You have to think they’re not hockey or basketball fans. Or soccer enthusiasts, for that matter.

The folks at Travelzoo Inc. released its 2012 Travelzoo Awards list on Thursday and there was a rather large surprise in the category of “Best Overall Provider of Entertainment Experiences in Canada.” The winner? Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

I had to give my head a shake. At first I thought it was an award for “best condo builder.” But no. Then I thought it was “most outrageously profitable entertainment experiences where fans are continually hosed by owners who don’t care if their teams win.” But no. It was “best overall provider of entertainment experiences.” IN ALL OF CANADA!!

MLSE? The folks who struggle to put even a mediocre product on the ice and the basketball court and the soccer pitch? The laughingstock of North American sports? The organization that's part of a league that isn't even playing this fall?

You gotta be kidding me. Yes, Real Sports is a great sports bar. Yes, the Raptors dance pack features some pretty hot routines. And yes, the Raptor himself continues to dazzle (I think, I haven’t seen a game in a couple years).

But this is an organization that has run Toronto FC into the ground and can’t field a hockey playoff team and a basketball team that's consistently below average with a general manager that is riding on his success in Phoenix a century or two ago.

Good concerts at the ACC? Maybe that’s what did it, but not if you judge that category by the feedback from fans at this week’s mysterious Bob Dylan show.

The other Canadian categories in the Travelzoo awards were for best overall provider of Airfare (Porter), best overall provider of hotel deals (Sutton Place, Vancouver, which is often on sale on various websites) and best provider of vacation and cruise packaging (Cruise Connections, Inc.).

 

QUEBEC CITY HOTELS KICK BUTT

Congrats to Quebec City for having the highest rated hotels in the U.S. and Canada.

CheapHotels.org released a survey this week of 30 destinations north and south of the border. It was based on evaluations written by customers over the past 12 months following their stays.

To ensure proper comparisons, the study was based only on 3-star hotels (the kind most of us stay in most often) in the city centre. Two booking sites, Expedia and Priceline, served as the aggregator from which reviews were drawn.

The winner, with 75 per cent positive reviews, was Quebec City. Next was Washington D.C. at 73, followed by Chicago (72) and a tie between Boston and Montreal at 71. So, good on La Belle Province for a great showing.

The bottom five were Las Vegas (61), Honolulu (59), Ottawa (a terrible 57 score), Atlantic City (56) and, at the very bottom, Miami at 54.

Sounds like theirs food for thought down Florida way….

For the record, Toronto was pretty much in the middle (slightly above average) at 67, one spot behind Niagara Falls (68), although the study doesn’t say whether that’s the U.S. or Canadian side of the falls.

New York City was at 65.

 

THIS AND THAT

Fairmont is opening its first-ever property in the Philippines, which seem to be getting more and more travel press these days. The Fairmont Makati opens Dec. 3 in Metro Manila. Fairmont Makati will have 280 rooms and suites with a Filipino design. The tower housing the Makati also is home to the 32-room, all-suite Raffles Makati and to condos under the Raffles Residences brand. Raffles is a sister brand of Fairmont under the parent company Fairmont Raffles Hotels International … Kudos to Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia for being named best new golf course by SCOREGolf. It’s a no-brainer, really, as it’s by far the best new course opened in this country in some time. It’s a true links course, the only one in Canada, and it’s absolutely marvelous.

 

A slightly muddled Key West sunset and a great schooner cruise (with dolphins!)

KEY WEST - I really need to give myself more time in this town.

It was pretty much a 24-hour blitz this time around; just enough time to see a decent but slightly unsatisfying sunset and grab a meal on Sunday, and then a little biking about and a VERY satisfying 90-minute sail on Monday.

Sunday night we wanted to check out the sunset; a de rigeur activity down at Mallory Square. Rather than join the hordes standing on the square,we opted to belly up at the Sunset Pier, where you can get a $5 pint and a chair to sit on at the railing, or at a table, and watch the sun do its thing.

The conch fritters aren’t worth $9 as it’s almost entirely fried dough, but the beer was cold. It was one of those sunsets obscured a bit by clouds on the horizon, so we didn’t get the applause factor and no green flash. But a partly cloudy sunset is almost always more dramatic and the orange and deep grey clouds we got made up for the lack of a single sunset moment.

They had a guy singing blues and rock tunes on the pier, apparently a regular. He’s got a good voice but his ability to remember lyrics borders on the hilariously ridiculous. I think he sang eight or nine words to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye, but that one’s mostly about groove and rhythm and, really, other than saying “Let’s Get It On” in a smooth, sexy voice there isn’t a lot you need to do with that tune.

