Last night we headed out to Korea Town with Chan and his friend Diana. Chan’s recently moved into a new place so we went to check it out and then get some grub. We went to a Korean restaurant (what else are you going to eat in Korea Town?) called Lim Ga Ne that had been recommended to us.

The place was busy so it looked promising. My heart sank a little when we checked out the menu – after taking a seat. No chicken anywhere, leaving beef and pork the main meat being offered. In the end, I chose a bibimbap with no meat. There were some interesting things on the menu like beef intestine and clotted ox blood. No one ventured there though.

Glen had the same as me, except with beef. Chan and Diana shared a huge serving of bbq beef that was cooked at the table. This came with a whole range of side dishes, rice and a soup to share between them. The waitress said it would only do two people; in fact it would have done four. Regrettably there was a lot of food left over at the end.

We left around 9pm, three of us heading home while Chan went to meet some other friends at a club. Glen and I were really ready for bed. We’ve been using a sleep app on our iPhones that tracks how well we’re sleeping, whether we’re awake, asleep or in deep sleep. Mine’s been all over the place and I don’t think I’ve slept well since arriving in Toronto.

The app shows a slightly erratic sleep pattern, not helped by having no set bed time and a floppy-floppy wake-up (Glen gets up at 6, leaves at 7, I get up some time after that even though I wake up at 6 with him and then drift for another two hours). Getting into a proper routine (for everything, not just sleep) is something I’ve had on my to-do list for a while. Getting to the urgent point now.

This morning we lounged, getting up sometime after 8. Glen pretended to be a stingray at one point, and then the ocean floor in one of those time-lapse videos. He did this while rolling over me, which just resulted in more giggling and less getting up.

 

We went to St Lawrence Market soon after, buying chicken and filet mignons and salmon, before going to the Farmers’ Market and buying vegetables. There was a really cool display of these odd looking vegetables that were kind of like a spiky green cauliflower. There was also a wall of kale.

Lots of winter vegetables there now (we bought some leeks) and the fruit mostly consists of apples. I was tempted to buy some quinces to make quince paste but didn’t this time. If I did, that would just lead to cheese and wine buying.

Oh, and there was another interesting fruit there called an odage orange. When I asked about it, the grocer said it was inedible, and was used as a decoration and to keep insects away. $5.

I enjoyed our little trip to the market. It wasn’t anything special but it was nice for its homeliness.

Before we went to the markets, Glen told me about one of the fellows being in Iceland currently and seeing the Northern Lights from the plane. This prompted to look up flights with Air Iceland and see how much the Christmas flights cost. If we left on 23 December and returned on 29 December, the price was about half that of taking other dates around that time.

There was no going back from that. I had a look at some day tours to make sure we could do things over Christmas and Boxing Day (we can!) and then it was only a matter of minutes before I’d booked us some flights. I did an excited Iceland dance which Glen filmed but I’m refusing publication.

We can do a tour of national parks, a trip to the Blue Lagoon, and a Northern Lights tour over the Christmas period and then we’ll add whatever else takes our fancy. I’m so excited. Have to book the tours and the hotel very soon (once the credit card has been replenished).

In addition, I’ve also recently booked us a day’s dog-sledding trip in the Algonquins and a weekend in Ottawa during Winterlude in February. Lots of travel coming up. Can’t wait.

This afternoon we went back out and bought a Christmas tree. I’ve never really wanted one at home, despite having one as a kid. I think the shouting from mum after Christmas to take the damn thing down put me off putting one up. But Glen’s always asked for one but I’ve either said no or didn’t act to get one. And then Christmas went.

Now we have one. It’s 6.5′ high, has fairy lights built in and sits nicely in the corner by our window. We even bought cotton wadding for the base to act as a skirt and a whole container of purple, pink and silver baubles (gay, gay, gay, darling!) to hang on the tree. Glen’s very happy now.

And for tonight we’re not really doing much. I’ve been looking up hotels. Glen’s now watching Midsomer Murders on Netflix. After the past week’s busy-ness, it’s quite nice to have a night at home. I don’t want to make a habit of it though.