Yesterday I highlighted my favourite travel spots in the U.S. Today it’s my home country of Canada, with awesome places from Nova Scotia to southern Ontario and up to the Yukon. Best Coastal Drive: The eastern shore (okay, northeastern shore) of Nova Scotia has only a smattering of villages and hardly any commerce. The food was fine, but I absolutely loved the restful surroundings and kayaking at Liscombe Lodge near Sherbrooke. I found cool art galleries and hardly any tourists between there and Lawrencetown, just east of Halifax. Most Surprising Town: Meaford is a cool spot on Georgian Bay in Read more
December 2016
I discovered Tucson and a cool new area of Florida. I had the dreamiest boat ride of my life in Kauai. I even met the son of one of the fabled Marx Brothers at a golf course surrounded by a trailer park in suburban Palm Springs. It was quite the year for travel to the U.S. for this cowboy, with trips to Florida, Hawaii, California, Vegas, Arizona, New York and more. Here are some highlights for my 2016 U.S.A. Jimmy Awards. BEST CITY DISCOVERY: I had never spent any time in downtown Tucson until November. I fell in love with Read more
I wrote yesterday that it was a great day to book a flight. Then came news of more great travel deals this morning. On top of what I mentioned yesterday (see below for details), I got a note this morning to say that SATA/Azores Airlines is offering 25% off all flights from Canada to Portugal as a Boxing Day special. The airlines’ web site says the deal is for any route between Canada and Portugal operated by Azores Airlines and SATA Air Açores but does not include interlines/codeshares with other carriers. The sale runs from now until Jan. 4, 2017, Read more
This is welcome news for Canadian travellers. U.S. President Barack Obama today signed a bill authorizing pre-clearance of U.S. customs (never a fun event) at both Toronto’s Billy Bishop (Toronto Islands) Airport and at Quebec City’s Jean Lesage Airport. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and airport authorities in both Toronto and Quebec had been pushing for the idea for some time. Currently, passengers flying to the U.S. from Toronto Pearson, Montreal Dorval/Trudeau, Vancouver and other major airports can clear U.S. customs while still on Canadian soil. Lines are usually better (albeit often still too long), and it’s a faster and simpler Read more
I just had lunch today with a former colleague who said he’d been thinking of taking a trip to see a Christmas market in Germany. “Maybe not now,” he said, referring to yesterday’s tragic attack in Berlin, where 12 people were killed and many more innocent people injured by a maniac with no respect for human life. “Too many soldiers with guns now.” I see his point. And it’s an easy one to make. It’s also the wrong approach. Because if we stop travelling, the terrorists win. And I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to jump Read more
