Ox Eyes For Dessert

Boys and Girls,

You know that I have never been one to walk away from a sweet treat, so when I came across a bakery in Mexico I just had to walk in and buy something to eat. 

It is overwhelming when you are staring at racks full of baked goods, all of them covered in frosting and sprinkles, and each one looking more tasty than the next, but when I saw the "ojos de buey" I knew I just had to try it.

It looked so disgusting, I just had to try it!

"Ojos de buey" means ox eyes in Spanish, but if you ask me I think the dessert looks more like ox brains! 

Boy oh boy, was it ever sweet.  Two semi-spherical vanilla doughnuts with chocolate icing holding them together, wrapped in a sugary sweet red paste and then coated in sweetened coconut, my teeth are hurting just thinking about it.  I had one bite of the "ojos de buey" and had to save the rest for later...it was just too sweet.

Something tells me this isn't a healthy snack.

What happens to you when you eat too much sugar?

I hope I can find some more tasty treats to eat in Mexico!

Mr. P

A Kid's Guide to Puerto Vallarta

It is the end of November already, but you would never tell by the beautiful and warm weather here in Mexico.  Today was hot and sunny with a high of 28 degrees Celsius.  I wonder what the weather is like back in Toronto?

I am looking forward to enjoying these last few days of sunshine and warmth before returning home to a Canadian winter.  Here are some of the things you think I should get up to while in Puerto Vallarta.

I Am Here - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

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It’s Beginning to Feel a lot Like Christmas!

While strolling through Union Square I couldn’t help but get into the holiday spirit.  It seems like the city of San Francisco goes all out when celebrating winter festivals.  The shops are all playing holiday music, and they have decorated both the inside and outside of their buildings.  Take a look at the pictures below and check out the wreathes that Macy’s have put up in their windows.  Can you use your skip counting skills to find out how many wreathes there are altogether?

Also getting people excited about winter is the skating rink that has been setup in Union Square.  Families and friends were having fun skating around the ice while looking up at all the decorated trees and shops today.  Have you gone skating at an outdoor rink?

Enjoying the some outdoor activity, these people are skating around Union Square.

Sometimes cities take traditions and change them up a bit to fit in with what they have to offer.  Look at the picture below.  How is this tree different from a traditional Christmas tree?

There is something a little strange about this Christmas tree?

Kid's Guide to Napa Valley

Being in San Francisco I am very close to many wine growing regions, one of the most famous being Napa Valley.  I can't wait to explore this part of California, here are some of your tips.


Alcatraz : The Original Naughty Corner

Boys and Girls,

A long time ago in San Francisco if students didn’t do their homework, they were sent to Alcatraz (the most secure prison in the United States)!  I am just kidding, Alcatraz was definitely not a place for naughty children, but it was a place for some of the toughest bad guys in the United States.  These criminals were sent here because it was impossible to escape from Alcatraz, or so the US government thought.  Sitting on a rock (tiny island) a mile away from San Francisco, there was no way a robber could get out of jail and then get to the main land without dying in the cold, fast moving ocean water.  The bay was impossible to swim.

Sitting on "the rock", Alcatraz looks pretty spooky in the distance.

Visiting Alcatraz is an interesting experience.  It shows you that jail isn’t really a fun place, but it was interesting to see how the men who lived in the cells made the best of a really bad situation.  Even though they were forced to live in a tiny cell alone they found ways to pass the time and make life a bit more interesting.  They would sign books out from the library, paint, play instruments and even knit.  Some of them even took courses and learned how to speak different languages.

A typical cell in Alcatraz no bigger than your bedroom.  Can you imagine
NEVER being allowed to leave your room EVER!?

Of course there are the stories of escape attempts.  In 1962 three inmates used spoons to dig through the cement walls of their cells.  They then climbed out of the venting system and made it to the water.  No one knows what happened next.  They were never heard from or seen again.  Some people think they all drown, some people think they are still alive and living in a place like Mexico.  We will never know what the true story is. 

The building is no longer a prison, but is open to the public so we can see what life would have been like in Alcatraz.

Part of "Seedy" Block (C-D), where some of the toughest criminals had their cells.

Keep doing your homework!

Mr. P

Musée Méchanique

Free to visit, you just a couple of quarters to try out the machines.

I have seen a lot of museums while travelling around the world, but my favourite museum has to be the Musée Méchanique in San Francisco.  Made up of a personal collection of 160 penny arcade machines (video game machines before there were video games and electricity), this museum is as hands on as it gets. 

Two of the classic machines that you can use and be entertained by.  The white machine
is a movie machine that you have to crank by hand.

You can actually still use all the machines (some are over 100 years old), from strength testers to dancing puppets, it is amazing to see how each machine is different.  The machines aren’t being stored behind a thick layer of glass, quite the opposite they are all out and waiting to be explored.  Pop a quarter into the fortune telling machine and wait for your fortune to pop out on a card. 

For only 25 cents this fortune teller will give you some very wise advice.

Feeling tired of today’s flashy, fast-paced video games?  You can revisit some classic video games like Pong and Pac-man here at the museum.  I think the real reason I enjoyed this museum so much is that each machine made me feel like a kid again, especially the strength tester, it told me I am as strong as a little boy!  Now that isn’t very nice.

The Santa Claus Work Shop comes to life and all the little elves start hammering
away when you insert a quarter into the machine.