GODERICH – A surprising hotel in a great Ontario beach town. I’d somehow never set foot in Goderich until last weekend, when I spent a night at the lovely Samuels Hotel. But it’s a place I’d return to for certain; a charming hotel with very good food and friendly staff in a fantastic part of Ontario. The hotel, part of the Ontario’s Finest Hotels, Inns and Spas collection, is located on a quiet street a two-minute drive from downtown, an old-style neighbourhood where homes have front porhes and owners proudly fly their Canadian flags. It also backs onto the Maitland Read more
Canada
I’ve had the good fortune to visit Nova Scotia many times over the past few years. And I’ve loved every visit. The scenery is both varied and fantastic; the food is wonderful and the people are unnervingly polite and sincere. It’s truly one of the great provinces of Canada, and one that not enough of us see on a regular basis. Here are some of my favourite spots and memories….
The jazz was great. The acrobats were wonderful. And the Barbu Foire Electro Trad was like nothing I’d ever seen. I spent a long weekend in Montreal earlier this month, mostly checking out festivals during the night and exploring neighborhoods during the day. It was, as always, an extraordinary trip to one of the world’s great cities. We started out with a show by Jesse Cook at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, which wrapped up July 9. Cook and his band were utterly sensational; playing a mix of Spanish/Flamenco style guitar with marvellous percussion work, as well as a great Read more
GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO – It’s intermission, and members of the band Pretzel Logic are standing on a patio outside a Gravenhurst concert venue called Peter’s Players. There’s nothing unusual about that, perhaps, but in this case they’re mingling with members of the audience on a perfect late spring night in Muskoka. A couple band members are drinking from bottles water. One is nursing a beer. But they’re all chatting with audience members about their favourite songs or about music in general. One of the singers is trying to rustle up a fishing trip for the next day. A few feet away, Read more
I didn’t know a lot about Saskatoon prior to my first visit late last summer. What I found was a surprising city with wonderful people, sophisticated dining, great shopping areas and a lovely setting with a huge variety of things to do. Here’s a photo essay from a memorable trip to Saskatchewan.
