SCHOLARSHIP DAY 129: My lengthy visit to the Land of Nod

Despite it's never failing ability to amaze and excite, travelling for an extensive period of time can have it's shortcomings. Daily hiking can wear the feet, late night dining can upset the stomach, and early morning flights can increase fatigue. Travellers, in some ways, do not have a regular body clock; they live in the present moment, willing to explore at any time of day, in any weather conditions. Since the end of August, there have been countless times where I've brushed aside the principal of a good night's sleep, and instead engaged in a spot of early morning writing, or a midnight stroll. In Alaska, witnessing the Northern Lights often led to this degree of nocturnal activity; sometimes I would start writing the blog at 3:00 and wouldn't get to bed until 7:00am. In the cities along the west coast, I would be so actively involved in a packed day of adventure, and engrossed in a lot of evening discussions with hostel guests that I would achieve only three to four hours sleep at most. Health to one side, I have no objection to any of this; some of my most memorable experiences have emerged at these twilit hours, and have added an unique essence to the whole scholarship.

I knew it would catch up with me though. I hit the mattress at just after midnight last night, after entwining myself in a web of conversations weaving throughout the hostel. My philosophy is not to have an alarm because I am usually very good at waking up at a convenient hour; 8:00am or 9:00 is often the case. As my final dream faded away, and I emerged from my visit to the land of nod, I squinted at my analogue watch, and saw it was only 3:00am. As my eyes began to become accustomed to the objects around me, I began to observe a few oddities. One such anomaly was that my dormitory buddies were all absent from deep slumber. I then gazed towards the window, and thought it was slightly peculiar that despite the fact it was 3:00am, the adjacent street was fully lit. I took another scan of my watch; all was present and correct, it was most certainly 3:00am. I decided to check with my iPod to ease the mind, and then realised the inexcusable error I had made. It wasn't just 3:00, it was 15:00, and it had transpired I had slept continuously for 14 hours.

Emerging from my top-bunk, I couldn't believe I had achieved an uninterrupted duration of slumber. (I still can't!) I took a moment to reflect on this, peering out the window to a city wide awake. It was then that I realised that my stint of four months marathon of nightly adventures had finally caught up with me. And even though I had spent most of today not in Toronto but in Eype, Dorset (that was one of my dreams) and with the St. Johns Ambulance Cadets (that was another I recall), I was pleased that my body had at last been given the chance to recover and I now feel all the more better.

So what to do? I couldn't embark on a great adventure; the Sun was beginning to set and at first I decided to stay in the hostel, catch up with my speech-writing and an article for a newspaper I'm currently working on, but with my departure from Toronto so close, I realised to make an attempt at an invigorating walk to explore Toronto's striking university campus, which was not only close by, but looked an interesting place. It would also permit me to witness the city by twilight, something I wouldn't often engage in on a voluntary basis. And so, I emerged out of the hostel to begin my day, even though the Sun's was nearly complete, and offices were starting to turn their desk lamps on. I made my way to Queens Park, casting shadows on the buildings I passed as early evening commuters were illuminating me with their beams. Also starting the day with me were neon lights illuminating shop logos, street side lamps, and the CN tower with it's captivating display of it's multicoloured glistening.

Queens Park emerges onto the scene as soon as you enter College Street, but there are still a couple of campus buildings that appeared on my journey long before I got there. One such arresting one was the University of Toronto Art and Design Centre that conveniently educates in a building called 'Above Ground'. Indeed, it sits alight a spectrum of stilts, but I didn't spot the steps up there. So I drew two conclusions. Either Art and Design students apply for a lifelong course where they spend their entire careers in one room, religiously committed to exploring every distinguished style or Toronto hasn't churned a single Art and Design student since the building's construction.

I find the latter difficult to believe; Toronto has a vibrant atmosphere of artistic dexterity. Just ahead of me now was the Art Museum of Ontario and as is often the case around these areas of the city, sculptures sit in parks and monuments celebrating notable artists stand on street corners. But with a slowly dimmering light, I made direct progress to Queens Park.

Queen Park was absent of students frantically going about their academia clutching ring binders, and also seldom seen tonight were grey haired specialists rehearsing to thin air, their forthcoming lectures. However, clearly visible was the Provincial Legislature. The lack of captivation from the name is more than made up in its grandeur facade. A narrow passageway bordered by two intricately trimmed, snow dusted, bushes led the way to a clearer viewing of the structure. Like I noted in Sacramento, the fundamental key to its impact was pure symmetry.

My walk skewed away from this symmetry; I negotiated a trip around the east of the building and entered a stretch of my walk which the city has entitled 'Trees for Toronto'. It's a small arboretum, with a host of multicoloured bark, but a thick snow made me unable to approach each one and take a peek at it's silver plate detailing the name and it's country of origin. I have to admit, though, in an observed mood of pessimism, that barren of leaves, these trunks could all pass for the same species. Or perhaps in the obscurity that dusk often provides, I didn't spot the various indicators of diversity.

I ambled through more university buildings, all of which exhibited the fine work of construction from yesteryear, before I was shuttled back to the 21st century with another cohort of the evening's commuters making their last journey of the day, and more workers rushing on foot to their local eateries, desirous of a well earned meal. And that included me to. I stopped by Tim Hortons, the largest quick service restaurant chain to bless Canada to date. They offer a generous 'combo' including a grilled cheese panini, a delectable donut and they even throw in a can of soda with that too! I went for the Canadian Maple Donut, still in the world of trees it seems, and enjoyed the a Coke flavoured fizz before heading back to catch Toronto, in full twilight.

As I negotiated traffic lights and road crossings, I became aware of the hive of activity that occurs in a city at these times, when I'm usually back at the hostel. Restaurant staff are setting their tables ready for another bustling evening serving a portion of the city's wining and dining clientele. Day hospital staff are offering up their car parking spaces for those with a grinding night shift. I passed the Fire Engine Station, which showed no sign of shutting down for the day; in fact, I caught a faint siren cruising through the city some way away. For party-goers, this is when it all begins. To clubs and bars, this must have been a premature time; I even spotted one bar with chairs still overturned on tables. This scholarship has become all the more rich as a result of my late getting up, because it illustrated the action which I don't often voluntarily explore. Having said this, tomorrow, I'm putting my alarm on!