After cruising the Galapagos, we were ready to continue our Ecuadorian sojourn on land. From Quito airport, our ride was slightly detoured by wildfires, but got us safely to Casa Gangotena. Located in Old Town, our historic colonial boutique hotel had the only Michelin restaurant in town, but we opted instead to explore Calle de la Ronda and dine nearby at La Purisima for their signature locro de papa and crispy pork. We ascended the TeleferiQo next morning, but Westley adapted poorly to the 4000m altitude and vomited again, leaving me climbing the final steps solo to swing in the clouds. For lunch, we joined locals at Hueca Fest to sample ceviche, encebollado, barrel-grilled pancetta, and coconut bastidos to help beat the Guiness world record for most traditional Ecuadorian foods served in 12 hours. Westley perked up on the way to Mitad Del Mundo, where we browsed the kitschy displays and shops surrounding the towering monument marking the 18th-century French-Spanish Geodesic Mission’s attempt to map the equator. Modern GPS placed the actual line a few hundred meters away at the Intinan Museum, where our hour-long guided tour entertained us with Ecuadorian history and culture, followed by fun, but exaggerated science experiments like egg balancing and the Coriolis effect. Back at Plaza de San Francisco, we sampled Yumbos chocolates and got cup noodles and room service for movie night. On Monday, we toured the San Francisco Convent, Church of La Compania, and the Basilica del Voto Nacional exterior that featured Ecuadorian animals in place of gargoyles. The changing of the guards at Independence Square was cancelled for the national holiday, so we headed to Mercado Central for a cheap lunch of seco de chivo, caldo de pata, fried corvina, and morocho, capped with sit-down palia ice-cream from Heladeria St. Agustin. We booked a taxi that afternoon to Pululahua Crater en route to Mindo Cloud Forest. At Casa Divina, we arranged for a guided night hike after dinner that featured fluorescent scorpions, pregnant amblypygi, poison dart frogs, and a miniature glass frog among other critters. The giant ants here were as bitey as the mosquitos, providing Westley much-needed practice in ant-icide. We awoke early Tuesday for bird watching from the lodge, followed by a visit to Mariposas Butterfly Farm where we lured butterflies onto our fingers with mashed bananas. Tubing down the Rio Mindo in the rain was cold but exciting, although Westley was more excited to ride back standing in our 4×4 truck. After lunch, we fed hummingbirds at a local sanctuary, followed by a more hands-on choco demo at Mindo Maya Chocolate, where we sucked on cacao fruit, drank cacao juice, sipped cacao tea, roasted cacao beans, and even tried out cacao skin care before indulging on their hot cocoa and rich brownies. We concluded with stone-seared beef tenderloin at El Chef and a less-successful attempt at a self-guided night hike before bedtime. Next morning, our guide Efrain took us to Las Montanas for another hummingbird feeding session, followed by a rigorous hike with a bag lunch and few waterfalls that ended with a ride aboard an open-air cable car driven by a car engine. We dined at the luxe restaurant next door, enjoying beef cheek, paella, and an overly-sweet pizza of caramelized pineapple and onions. Our final morning was an adrenaline-fueled ziplining adventure across 10 courses. After a Persian lunch and Yumbos brownie, we chilled at our lodge before our drive back to Quito for our flight home. Being in the Galapagos and rest of Ecuador had been a trip of a lifetime, yet has whetted our appetite for more adventure.

