Jim Byers photo Italy can be unbearably hot and crowded in August, but by September it’s cooler and far less congested. Try Sorrento, where I shot this cool cafe last November. I love summer. But it’s often the WORST time to visit so much of the world. It’s especially bad in Europe, mostly because it’s full of people like you and me. Especially me. And it’s hot. And the locals are all on holiday. Notwithstanding the fact I met my wife in August in Rome in 1979 (it’s our 33 rd wedding anniversary today, by the way, so HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Read more
travel tips
ON THE TRAIL OF GREAT WOMEN IN ALBERTA – A couple years ago I visited a wonderul museum in Whitehorse. There were tons of stories about interesting miners from around the world, but I was particularly struck by a woman named Lucille Hunter, who was one of the first black women in the Yukon and used to walk 200 km from Mayo to Dawson City every year. I also found it fun to read about Martha Louise Black, a Yukon resident who was the second woman elected to the Parliament of Canada. The history of Alberta, similarly, is filled with Read more
CHIANG MAI – Bustling but still spiritual. As a fairly seasoned traveler I should’ve known a popular city such as Chiang Mai would be a big place. Somehow I had envisioned a big village or small city, perhaps on a hill, with a series of winding alleys and small food carts. Instead, I found a busy city of some 1.5 million people with large hotels and scattered high-rise towers and wildly coloured tuk tuks and red and white and yellow pickup trucks with covered backs for passengers to ride in and endless shops and markets. Still, there are some quiet Read more
ST. JOHN’S – A visitor last here five years ago or so is struck by how much this city has changed. There were signs of good times on Water St. and Duckworth on my last visit. But things have taken a major turn. There are (gasp) condos going up down near the Battery and in other parts of downtown. They’re not large, but still… There also are new, fun shops and restaurants; Basho, a Japanese fusion spot on Duckworth is one, although I didn’t get a chance to try. There’s also Chinched on Queen St., which offers traditional seafood and Read more
ST. LUCIA –I was floored. It was my first visit to St. Lucia, in the fall of 2009, and I was in a cab, heading from the international airport to the Sugar Beach resort, nestled between the iconic and awe-inspiring Pitons that rise up out of the Caribbean. The song on the radio was a country music tune, with somebody doin’ somebody wrong. The next song was also a country number, something about a dog and maybe a grandma. The third song? Yep, country again. I didn’t want to be rude so I asked my driver what was up. I thought maybe it was a tape Read more
