Thursday

Starting in the AM on Tuesday, Toronto started having a dreary weather spell lasting for three days at least. Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed home, but then Thursday I had to go out shopping. S took me to the Centennial Park Conservatory near his home. There was quite a contrast between the snow and cold outside and the beautiful flowers inside the warm greenhouse.

The place had a little bridge outside that would be beautiful in summer. Perhaps I'll get to visit in the future.

The outside of the greenhouse. I like the tree out in front.

The only flower I could name here is tulip, though there's other types of flowers, too. What a great splash of color right before Easter!

What you are seeing here is Angel the loud white parrot. Angel climbs up and down the bars of the cage and imitates other birds' calls with VERY loud squawking. Angel seems to have a diva personality and I imagine that he or she basked in attention before coming to this new home.

Flowers by the parrot cage.

Palm trees that remind me of California.

So many different species of trees and shrubs all crowded together.

Lovely walkway lined with succulents common in American desert landscapes.

View from the other end of the walkway, where there's a path circling back to the main part of the greenhouse.

Nice bench to rest near.

Are these parakeets?

This is what the wall of the greenhouse looks like, overrun with vines.

A little pond with koi.

Woah, there's even bamboo!

Looking up toward the roof and outside. See how tall the tree on the right is? I wonder how many years it has been there.

Another lovely bench amidst all the greenery. We have the Sago palm to the left of the bench in the 2005 home in California.

Another side wing of the greenhouse, where there are hyacinths, lilies, and more flowers I can't name.

Picture taken sitting from the bench you could see in the previous picture.

Closer view of flower bed.

Are those flowering broccoli in the front? I don't know what they are for sure, but I think they're neat.

Neither do I know what those pink ones are at the back, but I also think they're neat. The flowers open in a circle around the middle, and I haven't seen this kind of flower before.

And another selfie.

Easter baskets at the greenhouse. The basket on the right seems to be molded from green moss, and the pair of furry chicks are just adorable!

Central part of the greenhouse where the entrance/exit is.

One last look at the entrance/exit and the white parrot Angel.

Maybe we would've lingered here a bit longer, but I wanted to go to a bookstore and a mall to shop for gifts. Please ignore the pictures below. They're more for my own reference. More about the greenhouse, and some books I might want to read some other time. I'd rather buy books back in the US than Canada. The sales taxes in Toronto are 13%, much higher than the 6.5% that I would pay in Massachusetts. Even California is only about 9%, tops!