After our Amazon cruise last year, we were ready to check off another of Melody’s bucket list with a cruise to the Galapagos this summer with Lindblad Expeditions. We departed early Thursday with upgraded flights through Houston and Bogota to land in Guayaquil just before midnight. We slept in next morning, strolled down Malecon 2000 for trigrillo and empanadas at Cafe de Tere, then visited roaming iguanas at Parque Seminario before relaxing at our hotel with Planet Money’s boardgame and fondue for three. We flew to Baltra on Saturday to embark on the Gemini, whose team of National Geographic naturalists and expansive crew outnumbered the 48 guests capacity. After some instructional talks, we boarded Zodiac boats to Black Turtle Cove to observe green turtles and black-tipped sharks. We awoke early next morning to hike Rabida Island, where we spotted a lonely flamingo chick, oystercatcher sibling rivalry, and a mockingbird missing a locust meal, followed by a post-breakfast snorkel off the red sand beach. Westley joined other Explorers-in-Training to visit the ship’s bridge after lunch while I traded photography tips with the Nat Geo-certified instructor on board. Hiking around ash-and-lava Santiago Island in the afternoon revealed land and marine iguanas alongside oystercatchers unsuccessfully hunting Sally Lightfoot crabs. After sunset, we enjoyed a stargazing lecture on Southern hemisphere constellations, and the first of David Attenborough’s 3-part Galapagos documentary before bed. Our pre-breakfast kayaking at Tagus Cove on Monday got me and Westley soaked. Melody watched pelicans building nests and battling penguins from her Zodiac tour, but struggled with deep-water snorkeling. After a lecture on Darwin, we hiked across Punta Espinosa on Fernandina Island, impressed by the stark lava landscape, spurting marine iguanas, sluggish sea lion pups, and elusive land iguanas that were re-introduced after Lindblad helped eradicate feral goats and pigs. On Tuesday, we visited Urbina Bay on Isabella Island to witness our first Galapagos tortoises and burly land iguanas posturing at each other. Melody skipped another deep-water snorkel at Punta Vicente Roca and unfortunately missed out on the array of white-tipped reef sharks, marbled and eagle rays, green turtles, and sea lions that brushed by. We returned after lunch to scan the hillside cliffs for brown noddy chicks, mating crabs, and a dramatic climb by a fur seal pup up a rocky shore. On Wednesday, we disembarked on Santa Cruz to visit the Charles Darwin Research Institute for baby tortoises at the breeding center, a taxidermied memorial of Lonesome George, and a microwasp lecture by an entymology researcher. We scooted past sidewalk sea lions and fish market herons to shop for souvenirs at Puerto Ayora, then after lunch, went to Rancho El Manzanillo where we donned mud boots to roam amongst land tortoises. Westley’s unexplained vomit cut short our visit, but he recovered overlooking the giant Scalasia daisies at Los Gemelos. Thursday featured a morning hike up Prince Philip’s Steps surrounded by legions of Nazca and red-footed boobies, frigatebirds, yellow-crowned night herons, and one short-eared owl. After Melody prevailed on her deep-water snorkel and Westley learned to pilot a Zodiac, we concluded the day at Darwin Bay amidst swallow-tailed sea gulls and sea lion mom-and-pup pairs. We awoke Friday for an invigorating more-walking-less-talking climb up Bartolome’s peak with its splatter and tuff cones, and most-photographed view of the Galapagos at the top, followed by another amazing snorkel with penguins, sea lions, and sharks. The afternoon drizzle did not dampen our last Zodiac tour as we watched blue-footed boobies and brown pelicans dive into the surrounding waters teeming with sharks and sea turtles. Westley claimed the Valedictorian award that evening, and enjoyed a final dinner with the other kids. On Saturday, we bid farewell to the naturalists, exchanged contacts with our dining companions, and boarded our plane to Quito for the second part of our Ecuadorian adventure.

This year’s ASRS in Montreal gave us another chance to revisit French food and culture, but with shorter travel and better weather than Paris. Westley and I arrived Wednesday to check into our upscale AirBnb apartment. Despite limited late dining options, we found a French bistro with respectable onion soup and escargot compared to our recent Parisian experience. On Thursday, we battled hordes of summer campers at the Montreal Science Center to learn Nanualuk skills, perform virtual surgery, and browse comedy wildlife photos. After pho from Pho Bang NY and pineapple buns from Patisserie Coco, we scaled lofty rope courses aboard pirate ship replicas at Voiles en Voiles, where Westley managed to conquer even the double-black diamond course. We shared Nouilles de Lan Zhou for dinner, then mingled with Duke friends at our rooftop reception before Melody arrived. I gave my talk on Friday morning, then joined my family at the Notre-Dame Basilica and at Le Central for lunch with tagliatelle from Ragu and lobster roll and crab poutine from Gaspasie. We shopped for Korean cosmetics in Chinatown and souvenirs on Rue