Jaunted

Animals / Volunteer Travel / OMG Monkeys / → All Tags

How to Visit Canada's Famous 'IKEA Monkey'

In case you didn't visit the internet last week, a tiny monkey in a tiny shearling coat showed up in the parking lot of a Toronto area IKEA. As it turns out, the monkey, a Rhesus Macaque, is named "Darwin" and lives as the pet of a real estate lawyer. Or did, since Darwin broke out of his cage and his owner's car and was eventually captured by Toronto Animal Services. That's only where his story begins.

Thanks to tweets and Instagrams from IKEA shoppers who spotted the monkey, the animal attained web stardom in record time. He was not returned to his owner (who was fined for owning an illegal animal), but sent directly to "monkey rehab" at Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary.

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How To Get Tickets To / JFL42 / Comedy Travel / Events / Toronto Travel / → All Tags

How To Get Tickets To The Interactive JFL42 Festival in Toronto

This week JFL42 is taking interactive festivals to a whole new level. The comedy festival, that features "42 of the most hilarious, riveting, and/or awesome things they could find," is currently taking place through September 28th in Toronto.

Throughout the festival they'll be interacting in real-time with pass-holders. Even the passes themselves are interactive, instead of getting an old school paper ticket, attendees are being sent a barcode that can be scanned right from their phones.

Passes are still available and start at $99, which includes a ticket to see Louis CK on Thursday night at the Sony Centre. The pass also gives holders credits for a spot at a show they want to attend.

To see the full line-up or buy passes, visit http://www.jfl42.com/.

[Photo: Facebook]

Celeb Travel / Canada Travel / Travel Bans / → All Tags

Russell Brand Claims Canada Won't Let Him Into the Country

Russell Brand pulled a fast one on his Canadian fans this weekend when he claimed he wouldn't make it to a gig in Ontario due to a problems at customs. Russell was set to perform at the Casino Rama in Orillia on Saturday night but tweeted that he was going to be late because of a customs issue.

@rustyrockets HELP! I'm gonna be late for Casino Rama show unless someone can force Canadian customs officials to let us land in Orillia!

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Airport Photo Shoot / Celeb Travel / Airports / Twilight Travel / → All Tags

Robert Pattinson Does the 'Undercover Celeb' Look While Passing Through Toronto Airport

Robert Pattinson tried to keep a low profile at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, but not even a beard and baseball cap can fool Twilight fans.

Rob was arriving in Toronto to film re-shoots for his upcoming movie Cosmopolis, which was filmed in Toronto over the summer. He tried to stay incognito in a San Diego Padres hat, T-shirt and jeans but fans still recognized him and called out his name as he quickly passed through the terminal.

It's not known how long Rob will be in Toronto but considering he only brought along two duffel bags, which he carried himself, we doubt he'll be in town for very long.

[Photo: celebrity-gossip.net]

Movie Set Travel / Daniel Craig / Celeb Travel / Jaunted On Location / → All Tags

Canada is So Hot Right Now, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz Agree

For the past month or so, Daniel Craig has been in Toronto working on his latest film, Dream House. The movie, which co-stars Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts, is about a family that learns of a brutal crime committed against the former residents of their new home.

The "dream house" in the movie has been built in Gairloch Gardens in Oakville, Ontario. Thanks to an unseasonably warm winter, the crew had to spray fake snow on the house and surrounding land to make it look like a winter wonderland. Daniel Craig will return to Gairloch Gardens on March 19 and is expected to spend four or five days there shooting the movie's final scenes. Oakville has been buzzing over its brush with fame, and what exactly will come of that house they've built. The latest rumor is that they're going to burn the whole thing down when they're done filming, while others say that is actually how the movie ends and the house will be destroyed as part of the shoot.

Today, the cast, crew and their fake snow have been spotted at the VIA station in Guelph, ON. VIA Rail Canada offers service from points throughout the country, and as flying becomes more of a hassle, many are are taking advantage of their extensive routes. You can travel on the same train, in a sleeper car, from Vancouver to Toronto for about the cost of a plane ticket, and get to see the countryside while you're at it. Schedules and pricing are available at Via Rail.ca.

