Jim Byers photo. Wave Hill Gardens, a magical area of The Bronx. THE BRONX, NEW YORK CITY – I was torn about what parts of New York to check out for the trip I took over the last few days. It seems there are a lot of stories around focussing on trendy new areas of Brooklyn. And talking about fun things to do in Manhattan and even Queens. But when the tourism board’s representative in Toronto sent me a note and pointed out some things to do in The Bronx, I was intrigued. Really? I used to cover the Blue Read more
Europe
JIM BYERS PHOTO Colaneri winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake looks like something out of Tuscany. Great wines, too. NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE – A wonderful B and B with a Florentine co-owner. An organic Italian gelato place run by the same woman and her husband. And a winery where they make their vino in the Italian style in a series of buildings that look like they were shipped from a sleepy hillside in Tuscany. Sure, you can go to this pretty southern Ontario town and indulge yourself in British (and faux British) hotels and plays and bars. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you also Read more
JIM BYERS PHOTO Check out some of the world’s largest sea cliffs in Slieve League on the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland. Jump into Ireland and drive the new coastal route, called the Wild Atlantic Way . Or check out the seacoast, the mountains and the villages of New Hampshire, a surprisingly diverse spot that’s easy to get to. The folks from both destinations brought their displays to Toronto this week to show travel folks some of what’s new and what’s on offer for 2014. And both made some great points. For Ireland, one of the big stories this year is the Read more
It’s spring. Well, it’s almost spring, even though it feels like frickin’ January in Toronto. And that means folks are looking to bust out and hit the road. With summer holiday planning underway, more Canadians are looking at trips to Europe. The latest information from hotwire.com shows the top 10 places Canadians who use the site are looking to book. And what they’re paying. So here you go! The first spot is Toronto. No surprise given the financial clout and sheer size of the city. Average hotel room price on Hotwire? Just $83. Obviously the average guy or gal isn’t Read more
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