Saint Paul and Marche Bonsecours, then napped until dinner with my auntie Kin at Kam Fung followed by mango slush and dragon beard candy (including a peanut-free version for Westley). We overslept Saturday morning, but made up the lost time breezing through the Biodome, Botanical Gardens, Planetarium, and Insectarium. We remembered the beaver habitat from our last visit here, but the massive French tacos at Chivetos put us to sleep through most of the Black Hole feature. Revisiting Au Pied du Cochon almost 20 years later brought us back to foie gras heaven with foie gras nigiri, duck-in-a-can, and an amazing pig’s foot stuffed with sweetbreads and more foie gras, of course. Our post-dinner Cirque du Soleil show Echo featured high-flying acrobats, comedic box stackers, and a giant red mannequin that kept Westley in giggles and awe. We awoke Sunday to skyline city views from Kondiaronk Belvedere, then hiked down Parc du Mont-Royal’s grand staircase to Mile End. There, we hauled 5-lb of PC cookies from Maxi and compared bagels from Fairmount and St Viateur (we preferred Fairmount’s), before queuing for Marche Hung Phat banh mi, and bargaining for an Inuit basalt muskox and Iroquois soapstone heron at an indigenous art gallery. We watched the FIFA finals on spotty WiFi aboard our VIA rail to Quebec City, then checked into the city’s iconic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac to catch Spain’s win over Argentina at the hotel pool. We passed crowds enjoying the last day of the FEQ festival en route to dinner at Le Hobbit, and supplemented our free beignet dessert with Cows ice-cream while listening to the headliner’s concert from our hotel window. After a breakfast buffet at Place Dufferin, we spent Monday exploring picturesque Quartier Petit Champlain sampling goat cheese soft-serve, touring La Citadelle’s military installations, learning maple syrup production from animatronic beavers, and dining on rabbit pot pie from La Lapin Saute and Quebec-style shepherd’s pie from La Buche. We returned to old town after sunset to snap selfies, watch street performers, and enjoy more ice-cream before calling it a night. On Tuesday, we took advantage of our Chase Edit benefit for another breakfast buffet and take-out lunchboxes, enjoyed a morning stroll along Terrasse Dufferin, then rode the train back to Montreal for our flight home. Between our high-flying adventures, art gallery treasures, and amazing meals, our Quebec journey helped restore our faith in French cuisine and culture.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a black cloud on call, but the past two weeks brought it all back. I spent most of July 4th weekend repairing retinal detachments and surprisingly no firework injuries. Fortunately, I had just enough time to grocery shop and host our lab BBQ despite having to bail before the fireworks began. Back home, we hired roofing experts to repair our roof leak while we troubleshot our own irrigation, which turned out to involve a broken solenoid in the front yard and a punctured line in the backyard that was caused by my over-enthusiastic maple tree staking. Westley returned to his summer routines of Davis and Aggie camps, completed his quest to save Arcadia in the Outer Worlds 2, and embarked on a path of vengeance as the Ghost of Yotei. He was too sick to enjoy the resident welcome BBQ, however, and vomited all over Melody’s car just before her workgroup meeting in Florida. He eventually recovered over the weekend so we could spend time together cleaning mom’s car, playing ping pong, building beadbots, and watching Arcane – a beautifully-animated steampunk adventure series set in Riot’s League of Legends universe. After a few consecutive late nights of NIH grant reviews and editing travel photos, we were ready to drive to SFO to kick off our second visit to Canada.

Paris is so often romanticized that when news emerged of a heat wave spreading across Europe, we knew our summer trip would not match the hype. We arrived Monday to the long CDG immigration lines that I had encountered on my recent visit, but managed to shorten our wait by switching lines halfway. Unable to find the rideshare pick-up, we took a stuffy commuter rail into the city, where we were relieved to find our non-AC AirBnb cooler than expected. For dinner, we queued up for steak frites at Relais L’entrecote, but even the more tender rare cook on my steak didn’t explain the chain’s popularity. On Tuesday, we snacked on award-winning croissants from Gosselin and lined up for Musee d’Orsay. There, the impressive impressionist collection was juxtaposed with themes of art and love from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as part of a special exhibit on the game. Feeling the heat, we splurged on an Uber to Kubri for lunch despite having Navigo weekly passes, where the Lebanese small plates of burrata, octopus, and hispi cabbage hit just the spot. Exhausted from the interactive exhibits at Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie, we lounged at the air-conditioned library as I sipped cafe viennoit and played Squadro with Westley, snapped pics of La Geode, then headed to Boom Boom Villette for food court banh mi and ramen before