My wife and I have been blessed with wonderful travel experiences. We’ve taken trips to Australia, as well as Ireland, Hawaii and Hong Kong. We’ve somehow landed penthouse suites at luxurious New York City hotels and enjoyed palatial hotel rooms in Paris. But I’ve never seen the kind of look on her face that I did when we walked along the elevated pathway that took us to our thatched roof, overwater bungalow at the Four Seasons Bora Bora. Incredulous is probably the best word to describe it, a slack-jawed, wide-eyed and utterly bedazzled look that workers here are probably used Read more
With most of the world stuck at home for a while, I’m re-visiting some previous blogs from my favourite places in the world. This is from my home state of California from a great visit three years ago. Take care, everyone. And obey the new rules so we can all get back to normal (or something like it) as soon as we can. TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA – The bold and slightly sassy Rohnya N. is pouring some red wines with an equally engaging personality at Danza Del Sol Winery on a lovely afternoon in February. “I think this Syrah would be Read more
With most of the world unable to travel right now, I’m re-posting some of my old travel blogs in the hope it may inspire folks to get back out and explore this (usually) fantastic world of ours once we can safely do so. Here’s one from 2013. Jamaica is such a wonderful and diverse island. Rum bars filled with colourful locals in the highlands, glorious beaches, waterfalls you can climb and romantic river rafts. Of course, there also are swanky resorts and infamous spots such as Hedonism, where just about anything goes, including a lot of bathing suits and normal Read more
A lenswear company called Lensbest has released a new, data-driven list of the best places in the world to watch a sunset. As someone who tries to watch a sunset whenever he can (okay, I’m a romantic), I got a kick out of this. The company surveyed travel journalists (myself included) around the globe and came up with the top 100. Santorini, Greece, was the most nominated place to view a sunset worldwide, followed by the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Mykonos Greece, giving two podium spots to the country that gave us the first Olympics. Some 600 global locations Read more
SANTA MONICA – The beach you probably know about. And maybe the famous pier, which marks the western end (or beginning) of Route 66. But Santa Monica is increasingly known for its amazing food scene. I was in town for a couple days in February and managed a delicious lunch at a new Mexican place run by two well-known chefs and a fantastic dinner at a new restaurant run by a Michelin-starred chef. Less than an hour after touching down at LAX on our Air Canada flight, my wife and I were chatting with Mary Sue Milliken at Socalo, a Read more
Whether you’re hitting the beach, mountains or enjoying a relaxing staycation this March Break, iPhone and iPad are trusted devices you can take anywhere. Below are some tips and apps to help you stay organized, entertained and keep the kids learning during the time off. Travel tips with iPad and iPhone Plan with apps. These apps will come in handy from the time of booking your trip to after reaching your destination: — Flying south? Use TripIt: Travel Planner to organize flights and hotel info. At the airport, open Apple Maps and “look inside” the terminal through the built-in Indoor Read more
For six straight Olympic Games, from Sydney in 2000 to Vancouver in 2010, I was the Toronto Star’s Olympics editor/organizer on the ground. I would get our credentials and housing set up and then, on the ground, coordinate our assignments for the reporters and make sure everyone had what they needed to get the job done, including getting media tickets from the Canadian Olympic Committee to cover the big events that had limited media seating. I also would write most of our web stories, usually off a television set in the Media Centre, where I spent 99% of my time. Read more
