One doesn’t want to appear smug, but considering the situation we have in Canada in terms of the coronavirus, this news lands at a pretty interesting time. A report by US News has ranked Canada as the best country in the world for Quality of Life and as the number two country on the planet overall, trailing only Switzerland. We were third last year, so we moved up a spot on the podium for 2020. Here’s what their report had to say, in part: “Canada’s expansive wilderness to the north plays a large role in Canadian identity, as does the Read more
culture
Taking a tour of Stanley Park with a local First Nations’ guide from Talaysay Tours is a marvellous way to learn about the history of the area and its people. This is a story I wrote a few months ago for the Postmedia travel site and am re-posting here on National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. VANCOUVER – Wes Nahanee and I are traipsing about Stanley Park in Vancouver on as fine an autumn day as one can legally imagine. Nahanee works with a group called Talaysay Tours, a First Nations-owned company that leads tours in British Columbia and explains the way Read more
I first visited Molokai maybe 20 years ago. It was just for a getaway night for my wife and I, who were on vacation on Maui with my family, and I don’t remember a lot. The weather wasn’t the best but it was quiet and restful. I went back for a day trip with my sister five years later and rented a car, so we were able to enjoy the drive to the Halawa Valley and got to briefly check out the valley and the pretty bay and beach. I went back for a travel story in the Toronto Star Read more
Fabulous food. Sumptuous surroundings. And a truly Hawaiian feel. The relatively new Four Seasons O’ahu (it opened in June, 2016) is one of the top resorts on the planet, a beautiful and lush property in the booming Ko Olina region of Hawaii’s most populous island. It’s less than an hour’s drive into Waikiki and a half hour from Honolulu, but it’s truly a world away. My sister and I were treated to a fantastic night at the resort, which sits alongside a circular lagoon next to the Disney Aulani resort. It’s a great part of the island, relatively dry and Read more
GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO – It’s intermission, and members of the band Pretzel Logic are standing on a patio outside a Gravenhurst concert venue called Peter’s Players. There’s nothing unusual about that, perhaps, but in this case they’re mingling with members of the audience on a perfect late spring night in Muskoka. A couple band members are drinking from bottles water. One is nursing a beer. But they’re all chatting with audience members about their favourite songs or about music in general. One of the singers is trying to rustle up a fishing trip for the next day. A few feet away, Read more
