Last Day Before Winter

What does this mean? Last day before winter? Well, tomorrow George, Tanya and I fly back to Toronto for a week. It is winter, for real, there. That means minus temperatures and winter coats and boots.

Tanya and I have been talking about Toronto winters trying to remember exactly what that means. We can remember cold but cannot quite get the feel of it. And poor George. He remembers winter because just 3 short weeks ago he was in the middle of it.

So this is our last day in the warm sun. We plan on having an easy day and then pack for the trip. Okay, first step is "The Italian Coffee Company" which is a Starbucks clone. George has taken a liking to their apple strudel. So apple strudel and Cafe Americanos it is on the patio in the shade. Next we hope into the car and head out to the little carved animal village where Tanya buys some things for people at her office and George picks us a colourful cat piece. It is so sunny and hot that I have to stand in the shade waiting.

Back into the car for one last tourist stop. This time it is in the village of Cuilapan where there is an unfinished church from 1560. Cortez had a problem with the church in Spain so he forced the construction to stop since it was on his land anyway. The location is outstanding and the mountain views are wonderful.

Off again. This time it is to the Zocalo in Oaxaca so George can get his shoes shined. He has been doing too much country walking and his shoes were just too dusty for travel. We had a nice lunch in a sidewalk restaurant then George went into the park to find just the right shoeshine kiosk. After the shine we headed back to the house. We did a little packing. Mainly we are bringing back stuff we don't need anymore such as the little Christmas tree we bought and some extra clothes.

One last outting! George is taking us out to dinner. We are going to a dinner and dance show. The dances are representative of the seven geographic and cutural areas of the state. The food was adequate and the dances were spectacular. The regional dresses are very colourful and amazing. The women's dresses, I should say, the men's were very plain.

So this is it. We have to pack for our flights tomorrow. We are going to miss our Oaxaca home and new friends. Of course the warm sunny days are on our mind as is the cold Toronto streets. But then again, we will be seeing our Toronto friends and attending the wedding of our dear friends Claire and Len.

Stay tuned for some of our Toronto adventures and weather updates.