It’s Jimmy time. Yes, while many of you are gearing up for the deep freeze at the Winter Classic with the Maple Leafs or Red Wings or toasting the new year at a posh hotel in New York or Jamaica, I’m home in Toronto counting my blessings and staying close to my overtaxed radiators so I can stay warm while I type up my list of Jimmy Award winners for the year that’s about to come to a close. I was immensely lucky in this past year and was able to visit some astonishing places and do some amazing things. Read more
Venice
ON THE MEDITERRANEAN WITH THE SILVERSEA SILVER SPIRIT – Great food and drinks with stunning presentation and variety. A sumptuously appointed ship with all the bells and twice as many whistles. Terrific service. And an outstanding itinerary with some of the best tour guides I’ve ever had. Yeah, living the life on a Silversea cruise ain’t a bad way to travel. It’s not a cheap way to go, but you get treated like royalty (luckily more like Kate than Camilla Parker-Bowles). The smallest suite on board is close to 400 square feet; as big as some downtown condos and considerably Read more
VENICE – Just arriving was a thrill. I was here only once before, a very brief stop on a hot day in August, 1979 when I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t have a great impression of the place and hurried on. This time, I was gearing up for a cruise with Silversea and looking forward to giving Venice a better shake. The act of simply coming in for a landing and seeing the island stretching out on the horizon out the window of the plane was a thrill, with the brick tower of the Campanile piercing the hazy October sky. Read more