McCrae House in Guelph

Monument at McCrae House, Guelph ON

McCrae House in Guelph is just a 20 minute drive from Kitchener. I visited it for the first time this week and was impressed by the well restored house, the indoor displays and the lovely grounds. This is the birthplace of John McCrae, a physician and soldier who wrote the famous poem In Flanders Fields. Millions of poppies are worn by people in our nation to commemorate Remembrance Day today as we honour the sacrifices of our soldiers in past and present conflicts.

Con-G

On Sunday I checked out the Guelph Anime Convention Con-G, which was held at the Best Western Royal Brock Hotel & Conference Centre. I was quite aware that this wasn’t going to be anything like, for instance, Fan Expo (a very large Comic/Anime/Sci-Fi/Horror Con held in Toronto every year), but overall, it was very entertaining. For those unfamiliar with Comic Book or Anime Conventions, these events are usually split in different sections; the artist’s alley, the dealers/retail room or section, a conference room or panels, a masquerade, and a gaming room. A common site at these events are the Cosplayers, or Costume Players, dressed as their favorite anime and/or comic book character (hence the “masquerade”).

This group of Anime enthusiasts are very involved within the Guelph community, for instance they donated a couple of sets of manga (Japanese comics) to the Guelph Public Library, among other things. Overall, the organizers did a really good job with this event, and I was glad to have checked it out.

(to read more commentary/see more pics from the event, click here)

El Mercadito

Last Saturday, Ruth and I tried out a new restaurant/cafe in Guelph called El Mercadito. Finding the place on 6A-650 Woodlawn Road West was a bit tricky, but we found it, right across the road from the mall and Galaxy movie theatre.

Not sure what to have, we decided to order a bunch of stuff from the menu and split them between ourselves. The only dish not pictured above was our main course (by the time I realized that I had forgotten to take a picture of it, it was more than half gone, and not so presentable anymore. Fail!). Everything was delicious, and the service was excellent. If you love real authentic latino food, I highly recommend El Mercadito**.

**Note: Last I checked, the links on their website weren’t working, but the page in question has more of their food featured.

UPDATE: April 10, 2011- I went by here today and it appears that the restaurant is closed, at least at this location.