IT'S ALL IN THE TIMING

PIRAN, Slovenia – It’s all in the timing.

I had a great tour of this lovely town on the Istrian peninsula today. It's much like a non-crowded Dubrovnik or Split, I'm told, but with Italian coffee, good pizza and gelato.

Anyway, I was snapping pictures (isn't digital photography wonderful?) at the top of the church tower that dominates the town when I figured, "Okay, 437 pictures is enough." Sure as you know what, I got halfway down and suddenly the bells started pealing to announce the noon hour. Of course, if I'd stayed up a minute longer I'd have great shots of about a half dozen teenage girls screaming and yelling from the noise of 12 enormous bells that were hanging two feet from their heads.

Damn.

On the other hand, I got a break at dinner. It was only so-so, and I was feeling a little tired so I left the little seaside cafe and wandered out to the point, or punta, to see the sun go down. Just as I got there, I spotted a guy in yellow pants sitting on the rocks, with his girlfriend, also in yellow, sitting in front of him. They were caressing one another and dreaming and watching the sun get ready to do its finale so I snuck up behind them and started taking some pictures. A couple came out pretty well for an amateur with a $450 camera.

PIVO, NOT PINOT

I probably haven't made many fans in the Slovenian wine industry with my comments about their viniculture. I had some stuff today that was really, really bad. But I had some lovely Cabernet the other night and some decent Merlot. It's not cheap, but they do make some pretty good wines over here.

The beer (which they call pivo) on the other hand, is cheap. And quite good. I've had a couple Union beers (it's pronounced Oon-yun) and tonight had a Lasko, which seems a little more full-bodied but still within the lightish-lager neighborhood I tend to inhabit. Quite tasty, both of them.HEY, LADY - KNOCK IT OFF!

Forgot to mention that during our walk in the Skocjan caves the other day we had to walk along a narrow ledge (with a very well-built fence next to us, mind you, but still). It had to be several hundred feet down to a river that runs through the bottom of the cave. I don’t like heights, so I just kept my head down most of the time, focussing on the path ahead of me and not looking over the edge.

We got to a large, wooden bridge over a huge chasm and I started to get the willies. It was fine, probably because I didn’t look down, but about halfway across some woman started jumping up and down to show her husband/boyfriend how strong the bridge was. Now THAT I could’ve done without.

MOVE OVER, LOU GEHRIG

So, I'm about ready to come home. I had a couple days in Zurich and several more days bombing around Slovenia in a rental car; eating great food and staying in (mostly) great hotels and seeing some spectacular scenery and meeting wonderul Slovenian people.

So I'll close by paraphrasing the Great Lou Gehrig and his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. With apologies to The Iron Horse, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

 

THE TINY, PERFECT COUNTRY, STUNNING CAVES AND...COCOA PUFFS!

PORTOROZ, Slovenia - With apologies to former Toronto Mayor and good guy David Crombie, I'm stealing the line about him and applying it to this small but inspiring country.

I think one of the slogans I've heard tourism officials here use is "Where Europe comes to meet." That's pretty good. As I was driving to the tiny, little section of the Adriatic that the powers that be left for Slovenia (about 48 km in all; a billionth the size of Croatia's coastline), I was thinking about how there are so many varieties of topography and culture in the country.

In the east, where I won't have a chance to visit this time, they say there's a distinct Hungarian feel, with spas and quiet country charm and wineries. To the south and east, they say it has a Croatian feel. I can look out my hotel window as I write and see the northernmost Croatian section of Istria. In the northern mountains near Kransjka Gora and Lake Bled, it's an alpine environment that feels Austrian or even Swiss. Then, yesterday, I drove through the tunnel that separates the central part of western Slovenia from the Adriatic and suddenly there were Italian signs and a church campanile and red-tile roofs and flowering, pink oleander bushes and palm trees.

It's like, "Four Countries, One Guidebook." But I don't want to sell the Slovenians short by simply saying it's like four other countries, or three or six. It's Slovenia. Perhaps in Trieste they think their part of Italy feels Croatian or Slovenian, and it probably does.

