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On Saturday I met my friend for dinner at Mount Everest for dinner. We had beer, Aloo Tama Bodi, Bhuteko Cauli, naan and spice tea. It was a cool night and it was lovely to be in the wrapped in the warmth of Nepalese spices.

After dinner we walked down the road to visit our friend Peter at his bar. We had a couple of beers and joined in the hilarity at the bar which included some disingenuous speculation about whether I was a teenager in the 70s or still just a twinkle in my father's eye, whether Chiliwack ever covered the song Red, Red Wine and the image Sarah Palin invoked when she spoke of Putin's rearing head, why the premier of Russia is named after the delectable Quebeçois delicacy, whether in fact Ms. Palin was actually referring to poutine, what it would mean if the polar ice cap was made of cheese curds and if it were melting we could plant potatoes along the tree line and as the melting cheese hit the potato line, we could fly over with crop dusters loaded with gravy and create a poutine line.

After all that, we wandered out to join the nuit blanche goings on. Our first stop was the ROM. As we were walking up the ramp we could hear some pretty powerful violin-fronted music that, because I was a teenager in the 70s, made me think of Jean-Luc Ponty. It was actually Dr. Draw. We liked the band a lot and stayed until they finished their set.

After the ROM we went to the Church of the Redeemer to enjoy the excellent cushioned seats and the sounds of Urban Preacher. Get it? Good one Nuit Blanche. We wandered around Yorkville, sent a postcard (I drew an anarchy a on mine) to I am not sure who and used the toilets at the 4 Seasons Hotel. Our wanderloop brought us back to Bloor and Avenue and the Gardiner Museum where we checked out the collection and the special exhibit about migrant workers from Mexico, Harvest of Memories. As it dawned on us that we were looking at pottery at 2:30 in the morning, we suddenly felt weird and tired and went home.

On Sunday I met another pal at High Park for another wander and a harvest festival. It was fine autumn day. We went on a tour of Colborne Lodge. Our guide told us the history of the lodge in a most entertaining and engaging way and then took us to the kitchen where the cook gave us cookies and Darby Cakes.

That evening I rode over to the Young Centre to listen to Nuno Cristo and his band Anima Fado. A perfect end to a perfect Toronto weekend.