It’s a touch late for booking that trip to Dublin or Galway (or anywhere else in Ireland) for St. Patrick’s Day. On the other hand, there are great locations right here in North America to go green come Monday. I can’t think of many better places than St. John’s, Newfoundland, which seems more Irish to me than parts of Ireland. They’ll be having a grand old time in town on Monday, for sure. Also awesome would be Cape Breton or Halifax in Nova Scotia, where you’ll find a serious Irish influence and great dancing and music. Of course, you could always Read more
March 2014
VICTORIA – I’m shocked it took this long. But at least it’s here now. On my recent trip to Victoria, which is far more hip than you might think, I wandered into the Victoria Public Market on Douglas Ave., one of the main streets. It’s located in the old Hudson’s Bay building, just a few blocks north of the main part of downtown. And it’s a magnificent addition to the city, a fun and giant and sunny space with ceilings high enough for a giraffe and immense concrete pillars. They’ve added splashy, colourful paper umbrellas to give the place Read more
Congrats to Sherry Hildebrandt of Huntsville, Ont., whose name was drawn earlier today for my great family getaway contest. Hildebrandt picked up a one-night stay for four people in deluxe Double Accomodations at the terrific Eaton Chelsea Hotel in downtown Toronto, one of Canada’s top properties and probably the best family hotel in the country The deal is valid until Aug. 15 of this year, and also includes dinner for four people in their signature restaurant, Bb33 Bistro and Brasserie, as well as breakfast for four at Bb33. Plus free parking and a family pass to the Ontario Science Centre. Read more
Americans like to watch TV. Chinese folks have a bath or shower. UK residents read a book. And Russians are the most likely to have sex. I saw a great study from the Four Seasons hotel group the other day about what folks do in their hotel rooms before heading to bed. And the cultural differences are quite something. The study was done by the hotel group as part of their new Four Seasons Bed program, which will allow guests to personalize their sleeping experience. The Four Seasons Bed, a collaboration between the Toronto-based hotel group and bed manufacturer Simmons, Read more
VANCOUVER – An unusual sushi spot, classic outdoor walks and an historic hotel. Despite what we might think of the weather out west, it does occasionally snow in Vancouver. Such was the case early last week, when my planned frolic in the canyons of North Vancouver and crossing of a couple of pedestrian bridges turned into something a bit chillier than I had planned. Mind you, it was extremely beautiful and not very cold by Ontario standards; around plus 4 Celsius. And the snow wasn’t particularly bad, only a few centimetres. I’d probably prefer to tour the canyons in good Read more
