On Saturday we went to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), or The Ex as the annoying ads keep calling it. For the Perth/Australian folks, it’s the Canadian equivalent of the Royal Show but slightly less manic.
We’d bought tickets through Glen’s work, buying an all-day pass with rides included. It cost us about $34 each with the discount. Ordinarily they’re about $50. You can buy tickets for $16 that just have the admission and no rides but Glen was keen to do a few.
We arrived shortly after 10am when it opened. Stalls were still being set up while the small crowd trickled in. Because it was so early there weren’t many people in there so, unlike the Perth Royal Show, you weren’t pushing against hoards of people to get in. And this on a Saturday too. The other main difference was the lack of show bags on sale. I think that’s probably a good thing.
We checked out The Farm first, looking at pigs, sheep, goats, horses, llamas and sculptures made out of butter. Then into the arts and crafts pavilion, which was really just filled with shops, rather than people displaying their prowess for cake decorating, macrame or flower arranging. Then we hit the rides.
The wristband we got with our ticket allowed us to go on any rides we wanted as often as we liked (except the big zipline that went across the park). I haven’t been on rides for a while and I’m usually not a fan but Glen is for some reason. Our first ride was called Polar Express. I wanted to wait to see what it actually did before climbing aboard but Glen was insistent to get on it. He should have listened to me. It went backwards, really fast, and seemed to go on forever. Felt quite ill by the end of it. Neither of us liked it very much.
Next we went on the Crazy Mouse rollercoaster and shared a pod with two too-cool-for-school 11 or 12 year old girls. I screamed more than they did. I think I also laughed more and had more fun. Children are weird and slightly boring.
As we pulled into the stop my right calf felt really cramped and painful. When I touched it, a big lump had appeared so I’d ruptured/burst something. And it was painful to walk for a while. Luckily Glen was there to semi-allay my fears that it was a DVT and I would need to go to hospital immediately. He did recommend elevating it but that would mean not seeing anything else, and of course, that wasn’t an option.
We then went on another roller coaster (because that’s smart) and again I made more noise than the two girls in front of us. Then we went on a water ride and then a giant slide. I’d had enough “fun” by that point and it seemed so had Glen. There were other rides, mostly those spinning ones, but Glen wasn’t keen so I didn’t have to be enthused.
We then jumped on the chairlift – which kept stopping along the way – and got off at another pavilion with more shops/booths. There was also a really cool sand sculpture display and a rock balancing garden. We caught the 12:30 super dog show, which was packed with people. I surprised myself, cheering for dogs as they ran the obstacle courses. There were some beautiful dogs in there and I was pleased to hear than 40% of the super dogs were rescue dogs.
Contrast this high energy and popular display with the cat judging going on in a nearby tiny room done in quiet seriousness. Very stark.
By then it was time for food, we went to the big food pavilion and got some stuff to eat. There was a Greek yoghurt stall that made different types of mixed yoghurts. There was a Greek salad with Greek yoghurt, a deconstructed peanut butter and jelly Greek yoghurt (this is the one I had) and a salmon Greek yoghurt with salad (that Glen had). Interesting concept but tasty (a woman pushing a pram recommended it to us just after she’d bought her Greek salad from them. I stared at her food in horror but it seemed to work).
By the time we’d finished eating, our energy, paradoxically, had waned and we were ready to go home. Four hours was the upper reaches of our enjoyment. We quickly headed back (via seeing some miniature horses with carts) to buy some succulents for Glen (who’s put them in some glass fishbowls and they look really good) and I bought a pizza stone. We then left to catch the bus and subway home. By then it was also starting to get really crowded with people.
So we’ve seen The Ex now, which means we won’t have to check it out next year. I think the Royal Show back home puts on more and has greater value for your ticket but for a day out it’s not bad. I’d probably have preferred to see more animals and sample more food but for what we got, we were happy.
We had a nap when we got home then went and bought some things to make pizzas on our new pizza stone. Made the dough fresh in the Thermomix and everything. Of course, it all takes a bit longer than is ideal so we didn’t eat until about 9pm but the resulting pizzas were delicious. Pizza stone, where have you been all my life? (Yes, I know, pizza is a sometimes-food.)
In the evening, about 10:30, we headed to Club 120 far down Church St to go to a swimsuit-themed party that a friend of ours was performing at. His boyfriend had also reserved the balcony area and bought bottles of booze for everyone so it turned into a great party. The show was pretty good, various drag queens and performers dancing to beach-inspired music. Oh, and a protest version of Rasputin.
I’m amazed at how protesting the Russian law on gay propaganda has gained so much traction, whereas the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda received such little.
We stayed at the club until it closed at 3 (alcohol stopped being served at 2) then went back to Kevin and Adam’s place with a bunch of people. The tap in the kitchen sink broke and water gushed out for about half an hour or so until a neighbour came to our rescue with the right tool, found the hole in the wall and shut off the valve. Water everywhere. We had just been to a swimsuit party after all. At 4am though we were ready for bed so we left. It was a great night though (the only downside is getting very little sleep).
Travels with Dan 
What do you say, eh?