an immersive Assassin’s Creed orchestra concert at the Philharmonie de Paris that recalled our adventures as Altair, Ezio, Cassandra, and Eivor. On Wednesday, we armed ourselves with cooling towels, neck fans, and iced water to brave the 107-degree heat at Chateau de Versailles, racing through its vast gardens and state apartments, but skipping the late-opening Trianon estates and buggy Rabbids app. While Westley rested at the apartment, Melody and I shared foie gras and beef bourguignon for lunch at Les Antiquaires, followed by a much-needed family siesta and clumsy hibachi acrobatics at Chez Hanafousa. With tickets cancelled due to extreme heat warnings on Thursday, we scrambled to reconfigure our itinerary. After wandering the Louvre courtyard and learning they would not take stand-bys, we pivoted to the rapidly-warming Notre Dame and chilly Pantheon, stopping briefly for ice-cream from Berthillon and more award-winning croissants from La Maison d’Isabelle before lunch at Cafe des Ministeres, where the local dachshund and patrons shared our enjoyment of their chou farci and vol au vent. We passed out for the evening, gladly staying in to watch Bill Making Stuff and the Sheep Detectives in our underwear with leftovers. Melody awoke Friday with a full-body rash and stomach cramps, but bravely pushed through Musee l’Orangerie for Monet’s Water Lillies. Westley was unimpressed by Le Souffle’s namesake dish, but the AC there and at the Grande Galerie de L’evolution provided respite as we snoozed in leather chairs surrounded by taxidermy displays until closing. Melody could barely enjoy the Japanese-influenced French cuisine at Michelin-recommended Les Enfants Rouges, and slept in on Saturday while Westley and I took advantage of the cooler morning to stroll along the Seine, snap selfies at the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, and sample croissants, eclairs, and sandwiches before reuniting for our scheduled tour of the Palais Garnier to peak into Box 5 and more French fare at Au Bon Accueil. By Sunday, Melody’s urticaria had worsened to angioedema, dysphagia, and dyspnea that necessitated a frantic 5 am telehealth visit with a doctor from New Zealand and mad dash to a 24/7 pharmacy for prednisone and loratadine while I scarfed down a Nutella crepe. Despite being bedridden, Melody modified our Disneyland Paris itinerary for me and Westley. Armed with Premier Access, we breezed through the attractions, despite some dark rollercoasters that left me dizzy and nauseated. With the cooler evening, Melody rejoined us for escargot, onion soup, and a decadent profiterole at Le Petit Cler before we climbed to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower to watch some World Cup and gaze across the Parisian skyline. At the airport, we picked up macarons from Ladurée and Pierre Herme, said hi to Hank Green, and enjoyed our last pastries, thankful to have survived a beautifully disastrous week.

I had the honor of being invited to the ADA conference this year in New Orleans to talk about our AI-based diabetic eye screening program at UCD. My impression overall was that endocrinologists are more laid back, with fewer talks, fewer posters, and fewer industry booths, despite some feisty drama ahead of my arrival. Having sleep-deprived myself last week preparing a K12 grant and planning our upcoming trips to Paris, Montreal, and Quito, I slept well aboard my 5 a.m. flight. A first-class upgrade, however, led to a splash of breakfast frittata tomato sauce onto my only shirt. Unfazed, I headed straight to Mother’s on arrival for my shrimp-oyster poboy and crawfish etouffee, then checked into the hotel to scrub my shirt, toss it into a self-serve dryer, and practice bicep curls at the gym while waiting. For dinner, I nabbed a bar seat at Emeril’s to savor their seafood gumbo and BBQ shrimp. Despite missing the 2-Michelin star tasting menu from the 22-year-old son of the culinary magnate who now runs the place, I found both dishes to be well prepared, albeit not matching Mr. B’s level. Despite my fear of not knowing anyone at the ADA or NOLA, I was pleasantly surprised by my CUTI colleagues who came to talk, and a text from my mentee Tanvi who is now a resident at LSU. We shared stories over fried chicken from Brother’s Food Mart, followed by beignets and an iced cafe au lait at the pleasantly less-crowded Café du Monde location in City Park before my flight. Back home, I celebrated my grad students completing their qualifying exams, and then headed the following week to Cleveland for my invited talk at the Cole Eye Institute. I was delighted to join my ex-trainees Sophie and Mini for Mediterranean mezze at Zhug, and even more touched by Mini’s introduction of my research seminar on monkey research. My day-long schedule kept me busy meeting old friends and new researchers before dinner at L’Albatros. The French cuisine got me excited for our upcoming family trip to Paris, as I returned home to enjoy some quality family time. We repotted our crape myrtle bonsai, completed our last Harry Potter movie, and gathered with cousin Pamela’s family to celebrate her father’s life with banquet-style Chinese dinner before finishing our packing.

