marble/granite bathrooms, zebra wood walls, leather desks and headboard, complimentary mini-bar, espresso machine, champagne (!) ... and fabulous original Canadian art on the walls.


I am quite content here ... quite content indeed.

With the General Manager - David Mounteer ... actually an old hotel friend from Quebec!

What a day ... for a walk ... in the clouds ... virtually ...

Yes - no hands - 356 metres above the ground - on the Edge Walk at the CN Tower! Started in 1973 ... finished in 1976 ... is 553.33 metres tall! On 1st August 2011, the Edge Walk was opened ... 150 metres walk around the building! Scary - YES, fantastic - YES, on your bucket list ... YES, YES, YES!

With my safety officer - Erin

My guide - Peanut ... yes - that's her name! (well ... Margo actually) 

That's me ... at the front!

And from the top ... to the right ...

Afternoon was spent with Romanian fashion designer Lucian Mathis ... Fabulous fellow ... one of Canada's top new designers ... 

Erm - nice sunglasses!

The "new" Four Seasons Toronto - opens in October!


Song of the Day - Walk This Way - Run DMC & Aerosmith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk

Greetings from Toronto, Canada!


Have now settled into my first hotel .... after an easy but long daytime flight from London.


I think it was around 8 hours ... but with all the time changes in the past two weeks, it's all become rather confusing.


My BlackBerry has died ... funny really as BB comes from Canada ... maybe it's been waiting to come home to expire. It currently says that it is attached to the Bluetooth in my car ... which is several thousand miles away ... I think a change is coming to my mobile needs ...


I did not sleep on the flight over ... instead I watched not one, not two BUT three movies ... but only one to its conclusion.


1) John Carter ... I did start this last week but tried to finish it ... and didn't/couldn't/wouldn't. It's just a confusing mess that made me ... angry, frustrated and stupid ... if I had even 1% of the budget that the producers THREW at JC, I would be doing serious things with ILT (including retiring!!).


2) Salmon Fishing in Yemen ... I did watch this the whole way through as I was looking for some kind of logical story. I was advised to watch it by a dear friend ... and I totally got it ... but it was in the end ... a romantic, saccharine and fairy tale look at salmon ... fishing ... in ... Yemen ...


3) Hunger Games ... oh dear ... oh deary me ... oh dear! OK - so this is the worst remake of a movie I have ever seen ... the original Japanese "Battle Royale" was filled with humour, reality, acting, storylines and gore ... Hunger Games was ... um ... quite forgettable ...


So - that was my flight!


Anyway - now in Toronto - for a week - filled with ... filming fun ...


Sorry about my movie rant ... I watch so few ... and I should really choose better!

I would love to climb the CN Tower ... 

RAIN - has dominated every part of my day ...


THANKFULLY I have a 4 x 4 or I would have been stuck several times. Where I live, the worst flooding "in living memory" has been taking place ... and still is.


I did make the mistake of trying to get to my nearest town and it was a nightmare. Floods everywhere ... whole villages cut-off, dozens of houses flooded through, cars abandoned on the roadside ... awful ... simply awful ...


I have to drive to the airport tomorrow at 0500 ... hmm ... that should be interesting ...


Looking forward to Toronto tomorrow ... but it looks like a tricky week ahead.


Some photos that I have seen today of the flooding ... (yes, that's usually a road) ... 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!

He is so young, it's scary ... I am sure we will knock back a few (just a few) glasses of beer next week in Toronto to celebrate!


HAPPY WEEKEND everybody!

It's just coming up to 9 pm and the evening sun is streaming into my office.


It's quite warm and I am listening to that depressing fellow Morrissey ...


I have had some time to reflect on Costa Rica ... even though we ventured into the rainforest, I did not get bitten much by the mozzies ... which was fabulous!


I abseiled down a 100 metre rock, whitewater rafted, did some horseback riding through a jungle, caught TWO huge fish in the Pacific Ocean, played some awesome golf (the words of Tim) .. oh and did some zip-lining (see South Park episode ... ). Wow! I feel like a real adventurer.


Talking of adventure - has anyone watched John Carter? Edgar Rice Burrows (Tarzan) must be having a fit in heaven ... what a truly awful movie!


ANYWAY - my favourite memories of the past week revolve around rocking-chairs. I had two in my suite at El Silencio ... and - on a daily basis - made the most of the ones at the Spa at the Four Seasons. I have decided to source one for me ...


