Lost in Toronto
A man and a woman in vivid red t-shirts stood in Kensington Market, poring over a Toronto city map. The man shouted, "Does anybody know where there's a Mona Lisa around here?"
djjo knew. We were standing on Baldwin Street. He pointed down the street to the light, turn right (on Kensington Avenue), and down a block. It's on the side of a building. But the pair got side-tracked, looking the other direction. We wandered away.
Five minutes later, at the corner of Kensington and Dundas, we stopped with a small crowd to watch a dragon dance. Suddenly the man and woman in red reappeared, still looking for Mona Lisa. They recognized us.
"You can see it from here," we told them, pointing back up Kensington Avenue. The Mona Lisa is a big black and white mural with google eyes. She holds a colourful banana, with a pile of fruit by her shoulder.
"Thank you," the said, and sprinted toward the painting.
We strolled south through Chinatown, smelling the scents of a busy market: fish, unusual sweat, nail polish remover. There was a row of young people standing in bright costumes, carrying long pennants on tall poles. I gazed longingly in the windows of Furama Cake and Dessert Garden at all the lovely things I can't have anymore.
Another ten minutes and we stood waiting for the Queen streetcar. The man and woman arrived again in a shuffle of maps, lists and cell phones. Their t-shirts said Mitshubishi City Chase. The woman had a punch card and TTC day pass pinned to the front. They asked the way to Carlaw Avenue. We were travelling the same direction on a scavenger hunt of our own, from Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market to The Purple Purl in the East End.
They followed us onto the streetcar and sat down beside us. They had a list cryptic clues for places to go all over the city. While he called friends and asked them to look up addresses, she grilled us politely for more information. They were a brother and sister from Brantford and Barrie respectively. Not only did they have to find sites, they also had to do stunts and exercises to get the card punched. She appeared a little older and more relaxed about the whole adventure. We told them they could hit Keele Subway Station, High Park and Runnymede Branch of Toronto Public Library all in one swoop, but it was far end of the city from where they were headed. The batteries ran out on the woman's handheld technology, and she seemed content to chat while her brother worked out the route ahead.
"Here's Carlaw," said Danny.
And then they were gone.
Two seats behind us sat another man and woman, evidently not a brother and sister, following no one's map or instructions but their own.
"This is Queen Street East," said the man. "We want West."
"No, this is right. Be quiet."
"Here's the map."
"This says Queen Street West."
"That's what I said."
"You told me it was East."
"No that's what I...."
"It says West but you told me East."
"But this...."
"Shut up," she said, turning to look out the window. "We'll stay here a little longer."