NEW ORLEANS – What a way to start a visit. We pulled up in a taxi and checked into our hotel, the Dauphine Orleans on Dauphine St. in the French Quarter (see photo). After unloading our gear in a nice room across the street in their courtyard building, we checked out the hotel bar, called May Baily’s Place. Like a lot of spots in this town, it was once a “sporting house” with lots of fun things for men to do. In the old days it was one of the better known bordellos in what the hotel brochure calls “the Read more
August 2013
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – We hear a lot about bungee jumping and hot springs in Rotorua and those oh-so wonderful pinot noir wines from Otago and the sauvignon blancs from Marlborough. But even a travel guy who should know better finds himself in this wonderful country and gets surprised at the sheer variety of the place. Auckland, for example, gets vastly overshadowed by the “usual” tourist spots in New Zealand, not to mention the attention that gets showered on cities such as Sydney by visitors such as Oprah Winfrey. It doesn’t have an opera house to rival Sydney or a Read more
CHICAGO – Okay, I was a little reluctant. I mean, we’ve all see those people rolling about various cities on those silly-looking Segways. And, let’s face it, they look like mall cops. But, at the same time, they look kinda cool, right? I mean, we might not ever make it to the Jetsons but a Segway is at least in the same area code; all futuristic and such. So, yeah, I had mixed emotions when the folks at Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism board, suggested my wife, Barbara, and I take a two-hour tour through Millenium Park and environs the Read more
NEW YORK – Two girls on a fire escape on a hot summer’s night. A humming corner restaurant with enough noise to rival a 747 at takeoff. Tons of fun bars and a real, edgy feel. I managed a bit of time in this city’s Lower East Side on my recent visit and checked out Schiller’s Liquor Bar on Rivington St. It has the feel of a subway station, with off-white tiles on the walls and floor and a black-and-white floor that had the 70’s music bouncing around like shoes in a washing machine. It was awfully hard to hear Read more
HAINES JUNCTION, YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA – There’s not a lot to this town, which is really just a crossroads on the Alaska Highway about two hours west of Whitehorse, reached by a very pretty highway (see photo). Haines Junction is pretty much a collection of a few small hotels and motels and a couple gas stations. n The Frosty Freeze appeared to be the centre of action on a 13 degree Saturday night, when it didn’t get dark until after midnight, and even then I don’t think ever turned REALLY dark. Then again, one doesn’t venture up here for the Read more
