Here is what it looks like from outside. The funny thing is that you don't go in these front doors - that's where the Stanley Cup and all the other trophies are kept, along with a plaque for every person that is honored in the Hall of Fame. Outside of the building, there's a statue of kids leaning over the bench area of a hockey arena - we had fun taking our photos there - along with other crazy hockey fans.
This is the first thing you see when you finish paying to get in...ha ha. There are actually 2 statues, this one was the easiest to photograph.
Then I took alot of Oiler-player photos (of course).
All the NHL trophies are in here - fun to look at. This 1st photo with GJA in it is the remains of the 1st Stanley Cup.
I 'had' to take a photo close up of the Stanley cup - this is the Oiler's 1984-85 winning of the cup.
These next 2 photos are in a Canadian's locker room (which is always on display). You could put it all on, if you wanted...there was also full goalie gear too. Its the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadians being in existence...so there was alot of Montreal stuff there then just this locker room.
Then I took alot of Oiler-player photos (of course).
We decided to get up to the trophy room quickly, in case it got busy and we wanted to get photos of the Stanley Cup without alot of waiting. The 1st thing you see as you walk up the stairs is the stained glass dome, which rises to a 45-foot-high. It is the largest stained glass dome in Toronto. The other parts of the ceiling were very ornate too.
All the NHL trophies are in here - fun to look at. This 1st photo with GJA in it is the remains of the 1st Stanley Cup.
There's a very long glass wall that has a glass tile for every person that was inducted into the hall of fame.
I 'had' to take a photo close up of the Stanley cup - this is the Oiler's 1984-85 winning of the cup.
These next 2 photos are in a Canadian's locker room (which is always on display). You could put it all on, if you wanted...there was also full goalie gear too. Its the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadians being in existence...so there was alot of Montreal stuff there then just this locker room.
We were there quite awhile. There are interactive game where you try to be a goalie and pucks are shot at you (we didn't try, but the kids were having fun). There was also a movie on the history of the Stanley cup, which was very interesting. Here's our parting gift....
While we were there, there was a huge rain storm....so we decided to walk back to our hotel through the PATH tunnels. The Royal York hotel (http://www.fairmont.com/royalyork/ ) is just before our hotel, so we stopped to take some photos. Its very similar to the Hotel Macdonald, Banff Springs Hotel, Empress Hotel, etc.
While we were there, there was a huge rain storm....so we decided to walk back to our hotel through the PATH tunnels. The Royal York hotel (http://www.fairmont.com/royalyork/ ) is just before our hotel, so we stopped to take some photos. Its very similar to the Hotel Macdonald, Banff Springs Hotel, Empress Hotel, etc.
It was opened in June 1929 and was the tallest building in the British Commonwealth at that time. Although the years have brought changes, many features are still intact - hand-painted ceilings, travertine pillars, ornate furnishings, crystal chandeliers and wall hangings. It's been used in alot of movies.
We had a few hours to waste before our night with The Sound of Music, so we walked through the tunnels to Eaton's Centre (http://www.torontoeatoncentre.com/EN/centreinfo/Pages/default.aspx) again. Here are some photos from inside the mall.
We had dinner...then off to the play! It was amazing! It was all I could do to not sing along. Its slightly different from the movie, but I guess the play came first, so the film was different from the play. The sets were beautiful and changed so easily you could barely tell it was happening. They had a 'hill' on hydraulics so it looked like she was running up and down hills when she was singing the Sound of Music song. They also used that at the end when they were fleeing the Nazi. There was one scene when all these swastikas came down and men with machine guns game out...GJA & I both commented that it was unnerving to see them.
We had dinner...then off to the play! It was amazing! It was all I could do to not sing along. Its slightly different from the movie, but I guess the play came first, so the film was different from the play. The sets were beautiful and changed so easily you could barely tell it was happening. They had a 'hill' on hydraulics so it looked like she was running up and down hills when she was singing the Sound of Music song. They also used that at the end when they were fleeing the Nazi. There was one scene when all these swastikas came down and men with machine guns game out...GJA & I both commented that it was unnerving to see them.
Here are some photos of the photos outside the theatre of the play (and me standing outside the theatre). (http://www.mirvish.com/OurTheatres/Princess.html)
My feet were killing me by the end of the day (well...after 2 days of standing/walking on concrete). We did about 4100 steps that day - for a total of about 5 and 1/2 miles.
