One of the interesting features of Ottawa is its architecture and Ottawa has many heritage sites. Parliament Hill with its historical neo-Gothic buildings was an …
The Mardi Gras Experience at Fat Tuesdays
After our arrival in Ottawa this afternoon and a very brief rest at our hotel, we went out in search of a satisfying dinner. The …
First Impressions and an Overview
My partner in crime Theresa and I went to Ottawa 3 or 4 years ago in the winter to catch Ottawa’s famous winter festival “Winterlude“. …
My Packed 2-day Itinerary for Winterlude
For a while my friend Theresa and I had been planning to go back to Ottawa and experience “Winterlude”, Ottawa’s winter festival. About three years …
Ottawa River: Mating in the Wild and Other Diversions
On July 23 and 24 my friend Leslie and I went on a weekend adventure: a learn-how-to-kayak weekend on the Ottawa River. We had a …
Ottawa River: Reflections on City Life
So Friday I decided to head out on a kayaking weekend with my friend Leslie. This was the first time in about 8 years that …
Ottawa River: How the River Kicked My Ass
Way back when in February I went to the Outdoor Adventure Show and I twisted my friend Leslie’s arm to go on a learn-how-to-kayak weekend …
San Francisco – City by the Bay – Part II
For a long time I have wanted to travel to San Francisco again. Finally, in February of 2008, I had an opportunity to visit one …
The Field Museum and Pompeii – Stories from an Eruption
Yesterday I got up early again and typed up my travel reports on the free computer at the Arlington House. Then my friend Linda and …
Chinatown and Second City
After thoroughly exploring the Pullman Historic District, we decided to check out Chinatown, one of the many ethnic neighbourhoods that Chicago has to offer. The …
A visit to the Pullman Historic District
After being appropriately prepped as a result of our visit to the Chicago Cultural Center we decided to head off yesterday to visit the Pullman …
A personal tour through the Chicago Cultural Center
Yesterday, after our lovely Austrian breakfast we went downtown to the Chicago Cultural Center, the main downtown information hub for tourists, to ask some questions …
Chicago Travel: Multiple Austrian connections
So the two of us expatriate Austrians are staying at the Arlington House Hostel, in itself an exciting experience, to be immersed in this environment …
What a fabulously photogenic city
Yesterday I woke up at 5:00 am Chicago time and I figured I might as well get ahead of the crowd at the Arlington House …
Chicago Travel: Discoveries around Lincoln Park
So here I am again, on another short excursion away from home. I’ve been awake for an hour already and decided the best thing is …
Covering the SERVAS Conference
One of the things I do for the website is I continuously search out individuals and organizations that have accomplished unusual things or made special …
Gastown and My Final Explorations
After my extremely interesting walking tour of the Downtown East Side I decided to round out my exploration of the city with another bicycling trip. …
A Walking Tour Through the Downtown East Side
The University of British Columbia has a drop-in centre downtown in Vancouver’s East side called the Learning Exchange where it provides educational opportunities to people …
The Grouse Mountain Experience
No visit to Vancouver could be complete without a real mountain experience. So after covering the Servas conference I left at 2 pm for downtown. …
Wheeling around Stanley Park
Stanley Park is Vancouver’s famous urban paradise and I knew weeks in advance that I would need to explore it in detail, preferably on a …
Arrival in Vancouver
I left beautiful Victoria early yesterday morning at 8 am and took the Pacific Coachlines bus/ferry combination back to the mainland. It was another gorgeous …
Exploring Victoria and its Vicinity
Another perfect day with beaming blue skies, great temperatures and no humidity greeted me yesterday. After a lovely strengthening breakfast and some business issues, Clare …
Reaching the West Coast
Jetlag is an amazing thing. It’s barely after 5 am and I have already been reading for an hour an a half. So I figured …
Discovering the Architectural Treasures Downtown
My second day in Rochester started off with a lovely Park Avenue neighbourhood breakfast and an exploration of the ArtWalk neighbourhood. I only had a …
Exploring ArtWalk – An Outdoor Art Experience
If you have read my articles for a while, you know that I am a visual arts lover. One of the highlights of my Rochester …
A Perfect Getaway
Two days ago I took the CAT fast ferry from Toronto to Rochester and arrived well-rested after a 2.5 hour boat ride in the Port …
The CAT – An Awesome Beast
