NIAGARA-ON-THE LAKE, ONTARIO – We’re sitting on comfy outdoor furniture in a lovely cabana in mid-August, sipping some of Niagara’s best wine and nibbling away at a tray of splendid, hot cheese puffs. There’s an attractive, blue/grey sail over our heads to protect us from the sun, and we have a close-up view of the bright green, leafy vineyards, where red wine grapes are just beginning to turn soft shades of plum. We’ve each been served a glass of the Chateau’s excellent sparkling wine and are slowly (well, kind of) sipping away as we soak in the beauty – and Read more
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I didn’t get out to British Columbia as I had planned, but I did manage to spend time this year in Calgary, Banff, Quebec and several places in Southern Ontario. Here are some of my fave experiences in Canada this year. MOST SURPRISING ARCHITECTURE: I had never heard of the Thomas Foster Memorial in Uxbridge, Ontario, but it’s a beautiful building both inside and out. Definitely worth a visit. MOST UNUSUAL SPA: The Muskoka Beer Spa is a fun spot south of Bala, Ontario, with a nice pool, hot tubs, saunas, a beach and cottages that you can have equipped Read more
This a story I originally posted in 2018. PORT DOVER, ONTARIO – I’m feasting on a trio of fine tacos on the sunny patio at Burning Kiln Winery, a few minutes outside of this city. Dusty Zamecnik of Hometown Brew Co., who I met during a tour of the area last year, spots me and comes over to shake hands. “Welcome home,” he says. I’ve taken trips to the north shore of Lake Erie almost every summer the past few years and I definitely feel at home. I’ve grown to love the towns and the rich farmers’ fields and the Read more
ON THE ROAD IN OXFORD COUNTY – One of Canada’s top cheesemakers. A stunning B and B in a romantic old home. A fine art gallery. Oh, and great craft beer and handmade chocolates. Oxford County has a growing reputation for fresh, local food that will satisfy the most demanding of Top Chef viewers. I had the chance to sample several fabulous spots during a short visit last week, as well as a night at what might just be my dream house, a Woodstock beauty on what could be Ontario’s handsomest street. Not to mention checking out a lovely art Read more
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
