Okay Here We Go in Ontario

Today is phase 3 in many parts of Ontario with the exception of the Niagara, Windsor Essex, Hamilton, and the Greater Toronto region which remains in phase 2 for the time being.

Here in Guelph we are part of phase 3 which means indoor dining, groups up to a 100 outdoors and 50 indoors are acceptable, plus probably the most important and difficult reopening to manage bars can reopen.

The bars where the young people congregate, drink a few, let their guard down and begin shouting at one another. In a couple of weeks to the beginning of  August people will be going to bars to watch the Blue Jays ( who by the way look like will be allowed to play their home games here ), the defending World Champion Toronto Raptors, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. All expected to go deep in the season and playoffs, well I don't know about the hockey and baseball, but definitely the Raptors. The fact our numbers are very good is how Toronto and Edmonton became hub cities for the  NHL. Congrats to us.

Players coming in under strict testing and quarantine I am not worried about. It is the cheerers in the bars watching the big screen television that concerns  me. I do not see how physically distancing can be enforced nor how this virus will not spread without wearing a mask in such an environment.

So look for spikes in cases. It is inevitable. In Quebec specifically Montreal they have had a bit of a spike due to the bar patrons. As soon as they opened everyone had to get tested who had visited a number of bars probably on Crescent Street. It is happening everywhere. In Tokyo and Seoul and the States as well although it has become a political issue there so we will put them aside.

So get ready and don't panic if you see the numbers spike. We have to do what we have always done and that is physically distancing, wear a mask, and wash your hands especially if you have been in a bar.

Canada had over 400 new infections yesterday with Alberta showing over a 100 noting Calgary as a hot spot. Saskatchewan had the most ever new infections in one day at 45.

Some doctors think we should have opened the schools first then opened up the bars and indoor dining. Wouldn't have made a spot of difference, only sunk businesses into bankruptcy.

Hey maybe we should all listen to Donald Trump and his advice on how to kill this coronavirus. Remember this?

Phase 3 in Ontario

For those of you who do not know we live in Ontario. Ontario and the rest of Canada can be quite proud in saying that we have successfully flattened the curve. That being said here in Ontario we are still in phase 2 where we can have restaurant patios open but not as of yet bars, indoor dining, gyms, indoor swimming pools, and gatherings of more than ten. There are probably a few others as well that I may have overlooked.

In Ontario today we had 138 new infections. That out of a total of 14 million people who live in Ontario which if you do the math is not a very high percentage. In fact out of all the reporting centers in the province there are only about eight that report any cases at all. There were about 21,000 tests yesterday which works out to about 0.6% positive test results. So what we have been doing has been working.

Everyone is doing a real good job in this hot dry spell that we are having doing the social distancing and wearing the mask. We ate on a patio the other day and the waitress asked for a phone number in case someone might have had it so they can contact trace everyone who was there around the same time. Where I live in Guelph Ontario masks are mandatory when you enter a place of business or use transportation. Everyone is complying with the rules.

The Ontario Medical Officer has been very slow in getting to phase 3. I know they would all like the case count to go to zero but that is just wishful thinking. They have to soon move on to the next phase. Not to be an alarmist but once we open up some more our cases may spike a bit but sooner rather than later they have to get going and dive into the pool.

The shutdown for some of these businesses has brought in zero income. Some takeout businesses for restaurants without patios but hardly enough. It has been since March 13th when the writ came down to lock it down. Yes some admittedly got help when their landlord signed onto the the Canadian Rent Subsidy Program which lowered the rent to 25% of what they had to cover but that was only for 3 months. In other words April May and June. Now July 1st is gone. What about that rent? There was a survey out the past week saying up to 78% small businesses will not be able to make rent.

We drove through downtown Guelph and there was a lot of small businesses just boarded up. Gone.

Restaurants will disappear soon as well. Nail salons ( forgot to mention those ) , gyms, a lot of retail stores will close with head offices now streamlining the ones worth keeping open and closing the others. Malls will be half full.

Now studies show if people are in a closed area like indoor dining the two meter rule will not really matter because studies show airborne droplets can be sent further than the rule because the air circulation can spread the droplets far. Now if diners are sitting for a minimum of an hour they have a more than likely chance of contracting the virus. Bars will be worse. The young crowd will risk it then catch it unknowingly in a lot of cases and spread it to their close contacts. All we can hope for is for every person in Ontario to be careful and just keep doing what we are doing. In South Korea they killed it then the bars opened and voila! Infections spread up again even outside the main city center of Seoul.