I can see it now - me, rocker, cigar, whisky and Pooch ... how old am I? Around 87 ... ha! 


Song of the Day: Suedehead - Morrissey 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AvuweztG4Q

What a view!

Who needs a spa treatment? (I did have one actually!)

A long, long, LONG flight home ... compounded with delays at Atlanta.


Now at an airport hotel at Heathrow as I have meetings tomorrow ...


The past 8 days have totally exhausted me ... now need to get some rest before Sunday ... Canada ... Toronto ...

I love horseback riding ...

Hasta la vista Costa Rica ...


This has been one big adventure ... abseiling (rappelling), whitewater rafting, horseback riding, fishing (whoohoo x 2), zip lining, golfing ... I can't wait to see a fully edited version of this episode!


My two resort properties - El Silencio (set in the rainforest) and Four Seasons (beach) offered such varied but excellent luxury experiences ...


The everlasting memory of this trip will be the wonderful, friendly, pleasant, polite and beautiful ladies & gentlemen of Costa Rica ...


Next stop - Toronto!


Song of the Day (& arguably my life) - Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A

Action Tim ... zipping with camera in tow

"On the seventh day, Jack created all this ...."

Fishing - for me - is like waiting for a bus ... for twelve years, I am lucky to catch one ... then suddenly I get TWO ... and these aren't small buses (fish) ... they were ENORMOUS!!!


Up VERY early and headed down to the Papagayo Marina - 15 minutes drive from the resort. I met up with the MP Operations Manager - Dan Eaffaldano - and we hopped onto the Fish Tale 2 - with Captain Rick Morrow. We only had three hours to film this feature so we decided that we could trawl/line fish for around 45 minutes.


FIRST - we/I caught a 40 pound (18 kgs) Cuberra Snapper ... I was VERY happy but we had 15 minutes of the allocated time available when once again, the line went crazy. THIS time, we/I caught a 55 pound (25 kgs) Almaco Jack ... they were HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE fish ... I was exhausted by my efforts ... but the catch looked so cool ...


Popped back to the resort for my suite review. FS Costa Rica was opened January 2004 ... and has 175 rooms, suites and residences. I am in a Canopy Suite with a plunge pool ... with superb views of the Baya Culebra (snake) ... and the Playa Blanca ...


Then we headed off to Witch's Rock for the Canopy Tour (Zip Lining). The boss - Chuck Kramer is a fabulous chap and even came with us on the 11 line, 2 kms tour. One of the lines is 450 feet above the ground and one zips past a waterfall ...


I AM EXHAUSTED!!!!


I am having sushi for dinner (yumyum) ... breaking my one meal a day rule ... BUT I need energy ... to sleep ... ha!


WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"and the Award for Best Pizza in any hotel or resort worldwide goes to ... The Four Seasons, Costa Rica! Yay .... !"


Those who know me will be aware that my favourite "food group" is pizza ... and after devouring several hundred in hotels or resorts I am in the ideal position to judge the good from the bad ... today, I had THE best.


I awoke early to find the sun shining and the sky blue. The rain had FINALLY abated!


First up, the General Manager interview with the lovely Pascal Forotti. He's from Luxembourg and has been here for just over a year.


From there I headed down to the golf course ... not for golf (initially) but to meet with Jay Miller who runs the "Trail of Giants Tour" - a fascinating look at the Papagayo Peninsula through the wildlife that surrounds the golf course. It was thoroughly enjoyable ... and interesting. I met a few white-faced monkeys ... cute.


Then I actually played the course with the Director of Golf - Eric Pickering. We played three holes - Par 3, 4 and 5 ... AND I par'd all three holes ...! Whoohoo! The course is often voted as one of the finest resort courses in the world ... my advice is to go on The Trail first ... THEN play the course! It's so much more fun ...


Lunch was THE pizza ... I am still savouring the delicious flavours!


With the sun still shining, we headed to the beach to FINALLY film the "food piece" with Executive Sous Chef - Jonathan Sudar. We cooked a local dish - casado - which is made of beans, mahi mahi, rice, tortilla, tomato salad  ... all washed down with a Chilean pinot noir ... delicious!


Up early tomorrow.


Song of the Day: The Show Must Go On - Queen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ADh8Fs3YdU

With Pascal

With Jay

A man of great knowledge ...

Boom!

With Eric

With Jonathan