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ALLAN ROGERS
reports on
To
get a really good ‘overview’,
we took a ride in the lift up to the top of the
CN Tower.
The elevators are encased in glass, so
you feel as you are shooting up though space at
20 feet a second.
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Toronto, a city for all seasons
Winter
in Canada can be quite dramatic.
I first visited Toronto in a
January snow storm. With a wind chill factor of -60, it was so cold
outside that we’d only venture out wearing Russian hats and fur
lined boots. The best way to get around was to do as the locals do
and use the subway trains and the underground ‘streets.’
They connect into a large glass covered shopping area called the
Eaton Centre which has over three hundred and thirty shops and over
twenty cinema theatres. In this giant green house, escalators run
from floor to floor, birds fly though trees and custo mers with warm
feet look out at the winter snow.
For
a shopping experience of a different kind we braved the cold and
crunched through the snow to visit the colourful outdoor Kensington
Market. It’s truly international, you can buy rice from an Indian
or eggs from a Ukrainian and shop in any language you want. I sipped
a steaming mug of coffee and watched a woman pick out a live chicken
and carry it into the shop by it’s feet. The
city has over eighty ethnic groups and boasts three 'Chinatowns' and a
‘Little Italy.’
The
Canadians make the most of their winter and I was almost tempted to
rent a pair of skates and join the folk on the rink in front of the
City Hall, but they glided by just a bit too gracefully, so
I stuck to taking pictures. Toronto’s a great place for the camera
and vistas of old buildings mix in with the new skyscrapers.
 To
get a really good ‘overview’,
we took a ride in the lift up to
the top of
the
CN
Tower. It was built to send radio and TV signals across the vast
spaces of Ontario and at 1815 feet tall and gives you a extensive
view of the city.
The
elevators are encased in glass, so
you feel as you are shooting up though space at
20
feet a second, (much quicker than an plane taking off.) and
as we stepped out on to the
world’s highest public observation gallery, the lift operator said
“Thank
you for flying CN.” Below
lay Toronto City Airport and it was strange to be able to watch
planes land beneath our feet. We
looked down to see scores of skyscrapers,
The
Canadian National Exhibition Show-ground, the Harbour Front with
it’s galleries, cafes and antique market.
The city sits beside
Lake Ontario, which was covered by ice and ships were frozen into
the harbour.
My
next visit to Toronto was in August and the first thing we saw from
the air was of the CN Tower. Beyond it the ferries were running on
the lake out to the seventeen islands. The most popular is Centre
Island where you can find ‘Centreville’ a fourteen acre
children’s amusement park. You can get around by renting a bicycle, canoe or paddle boat. From the CN Tower on
a clear day you can see Niagara with the famous falls. .
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