Our 150th birthday party is almost over. But there’s still a lot to celebrate when you live in a country as great as ours. Here’s one traveller’s take on great places to visit in Canada in our 151st year. St. John’s This has always been one of my favourite cities in Canada. It’s gotten even better lately with the addition of great restaurants such as The Merchant Tavern, a hip and happening spot run by the folks behind the very successful Raymonds. A new Alt Hotel recently opened in town, part of the marvellous, Montreal-based Groupe Germain that also operate Read more
St. John’s
I’ve been lucky enough to explore most corners of this vast country of ours. I’ve kicked around Quebec City, cycled around Calgary and even take a motorcycle sidecar tour of Halifax. I’ve also found more than a few places that I think deserve more attention than they get. Here’s a look at some of them. WOLFVILLE, NOVA SCOTIA With a tidy downtown that stretches only a couple blocks, this is a town you want to pick up and hug. There’s good local wine (try Luckett Vineyards on a nearby hillside with great views) and, of course, fresh seafood. I’ll probably Read more
Summer’s (almost) here, and the time is right for getting your butt out of your chair and setting off to see some of this magical land we call Canada. With that in mind, I’ll be writing regular posts over the next month or two, looking at some of the marvellous places in Canada I’ve had the privilege of visiting in the seven years since I became a full-time travel writer. Hope you enjoy them. I know I sure did. First up: St. John’s, Newfoundland. 1. The people: I remember my first trip here for the Toronto Star’s Golf magazine. I Read more
Jim Byers photo A cruise ship departing St. John’s, Newfoundland is saluted by an officer at Signal Hill. I used Twitter on Canada Day to post a whack of my personal favourite photos that I’ve taken over the years in this great country. Here’s a sampling of them, iin no particular order. I hope you enjoy the show! Feel free to write back to me, of course: jim@jimbyerstravel.com. If I left your favourite place out pf my gallery, my apologies. I don’t have time to post all 10,478 photos in my laptop, and there still are many parts of Canada Read more
ANTIGUA – I was clearly out of my league. It was my second day in Antigua, and I was on a driving tour of the south side of the island. I’d heard something about a yacht show in Falmouth harbour, but wasn’t quite prepared for what I found. I pulled my Toyota SUV into a parking area and walked towards a gate leading to the main harbour, where I was confronted by around 100 gleaming, white, monstrous (mostly) charter yachts. I had stumbled on the annual Antigua charter yacht show, held here in part because of the incredibly zig-zaggy protected Read more