A woman I spoke with the other day, probably in her mid 40's but I wasn't about to ask, said she's already had four currencies in her country. They had the Yugoslavian dinar for the longest time, then there was no real currency for a while after Slovenia initially separated in 1990. After that came the official Slovenian currency, the tolar. Then, a few years ago, they came part of the EU and now have euros, which hurts the exchange rate. That being said, you still can get a terrific cappucino in smaller cities for 90 European cents, about $1.50 Canadian, and hotel rooms in places like Kobarid can be had for about $80-$100 Canadian dollars).

But four currencies in 40 years? Considering they had Yugoslavian money in 1989, it's actually four currencies in 20 years, which is about one-half the time that Hazel McCallion has been working as mayor of Mississauga.

GREAT DRIVES

Because of its wrinkled topography, with towering alps and deep river valleys, western Slovenia is one wonderful place to drive a car. There's one major highway in the country, and that's about it. The rest of the roads tend to be two-lane affairs and dip and swirl and rise and fall with the land, and it's an absolute blast. A pain when there's construction, but a lot of fun if you've got a small car and you can roll down the window on a late May afternoon.

Not sure if it's really dangerous to drive here, but I keep seeing warning signs for everything from deer on the road to sliding motorcycles to landslides, narrow passages and potential winter ice. Makes you think twice but I didn't see any motorcyclists sliding into fields filled with deer or cows waiting to leap onto the road.

Also, the Slovenians are great about pointing you in the direction of the next town or village. Even with a lousy tourist map I only got lost once and that was for five minutes. Of course, I bought a real map at the next gas station just to make sure it didn't happen again. Anyway, the signs are great. But in the country they never tell you how far away that next village is. The highways are super but in the country I guess they figure it's mostly locals and they all know that it's 11 kilometers from Idrija to Godovic.

In Canada, of course, it's overkill. "Next McDonald's four km." "Next rest stop, three km." "Next rest stop, two km." "Better stop and pee now, buddy, 'cause your next chance is in Chatham in two hours."

SPELUNKING IN SKOCJAN

They have a tremendous cave system in Slovenia. There's a large system near Postojna, about halfway between the capital, Ljubljana, and the Adriatic. The one I checked out was at Skocjan, and it was tremendous. Huge, towering stalagmites and icicle-like stalactices by the thousands, huge grottoes, a running river at the bottom and a vast array of colours. The only thing missing was Gollum and Bilbo Baggins.

It was a nice, 90-minute walk, including a ride up a funicular at the end and a glorious view out to the countryside from a vantage point that was distinctly undersold by the well-meaning tour guide.

As I was waiting to get my ticket, a guy in front of me who sounded Russian was being told that, because of a big thunderstorm in these parts on Wednesday, the ticket office's lines were down and they couldn't take his credit card. He looked completely disconsolate as he had no cash for he and his friends to get in.

One of the workers shrugged and said, "I'll drive you to the ATM in town."

The Russian chap kept talking about his bad luck and asking if they could fix the machine. Again, the worker said, "I have a car; I'll drive you to the bank machine."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Let's go!."

Great people.

KOOKOO FOR COCOA PUFFS

Geez, at breakfast in Kobarid on Wednesday and granola, corn flakes and cocoa puffs. It was the same day after day at the Turin Olympic media village, minus the granola, and it nearly sent me around the bend.

So, what happens today? I get up for an incredibly lavish breakfast (sorry about that, folks) at the Kempinski Palace in Portoroz and, in amongst the lovely breads and yogurts and fruits and nuts and cold meats and omelet fixings and fresh juices and sparkling wine, what do I see? You guessed it - a lovely little bowl filled with tiny, round chocolate balls of cereal.

We have Italians and Slovenians in Toronto. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME?

WORLD WAR I IGNORANCE, SCARY DRIVES & BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

KOBARID, Slovenia - I'm plenty interested in history. But either I'm just not well-read or I have some kind of North American bias.

When I think about World War I, I think about Canadian and American and British troops in western Europe and a bit about Australia's problems at Gallipoli in Turkey, but I don't think about the eastern front in this part of Europe so much.

It took a visit to Slovenia this week to shake my memory and recall that Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms was based on his memories of this horrible arm of World War I, where Austria-Hungary faced a major invasion from Italy, which was on Canada's side in this particular war.

