Ann Arbor, MI 7/9 and 7/10/14

We left Mississauga and drove through southern Ontario,…

despite the fact that our g--d--- GPS showed us driving on a phantom road,…

to the U.S. border and Michigan.

More bridges.

We arrived in Ann Arbor late in the afternoon and took a walk on the University of Michigan campus.  We visited the university’s Museum of Natural History where we saw a photo study of the relationship between architectural settings and human experiences in the Inca empire.  These photos, taken at Machu Pichu in Peru, are examples of the interplay between human-made and natural features that is typical of Incan architecture.

How these enormous stones (some weighing as much as 300 tons) were moved and fitted together is unknown.

A building in present-day Cuzco, Peru, rests on a foundation built by the Incas.  The stones fit together perfectly; no mortar was used, an advantage in this earthquake-prone region,

Hill Auditorium on the U. of Michigan campus.

Hatcher Graduate Library.

A student standing in a long archway through a building using the echo to reverberate beautiful tenor a cappella songs across a campus quad.

A student standing on a university quad making soap bubbles with a wand he built.

Our new friend told us that visitors to campus must have their picture taken with the U. of Michigan “M.”

Then he showed Jim how to make giant bubbles.

It was the perfect end to our day, and to our trip.

Toronto, Onatrio, Canada 7/7 and 7/8/14

We spent two days visiting friends in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.   They took us on a tour of downtown Toronto.  The day started out gray and rainy, but Toronto has 17 miles of covered pedestrian walkways and indoor atriums.

 

An office building in Brookfield Place.

 

The Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place.

The Hudson's Bay Company, in business since 1670.

 

Department store mannequins.

The Eaton Centre mall with its famous flying Canada geese.

A detail of the massive Old City Hall.

The entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum.

The L Tower near the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Toronto's Flatiron building.

 A huge trompe l'oeil mural on the Flatiron building.

The St. Lawrence Market established in 1803.

A mural near the market.

On our way to the commuter train we saw other views of the galleria.

The CN Tower.