Exploring the City

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly our brains can adapt to unfamiliar environments. When I arrived in Toronto, less than 24 hours ago, I had absolutely no knowledge of the city. The drive from the airport took me through a continuing series of complete mysteries. I had no idea what direction we were travelling or how far away my apartment was. This is the same feeling I have whenever I enter a city for the first time.

After a restless night's sleep my first need was to get something to eat. It had been a long time since I had eaten anything substantial and I knew that my body was running on empty. A glance out the window reminded me that it was cold outside - very cold. So on went my jumper, beanie and gloves and out I went into the streets of Toronto for the very first time.

Of course this time I was on my own. I made a very conscious effort to memorise each landmark that I passed so that I would be able to find my way back again. My first observation was this was obviously a prosperous neighbourhood. A row of stately residences had been converted into very fancy shops, but there was nothing that looked like it would be able to sell me breakfast. I kept walking.

Alongside the roadside there were large piles of dirty snow that had presumably been swept from the road itself. A very fine drizzle was falling, but it was scarcely enough to make me wet. Eventually I hit the jackpot. I spied a second floor eatery with the original name "Flo's Diner". The neon sign in the window said it was open. I immediately decided that my search was over. All I had to do was find a way to get up to the place.

For the next ten minutes I tried every door I could find to gain entrance. All were locked tight. I walked back and forth in the street. I even decided to ask a man standing nearby for help, but unfortunately I managed to find one of the few people in Toronto who did not speak a word of English. Surely I would not collapse in the street from starvation when food was so tantalizingly close by ?

Eventually I discovered an unlikely door next to a boarded up shop. It opened when I pushed and I experienced my own Eureka moment. Up the stairs and into the Diner I went. Soon I was enjoying a nice omelette and orange juice and my body started to feel better. At least I now knew where I could get food.

I continued my walk and soon discovered an entire indoor shopping centre. One thing I can never understand is why the coldest countries have the hottest indoors. Although it was only 3C outside, the temperature inside was stifling. It was little wonder that some were walking around in T shirts and shorts. I could only think of the extreme waste of energy.

It was good to be back outside in the cold again. I made my way to the imposing Royal Ontario Museum and learned about the hard life of the Eskimos. I was even able to watch a silent movie about "Nanook of the North". Although I had only planned to watch a few minutes of it, I found it really interesting and stayed for much longer.

My next stop was the snow covered Queen's Park, followed by the University of Toronto. I followed a group of students into a lovely old building and for a while I pretended that I was back in my undergraduate years. The notices on the noticeboard had not changed much in 50 years. I guess student life is still very much the same the world over.

By mid afternoon the rain had increased in intensity and I decided that it was time to return to the comfort of my apartment. I decided to try the television. Without any instructions, I could not figure out how to watch TV, but somehow I did manage to find that it streamed TED talks. I had already fed my body, so I thought it was time to feed my mind for a while. These talks really are fascinating.

I had a simple dinner from some groceries I bought at the supermarket. The prices of simple staples like milk, cereal and juice was eye watering. $4.99 CAD for a 1 litre carton of milk made me appreciate that we really are not so badly off in Australia after all.

Although I had only traveled a few km during the day, I already felt that I was beginning to build a mental map of the new surroundings.

Now I'm ready for bed.Read more