Travel|Photography
Sleepiness, Snow, and Swearing: My First Morning in Toronto
More time to kill as I wait for the day to begin
I’m all for using technology to improve my life, but that doesn’t mean I’m ruled by it.
When Google said there’d be snow early morning, I snorted dismissively. That the snow would be followed just as swiftly by sunshine led to another snort.
But as I stood outside the Chelsea Hotel, just after 6.00 AM, I found it hard to snort at what was falling from the sky.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Downtown Toronto was noisy on a Saturday night. I was tired but the nightlife was still keeping me awake; a room on the eighth floor wasn’t high enough.
It was quiet at around 3.00 AM but by then I’d given up. An hour later, I was up and using my new zoom lens to shoot street photography out of the hotel window.
My hastily concocted plan was to hit the observation level first thing to get some shots of the Sunday morning skyline.
As a result of my continuing lack of planning, I arrived to find the door locked — I had about a half-hour wait.
Feeling impatient, I thought I’d walk around the block to pass the time.
I’ll admit my idea of snow would start a Crocodile Dundee-like discussion, i.e. “That’s not snow…”, but it seemed thicker than sleet. Yet it was still light enough that the flakes melted as they hit the ground.
I walked around taking photographs while also looking for any interesting local eateries.
As I neared one of the hotel’s other entrances, a woman stormed out screaming: “YOU F**KING C**T! YOU F**KING C**T!”
She was followed by a man who was desperately pleading with her. Then, realising his low volume exhortations were having no effect he bellowed: “BABE, COME BACK HERE!”
It was almost 6.30 AM.
By the time I’d finished my circuit, it had stopped snowing. In fact the skies were beginning to clear.
I went back inside to switch some items but I’d already changed my mind about visiting the observation deck.
Instead it was time to do some more exploring.
A short, non-fiction creative writing piece on my hotel window photography:
