Nice Canadians? I don’t think so. At least not when it comes to travel and social media. The latest study by hotels.com finds that our mobile phones have become such a part of our lives that we’re willing to skip sightseeing or time at the beach to do our social media updates. The study said 36 per cent of Canadian travellers admit to uploading photos to social media to gloat, while 20 per cent admit to checking into places on social media just to make friends jealous. Isn’t that awful? I feel BADLY when I post great photos from Canada Read more
Canada
A magical lookout high above the largest freshwater lake on the planet. A beautiful and easy hike along quiet, rocky beaches that reveals crystal clear water and a stunning rock arch jutting out into Lake Superior. Bountiful and beautiful white-tailed deer grazing in deep green forests. If Sleeping Giant Provincial Park was a few degrees south of latitude it might be the most visited park in Ontario. Instead, it’s something of a well, sleeping giant, an amazing and powerful and evocative and beautiful headland that stretches out into the majesty that is Lake Superior. I arrive on a perfect, 20 Read more
A great hotel any time of the year. But especially wonderful on a Canada Day weekend. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier is a Canadian institution that has one of the most iconic settings in the country. It rests alongside the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO Heritage Site. Just the other side of the canal you’ll find the glorious stone of Canada’s Parliament buildings. Many rooms at the Laurier have views of both the canal and Parliament. If you’re lucky enough to have room 202 like I did this past weekend, you’ll also get a view of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Read more
Fittingly, my first exposure to the now famous Canadian flag was at a hockey game. Oddly enough, it was in Oakland, California. I grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco and always enjoyed sports. Once, perhaps as part of a school field trip, we went to a game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena to see the California Seals play. I remember, I think, the white skates. I definitely remember trying to figure out what icing meant. The rules confused me and I didn’t really understand what was happening on the ice (something my kids will say has stuck with Read more
Staying home to avoid the U.S. dollar this summer? Here’s a look at some fun and funky things to do across Canada, mostly along the Trans-Canada Highway. ST. JOHN’S The eastern end (or beginning) of the TCH starts in St. John’s, where you’ll find colourful houses lining the rocky coast of the harbour. You can take a great walk from there to the top of Signal Hill, where a couple years ago I spotted a military guy firing off a symbolic round of blanks in recognition of the city’s first cruise ship of the year. NOVA SCOTIA Just a few Read more
