Roam cities and unravel their hidden stories

If you’re willing to go to extreme heights to watch a game, look no further than the CN Tower.

“This is scary! Let’s step on it,” we said, as we questionably put one foot forward, 1,122 feet above the ground, to stand on what then seemed like a miniature figurine of the Rogers Centre.

A baseball game was in play and I was really tempted to snatch the Lego-sized baseball bat from the player; the only thing in my way was solid glass. Standing atop with a bird’s eye-view of the city, feeling like a giant, I ended up stepping on the whole field along with cars driving down the busy streets of Downtown Toronto in retaliation. All in all trustful that the glass won’t split, throwing me out on a whim.

The next day, as we adapted back to being overshadowed by buildings, our Uber driver dropped us off at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada hurriedly so she could catch American Idol.

In Ripley’s we saw crabs, sharks and many kinds of dazzling jellies. One is overwhelmed with the most serene feeling whilst watching them move in their nonchalant manner. It’s quite thought provoking how such a seemingly translucent ocean creature, upon closer inspection, appears to actually possess vital organs, full of details yet so vibrant in design; it almost seems futuristic.

While still on the lookout for science, natural history and world culture, we decided to head to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), one of Toronto’s main landmarks which includes various self-explanatory exhibits and galleries.

Somehow, as we were checking different exhibitions, we ended up passing through the ‘Galleries of Africa: Egypt,’ where I was instantly reminded of our recent trip to Egypt, Umm Il-Dunya.

There in Egypt, at first sight, the pyramids didn’t seem as big as I thought they’d be, and in a split second it made me question: “Oh! So what else is there that I have to see for myself?”

I remembered climbing inside the pyramid thinking that passageway was one of the coolest places ever – literally, even though it was summer. It was so cold inside that our friend had to ask the tour guide if an AC was turned on.

It’s just incredible how extremely advanced the understanding of architecture was back then. My Egyptian nostalgia lasted until we came across an exhibition dedicated to minerals.

As we made our way inside, I was enticed by their captivating gleam. Some of the minerals seemed as if they were treasurers of the universe, holding their 3D-like image in a sparkly component that just sprouts in awe-value with each sight of its glimmering colors. Amongst the collection is the Améthyste, formed in lava, dating back to 133 million years ago.

The following days we roamed around the city; tested our nerves in Wonderland, paid a visit to a poison dart frog, wandered Sir Henry Mill Pellatt’s castle, watched one of the semi-finals of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and checked some other landmarks. Thus, we decided to chillax for the next few days.

However, having eaten a funnel cake at Wonderland, we decided to hit the gym early in the morning. So, we took an exercise session with a trainer who recommended us to watch “Forbidden Cures”: A documentary which claims that the cure to cancer is Vitamin B17. A vitamin which apparently has been banned by the FDA from the United States of America.

This took me back to last year when we were in N.Y. chilling in Washington Square Park having falafels, minding our own touristic business. A couple of students from a nearby university approached us to ask a few questions. One of them being: Do you think that people have already found a cure to cancer, but that this cure has been banned from the U.S.?

Back then, and to our knowledge, we responded with a “no”; based on a few read articles on the subject. Interestingly enough though, here we were in Toronto, a year after the question had been raised in N.Y., being presented with a new possible answer, a different turn on the matter.

We are estimated to be 7.4 billion people on this earth. 7.4 billion stories populating the planet, channeling their minds on to the human potential.

When one is roaming around a city, one is delving into the collective minds of the people who built, designed and are currently residing in it; whatever they allow or don’t allow, whatever they give space to or not. Every little detail can be a glimpse of their current state of mind, and well-being.

Most importantly it’s an echo, a reflection, a setter, and a result of their stories. It’s up to each one of us to decide to roam and discover those cities’ hidden stories, to dwell on the different possible answers to a single question that would’ve never even crossed one’s mind.

Furthermore, finding connections between one place and another in the past and the present. Interlinking different routes of various cities and roaming new ways of thought.

By Rawan Moukachar