I stayed last night in Kobarid, Slovenia, known to the Italians as Caporetto. It's been under more governments than you can possibly imagine, but in World War I some of the most horrifying acts of war took place in this part of Europe. There's an incredibly powerful museum here in Kobarid that's dedicated to the war, and I hope to write about it soon in Star Travel. They say the Italian losses at Caporetto/Kobarid were so bad that the word Caporetto became an Italian word for something that goes really wrong.

Suffice to say it's horrifying and awful and compelling and mesmerizing all at the same time. And a real reminder to those of us who've never had to serve our country that the people who did deserve a huge debt of gratitude.

It may be the Slovenian pinot blanc talking, but it felt weird to be sitting Tuesday night at the outdoor section of the stunningly good Topli Val restaurant at the Hotel Hvala and dining on sea bass carpaccio, shrimp, crayfish soup (outstanding) and other delights, knowing that less than 100 years ago countless thousands died within shouting distance of my dinner table during the war to end all wars. I enjoyed dinner, for sure, but the thought of those soldiers sticks with me as I write this silly blog.

ALPINE TERROR

On a lighter note, I'm pleased to say I survived the drive Tuesday from Lake Bled to Kobarid. The road took me up into the mountains high above Kranskja Gora, with some 51 switchbacks and an elevation change of several thousand feet into territory still covered with ice and snow, although not on the road, thank goodness.

Going up was easy, but the drive down was definitely white knuckle territory; 25 hairpin turns on the way down from the summit, with maybe a 4,000 foot elevation drop in the space of about five or eight kilometers. I must have driven the locals crazy, but it was all I could do to keep my eye on the road and not freak out. It's a remarkably beautiful drive, like combining Highway 1 in California or the drive to Hana in Maui with the jagged mountain scenery of the Banff-to-Jasper circuit - on a steep hill. I still feel butterflies thinking about it, to tell you the truth.

A LOVELY IMAGE

Having dinner last night when I saw a 30-something man ride up the street on his bike, his two-year-old (or so) daugher sitting in a car seat above the handlebars on a perfect, summer-y night. She was cute as a proverbial button. Neither of them was wearing a helmet, this not being Toronto, and they didn't seem to care.

The father (we surmise) rolled up the street and stopped his bike in front of a bar. A waiter, who obviously knows father and daughter, came out and gave her hair a little tousle. The little girl gave him a big smile.

A minute later, the waiter came back from the bar with a giant vanilla ice cream cone. I couldn't see the little girl's face but I'm sure she was beaming as her dad (again, I'm surmising here) slowly pedalled away. I kept thinking that I have no idea what will happen in her life but that she certainly has to feel loved. And that's worth a lot.

DON HENLEY...AND BRUCE

Maybe it's just me, but music plays a central part in my travel memories. I was looking over my notes on the balcony of my hotel room in Kobarid when the Eagles' song "How Long" came playing from the bar across the street. I'm sure that five years from now when I hear that song I'll picture the restaurant/bar and the mountains rising in the distance and the colour of the sky, just as I always think of a trip to Zermatt, Switzerland in 1984 when I hear Bruce Springsteen singing "Drive All Night." I hadn't heard much North American music on that trip so it was quite cool to hear it in our small hotel while my wife and I had a meal. I heard it on the radio again a few weeks ago while on the eastern shore of Virginia. I was listening to the E Street/Bruce station on XM/Sirius radio (a wonderful invention) and a DJ/Bruce fan from, I believe, Denmark was playing it and explaining that he thinks it's Springsteen's best song ever, which is a stretch as far as I'm concerned but that's what's great about music.

Now I'm typing in the cafe at the hotel here, waiting for the rain to stop, and they're playing "Steal My Sunshine," by Toronto's Len (appropo given the weather). Haven't heard this one in a while, and whatever happened to Len, anyway?

I turned on the radio on my out of the airport in Ljubljana on Monday and heard the song "Never Ending Story," which was my oldest son's favourite song when he was, oh, about three years old (sorry, kid, don't mean to embarrass you). It's not a great piece of music but the memories of my repeatedly spinning the single for my young son were so strong that I couldn't help singing along.

