Toronto/Picasso.

This morning, my path to breakfast was intersected by masses of humanity, with each person focused on getting to work. In the afternoon, I had to dodge the same Niagara Falls of humanity going in the opposite direction now even more intent on getting home after a long day at the office.

It has been overcast and gloomy here in Toronto in the last few days, both outside and inside, and literally and metaphorically. My hotel room does not get much light at any time of day which is strikingly different from the room I had in Prague. Also I can't open a window here which I could do in Prague. So it is interesting how one's perspective changes, even though this room has more amenities, in a couple of respects it is not as good as the hostel-like room I had in Prague. The Prague room was flooded with light already at 5 am whereas here there is barely any light at that time of day.

The city is reeling from the shooting on Saturday, the day I arrived, in the Eaton's Centre. One person died and a couple of people including a young boy are in critical condition. Several other people were also injured.

And on Friday, Union station flooded with water and sewage following a heavy rainfall, shutting down subway service for a period of time in parts of the system.

I went to see the Picasso exhibit yesterday, not once but twice. I saw most of it in the morning but didn't get through it all before I had to go and meet a friend for lunch. After lunch, I decided to go back to the gallery to see the rest of the collection. There are about 150 pieces, including a number of sculptures. I have not seen many of Picasso's pieces before and I had no idea of the wide range of his work or how it evolved over the years in reaction to the women in his life or the changes in both his and world circumstances. His pieces from just before and during WW2 have a darkness and a kind of insanity about them that reflect the terrible circumstances of that time. According to the information provided at the exhibit, Picasso had been interrogated a number of times by the Germans but ultimately they left him and his work alone.

Today, the AGO was closed so after breakfast I went in search of a post office, I wanted to ship some things home instead of lugging them to Nashville tomorrow. I ended up mailing 8.6 kgs of mostly books and a few other things, which has thankfully lightened my suitcase for the next leg of the journey, the NASIG conference in Nashville. I hope to have one final look at Picasso tomorrow morning, before I leave in the afternoon.