Related Stories:
· Dream House [IMDb]
· Daniel Craig Back in his Dream House [On Location Vacations]
· Movie Set Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Just Jared]

Prime-Plane-Spotting-Map / Plane Spotting / Toronto / Toronto Travel / Air Canada / Restaurants / Porter Airlines / YYZ / → All Tags

Drive-Thru For A Fast Food Lunch And A 747 Landing

We love airplanes, you love airplanes, so let's go look at airplanes! In our Prime Plane Spotting series, we'll let you in on all the best spots to whip out your cameras and binoculars for a piece of the aviation action.

On the Pacific coast of Canada, in Vancouver, there is a jetty ideally situated for watching landing planes. On almost the other side of the North American continent in Toronto, it's a Wendy's fast food restaurant that makes for the perfect lookout.

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Film Festivals / Toronto Travel / Celeb Travel / Back of the Envelope Guides / → All Tags

Back of the Envelope Travel Guide: Toronto International Film Festival

This year's Toronto International Film Festival is right around the corner, so it's time to start thinking about what films to see, where to stay and where to go for celebrity gawking. This year's roster includes Whip It, Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Up in the Air, starring George Clooney, and Precious, a smaller film with a couple of big names (Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry) appearing at the festival to back it.

Tickets for the fest, which runs from September 10th-19th, can be purchased via the festival's box office in customized packages, pre-set packages or individually (single tickets go on sale September 4th at 7 am). If you're heading north of the border for the red carpet festivities or just to watch them, we've got all the tips for where to stay and eat and what else to catch when you're not asking for autographs.

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Pollution / Zoos / → All Tags

Toronto Zoo to Harness the Power of Poo

There are certain cities in the world that are having a bit of a problem with poop. As we pointed out last week, for example, the glimmering emirate that is Dubai lacks a viable drainage system for sewage, resulting in polluted beaches and illegally-dumped ponds of poo surrounding the city. Nasty! One would think that such a wealthy and technologically-savvy place could afford the world's most sophisticated sewer system, but if they haven't built it yet, maybe a better solution to their problems can be found at the Toronto Zoo. Zoo officials recently announced plans to build a $13 million plant that turns animal poo into clean, green, pollution-free energy that would power not only the zoo, but the surrounding community as well. The poo-to-power process is known as anaerobic digestion, and it converts animal and food waste into biogas with the use of some very helpful bacteria. With more than 5,000 poo-producing animals providing a constant flow (sorry) of fuel, officials are optimistic that the zoo can meet its goal of becoming an energy independent, carbon-neutral destination in just a few years, hopefully providing a example for other cities who are struggling to deal with environmental and energy problems. Naturally, we have to wonder if some poop is better than others for power. Is grass-fed elephant poop preferable to Dorito-fed human poop? Can they actually use teeny tiny poops from frogs, turtles, and snakes? In any case, it sounds like both the people and the animals up in Toronto are on to something.

[Photo: AP]

Related Stories:
· Toronto Zoo [official site]
· Toronto Zoo Wants to Turn Poo Into Energy [CBC News]
· Zoo's Poo Aids Push to Become Carbon Neutral [thestar.com]
· Why We're Never Swimming at a Dubai Beach Again [Jaunted]

Celeb Travel / Jennifer Aniston / Toronto Film Festival / → All Tags

Film Festival Travel: Toronto's a Little Disappointing, Eh?

Only grown-ups here: Far from the sparkles of the MTV Video Music Awards, Jennifer Aniston opens her new movie "Management" at the Toronto Film Festival. The road-trip comedy stars Aniston as a traveling saleswoman who finds her last one-night stand (Steve Zahn, "Rescue Dawn") is chasing her across the country.

While Toronto's wave of premieres has featured the usual parade of smiling faces, industry insiders are feeling a little let down over last year's marquee offerings like "No Country For Old Men," "Juno" and "Eastern Promises."

Guy Ritchie's premiere "RocknRolla" debuted to tepid-to-cold reviews, and the Venice Film Festival stole the thunder of this year's Coen Brothers output "Burn After Reading." Persevere, armchair critics! The next "Ray" could be in there somewhere!

Related Stories:
· Brad Pitt Makes Knees Weak; Wyclef Jean Mops the Floor [HC]
· Missed Connections in Toronto: The "Admit It, You've Seen "The Notebook" Edition [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Celebrity-Gossip.net]