And I can't leave the subject of pop music in Europe without thinking about how I kept hearing the pop hit Gloria (not the Van Morrison G-L-O-R-I-A but the poppish version by Italy's Umberto Tozzi, later covered by Laura Branigan for North America) in nearby Italy when I first came over the pond in 1979. Hearing that song always takes me back to the train station in Rome, where I heard it repeatedly in August of that year. Mind you, I remember that train station a little more for meeting a girl from Don Mills who I've been lucky to be married to for almost 28 years.

A FAST WELCOME IN SLOVENIA

Arrived after a stunning flight from Zurich that took us directly over Mt. Triglav in Slovenia and the Julian Alps and came into cute, little Ljubljana airport. Nice folks.

The woman at the rental desk was great. When I told her it had been three years since I drove a manual transmission car but that I thought I'd be okay she paused. "I don't think," she said, "you have much choice."

It was easy, of course, but boy do they go fast around here. A friend in Toronto warned me, but it takes getting used to when you go 130 km in a 130 zone and cars whizz past you.

LAKE BLED

I'll do more on this in Star Travel this summer, but I gotta say that the Lake Bled area of Slovenia might be the prettiest place I've ever seen. There's a big castle rising out of a cliff that towers over the lake, a pretty, Austrian-style (with apologies to the Slovenian church) church tower, a beautiful island with another lovely church spire and then you look up behind the lake and see jagged alpine peaks. You can walk or ride a bike around the lake with ease and get different views every time you look up.

SOMMELIER? OVER HERE, PLEASE

At the risk of sounding like a wine snob (okay, I admit it), it was pretty funny at dinner tonight. We had lovely food at a new hotel near the town of Bled, with a view of the lake. Really good stuff. The sauvignon blanc was a touch sweet but not bad with the appetizers; pork pate with dried plums and a bit of aspargus. But the waiter recommended a sweet, pink rose with dinner (I think it was called Pink Chicky, and I'm not kidding), even though we had a beef entrecote with goose liver on top. I don't know about you, but rose and steak to me just doesn't make it. And it was weird in a country where they are said to grow some darn good red wines. We'll see.

The wine wasn't at all bad. In fact, it was pretty decent. But the pairing seemed off.

That being said, it was a great meal. And you have to love the pride Slovenians feel about their country and their food and their wine. I read a guide book that said someone did a poll and found that 98 per cent of Slovenians say their wine is the best in the world. I love that confidence.

ZURICH PRIDE

ZURICH – You can see the Gay Pride flag waving up and down the streets of Switzerland’s biggest city.

Europride, the largest gay and lesbian festival in Europe, is being staged in Zurich for the first time, having been held in Stockholm last year. And it appears folks are taking advantage.

We spotted four women dressed in black walking arm in arm down one of the main streets in the old city the other day. Three had red devil horns on their head, while the other had a white halo. A few minutes earlier, we saw three young males dressed head-to-toe in white, two of them with white top hats even Elton John would envy.

June 6 is the big finale, and a couple hundred thousand people are expected to descend on a city that used to be known as stuffy and rather dull but has become one of the hotter, more vibrant cities in Europe. More on that in a few weeks at Star Travel.

++++

When you arrive here at the wonderful Zurich airport, there’s a large sign that explains you can take a taxi into the central city for 60 francs 24 hours a day or that, most of the time, you can get a train for 6 Swiss francs (about $6 Canadian). Actually, it’s gone up to 6.20 Swiss francs (CHF), so somebody's likely in big trouble. But the trains run every 10 minutes and it takes only 10 minutes to get to the main train station in town, from which there are dozens of trams to choose from to take you anywhere you want to go.

You can take your luggage cart, and they’re free, from the airport across the road to the train station and down the escalator thanks to special rubber pieces on the bottom that keep the carts from sliding into the person in front of you. Little things, but they add up to a nice, welcoming experience. Is anyone at Pearson Airport listening?