Since our first visit 6 years ago, we had wanted to return to Helen’s Hideaway – a waterfront property just steps away from Hog Island Oyster that transports you back in time. This Memorial Day weekend gave us the opportunity to go back; this time with my friend Ala and his family. Despite planning months in advance, our plans were thwarted by my friend’s back injury, requiring us to pivot from adventure to relaxation. After Westley placed third with his team at the Davis Math Tournament at DHS, we drove to Hot Stone Korean Kitchen for kalbi tang and spicy ramen on the way to Marshall. Together, our two families bought 7 dozens of Kumamoto, Olympia, and medium oysters, along with a pound of mussels, which we brought back to our private dock to shuck our way to oyster heaven. Melody’s parsley-garlic compound butter was a hit, but her new kimchi butter was the unexpected winner. Feeling stuffed, we warmed up with our fireplace and learned to play Empires before bedtime. On Sunday, we went to Point Reyes Station to line up for Bovine Bakery treats, a Brickmaiden sourdough loaf, and cheese from West Marin Culture Shop. The restaurants were packed for the long weekend, so we instead picked up lunch from Palace Market, as we lamented the end of water buffalo gelato, which was replaced by a respectable Jersey soft-serve from Valley Ford Creamery. We relaxed to views of the Tomales Bay in the afternoon as Ala rested on a recliner and I joined the kids for Azul and Pandemic. We dined on more oysters, leftovers, and Naseem’s loobia polo, before snuggling on the couch for movie night. On Monday, we shared popovers and brunch at Station House Café, then headed to explore the Duxbury Reef tide pools at Bolinas Beach and learn to fly a kite at Stinson Beach before parting our ways. Back home, my parents shared Tasty Pot with us and ordered a Unicorn Banshee RG Gundam for Westley before they returned home. It also happened to be opening weekend for the Phantom of the Opera tour in SF, and we were able to nab last minute orchestra tickets from StubHub just as we were planning our Paris trip and a tour of Opera Garnier. So after Chinese school, we drove into the city to share takeout from Dumpling Home on a park bench at the UN Skate Plaza, then made our way to relive our favorite and first musical together. In spite of the $15 bottled water and sour patch kids for Westley, the Orpheum Theater’s opulent decur provided the perfect backdrop as we watched the chandelier come crashing down.

This year’s ARVO was my first time staying for the entire meeting, and my first time witnessing snow there. I arrived in Denver on Sunday for the first poster session and lunch with my ex-lab members Sook and Mini. I socialized at our department reception afterwards, and networked with RPB and Michigan folks thanks to our new chair. Day two kicked off with award lectures, lunch and meetings with Regeneron, and an unexpected run-in with my labmate Kevin who’s now in the rejuvenation industry. I felt underdressed, however, next to ophthalmology greats at the BrightFocus dinner at the Denver Art Museum. On Tuesday, I shared life advice at Breakfast with the Experts, then met with Cirrus, RegenXBio, Adverum, and Genentech teams before joining my trainees for lunch at James Beard awardee Rioja and ice-cream next door. My solo omakase experience at Sushi by Scratch was somewhat disappointing, unfortunately, due to aggressive flavoring that reminded me of its Californian roots. Despite multiple sleepless nights, I stayed up practicing my talk for Thursday, which went smoothly with minimal scrutiny. I could not finish the juicy but pricey ribeye steak over lunch at Guard & Grace with my classmate Brian, but at least stayed awake for a full afternoon of poster viewing and DFC’s lab dinner. I moderated one of last sessions on Thursday, chowed down on Jinya ramen, then booked it home to celebrate Mother’s Day with Korean BBQ and our 19th Anniversary with a surprise visit to Saison in SF. Despite losing its third Michelin star, Richard Lee’s “fire-forward” tasting menu provided well-executed flavors complete with teapot-served broths, chopper-hunted antelope, and custom steak knives, although the unnecessary uni toast and wagyu supplements, mandatory surcharges, and adding taxes atop these fees nearly doubled the final bill. My fine dining streak extended to Fort Lauderdale, where my abbreviated presence at the Retina World Congress was interspersed with lobster spaghetti from Del Mar, crab fried rice from Takato, and foie gras “nutter butter” at Maass that tasted like a Michelin-level PB&J. I got back in time to give my talk at our department’s Napa Eye meeting, savor escargot and onion soup from Bouchon Bistro, and catch up with Melody and Westley about their BTS concert in Stanford. With so many lofty expenditures this month, we’ll need to keep a closer eye on our wallet.

