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Golden Gate Bridge

It’s a great matchup on paper, with the NFL’s top quarterback (Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, a number 10 draft pick) against San Francisco 49ers signal caller Brock Purdy, a kid taken last in the NFL draft in 2022, 262nd overall. It’s also a fun matchup of cities that are quite unalike; one smack dab in the middle of the American heartland and solid as Midwestern rock; the other perched on the edge of the continent and known for its breezy, live for today attitude. Here’s a look at the two cities. Full disclosure: I grew up in Read more

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U.S. News and World Report has come out with a list of the top 25 hotels in Canada. It’s a pretty good one, but a couple of things leave me curious. The publication put the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, B.C., at the top of the list, which is quite reasonable. It’s a gorgeous hotel with massive rooms, beautiful bathrooms, and lovely, historic touches all around. The next four were  the Ritz Carlton, Montreal, 1Hotel Toronto, The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto and The Four Seasons Whistler. I quite like the 1Hotel Toronto, which has a very cool lobby bar and Read more

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We all want to save a buck. Or three. With that in mind, the folks at gobankingrates.com have put together lists of the 10 cheapest and 10 most expensive cities to visit in the U.S. I’m quite familiar with many of them and have some thoughts of my own, so I’m offering three free things to do in some of the most expensive cities. And, just for fun, free things to do in the cheapest cities so you can REALLY save. We’ll start with the most expensive on the list. In order, from most expensive on down, were New York Read more

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The city of San Francisco never fails to impress. But she’s even prettier at Christmas, with decorations galore and plenty of holiday spirit. The “bridge to bridge view” rooms at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco have stunning vistas, with guests able to take in both the Golden Gate Bridge (in the background here) and the Bay Bridge, with its fantastic lights. Rooms at the Mandarin Oriental, located in the financial district, also offer lovely designs and supremely comfortable beds. You’ll also find huge, well-appointed bathrooms and a renowned spa. Some of San Francisco’s famous cable cars get gussied Read more

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