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
beaches
The coast of Sardinia near Hotel Cervo, on the Costa Smeralda. SARDINIA – I’ve only been on the island an hour or two. But my friend Mans Hallqvist wants to show me some cool parts of his adopted city of Cagliari, so I find myself climbing a dry, dusty but beautiful hill on the outskirts of town. The deep blue waters of the Mediterranean are off to our right as we head up the hill. Mans points out wild asparagus plants and we pass brilliant pink oleander as we skip past the ancient rocks. Suddenly we find ourselves gazing Read more
NEVIS – I think I’m in love. I’ve only been on this Caribbean island two days but I’ve packed a ton of great experiences into my 48 hours. And I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s a place I didn’t know a lot about, having never been to St. Kitt’s, which is a mere two miles away and is part of the same country. But it’s a stunner; tranquil, quiet and lovely, with some of the nicest people you’ll find on this planet of ours. I’ve been to a fair number of Caribbean countries, and this has to be right Read more
FLAGLER BEACH, FLORIDA – The weather didn’t cooperate so much, but I found a great spot in Florida this past weekend. Flagler Beach is only a half hour or so north of Daytona, home to roaring race cars and motorcycles. But it’s honestly a world away. Where Daytona and other Florida cities have high-rises lining the beach, Flagler has a law that forbids buildings on the beach. Instead, almost all the buildings (one or two stragglers got in but that’s it) are across the small, two-lane highway, A1A. It makes for a marvellous drive up from Daytona, with nothing between Read more
We don’t hear a lot about Como Hotels hear in North America. But that could change. Soon. There are nine hotels currently in the portfolio and three more are planned, including on at 24th and Collins in Miami Beach; close to the South Beach insanity but far enough away at the same time. The group was started by a woman from Singapore who had stayed in many hotels in London but didn’t find one to her liking. The emphasis is on stylish design and service, but they don’t aim to be a youthful, exuberant place. “It’s for people who have Read more