After spring break in Toronto, I had less than 24 hours to recover before flying out again to SoCal for the RIMR meeting. It had been 7 years since my last invitation to this exclusive think tank of AMD thought leaders. Over three intense days, my workgroup discussed critical challenges and potential strategies for effective gene therapies, which concluded with a dinner I organized at Fable & Spirit. Invigorated, I returned home to finish our taxes and tackle spring gardening. Weeding the lawn on my hands and knees, however, triggered a full-body rash that had me smearing Westley’s eczema steroid all over myself. At least I managed to avoid my wife and son’s cold symptoms, which included 10 days of recurring fever for Westley that led to a chest x-ray, pneumonia diagnosis, and newfound azithromycin allergy. We finally caught a break to celebrate Melody’s birthday weekend by redeeming our Shabu Shack coupon and watching Project Hail Mary on the big screen, followed by the Martian, both installations of Wicked, and more Harry Potter movies. I was also glad to escape Jury Duty, but ran in with the law with a traffic ticket for bike lane incursion. With Melody gone for a few days, I played Killer Bunnies with Westley, dined with industry friends and a visiting professor, and picked up a jade bonsai from the ABAS Spring Show. As ARVO approached, I was glad to have my folks back in town. We showed them our new noodle obsessions at Ten Seconds and Kajiken alongside new boba spots like Cane Corner and Tea Dojo, assembled a new deck box, played ping pong, and even checked out grazing goats and sheep on the greenbelt as the warm weather set in.

With spring break curtailed by a meeting, we decided to take a short trip to Toronto, having forgotten how East Coast winter linger into March. Arriving on a red-eye flight made for a rough start, but our spirits lifted when we spied Comic-Con cosplay at Union Station. After stashing our luggage, we visited St. Lawrence Market to share a peameal sandwich from Carousel Bakery, lobster roll from Buster’s Sea Cove, lox bagel from St. Urbain, oysters from Seafront, butter tart from Eve’s Temptations, and take-away cheese from Olympic Cheese Mart. Our harbourfront walk was cold and windy, so after grabbing President’s Choice cookies and watching sugar scoops from Sugar Beach, we sheltered at a Community Center for chess and nap time before checking into our high-rise AirBnb. We shopped for Muji goods at The Well and browsed the Wellington Market food hall on the way to shoot Decepticons at the Rec Room and ascend CN Tower for dinner at the rotating 360 Restaurant. Our pricey meal included access to the observation deck to reward us with panoramic city views. The Sunday morning drizzle shifted our plans indoor to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where we were captivated by David Blackwood’s printmaking, Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, a ship model collection, and a free draw station. From there, we snacked our way through Chinatown and Kensington Market, hitting Mashion Bakery, Mother’s Dumplings, Wanda’s Pie in the Sky, Golden Patty, Pancho’s Bakery, Fresco’s Fish & Chips, and Rasta Pasta. I sipped a Canadian Maple Latte to stay awake at the Distillery District while shopping for a stuffed beaver and handmade mug, then relaxed to Studson Studio videos before dining on Raku udon. On Monday, we took the GO train to Niagara Falls, where our Wonder Pass included an uninformative Niagara Takes Flight ride, a frozen-over Journey Behind the Falls, and a Power Plant visit that featured a musical Tesla coil demo. We skipped the Butterfly Conservatory and most of the cheesy Clifton Hill attractions, but at least rode the SkyWheel for birds-eye views of the falls. Despite a lackluster welcome center lunch, we were wowed by the Indian fare at Desi Road which kept us warm while we waited for our bus and train ride back. We visited Toronto Zoo on Tuesday, where we got to watch gorilla surgery despite many exhibits being closed due to weather. From there, we shared creamy Hakata-style Ramen Raijin along the way to the Royal Ontario Museum and its amazing wildlife photography exhibit, then returned to Chinatown for Goubuli baos and old-school HK fare from Swatow Restaurant. For our final breakfast, we revisited Chinatown for rice noodles and congee at Yin Ji Chang Fen, then picked up pineapple buns from HK Island Bakery and banh mi from Nguyen Huong for later. Our self-guided tour of Casa Loma afterwards featured secret passages, military paraphernalia, antique cars, and a documentary of its financier. The gothic mansion apparently also doubled as a set for movies and escape room experiences. Unfortunately, our return flight was delayed, resulting in a longer layover and later arrival home. Our first Canadian vacation this year was short, cold, but delicious. We’ll see how Montreal fares later this summer.