++++

Sunday was a pretty hot one here, with a temperature of about 28 C. The lake was packed with strollers and bikers and folks playing frisbee at the parks that dot the shore of the Zurich See, and the swimming pavilions were full to the brim. You can swim for free at many locations, but if you want to use a locker and sit on a floating dock and have a drink from the bar you pay $6 to enter one of many pavilions that dot the River Limmat or the Zurich See. The water’s still pretty bracing this time of year but it’s so clean you can see the bottom when it’s 10 feet deep. In fact, some folks say Switzerland has done such a good job cleaning the lakes that there aren’t enough plants for the fish to feed on.

What it means is that even the poorest folks here have a place to cool off on a hot summer’s day for free – if they don’t want to use the fancy pavilions. Wouldn’t it be nice if our lakes were that clean?

++++

Zurich is on the north end of the Zurich See, and the closest part of the Alps you can see (not very well today given the heat, mind you) are to the south. For some reason, I find it weird to think of the mountains being south of the city. Makes no sense, I know.

++++

Strolled past a jazz club in the trendy West Zurich area (kind of like the Distillery District or Liberty Village, with old industrial buildings turned into public spaces) and looked twice at the poster before breaking out in a smile. The main feature here at Moods jazz club on Saturday night? None other than our own Holly Cole.

 

FINALLY A SLOGAN FOR TORONTO...BUT WE'D HAVE TO STEAL IT

ZURICH - Torontonians love to complain about what they consider silly slogans that Toronto officials have tried to use over the years. Sayings like "Discover the Feeling" and "You Belong Here" could just as easily be used by Indianapolis or Edmonton or Oshawa.

But I have found the answer. Here in Zurich, they call themselves "Downtown Switzerland," and it's a perfect thought for the city of Toronto. Like Toronto, Zurich made a name for itself in finance. Like Toronto, Zurich has a reputation for being, well, a little less scintillating than Paris or Prague. Like Toronto, it's on a lake. Like Toronto, it's located in a country where most folks come for the mountains and the scenery and the wildlife, even if their animals tend to wear cowbells around their neck instead of carrying huge antlers.

There are a lot of similarities. Just like Toronto, Zurich has shed its bourgeois skin and has become an incredibly hip city. But, unlike Toronto, they've found the perfect slogan.

It would be outright theft to copy Zurich and label Toronto as "Downtown Canada," or even "Canada's Downtown," but it wouldn't be far from the truth.

TRANSIT CITY SWITZERLAND

Mayor David Miller likes to talk about boosting transit in Toronto, and good for him and for Premier Dalton McGuinty - and, wow, even Prime MInister Harper - for finally getting things moving. But it's still remarkable when you travel to Europe and see how the big boys do it.

Zurich has 1.2 million people in its entire area and only 380,000 folks in the city proper, but there are dozens upon dozens of trams and railway lines crisscrossing the city. The trams are clean and quiet and run perfectly on time (some things in Switzerland never change). Not only that, when you walk to the nearest stop there's a schedule that tells you precisely what time the next one will arrive. And when you're on board, there's a small, colour monitor overhead that shows what stop you're near and what the next couple stops are on your route, and how long it will take you to get there.

Absolutely wonderful.

GOING TO THE DOGS

Gotta admit it was a little odd to be seated in a lovely Zurich restaurant today calls Tao's (kind of a Swiss-Thai fusion spot with wonderful but pricey cuisine) and to see a family come in with a large, golden lab. The pooch settled comfortably under the table, but later was sprawled out in the middle of the floor, forcing waitresses carrying expensive plates of food to step around him (or maybe her).

Turns out it's completely normal for people to bring even very large dogs into restaurants. Nobody blinks an eye. I find that really strange. But at least they don't let people bring in their cats.

PEOPLE MOOVER

When you take the tram from one terminal at Zurich's super-modern airport to another, you're treated to an odd soundtrack. At first it simply sounds like birds twittering, but then you hear classical-style music and, off in the background, a vocal offering from a cow.

Then you start hearing the tinkle of cowbells, more music and, suddenly, a very loud "MOOOOOO" comes over the speakers. All the tourists who snap up cow-shaped pitchers and salt and pepper shakers eat it up and even the locals seem to enjoy the looks on people's faces.

 

 

ONTARIO BIKE TRAIN...MONSTERS...AIRLINE PASSENGER RIGHTS

The Bike Train Initiative is announcing ticket sales and a new route for southern Ontario for this season.

