How to get lost in Toronto, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

Audio book cover of the award-winning YA novel, The Twisted Climb

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

Last month, I wrote about transitioning from being a country gal to acclimatizing to life in a bustling city. Though we're living on our sailboat till the end of the month, we spend a wee bit of time in our rental condo. It's located in the heart of Toronto, and I mean the 'heart' of downtown Toronto: between the CN Tower; Rogers Centre (think Blue Jays); Ripley's Aquarium; Union Station; Harbourfront, and the Scotiabank Arena (Toronto Maple Leafs - NHL hockey) and Raptors (NBA basketball). This is the view from the 45th floor of our unit.

CN Tower, soaring 555.3 metres (1,815.3 feet)
It is the tallest free-standing tower in the Western Hemisphere and the 10th tallest in the world.

Roundhouse Park (surrounding the Canadian flag and home to the Toronto Railway Museum),
Ripley's Aquarium at the base of the CN Tower,
Rogers Centre (with retractable dome), and upper left, the Western Gap of Lake Ontario.

As a country gal, I know the time of day by the position of the sun. It also helps me determine which direction I'm travelling. Not so much in downtown Toronto. When I'm walking the street (and gawking like a tourist), I know it's daytime because there's a brightness, but I don't know the time of day because the sun is hidden by the multitude of tall buildings. Hundreds of them. To make it worse, I can't tell if I'm heading north, south, east or west. I know Yonge Street aligns north and south. 

That's it. 

When I exit a subway station, all sense of direction is lost. Should I turn left, or right? Where's the sun? Where's the CN Tower? Everyone is walking with purpose. And me, I have no idea how to get 'home.'

Yup, I'm a country hick. Living in a rural setting for almost 40 years will do that. Don't get me wrong - I was happy to live in the fresh air, know all my neighbours, know every migrating bird that came to my bird feeder, observe the millions of stars in the milky way, and even know the smelly difference between cow and horse manure.

The sights and smells in Toronto are quite different (insert UNDERSTATEMENT here :) So if you want to know how to get lost in Toronto, just step out of the subway station, or a store, or even an underground parking lot. Gets me every time.

However, if you want to get lost in an exciting, action-packed story, just pick up The Twisted Climb series, available by request at your favourite bookstore, or online here:  https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/  Don't forget - the audio version of Book 1 in the series, The Twisted Climb, is now available!

Stay safe everyone and remember to tell those you love that you love them :)

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3)
and
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
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