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Top Things To Do In

More of beautiful Barbados

From lovely Miami Beach in the south to the wild east coast of Bathsheba and further afield, there’s so much to see in Barbados. Miami Beach is one of the top swimming (and sunning) beaches in Barbados. The water is warm and gorgeous to look at. There’s a food truck called Mr. Delicious that makes good rum drinks and very good rotis for lunch. They’ve discovered old tunnels in central Barbados, part of British military fortifications from some 200 years ago. They’re slated to open to the public soon for tours. Well worth it! Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is Read more

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Deep green, volcanic ridges, a beautiful coastline, warm, friendly people and great gardens and waterfalls help make St. Vincent a top Caribbean destination that’s just a bit off the beaten track. I recently spent several days traipsing about the island of St. Vincent and briefly visiting the island of Bequia. I’ll deal with Bequia later, but for now here’s a look at the lovely and lush island of St. Vincent itself. It’s a real stunner, with a gorgeous coastline and lots more to offer. The beach at the Beachcomber Hotel south of Kingstown is a pretty spot with fantastic sunsets. Read more

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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

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JIM BYERS PHOTO. The Richardson Olmsted Complex near downtown Buffalo is being restored and turned, in part, into a boutique hotel and architecture centre. BUFFALO, NEW YORK – Mea Culpa. For years, as I recall, the head of media/public relations for Buffalo Tourism had been bugging me to come on down and check things out. I envisioned cool architecture and chicken wings and a nice Frank Lloyd Wright building Ihad heard about. I covered the Buffalo Bills off and on for the Star’s sports section in the early 2000’s, but I didn’t have a strong mental image of the city in Read more

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  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

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