on Wednesday, my daughter and I spent six hours at The Leaf…

upon arrival we were surprised and delighted to discover a coat check for members… my coat was free and we paid $2 for my guest…

we were a bit early and shared a Rice Krispies square and hot chocolate while we waited for our entry time to the Biomes…

we had a great time in the Tropical Biome where we came across the head gardener and had an excellent conversation about the cacao trees and chocolate…

we visited the Mediterranean Biome to see the Fleurs de Villes displays and met and talked with at least four of the designers…

lunch at Gather was a delicious tomato bisque and grilled cheese focaccia for me, and duck poutine for my daughter…

for dessert she had the honey cake and I enjoyed the squash creme brûlée, which was delicious, lol…

back to visit both biomes where we learned about orchids from a regular gardener talk in the Tropical Biome, talked with two of the zoo staff who shared lots of information about the butterflies and the 52 koi in the pond…

we also got to hear a few violin pieces by Gwen Hoebig, who was one of the models for the FDV displays… my daughter took this photo…

it was hard to pick a favourite, but this time I chose the hoop dancer…