VALLETTA, MALTA – Beautiful, golden buildings on hills above the blue sea. Intimate cafes and graceful public squares. Great beaches and some of the most beautiful churches in all of Europe. There’s a lot of reasons tourists come to Malta by the boatful. In addition to the above factors, there’s also the weather. Malta residents don’t even have central heating as the Mediterranean nation is only a stone’s throw from north Africa. I arrived here the other day not knowing quite what to expect. But I was wowed by ancient temples and fabulous, rich churches and great food and wine Read more
tourism
CRUISING THE MEDITERRANEAN ON THE SILVERSEA SILVER SPIRIT – A country I already loved. And a new one that might be just as awesome. I had the good fortune over the past few days to visit Slovenia, a country I first went to in 2009 as Travel Editor at the Star and fell in love with. This time I’m travelling with the Silversea cruise line; a fine and wonderful experience. Slovenia is a former part of Yugoslavia and is relatively small; crossable in a few hours of driving. But it’s got an amazing variety that’s the envy of Europe, or Read more
KOH SAMUI, THAILAND – What a great day. My first full day on this lovely island was actually spent almost entirely elsewhere; snorkelling up near Koh Phangan. We got hooked up with a tour that took us on a day-long excursion with really friendly and helpful guides and plenty of pop and water on board. It was about an hour to reach the snorkelling spot, a quiet kind of bay between two rocky islets off the coast of Koh Phangan, which is just north of Koh Samui and where they have those wild “Full Moon” parties each month. It wasn’t Read more
Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic win could be good news for Toronto after all. My first thought, having watched and covered the Olympics and Olympic bidding since back in 1988, was that supporters of a Toronto 2024 bid would’ve preferred to get Europe out of the way and were pulling for Madrid or Istanbul, which is in Europe but on the cusp of Asia. But the more I think about it, and that’s a dangerous game when you talk about the International Olympic Committee, the more I think this could play out nicely for North America. The 2022 Winter Olympics appear destined Read more
By now, I’m hoping you’ve heard about the famous Sour Toe swallow up in Dawson City. For years, they’ve had a grizzled, green, gross-looking preserved toe on display at the Downtown Hotel. Brave souls (I did it) take a drink of pop or whiskey or what have you with the digit floating inside in what’s called the Sour Toe Cocktail. If the toe touches your lips when you drink, you get to join the Sour Toe club and you get your name on a certificate. Mine is not proudly displayed on my mantle but I have it somewhere. They’ve had Read more
