Summer in Montreal is filled with a variety of festivals and events to fill up your days with a wide range of music, food and fun. Last week, I was invited to experience the vibrant port city, taking in a market food walking tour, craft beer tour as well as Jazz Festival and Complètement Cirque. Bonus? Discovering Montreal’s first quay-side Poutine Festival during my stay! Sleep My homes away from home were Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth … [Read more...]
An EDM fest in an Igloo? Add Igloofest 2016 to your list!
How cool would it be to say you went to an EDM festival in an igloo? If that sounds like something you’d bundle up for, check out Igloofest in Montreal! I went this past January, and not only was it a blast, but visiting Montreal in January is a great bargain (and cold, but who cares when you’re drinking your jagermeister-root beer concoction!) As it so happens, I went with my mom; she was my travel buddy in Montreal. I had been dying … [Read more...]
Summer Highlights in Québec
With plenty of Festivals, Food events and Road Trips - summer time is a busy time to be in Québec. Geographically, this is Canada's largest province and the second largest by population. With so many activities coming up this summer, I have picked out a few of more intriguing ones. Festivals The Feux Loto-Québec is Montreal's International Fireworks Festival having been held annually since 1985. Not only is this a spectacular fireworks event … [Read more...]
Unique Martinique: A Napoleonic Retreat
John M. Edwards, a future inductee into The Napoleon Society, storms Martinique in search of his own Josephine. A huge fan of Napoleon Bonaparte, the hero of post-Revolutionary France, I left the U.K. Crown Colony of Montserrat in the days before their volcano blew up for the fatal shores of Martinique via a scary Island Air prop plane. Landing with a jarring whump, my galpal and I, along with the burdensome baggage of my Sistah Sah, then … [Read more...]
Top 5 Canadian Cities Worth Exploring
Canada, sitting just north of the United States of America, consists of ten different provinces and three territories. It stretches to the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the west side, and spans almost ten million square kilometres, making it the second largest country by total area. It’s a pretty fantastic place – although it was explored and settled by British and French forces from the … [Read more...]
Our Family Glory in the Holiday Attributes of Punta Cana
Thinking of the sun and palm trees, one snowy and stormy weekend in Toronto, I decided to take my daughter Muna, along my grandson Mazin, and his wife Margarita, as a belated honeymoon gift, to the Dominican Republic. Now as we explored the huge Bahia Principe resort complex in Punta Cana, the Republic's resort par excellence, we were living our dream. As we walked the white sandy beach, Mazin remarked, "A great trip! I love your … [Read more...]
Meredith – New Hampshire
If you're at all familiar with the Lakes Region in New Hampshire, then chances are you know the town of Meredith. Or did know it. If you haven't visited the tiny little community on Lake Winnipesaukee in the past 20-plus years, chances are you wouldn't recognize the place. What was once a sleepy little mill town - where an asbestos factory once loomed and was mostly just a cut through to the White Mountains – is now a bustling tourist … [Read more...]
Touring Toronto: Bruce Bell best man for the job
In 1966 Toronto, you could smoke in elevators, but men had to doff their hats. In the early 19th century, when Canada was very much British, you could be hanged if caught singing the pro-United States protest song "Yankee Doodle Dandy,". In the now super-trendy and expensive Yorkville section of the city, folk legends like Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot got their musical start during that neighborhood's edgy bohemian days. And … [Read more...]
Varadero Golf Club – A Paradise for Golfers
"I must come back and enjoy this golf course!" my colleague sighed as we stood beside the 'Xanadu Mansion', the Club House of the Varadero Golf Club - Cuba's only 18-hole golf course. He went on, "Imagine we can combine a holiday by everyday romping on this beautiful beach with its talcum sand and relaxing waters then play [playing] a game of golf. It will be a perfect vacation for golfers seeking a fulfilling holiday." My colleague had a … [Read more...]
Enjoying Sea and Sand in Varadero: A Catamaran Seafari
Through the years while visiting Cuba's resort spot Varadero, I have participated in its, many land and sea activities, but I had never taken a catamaran sea tour. However, today, this was to be remedied. I was on my way to join a catamaran safari - one of Varadero's top tourist offerings. Everything in Varadero, a town of some 8,000 inhabitants is geared toward foreign visitors. A spread-out town edged by 22 km (13.5 mi) of sugary- white … [Read more...]