“A provocative and engaging exploration of our evolving relationship with the rest of nature”

The ludicrous title of this blog is what The Guardian wrote, in a book review, on Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (an informative book with a exceptional sense of humour).  When the left can finally get a joke, send me a telegram.

Gorgeous morning.  Hot.  And, yes, humid.  Took public transit to the zoo, which lies in the southern suburbs of the city in a neighbourhood called Western Springs.

We spent the morning (along with a fair number of school groups) admiring mostly laissez faire animals.  “Attention to detail” zoos, the ones with spacious enclosures that resemble natural habitat, are a sort of two-edged sword.  On the one hand, they are doing a magnificent job ensuring species are protected and cared for in a sensitive and supportive environment.  Heck, the Auckland rhino’s just had a baby.  But at the same time it’s a zoo, right?  It’s animals on display, and, technically, that is not any animal’s natural habitat.  Seth Meyers had an animal guy, as late night hosts do, but there was a sloth on the show one night, and they locked eyes, Seth and the sloth, and the sloth had that look (as Seth put it, “like many guests”) which said “I don’t want to be here.”  And that’s the zoo conundrum.  When you go are you supporting a positive thing or a misguided thing?  Well, for us, it was simply a decent morning out.

We took public transit back to the waterfront for lunch, then dawdled around “the hood” before I decided on a siesta and then some hydrotherapy.  What is the point of checking into a hotel with all sorts of services and not enjoying them?  So, first, I swam laps on the 25 meter infinity lap pool, then took a sauna, a hot whirlpool, a cold whirlpool, and repeated.  Soon enough it was time for dinner.

 

We went to a Lebanese place called Gemmayze Street in St. Kevin’s Arcade off K-Street where the food was stellar and the service complacent.  (St. Kevin.  Look it up; real guy.  Irish. Then Google “How Kevins Got a Bad Rap in France” [here] and have a laugh.)

Not much to blog about when you spend half the day by the pool.