For a while now I have been dreaming of taking the recently re-introduced high-speed ferry service from Toronto to Rochester. The ferry service briefly ran …
(7) – Prospect Park & Washington Square Park
Yesterday was our last day in New York City and our flight left at 7:57 pm, so we figured we’d store our luggage at the …
New York City Travel – Checking Out Coney Island and Harlem
So I am sitting here back in my office and I want to bring our last 2 days in New York City to paper. Considering …
New York City Travel – A Local Tour Through Queens
Yesterday was a pretty interesting day, the weather was cool and overcast, with rain coming in during the latter part of the afternoon. A few …
New York City Travel – Staten Island and a Random Act of Violence
The Staten Island Ferry is a fabulous institution. It is a huge ferry that departs from a very modern, glass enclosed terminal, holds several thousand …
New York City Travel – Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero, Downtown
What a full day we had yesterday. We had a delightful breakfast in our bed and breakfast at about 8:30 am and shared some nice …
(2) – Exploring Mid-Town Manhattan
Since our plane landed nice and early we had virtually a whole day left to explore yesterday. The weather was pretty nice, quite sunny when …
New York City Travel – First Impressions of the Big Apple
So yesterday morning our American Airways flight (booked for free with my Airmiles) left at 7:13 am to bring us to the Big Apple, a …
Havana Travel – The Final Day
My god, how time flies…. I have now been back from Cuba for close to 10 days, and my reentry into the business world has …
(15) – Getting ready to say ‘Goodbye, Havana’…
Hotel Habana Libre, Saturday, April 16, 2005, 9:51 am So my stay in the Cuban capital is rapidly coming to a close. Even the good …
Havana Travel – Field Trips and Interviews
Hotel Habana Libre, Thursday, April 14, 2005, 3:38 pm During the past close to 2 weeks, I have really been trying to understand Cuba, its …
Havana Travel – Exploring Downtown Havana
Hotel Habana Libre, Thursday, April 14, 2005, 3:02 pm The last few days I have spent quite a bit of time walking around downtown Havana …
(12) – Contrasts and Contradictions
Etecsa Telecommunications Building, Downtown Havana, Thursday, April 13, 2005, 3:32 pm I really gotta hurry, I only have about 28 minutes left on my Internet …
Havana Travel – Inside a Cuban Home
Etecsa Telecommunications Building, Downtown Havana, Wednesday, April 13, 2005, 3:06 pm So I am sitting here in a new place and I gotta hurry since …
Havana Travel – A Country Excursion
Hotel Havana Libre, Sunday, April 10, 2005, 12:45 pm After my walk through the Vedado neighbourhood, my friend Pedro came to pick me up since …
Havana Travel – A Tour of Havana Neighbourhoods
Hotel Havana Libre, Sunday, April 10, 2005, 12:30 pm Yesterday morning I had arranged to meet one of the women from the from the university, …
Havana Travel – Bicycle Rides, Camellos and Cannon Shots
Hotel Habana Libre, Sunday, April 10, 2005, 11:10 am After picking up the bicycle on Thursday, I finally took my first ride on Friday afternoon …
Havana Travel – Fun and Recreation
Hotel Havana Libre, Friday, April 8, 2005, 3:45 pm So, of course, not everything is politics, learning, philosophizing and studying languages. Life also has to …
Havana Travel – The Student Experience and Political Insights
Hotel Havana Libre, Friday, April 8, 2005, 3:21 pm It is such an amazing experience to live the life of a student again, after 15 …
Havana Travel – Another Mind-Twisting Experience
Hotel Havana Libre, Friday, April 8, 2005, 2:47 pm I am sitting here at one of the most famous hotels in all of Havana, after …
(4) – Bureaucracy Galore – The University of Havana
Hotel Havana Libre, Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 7:20 pm Yesterday I had to sign up for my Spanish course at the University of Havana. The …
Cuba Travel – Hiking Vinales and Exploring Nature
Hotel Havana Libre, Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 6:54 pm On Sunday it was gorgeous. The cold front had finally passed through, the rain was gone …
Cuba Travel – Rain in Vinales
Hotel Havana Libre, Tuesday April 5, 2005, 6:24 pm So Saturday I had already planned to go to Vinales, a beautiful area in the province …
(1) – First Impressions
Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 6:00 pm, Hotel Havana Libre Thanks to a severe case of the Revenge of Montezuma (or Ricky Ricardo?..,) I am sitting …
Quebec Winter Adventures: Skiing in the Eastern Townships and a Visit to Sherbrooke
So I am cheating a little, I am already back in Toronto, writing this little summary of the second half of our trip to Quebec. …
Hello from Quebec (Magog) -1