But we have to get on with it sooner or later or there will not be many of your favorite restaurants, nail salons, and gyms kicking around. But then my prediction is these places will have started so far behind and now with the added headache , albeit necessary, of enforcing social distancing and buying PPE equipment and sanitizers what is the profit remaining? Will it be worth it?

Look for a lot of small  businesses that have not yet closed because of the government handout keeping them alive like a ventilator to be extinguishing their dreams this summer. It may just not be worth it. Then you have the jobless but that is for another post.

Oh yes and the movie theatres too!

The Old Nickel Hotel

When I was 18 years old I left school and got a job at Humpty Dumpty Potato Chip Factory as a shipper receiver. The reason why I did not continue with my schooling was my stepfather worked for Air Canada and because he did I had these air passes I wanted to use soon before they would expire when I was 21 years of age.

My friend Robert across the street also wanted to go to Europe so we decided that in June of that year which was 1977 off we would go to Europe. It turned out to be a pretty wild trip for 45 days. We rented a car in Paris and starting from there we toured France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy before flying back from Paris.

Whenever we arrived to a city that we were planning to stop a while we always wanted to make sure that we located the Hauptbanhof commonly referred to as the train station. There we would pick up maps and learn of local events going on and places to see.

On this one occasion we left from Belgium and headed for the Netherlands. We drove to Amsterdam and found the train station where we parked the Renault 5 we had. Obtaining some maps and finding our way around was our goal.

When we got back outside and looked  around we thought maybe if we just parked the car and walked in this direction there would be some cheap places to stay for a night or two. So off we went not really knowing where we were heading. Seeing a street that looked like it had some places to stay in the near distance we saw a sign saying the Old Nickel Hotel.

Okay we thought let's check it out. We entered and it was pretty clean. Greeted warmly and told of the price we grabbed the room. Pretty simple with a breakfast included. Returning back with the luggage we struggled up the stairs, as it had no elevator, and put our backpacks in the room and hurried back downstairs.

Now if anyone has heard of Amsterdam they have heard of the Red Light District. So the first question we had to ask is, "Where is the Red Light District?'

The receptionist looked at us in surprise then she answered, 'You're in it!' Then as soon as she said that we looked across the lane and there was a hooker waving at us through her window in broad daylight!

Now of course coming from Canada going to Amsterdam is a huge culture shock because everything is so liberal there. In Amsterdam everyone likes to have a good time and they all keep in shape by riding their bicycles in huge bike lanes to handle the volume. Taking in an art museum and seeing Anne Frank's house was unbelievable too.

I had the opportunity to see Amsterdam and stay with a friend in 1988. I flew in through Schiphol and stayed the night before heading to my job in Switzerland a couple of times and saw it again when I worked on the ships.

Yes I think that would be a great city to live and grow up in. The country is one of my favourites as well out of all that I have seen so far.

Below is a couple of pictures of the hotel we stayed at which by the way is still there and I will underneath that include a video of the Amsterdam nightlife where anything goes.

                                      Okay before you watch this pretend you are 18 again

Viareggio Italy

Okay as promised every other day will be a travel feature of somewhere I went while working on the cruise ship. Today I will feature a seaside resort in Italy named Viareggio situated on the Ligurian Sea locally referred to as the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Tyrrhenian people were a people dating back to 6 BC.

Located on the west coast of Italy in the wine growing region of Tuscany this was always a great spot. The beaches were great and the nearby streets were full of bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops for the plenty of tourists who used to flock there daily.

I use to go to the beach and take a swim but most of the time I use to grab a nice lunch because one thing I do enjoy is Italian food especially those pizzas. Then have that and down a few Peroni beers.

One thing Viareggio is famous for though is their ship yards where they built super yachts. Yachts that were bought by billionaires not just millionaires. I use to walk around where these yachts were moored and just gaze at them. I have mentioned this before but if I had to do one thing more that I didn't do was to be a waiter on one of these ships. Of course it wouldn't be just serving food as I am sure there would be other duties to fulfill as well.

I took a gander at some of these shipyards and below is a video taken of the inside of one of these super yachts. I will say this it is no wonder they needed ten staff to work on one of these. Just click on the link below where I have also included a map of where this seaside resort is. You may want to check it out if you are in Tuscany Italy one day.

Meanwhile I think I will go back to listen to my Eros Ramazotti tape while you look at this video. In fact I will even leave you a link to that as well.

Viareggio is top left where there you see an indentation

Grand Hotel in Viareggio

                                                             Super Yacht Video

                                                              Eros Ramazotti