Toronto - Eaton Centre

http://www.torontoeatoncentre.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

Going over Toronto has been pretty educational in a way I did not expect. I am often not happy with my picture quality, but going back to a trip when I was carrying around Fun Saver cameras reminds me of how much better it has become.

Yes, simply being able to upload the pictures into the computer is better than messing around with the scanner, but I have wondered sometimes if it's bad because maybe we don't go back and review digital photo files the same way we do with hard copies. Well, I haven't looked at these printed photos for a long time, and their quality is much worse. I don't do a lot of fancy settings, but even being able to zoom, and to know whether or not you got a shot, makes a huge difference.

These next few posts won't have a lot of photos, and they won't be great ones, but it does make me grateful for progress.

Eaton Centre is the largest mall in Toronto, and it was built at a time when malls of this size were less common. I am sure I did not properly appreciate it, because I am not much of a shopper. However, there were three things about it that were cool for me.

One is that it had a Carlton Cards. While this looks like it is not very different from a Hallmark, it is based on American Greetings, and therefore it was easier to find Care Bear related merchandise here.

http://www.carltoncards.ca/

They have never been very common, but are less so now. The Eaton Centre location is gone now, but at the time it was there, and I was able to acquire Care Bear ornaments for my younger sisters, which for them was the most impressive thing about my trip.

There was also an Yves Rocher. Yves Rocher the man was a pioneer in the use of natural ingredients for beauty products. Yves Rocher the company is really good about including free gifts in orders, and there was a time when I ordered a lot from them. The products really are quite good, I just built up a backlog. It was kind of cool to find a physical location.

http://www.yvesrocherusa.com

I had mentioned in a previous post that I did not go to Mr. Greenjeans. I thought about it, but the menu and prices did not seem that appealing to me, as it seemed like basically a grill, but one that would be fun, maybe with flair. However, the food court did indeed prove to be a valuable place for a traveler on a budget, as it was conveniently located to my hotel and the main stop for the double decker bus tour. That was handy.