Day 13 - Teronno.

09:00
I appear to be on a self-sabotage mission this morning. First, I wake during the night, and head to the bathroom, entirely forgetting that I’ve left my suitcase on a stand at the foot of the bed. I stub my toe, emit some expletives, and look around for someone to blame. Later, once awake, I manage to drop my toothbrush on my toe. A different toe. I’ve got one of those big, electric brushes, and it stings. A lot. I emit some expletives, and look around for someone to blame.

The bath/shower, contraption, whilst very impressive to look at, lacks a little in function. The bath is a 5 foot square. It’s massive. A behemoth. Or, if you will, a behembath. A bathemoth? Perhaps a bathembath. Anyways, it’s huge, so I opt for a shower.

It takes fully five minutes for the water to heat up. When it does, I jump in, and make merry. Now, I need to be careful to make you understand the follow description the way it’s actually intended. During a bout of vigorous, er - cleaning of the downstairs area, I manage to catch a slightly sharp nail in the, er - scrotal zone. I didn’t know I had a slightly sharp nail on which to catch the scrotal zone, but I do, and it does. I emit some expletives, and look around for someone to blame.

Finally, as I dry myself after my shower, I conspire to poke myself fairly heavily in the right eye. I emit several more expletives. I’d look around for someone to blame, but I can’t currently see anything out of the bastard thing. Is it too early to have a glass of wine?

15:00
I head out, once the various pains have subsided, on a walking tour around downtown Toronto. To pronounce it correctly (like a Torontonian, as my awesome wife has informed me), it should really be pronounced ‘Teronno.” It’s properly fresh outside. Now, I’ve just come from the frozen wastes of Winnipeg, on the great plains of Canada. As a result. I snort derisively in the direction of this alleged cold weather. Still, it is a *bit* fresh. I’m glad of my beanie and fleece gloves, for sure. I’ve no particular agenda for today. I’m going to wander, and see where the day takes me. There are a couple of places in Teronno I wanna visit, but largely my stay is about experiencing the city. I walk fairly aimlessly for a good couple of hours. I walk past the CN Tower, the huge edifice that is visible from so many parts of the city. It’s over 500m high, and was the tallest free-standing structure in the world until 2007, when it was surpassed in height by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It’s a brutalist design, completed in 1975. Visually, it very much reminds me of the Fernsehturm Tower in Berlin. I briefly consider taking a ride to the observation deck, also once the world’s highest at 447m, but decide against. I’m enjoying the view from the ground so much, and want to continue my explore.

I carry on further South, and hit the waterfront. I’m on the shores of Lake Ontario. It’s the smallest of the 5 Great Lakes, but is still the size of Wales. The 5 lakes together are pretty much exactly the same size as the UK as a whole, and contain more than one fifth of the world’s surface fresh water. There’s a VERY chill wind blowing off the lake. It’s -1C today, but the wind chill is taking it down to -8C. There’s a small island off the coast of Toronto, and it’s then about 50km down to the shore of the USA, and Niagara-on-the-Lake, right on the border. There’s a very random giant picnic table in the park by the water’s edge. Internet searches are futile. I can’t find any reason why it’s here. I take pictures from several different angles to try and demonstrate its size, I hope the context is explanatory.

I head to the East, towards St Lawrence Market, walking down a street called The Esplanade, which seems to be Teronno’s version of a Victorian era street in London. There’s even a pub called Scotland Yard halfway down it. St Lawrence Market is a mix of fresh produce stalls and prepared food outlets. There’s a shop selling nothing but rice - maybe 30 different variants. A fab butcher, selling some of the great cuts and breeds of beef from around the world - some sensational looking Wagyu, bistecca Fiorentina, Sirloins from Herefordshire herds, Limousin from France. There are several delis, cheese shops, a couple of great looking bakeries. As I need to be at my apartment for a couple of hours between 20:00 and 22:00 to take delivery of my laundry, I decide that a room picnic is a good shout, and grab some amazing looking produce. Amongst my provisions, is a great loaf of bread. As I’m buying it, I noticed the bakery has Pastel de Natas, baked custard tarts of Portuguese heritage. I order one, because custard. It’s delicious.

I’ve been struck by the number of high-rise buildings in the downtown area of Teronno. They’re literally everywhere. At one point, I feel like I’m surrounded by them on all sides. Many of them appear to be residential, and many, if not most, appear to be pretty new. There are certainly a number that are under construction. I’ve never experienced a skyscraper density quite so high. That said, I’ve not been to China, which I suspect is similar, but even and more. Down by the waterfront, the combination of high rise residential buildings and water somehow reminds me of Miami. I mean - there’s a 35C temperature differential, but otherwise…

I head back towards the West, and pick up my car. I’m heading down to Niagara tomorrow for some falls watching, and some wine tasting. They give me an Audi SUV. It’s not quite the giant that I was driving in Seattle a week or so ago, but it’s not a million miles away. Traffic through downtown is heavy, ridiculously so for a Saturday afternoon - to my mind, anyway. It takes me close to 30 minutes to drive back to a parking garage near my apartment, when it would have taken fewer than 20 on foot.

21:30
Around 15:00, I head out. My laundry’s not due back till 20:00, so I figure I’ll wander for a while, and head back in decent time. I aim for a sports bar near my apartment, and perch on a barstool. A young lady asks for my drinks order. She has an unmistakably English accent. I ask where she’s originally from (after ordering a Guinness, obvs) and she says she’s from Brighton! A little more discussion unearths that she grew up in Seven Dials, about 5 mins away from us in Preston Park. She’s here studying, and this Sports Bar is her Saturday job.

My plans for an extended afternoon session are interrupted by my laundry dude, who wants to drop my laundry earlier than the 20:00 planned time. I stop in for a quick sharpener, then head out, finding a very cool taproom just a few hundred metres down the road. I settle in here instead, enjoying several Happy Hour beers. I read my book, I’m not ashamed to admit that I eavesdrop on some other conversations, and I eventually decide I’m famished.

Back at my apartment, I immerse myself into my room picnic. The bread is spectacular, the pastrami the wafferesst of brilliant theeen meeeents. The cheeses are sensational. The pate is beyond good. I gleefully dive in.

I’ve half a mind to head out again, but honestly - who’s got the energy. I settle down to watch a movie instead. I’ve an early start tomorrow, you know.Okumaya devam et