Toronto

It's claimed that this is the most international city in the world. I looked at a book in the library and discovered a list of the cultures that are present here. A few include: Sikh, Turkish, Laotion, Russian, German, Tamil. That's about 1/20th of the total. WE plan to get out to explore some of these neighborhoods while we are here. I need to investigate how this city got to be this way!
It is huge... about 2.5 mil. people in the city itself and 5 million in the greater metropolitan area. I think that makes it the fifth largest city in North America and the largest in Canada. That is a lot of exploring we'll have to do!

Today we explored on foot, as we often do. We followed a trail through city parks along the Humber River. Astonishing hike, it felt like a hidden secret, a place where the city was hushed and silenced. Oaks, willows, sugar maple, staghorn sumac and other plants surrounded this shadowed tunnel through Toronto. Tiger lillies bloomed in sunny spots; redwinged and tri-colored blackbirds called to us from reeds. Great egrets, big white wading birds strolled through the deeper parts of the river, hunting fish and other swimming critters,

People of all cultures hiked by the river; it would be interesting to do an article about the different ways they relate to it. There are signs of old Huron and (I think) Iriquois settlements and activities around 1659;; I want to take a closer look at that.

When we came out from the trailo, we found ourselves surrounded by big white condos and roads of screaming traffic. It was funny, the beginning of the trail was pretty similar. The chaos in these spots were like parentheses that set the river trail apart.

I'm pretty tired; we hiked 8 - 10 miles altogether, so I'm letting the poet in me take over a bit here. Time to stop for the night; more soon. Bon soir.