The following article was published in The Toronto Star. Fun things to do in Toronto before 8am.
DAYBREAK DIARY
The city that's still asleep
Aug 16, 2007 04:30 AM
Words to live by at 6:20 in the morning: "Just don't go out wearing no underwear."
A man who calls himself Smiley, lithe with a natty braid stretching down his back, delivered this advice to no one in particular as he feigned a stumble through the front door of Vesta Lunch. It's a 24-hour truck stop at
"How are ya? I'm drunk," he says. "I'm kidding. Gimme a coffee." He plunks himself down at a stool near mine and snarls in my direction.
There it is: my initiation into the world of early-morning
I blink in his direction, but glance past him through Vesta's floor-to-ceiling windows. The scene outside resembles a ghost town: Cars streak across the empty road. Traffic lights chirp for no one. It's quiet – even a bit eerie when the pulse of the city isn't thumping.
This is the first day of my hunt to find out what's on in this city between 6 and 9 a.m. as the subway squeals into motion and most locals hit the snooze button. The challenge is to pinpoint activities that don't include wandering aimlessly, praying or exercising.
Many activities are unpredictable. After-hours clubs promise to be packed past dawn, but doors often shut early, with no warning. A handwritten note tacked to the entrance of a 24-hour bowling alley greeted me at 7 a.m. one morning, explaining the place was closed because of an "emergency."
On the upside, the sidewalks outside
My first stop, after wrenching myself from slumber at 5:45 a.m. this morning, was Caffé Brasiliano on
Plumber Jonathan Fernandez and other labourers, all calloused hands, work boots and lunch pails, sip from miniature espresso cups, outside. It's a daily ritual.
"It's always the same people in here," Fernandez, 21, says. "We're like robots."
So are early morning exercisers. An aerobics class at Extreme Fitness at Bay and Bloor Sts. is packed.
"Knees up," yells the instructor. "Keep moving."
Everyone's bouncing like a bunny on crack, but there's a camaraderie as they shed their fatigue. It's as if they share a secret, an ownership of this more efficient, quiet world.
The light strikes me when I leave the gym. And I'm shocked, almost angered, to join a sidewalk teeming with fast-walking pedestrians.
Late risers. Who do they think they are?
A handful of early-morning sites we visited on our week-long quest:
Comfort Zone,
No klub kidz waving light sticks. No one barfing on the sidewalk. I'm disappointed. It's 6 a.m. and The Comfort Zone is closed. Manager Jose swore the after-hours club, open past 6 a.m. Friday to Monday, would be jumping, but I arrived to find the doors padlocked shut. Reliability before 9 a.m.? I think not.
Metro Golf Dome,
Feel like swinging a metal object before your morning coffee? It takes 15 minutes to get from downtown
CAFfÉ BRASILIANO,
A few patrons flop limply in booths at the back of the restaurant, and jolt upright when the espresso machine comes to life. The dimly lit space gets busier by the second. Owner Ken Connors is chipper, but not in an annoying way. "You're not gonna find anything around here that's open at 6 a.m.," he says of downtown
Bowlarama West,
Narrow windows surrounding the front door reveal a lights-off but lively bowling alley with all the charm the sport has to offer– moulded plastic benches, flashing lights, win-a-prize kiosks, shoe rental, snack bar. That's why it's extra disappointing to find the doors of this 24-hour joint, inside a strip mall, shut at 7 a.m. A handwritten note taped to the door explains the alley is closed due to "emergency."
Vesta Lunch,
This 24-hour truck stop at
Jet Fuel,
The stainless steel bar is swarmed with patrons, bleary-eyed and in desperate need of this high-octane coffee. The barista can hardly keep up with demand. I smack a handful of change down on the counter, plunge a few spoons of sugar into my tall to-go cup and exchange friendly words with a few random patrons. In and out in under seven minutes. A few sips of the appropriately named brew and I feel like I can fly.
Moksha Yoga,
It's 6:30 a.m. and about 95C in this room. I'm not sure if it's possible to stay awake when it feels like I'm lying in a pool of heated molasses. There are about 10 people in this early morning hot, silent yoga class – and I'm in for 90 minutes of posing without any spoken instruction. The class is calming and surprisingly energizing. And at this time of day any worries about seeming uncoordinated melt away.
Commisso Brothers & Racco,
I'd wager this is as close as
Psychic,
Spirits don't sleep in even if people do, says Catherine MacDonald, 37, who operates from a closet-sized room in her basement apartment. This psychic doesn't often do early-morning readings, but is available almost anytime by appointment. She's cheerful and ready by 8 a.m. when I arrive to have my fortune told, and says channelling the deceased comes naturally at any time of day. "To me, it's like second nature," she says.
Extreme Fitness, Bay and Bloor
Sweat is in the air at 7 a.m. The instructor's voice is booming and exercisers are too tired to resist her instruction. But as the music picks up so does our adrenaline. There's nothing like an early-morning fitness high to put life into perspective.
Ruby Chinese Restaurant,
Managers open the doors at 7:45, even though food carts don't start rolling through the banquet-like restaurant until 8:45. Tables fill quickly with diners, newspapers in hand, waiting for freshly steamed dumplings, sticky rice, pork buns and congee. English is a language spoken sparely by staff, so dim sum serves me well. I just point.
Four Seasons Hotel, Avenue Rd. and
At 8 a.m. breakfast-seekers are dressed to the nines – full faces of makeup, not a coiffed hair out of place and Windsor-knotted ties. The well-to-do can dine on tofu-cheese, turkey sausage and egg-white omelettes, which is what I choose to eat, at tables spread with white linens. Morning paper's free and chatter is all business. Breakfast, with orange juice and tea, comes in at just under $30.
Michele Henry
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