We spent a long weekend in Hamilton, Ontario to attend a birthday party for my aunt, my father’s younger sister, who was about to turn 100. The Air Canada labour dispute caused us to cancel our Air Canada reservations and book on WestJet–for a much higher price and a more inconvenient route, of course. But we made it there and back.

We stayed downtown at the Sheraton, which was convenient to two things important for me–the art gallery and the farmer’s market. It was in an area which, to put it kindly, is in transition. There were streets with highly recommended restaurants and also individuals who looked un-housed. We were told by the hotel security not to use the interior hallways of the adjacent mall when stores were closed because it was “unsafe”.

We walked in the heat and humidity to Berkeley North for our first dinner.

The “corn ribs” were cut up cobs of corn, grilled and with different sauces. Very flavourful and messy to eat.

The next morning, after I bought a basket of peaches at the farmers’ market, we went to the Art Gallery of Hamilton, which had free admission because of an anonymous donor. The main exhibition was a Canadian painter, Helen McNicol, considered Canada’s first female impressionist, who died young in 1915 from diabetes complications. Sadly, Banting had yet to discover insulin.

Her works were very easy to appreciate. She liked women and children as subjects but also landscapes.

Local sculptor’s work at the Gallery:

We spent the afternoon at my aunt’s party, then visiting at one of my cousin’s homes.

The next day we took a small group tour to Niagara Falls and area.

The rain probably kept the tourist crowds not too large. We skipped getting a boat tour — I get seasick — and had lunch at the Skylon Tower.

The rest of the tour along the Niagara Parkway was less scenic, although the whirlpool was a curious phenomenon.

We bought more peaches and had a wine tasting of some wines from Pillitteri Estates. Some were unusual grape combinations but we did not find them to be worth the effort of shipping home.

We had dinner in Burlington, a short drive from Hamilton, at a restaurant with views of Lake Ontario. Unfortunately, we weren’t sitting next to the windows so my photo doesn’t show the lake.

Then it was an entire day returning home because we had to connect in Edmonton. And while carrying a basket overflowing with peaches.

That’s the last of our short summer travels. Next month: Italy!