The Road Goes On

Like Sam and Frodo, Alex Lindsay and I are headed there and back again.

I smiled even more broadly a minute later when they called me to the desk and upgraded me to first class. I felt guilty leaving Alex behind in economy. For about two seconds.

Alex was busy setting up his new Vox blog anyway.

Any extra bit of luxury is more than welcome. I've just finished 15 TV shows in four days. I'm tired, but it's that happy and satisfied kind of tired. I really enjoy the gang in Toronto - we have such a blast shooting the show. It's almost like a vacation every month. The kind of vacation where you work really hard all day then fall into bed exhausted every night. Come to think of it, it really doesn't sound at all like a vacation.

Starting next month I'll be staying at the same hotel every time I come to Toronto, in the same room, and that will make it a little more homey. This will be my 28th trip in two years. I've been staying in an assortment of large hotels in the financial district and they're just so impersonal. Nice, but big.

The new place is a teriffic, fun, little hotel (only 19 rooms) with three great restaurants, including two patios and rooftop dining, and a nightclub in the basement, and it's in one of Toronto's hippest neighborhoods. They already treat me like family.

Despite the grueling schedule, every week I'm here I try to soak up a little Toronto culture. Last night I saw the musical version of The Lord of the Rings at the Princess of Wales Theater. It's an amazing show - well worth seeing if you come to T.O. Unfortunately it's closing and moving to London in September, so you'd better hurry.

It's not perfect by any means, but much better than the reviews would indicate. And the production is stunning. The Balrog at the end of the first act is chilling. Literally.

It was clearly a challenge to get all three books into three and a half hours, but there's as little exposition as possible and ultimately it works. I cried at the end and left the theater singing. Two furry toes up.