Hello from Vancouver - Reporting on the Canada-US Servas ConferenceOne of the things I do for the website is I continuously search out individuals and organizations that have accomplished unusual things or made special contributions. Through my research I had come across an organization called SERVAS, an organization of hosts and travellers world-wide throughout 130 countries that intends to foster peace through intercultural exchange.
Hello from Vancouver (5): Gastown and My Final ExplorationsAfter my extremely interesting walking tour of the Downtown East Side I decided to round out my exploration of the city with another bicycling trip. In my mind, bicycling is just the perfect way to discover a city, it gives you greater range than walking, you don't need to wait around for buses, and you get exercise at the same time -bonus!
Hello from Vancouver (4) - A Walking Tour Through The Downtown East SideThe 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 who live and work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and other inner-city communities.
Hello from Vancouver (3) - The Grouse Mountain ExperienceNo visit to Vancouver could be complete without a real mountain experience. So after covering the Servas conference I left at 2 pm for downtown. To get to Grouse Mountain was quite an experience in itself, I got to take 2 buses downtown, then I boarded Vancouver's light rail rapid transit system, the Skytrain, which runs underground downtown, just like a subway. Then I hopped on the Seabus, a regu
Hello from Vancouver (2) - Wheeling Around Stanley ParkStanley 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 bike. So this afternoon at about 1:30 pm I set off from the UBC Campus, and navigated my way downtown by bus, taking 3 buses to get to the eastern edge of Stanley Park. This was my first chance to glance at the city of Vancouver. It is a relatively new city and a
Hello from Vancouver (1) - Arrival in VancouverI 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 day and I spent the entire ferry ride on the top deck soaking in the scenery and the sunshine. At about 11:30 I exited at Broadway and Cambie as the bus driver had advised me and caught the 99B bus to the University of British Columbia campus
Hello from Victoria (2) - Exploring Victoria and Its VicinityAnother perfect day with beaming blue skies, great temperatures and no humidity greeted me yesterday. After a lovely strengthening breakfast and some business issues, Clare and I set off by car to explore British Columbia's capital Victoria.
Hello from Victoria (1) - Reaching the West CoastJetlag 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 I might as well use this bout of sleeplessness and record my first impressions of British Columbia.
Hello from Rochester: A Discovery of Its Architectural JewelsMy second day in Rochester started off with a lovely Park Avenue neighbourhood breakfast and an exploration of the ArtWalk neighbourhood. I only had a few hours left before I would have to hop back on the high-speed ferry, the CAT, to Toronto, and I definitely wanted to get a more indepth look at some of Rochester's historical architecture.
Hello from Rochester: A Perfect Getaway for Stressed Out Torontonians (and Other Urbanites)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 of Rochester, a scenic Rochester suburb called Charlotte. I was greeted by Patti and Carrie from the Rochester Visitors Association who had helped me with my itinerary and were kind enough to show me around.
Hello from Rochester: The CAT - An Awesome BeastFor 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 last year, introduced by a group of private investors, but stopped running after a few weeks due to financial difficulties. It was reintroduced this year after the City of Rochester purchased the ferry at an auction and contracted an experience
Hello from Rochester: Exploring ArtWalk - A Fabulous Outdoor Art ExperienceIf you have read my articles for a while, you know that I am a visual arts lover. One of the highlights of my Rochester trip was a walk through the Neighbourhood of the Arts.
Hello from the Ottawa River: Mating in the Wild and Other DiversionsOn 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 great time, combining sports and relaxation on a weekend away from the city.
Hello from the Ottawa River - And Reflections on City LifeSo Friday I decided to head out on a kayaking weekend with my friend Leslie. This was the first time in about 8 years that I went camping again, and I had a ball sleeping under the stars. A fabulous weekend in nature makes you think about life a little bit, so here are a few snapshots of what's been going through my head in the last few days. In particular, I have been thinking about our lifestyle
Hello from the Ottawa River - Learning How to Whitewater Kayak (and 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 with me. We booked 2 days including meals, kayaking lessons and camping accommodation with a company called Equinox Adventures that has a rafting and kayaking camp located on Calumet Island in the Ottawa River.
Hello from Toronto - Novice Golf, Driving Through the Kawarthas and a Little Mountain-BikingIt's also amazing how many activities one is able to cram into a short amount of time. I wanted to give them a really good taste of everything that I love about the city of Toronto and my new country. So occasionally I put a few too many things on our plates and we ended up racing through a few of the activities. On the whole though, I think our European guests had a fabulous time and they fell in
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