T'ronno

Hi all! Writing from world's, I mean Toronto's biggest hostel. Well, it's not THAT big, but after lovely St John's hostel (capacity of 9ish, or more if Bill gives up his bed and sleeps on Jack's couch across the road) it seems pretty big. I haven't spend much time on the premises anyway, have really been getting out and about in this big, shiny city. And shiny it seems, especially around where the hostel is, getting down near the new harbourfront developments. But I'm getting ahead of myself here...

Had a smooth and speedy trip from Montreal yesterday, in beautiful weather. Found digs, carted cases up stairs one by one (thank you so much Nick the kiwi for carrying my second bag part of the way! I caught a nasty cold a few days ago which is on the mend, but has left a legacy of icky congestion and weakness when having to undertake strenuous tasks such as carting cases. I was looking very pale and sweaty and unhealthy following that incident!).

Following some recovery time, I headed up to Chinatown for a look around. The place was humming; sidewalks crammed with discounted fruit and vegies and racks of cheap, colourful clothes. Like Montreal, Toronto is strikingly polycultural, maybe more so.  I had some excellent chinese for dinner, than headed down to the harbour front to see the evening approach. There seems to be a big development happening in this part of the world, loads of glassy apartments in various stages of construction, all reflecting the setting sun in various shades of orange and blue. The silvery towers, neon-lit advertising billboards and weaving overpasses felt futuristic, even alienating. Right near the water, however, I could smell the brackish scent of the choppy waves, look across to the island parklands, and walk amongst wetland the city has recently reclaimed. 

 I headed back the next day and made a major find - The Toronto Music Garden. Definitely my favourite place in the city so far, the Garden is the result of collaboration between cellist Yo-Yo Ma and artists and landscape designers, and is an interpretation of Bach's Suite No 1 for Cello. Six parts of the garden reflect the six movements of the suite, using rock, plants, sculpture, space and water to convey the particular characteristics of the music, from the contemplative Sarabande to the graceful Menuette (sister Claire - I thought of you so when here!). And it seems people are using the spaces creatively and practically; in the space of my strolls, a band shot a film clip under the Menuette pavillion, an early childhood teacher danced with her gaggle of children round the Courante maypole, and a man walked his dog round the inward arc of the Sarabande, lifting up the happy creature to lap from the pond. 

Today I hit the pavements, visiting Kensington Markets (ethnic foodstores, indian clothing, fruit and vege markets), the Annex (resturants, coffee shops), University of Toronto. Also stopped off for a couple of hours at the Royal Ontario Museum which provides definite bang for the buck. I loved the natural history parts - biodiversity, canadian ecosystems, some impressive taxidermy - it seemed predominantly me and the visiting kids oohing and aahing over this stuff -  but there's also archeology, social histories, art, cultural commentary in video and sound. A good choice.