Passengers ride in normal style on VIA Rail trains and their bikes are safely secured in a baggage car with bike racks, and Bike Train staff on board help with information and cycling maps.

The Toronto-Niagara Greenbelt Express runs on eight weekends from June to October, while the Ontario North Bike Train, a Toronto to North Bay pilot project, runs Aug. 7-10.

Tickets for Niagara are $62 return, with kids 11 and under riding for free. The train stops in Toronto, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. The North Bay train costs $153.

Seating is limited. Visit www.biketrain.ca for schedules and more information.

HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

Sculptures of a mythical Inuit sea goddess and a painting of a lynx-like water spirit are among items in a new summer exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, according to Canadian Press.

"Mythic Beasts: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids" highlights the role of fantastical creatures in cultures around the world, CP reports.

"A large green stone sculpture created in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, shows the goddess Sedna with webbed fingers and with braids flowing above her head. Another sculpture, in grey stone and created in Clyde River on Baffin Island, shows Sedna swimming like a bird over the sea floor. 'The Mishipashoo' is the title of a 1960 painting by Norval Morrisseau, who once described a religious experience in which he met the water spirit in a dream."

Also on tap: Sasquatch and Ogopogo, who is said to lurk in Lake Kelowna in British Columbia.

A press release from the museum says European monsters and Asian dragons are different, which is kinda interesting. Apparently European dragons are "smelly, fire-breathing, evil monsters," while their Asian cousins are "benevolent deities that bring good fortune and control the rain," .

The exhibit opened May 15 and runs until Sept. 20.

PASSENGER BILL OF RIGHTS

Progress is being made in Parliament on a proposed bill of rights for airline passengers. Likewise, the U.S. Congress is finally tackling the issue of passengers who get stranded on tarmacs for hours on end or have other problems.

U.S. officials are considering three initiatives, according to the New York Times: requiring airlines to provide passengers trapped on grounded aircraft with food, water, working washrooms and medical treatment, as well as potentially an option to get off the plane after three hours; setting up a consumer complaints hotline and publishing the phone number on boarding passes (can't you just see the cell phones buzzing?) and requiring airlines to disclose a flights' on-time record at the point of purchase.

Interesting moves all around. It'll be interesting to see if the U.S. airline industry tries to come up with a bill of rights of its own, as has happened in Canada.

According to the Times, U.S. government data showed that 7,150 flights in the U.S. last year spent two hours or more on the tarmac before taking off, while 1,231 sat around for three hours.

Canada's airlines have said they'd be willing to let passengers get off the plane if delays are longer than 90 minutes, but only if it's safe and practical. Which sounds like a pretty big loophole, as who on a plane is really able to determine what's safe and practical?

 

 

HOTEL DEALS GALORE ... AND WHERE NOT TO DRIVE

You could ramble over to Reno for about $57 U.S. a night for a four-star hotel. Or, if Vegas is more your cup of darjeeling, you can get a four-star spot there for about $85 U.S.

But the biggest price drop in the last year was in Vancouver, according to the May 2009 Hotel Rate Report by hotwire.com. According to the company, hotels in Vancouver are going for 35 per cent less than a year ago. It says you can find a 3-star hotel in the city today for just $68 U.S.

New York's hotels are 31 per cent cheaper than last year, while the average price in Tampa has dropped 28 per cent and the average in Toronto has fallen 25 per cent. Other cities included Orlando (24 per cent), Austin (22 per cent) Reno/Tahoe (20 per cent) Vegas (20 per cent), San Diego (20 per cent) and San Francisco (17 per cent).

Hotwire said folks can find 3-star hotels in Vancouver for just $68 U.S., compared to $70 in Austin, $71 in San Diego, $76 in San Francisco and $130 in New York. For four-star hotels, they said rooms can be had in Reno-Tahoe for $57, in Tampa for $66, in Toronto for $71 (again, that's U.S. dollars), in Orlando for $75 and in Vegas for $85.

Actually, yours truly went on to their site around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a four-star hotel in Toronto Downtown East (roughly from Yonge to Sherbourne and south of Bloor) for $56 U.S. a night, that being for a two-night stay starting tomorrow (May 21) which is remarkable. Hotwire uses an "opaque" system where you don't know the hotel name until you book it, but the web site promised it had a fitness centre and a pool.

