LES ILES DE LA MADELEINE, QUEBEC – I had a business call to make to Toronto and was on the phone with a co-worker. “How’s your trip,” he asked me. “It’s absolutely spectacular out here,” I said. I told him about the endless and glorious and empty beaches and the adorable towns and the wildly colourful houses and the incredible food and the utterly fabulous art and the local beer and the towering cliffs and the red rock coastline pockmarked with caves and carved into arches and the pounding surf and the gentle lagoons. I think I sounded like a National Read more
Canada
Jim Byers photo A cruise ship departing St. John’s, Newfoundland is saluted by an officer at Signal Hill. I used Twitter on Canada Day to post a whack of my personal favourite photos that I’ve taken over the years in this great country. Here’s a sampling of them, iin no particular order. I hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to write back to me, of course: jim@jimbyerstravel.com. If I left your favourite place out pf my gallery, my apologies. I don’t have time to post all 10,478 photos in my laptop, and there still are many parts of Canada Read more
CALGARY – From old school to new age, and from Brazilian coffee to Chinese statues, Kensington is one cool shopping destination. I didn’t know a lot about the area prior to a visit I made to the wonderful Kensington Riverside Inn a few months ago (more on that later in this blog). But I had an awesome time checking out a very urban – and urbane – part of a city that doesn’t get enough credit for its hip neighborhoods. I started my walk around Kensington Ave. and 10 th St. NW, checking out the tattoo shops (I didn’t indulge, Read more
LAKE LOUISE, ALBERTA – Swiss efficiency. Alberta hospitality. That’s a tough combination to beat when it comes to a hotel. But the Post Hotel and Spa also offers a location in one of the most stunning places on the planet, the oh-so-lovely Lake Louise. Which probably accounts for all those ooh-la-la reviews on Trip Advisor and similar websites. The hotel is cozy and bright and looks very much like a Swiss chalet in a forested glade of quiet, majestic trees, with wonderful views of the amazing Rockies. The staff welcomes you the second you exit your car, and when you Read more
Jim Byers photo A memorial to fallen Canadian troops at the Brooding Soldier monument at Vancouver Corner in St. Julian, Belgium. YPRES, BELGIUM – I take a train through rolling fields of prosperous farms and frisky Holsteins and small, black sheep grazing on deep, green grass. I dive into perfectly cooked sole at a stunning restaurant. I wander adorable streets filled with attractive brick buildings and drink rich Belgian beers on lovely squares and stroll through romantic parks with tiny bridges over pretty marshes and silent fishermen trying their luck I have a lovely time in this small town and Read more
