Here’s a post from a great trip to New Zealand a few years back. Awesome golf, great food and unforgettable scenery… NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND—You drive down a dirt road a half hour outside Kerikeri, a town of maybe 6,000 permanent residents. Suddenly there’s a plain, wooden gate that looks for all the world as if it’s meant to keep sheep off the road, which it probably is. It’s a level of modesty that befits this country that one local described to me as “second-gear.” But the golf resort that lies behind the plain fence is sheer glory. Kauri Cliffs Read more
This post is from a great visit in December, 2010… PARIS – It wasn’t what I expected. And I couldn’t have been happier. When someone from the French tourism office in Canada suggested I take in a jazz brunch on Sunday, I had pictures of a bunch of guys Woody Allen’s age bopping on the clarinet in front of a well-heeled group of visitors at a semi-swanky hotel room. Or something like that. Instead, when I arrived at a place near the Marais district called Le Reservoir, I was mildly surprised – in the best possible way – to find Read more
LOS ANGELES – It’s impossible to encapsulate a city of such diverse neighbourhoods into one, so I’ll keep this focused on Hollywood and downtown L.A., which has seen an incredible resurgence – resurrection, even – since the bad old days when this correspondent toiled nightly in what was then a wasteland at Fifth and Figueroa. SLEEPING The Roosevelt, a Thompson property, was home to the first Academy Awards ceremony, which lasted only minutes (if only). Marilyn Monroe used to do photo shoots at the palm-surrounded pool and used to sleep there regularly, amongst other things. There’s a cool, old-fashioned, two-lane Read more
Here’s a post from one of my favourite cities in the late fall of 2010… SYDNEY – Still pretty rainy here in Sydney. Unusual for this time of year, but we can probably blame El Nina. Or El Nino. Or some kind of weird climactic situation. It was close to 30 degrees here a week ago, and it’s usually in the mid-20’s by now as Sydney approaches the summer. This would be the equivalent of early May for them, so it’s usually a brilliant time of year. Instead, it’s gone from beautiful to bizarre, with daytime temperatures in the teens Read more
BERMUDA – You probably know about the golf. But there’s lots more to do on this beautiful island, where the weather is about to get close to perfect. Here are a few. SLEEPING Southampton has some wonderful properties, including the Fairmont Southampton, a pink beauty on a hill overlooking the south shore. There’s a great beach and it’s adjacent to marvelous Horseshoe Bay. Rooms in October from about $330. I stayed at a casual but adorable spot in the village of St. George’s called the Crooked Elbow, close to a couple of very nice beaches and only a short walk Read more
NAPILI BAY, MAUI – Arguably the best beach in North America. A fabulous, small hotel founded by Canadians. A terrific restaurant with awesome ocean, neighbour island and sunset views. Lush grounds filled with manicured lawns and tropical flowers of every colour. And a weekly show that brings together the funniest and most talented musicians in Hawaii. Yeah, it must be hard to market yourself when you’re the Napili Kai Beach Resort here on Maui. I’ve stayed in a lot of fancy places around the world, but there’s no hotel I’d rather come to than this one. Mind you, I first Read more
WAWA, ONTARIO – My last night on the shores of Lake Superior, and it was quite something. The Rock Island Lodge is a small, cozy affair directly on the shores of the greatest of Great Lakes, a short drive down an easy to handle dirt road outside of Wawa. I stayed in a basic but perfectly fine room off the main dining room, with a nice bath and views out to the lake. It’s part of the Naturally Superior Adventures paddling centre, which offers everything from paddleboard lessons to short canoe rides on the next-door Michipicoten River to long kayak Read more