The site also was promising a four-star hotel in the downtown-SoHo section of New York for Friday and Saturday of this week for $149 U.S. per night.

OUT OF THE WAY ... BUT WORTH IT

Forbes.com is always good for travel lists. They have one today that talks about ten beautiful destinations that might be a little out of the way but definitely are worth checking out. Here they are:

1. Cranberry Islands, Maine (never been but a nice state and a Canadian neighbour)

2. Cranberry Lakes, New York (in the Adirondacks, not far from T.O.)

3. Cabbage Key, Florida (nice but save it 'til winter)

4. Mammoth Lakes, California (lovely countryside and not too far from L.A.)

5. Mackinac Island, Michigan (a little further from T.O. but not horribly far)

6. Meadow Creek, B.C. (only one score for Canada, sorry)

7. Valdez, Alaska (looks interesting enough)

8. Vieques, Puerto Rico (Canadians don't know PR so well but it's worth checking out)

9. Jackson, Wyoming (beautiful, stunning country)

10. Isla Holbox, Mexico (they could use the tourism boost)

Also on the subject of Forbes, they analyzed some data and came up with the following 10 countries with the most dangerous driving:

1. Russia

2. Slovakia

3. Poland

4. Turkey

5. Hungary

6. Korea

7. Greece

8. U.S.A.

9. Czech Republic

10. Belgium (didn't see THAT one coming, did you?)

 

AND THEY SMELL BETTER, TOO

Found a study from AirPlus International that says women business types fly less than businessmen, book earlier - and spend less. Which is a good thing if you're the employer but bad if you're the hotel or restaurant or airline.

According to the study, women paid $2,692 for an average flight in business class and $411 for an economy flight, while men paid $2,817 for the average business class flight and $495 for economy.

The study also said the average woman booked a flight 19.2 days prior to departure, compared to 15.4 days for men.

I have no idea what this means but I suspect it does nothing to help me win arguments with my wife about how organized men can be when we really try.

On a slightly different note, AirPlus International's Christian Gall said average hotel spending in the UK dropped from $414 last October to $311 in March.

VIVA MEXICO

The Mexico Tourism Board today said it's pleased that Canada has removed the travel warning for Canadians, a move that came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had lifted its travel warning against all nonessential travel to Mexico.

"Mexico's government and tourism authorities are very satisfied with the decision taken by the CDC," officials said today.

Gee, ya think?

Anyway, it's been an awfully rough time for Mexico's tourism industry, and they say they'll pull out all stops and are promising "the best service in the world" to anyone who visits.

SUNNY SKIES ... OR JUST LESS HASSLE? 

A group called the American Customer Satisfaction Index says Americans are happier with the airline industry. But the overall scores are still nothing to write home about.

USA Today reports that "the airline business scored 64 out of 100 in the first quarter of this year, a 3.2% increase over the same period a year ago."

But airlines still get lousy marks compared to some other industries. Full-service restaurants, for example, notched an overall satisfaction rating of 84. And the 64 points for airlines in the first part of this year is well behind the 72 score the industry achieved in 1994.

"It certainly looks like most of these increases, if not all, are due to lower passenger load," says Claes Fornell, professor of business at the University of Michigan and index founder. The lower number of passengers "means more seat availability, shorter lines, more on-time arrival, fewer lost bags, and all that probably adds up to a slightly higher level of satisfaction."

The ACSI also found that Internet Travel companies have a 75 per cent satisfaction rating; a good deal higher than airlines, and that motion pictures got a 74 mark.

As for individual airlines (drum roll, please), they found that Southwest came out with the best ranking for a whopping 16th years in a row, scoring 81 (apparently on the basis of on-time flights and luggage handling). Continental was at 68, with Delta at 64, American at 60, US Airways at 59, Northwest at 57 and United down at 56.

If there's anything like this in Canada, I'm not aware of it. But I'd love to see the numbers.

HONG KONG HANGING IN

Hong Kong tourism folks say they received more tourists in the first three months of this year than last.