So I am sitting here at the Club Vacances Magog with the wind howling outside at 45+ km per hour and temperatures of about -15 …
Traditional Folklore on the Island of Ibiza
So we had spent our last day in Ibiza as part of a truly amazing 2 week vacation. The day before, after our little beach …
Hello from Ibiza (3)
September 30, 2004, 4:15 Sitting here in an Internet Cafe in Cala Llonga on the east side of the island. We spent about 2 hours …
Ibiza Travel: Beautiful Island Beaches and a Visit to Santa Eulalia
September 28, 2004, 9:45 pm We just returned to the resort after a gorgeous evening and decent dinner in Santa Eularia del Riu. Today we …
Spain Travel: Hello from Ibiza (1)
September 27, 2004, 6:05 pm I am sitting here in the front entrance hall of the Ses Fontallas Plaza timeshare resort in Sant Antoni. We …
Spain Travel: Hello from Sitges
Sitges, Cafe Tiempo Loco, September 24, 2004, 7:20 pm The beautiful church of Sitges Sitting here in the cafe, 2 minutes from the Hostal Bonaire …
Hello from Javea
Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 5:40 pm We just arrived in the little port town of Javea, about 75 km south of Valencia. Yesterday we drove …
Hello from Tarragona
September 20, 2004, 1:05 pm My second blog entry. Sitting here in Calle Cos del Bou in Tarragona. We spent 2 very intense and interesting …
Hello from Barcelona
Maremagnum Shopping Mall, September 18, 2004, 1:45 pm This is my first ever blog and I´ll have to be very brief since I only have …
A Final Walk to Discover Amazing Architectural Beauty
My exciting long weekend in Montreal unfortunately had to come to an end. After an exciting day of exploration yesterday that ended with an absolutely …
Gourmet Dining at Nuances and Amazing Fireworks at La Ronde
My personalized tour of the Casino de Montreal was very interesting and taught me many different things that I had never known about casino operations. …
Exploring the Casino de Montreal
After my lovely cheerful encounter in the Square St. Louis I briefly went back to the hotel and then took the subway to the exit …
Friendly Neighbourhood Encounters on Square St. Louis
After an enjoyable late lunch at Mañana and after learning about the interesting life story of its owner, Angel Broncales, I was ready for enjoying …
A Peruvian Immigrant Success Story at Restaurant Mañana
My lengthy explorations of the Olympic Stadium, the Botanical Gardens and the Insectarium, and my visit to the Jean Talon Market in Montreal’s Little Italy …
Exploring the Olympic Stadium, the Botanical Garden Plus the Insectarium and Outdoor Action at the Jean Talon Market
Appropriately rested from my action packed day yesterday I had a leisurely breakfast and headed out on the subway at 9:30 am. I love the …
Savouring Italian Cuisine at Galiano’s
After my official Montreal bike tour, my individual explorations of the Lachine Canal and my chat with André from Ça Roule, I decided to go …
A Chat with André Giroux from Ça Roule about Bicycling in Montreal
I had thoroughly enjoyed my guided bicycle tour with Ça Roule and Bruno, a licensed city guide from Guidatour, really introduced Montreal up close to …
Biking on the Lachine Canal – Industrial History Turned into Recreational Opportunity
I had thoroughly enjoyed my guided tour of Montreal by bike and being the bicycling enthusiast that I am I knew this would be a …
The Henry Ford, Greenfield Village & the Detroit Institute of Arts
It was still dark outside when I woke up from my restful slumber at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. There was some commotion going on …
A Walking Tour Through Brush Park & Dinner at the Ren Cen
After having learned so much about architecture during my morning walking tour of downtown Detroit, we embarked on another urban discovery: a walking tour through …
An Architectural Walking Tour of Downtown Detroit
On my second day in Detroit I got a great start to the day with a scrumptious breakfast at the just reopened Westin Book Cadillac …
A Driving Tour & Riverfront Dining at Sindbad’s
After my explorations of Windsor I had about an hour and a half to explore Detroit on my own before my scheduled driving tour of …
Hospitality at the Argyle Manor Bed and Breakfast in Windsor
Finally it was time for another excursion. As a true architecture buff, Detroit had been on my radar for a long time, and I definitely …
A Guided Bicycle Tour Exploring Montreal Neighbourhoods
Well, after a more than filling dinner at La Iguana and a brief excursion to Montreal’s Jazz Festival last night it was time to burn …
Mexican Delights at La Iguana & a Peak at the Jazz Festival
The Plateau area is one of the trendiest areas of Montreal, so I decided to explore it a little further after my discoveries of Old …