Tourist visits went from 7.275 million in the first quarter of 2008 to 7.403 million in the first quarter of this year. Numbers were down about 18 per cent from the Americas, but mainland Chinese visitors jumped by 12.6 per cent to about 4.675 million; more than making up for the loss.

 

RECESSIONARY DEALS, ONTARIO CAMPING & NYTIMES ON TORONTO

Nice to see Air Canada being aggressive today with its new promotion.

Called the "Lowest Fare Guarantee," it says folks who "find a lower fare for the exact same Air Canada itinerary with another Canadian online travel retailer within 24 hours of completing a purchase on aircanada.com" will get "a $50 credit, plus the fare difference, per passenger."

Trips have to originate in Canada for travel within Canada or between Canada and the United States, excluding Puerto Rico.

It's not a bad deal, but it sounds like a fair bit of trouble for $50 and the fare difference. Especially when you go on-line and read stories in U.S. papers about $14 (okay, $14 U.S.) deals on Jet Blue between New York and San Francisco. Now, THAT'S a bargain, even if they only appeared on line for a day and you had to be lucky to find them.

A couple U.S. hotels have offered rooms on-line for as little as a dollar, including the Orchard Hotel in San Francisco and the Alexander Inn in Philadelphia. Haven't seen any similar deals in Canada yet.

Sites like travelocity (www.travelocity.com)  and travelzoo (www.travelzoo.com) and hotwire (www.hotwire.com) often advertise great deals, and check places like farecompare (www.farecompare.com) and a new one I stumbled across called voyij (www.voyij.com.) Also new on my horizon are www.tripkick.com and www.raveables.com. Finally a New York Times piece I spotted talks about sites called www.luxurylink.com, where you can bid on vacations, and www.FloridaVacationAuction.com, which should prove popular in Ontario.

Happy hunting.

KOA KAMPING

It makes sense given the economy. The folks who run KOA - Kampgrounds of America - say new campers have risen from 15.4 per cent of their business in 2007 to 21.3 % last year. They also say more people than ever report that they stayed at home the night before their first night at a campground, which suggests more folks are sticking close to home for their holidays.

KOA - www.koa.com - has camping facilities all over southern Ontario, from cottage country to London and Niagara Falls, to Owen Sound, the 1000 Islands and a couple in the Toronto area. They offer everything from ice cream socials and pancake breakfasts to heated pools, outdoor movies, basketball, kayaking, trampllines, horeseback riding and fishing, depending on the location of course.

T.O. REPORT CARD

Nice story from the New York Times on the Big Smoke came out on-line this morning. There's some nice stuff about how polite we all are (relatively true) and how the trolleys all run on time (hello?) and how clean the sidewalks are (we can't imagine where the reporter was hanging out). Anyway, it's terrific publicity for a town that needs a good tourism boost, not that everyone else doesn't (see item below on Britain's woes).

The reporter, Denny Lee, found an interesting Queen West restaurant I've never heard of called OddFellows, with bison meat loaf and venison burgers, and also raved about Little India and the new Frank Gehry addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Lee called the AGO addition "a stunning homecoming for an architect credited with helping other cities flourish, not that Toronto needs a hand."

LONDON CALLING ... WHO'S ANSWERING?

Reuters reports the number of foreign tourists visiting Britain in the first three months of this year was 13 per cent lower than in 2008, and Britons made 19 per cent fewer trips abroad.

British tourism has been putting on a big push, talking about how prices are lower than any time in the past few years. Yours truly travelled to London in February for about $600 and found a decent, 3-star hotel in a good part of town for $70 Canadian. Meals don't have to be pricey in London, and many top attractions such as the big museums are free.

ALBERTA TRAVEL  PROMOTION

Ontario residents have a chance to be the star in their own adventure as part of Travel Alberta's "The Great Alberta Getaway Classic." The prize includes four days in June in Calgary, Edmonton and the Rockies, with ziplines and hikes and bungee jumping and other pursuits, and the winner's trip will be put on video at GoCanadianRockies.com for the world to see.

Applicants must upload their photo and a video or short story to GoCanadianRockies.com/GreatAlbertaGetaway and say whey they'd be the ideal candidates to become the Alberta Adventure Ambassador.