Exploring the Chateau Ramezay during a Torrential Downpour
Well, as much as the walking tour through Old Montreal nourished my senses and architectural sensibilities, my stomach was in dire need of nutrition and …
Architectural Discoveries in the Old Montreal Walking Tour
Every time I go to a new city, the spirit of adventure and discovery heightens my energy level and 6:10 am I was already awake. …
Reliving History with the Old Montreal Ghost Tour
After an enjoyable dinner at Modavie I was ready to head to my next scheduled activity: a ghost tour of Old Montreal. Old Montreal Ghosts …
Dinner and a Little Jazz at Modavie
After my initial introduction to Montreal through my driving tour, my next step was to explore the city on foot. I set out on my …
Getting the Lay of the Land in a Driving Tour
Shortly after my arrival in Montreal, right around 1 pm, I met Carole, a licensed professional tour guide from Guidatour in the lobby of the …
An Interesting Train Ride and First Impressions
It was an early day today, I got up at 4:30 am, and my husband dropped me off at 5:45 am at Toronto’s historic Union …
A Summary of my 4-day Explorations
Despite the fact that Montreal is one of the closest and most easily accessible cities from Toronto, I had really only been there once, for …
A Ferry Ride to Dartmouth and Saying Goodbye to Halifax
My visit to Pier 21 and especially my encounter with Robert Vandekieft, an 89-year old immigrant who first arrived in Canada at Pier 21 more …
Exploring the Halifax Harbourwalk and Pier 21 – Canada’s Immigration Museum
My Halifax City Tour, expertly narrated by Allen Mackenzie, a passionate Haligonian in a kilt, had provided me with a great overview of this city, …
A Halifax City Tour, the City’s Connection to the Titantic and the 1917 Halifax Explosion
Well, in the few hours that I had spent so far in this city, Halifax had already shown itself from its best side. After my …
Arrival in Halifax and a Stunning Musical Performance – DRUM
Slowly but surely my Nova Scotia discoveries were coming to an end. I only had one evening and one full day left after discovering the …
Driving along the Lighthouse Trail from Lunenburg via Mahone Bay to Peggy’s Cove
My brief introduction to Lunenburg was just enough to whet my appetite and to give me some ideas of what to see next time I …
An Interview with the Owners of the Lunenburg Inn
The day had started great: a hearty and healthy breakfast at the Lunenburg Inn was excellent preparation for a full day of discovery. During the …
The Town of Lunenburg – a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A delightful rest at the Lunenburg Inn after a very compressed and hectic day along the Lighthouse Trail yesterday got me ready for another day …
The Lighthouse Trail from Yarmouth to Shelburne
This morning I had left Yarmouth, and after a minor accident with my rental vehicle, I had explored the Lighthouse Trail and made a stop …
The Lighthouse Trail from Shelburne to Lunenburg
My quick one-night stopover in Yarmouth had provided me with great insight into local history and architecture. In an interview with two local hospitality entrepreneurs …
My Car is in the Ditch in Chebogue River
So after my visit to the Yarmouth County Museum I said goodbye to this fishing town on the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia and set …
Yarmouth Explained – the Yarmouth County Museum
On a dull drizzly morning I got a good start to my day with a filling breakfast and an interesting interview with the innkeepers of …
The MacKinnon-Cann Inn: Where Home and Garden Television Meets the Travel Channel
I had spent a wonderfully rejuvenating night wrapped up in the soft high-thread-count sheets and comforters of my temporary home at the MacKinnon-Cann Inn in …
Victorian Heritage in Yarmouth
Another long and exciting day was coming to an end: from my early morning interview with Patrick Redgrave, the owner of the Garrison House B&B …
Learning about Mi’kmaq Heritage at the Bear River First Nation Heritage and Cultural Center
About an hour after my departure from Annapolis Royal after a beautiful drive along the shoreline of the Annapolis Basin and through the early fall …
Explore the Evangeline Trail to Yarmouth
I had really enjoyed my breakfast at the Garrison House B&B in Annapolis Royal, but my second day of explorations had begun and no time …
The Garrison House Bed and Breakfast
After last night’s entertaining and informative Candlelight Graveyard Tour I had a wonderful night of sleep at the Garrison House. In the morning before breakfast …
The Annapolis Royal Graveyard Tour
After a day packed with explorations and a lovely dinner at the Garrison House I was ready for my final discovery of the day: the …