More amusing was his take on “Love Train,” where the poor guy could only sing the verse about all the people over in Africa and then mixing in “tell all the people in China and Israel, too.”

Anyway, he had a nice voice and he implored everyone on the dance floor to mix it up and to make sure they went home and got it on because otherwise he didn’t want us on his dance floor.

Great stuff.

I’ll give Sevenfish another mention today as I thought it was an extraordinary place for dinner. It’s on Elizabeth St. just north of Truman; maybe two blocks from Duval. It’s plain white on the outside and has just one small sign on the door. Inside, it’s also extremely plain.

But the seafood was simply stunning; a grouper with mango chutney and a snapper in yellow curry sauce with perfect veggies and delicious, meaty crab cake. I’m told the banana chicken and the meat loaf are to die for, and they also have a decent wine list.

The place was packed with what looked mostly like locals on Sunday night, so it’s clearly not a tourist trap.

Monday I rented a bike so I could see a bit more of everyday life on the island. It’s an expensive place to live, and a lot of folks don’t exactly live in palatial surroundings.

The colours are lovely; soft pastels and whites with big porches and colourful murals and doo-dads on the porch. It’s a great town for simply strolling, even if you don’t like the gross and utterly stupid t-shirts they sell on Duval or the come-ons for the drag shows or dancing girls at Coyote Ugly Saloon.

Looking for something a little different, we opted for a 90-minute sail on the schooner Adirondack III. Captained by John Sweeney, originally from Syracuse, N.Y., we learned how a guy tried to grow Christmas trees on a small island just off Key West and about their crazy Fantasy Fest, which is coming up soon and promises a great deal of drinking and nakedness on Duval.

The ship is a beauty, with four large sails. I volunteered to help raise one of them and got a free beer for my efforts. Lest that sound too amazing, the drinks are, remarkably, just a buck on board. That goes for French champagne as well as Corona, Bud or Heineken or Ginger Ale or wine; a great deal.

The crew was helpful and instructive and we got in some great weather. It was hotter than blazes in town but out on the boat even being in the sun felt refreshing with the breeze we had. The water is a beautiful shade of green in the channel outside Key West and only gets about 25 feet deep. On the way back, we spotted a group of four dolphins, just to end it on a high note.

It’s just $35 for the mid-day ride. They also do a mimosa morning trip for $35 and a sunset trip for $75.

I highly recommend it as an antidote to the doings on Duval. Unless, of course, that’s what you want out of a trip to Key West.

 Off today to the U.S. Virgin Islands. First stop, St. Thomas.

You can email me at jbyers@thestar.ca and follow me on Twitter @jimbyerstravel

 

American tourism/travel types have seen the future ... and we're it.

They’re after us.

I caught up with a dozen or so representatives of various U.S. states and cities at the annual Discover America Day in Toronto on Tuesday. It’s a day with a series of ten-minute appointments for U.S. tourism folks to meet with writers/editors and other travel journalists and fill them in on what’s happening in their region.

At the end of the morning your head is spinning from trying to keep track of which city is adding the 85-story Frank Gehry condos (oh, wait, that’s us) and which has the new transit line to the new gallery aarea with the cool new restaurants and mixologists and farm-to-table cuisine next to the awesome boutique hotel with a micro-brewery and a Hammam spa using all local, natural ingredients. But several things were fairly clear when I checked my notebook this morning, the main one being that a lot of places in the U.S. have their eye fixed directly north of the border, and not because they’re worried about a cold front coming down from Canada. No, it seems many folks in U.S. tourism have seen the future of travel. And, to borrow from the famous line about Bruce Springsteen, its name is Canada.

Arizona tourism officials told me they’re launching consumer advertising for the first time in Mexico and Canada; mostly Ontario, Alberta and B.C. Arizona gets a lot of visitors from out west but Ontario is such a huge base that we end up sending a lot of tourists to the golf resorts, spas and ranches of Arizona, as well.

It’s a number I heard over and over again at the meeting, but Arizona officials said Canadian visits have jumped by 10 per cent or so in each of the last two years.

There were some 700,000 Canadian visits to Arizona last year and they’re aiming to boost that to a million in the next couple years if they can by pushing their glorious nature, growing wineries and their food scene, including a Salsa Trail down near Tucson where you can visit small food places with their own cuisine.

A Phoenix tourism official told me they’ve gone crazy building a new rail line in the valley and that there are several new hotels, including a new Westin and a Kimpton, which has a hotel in Chicago, The Burnham, that I just love.

They’re also pushing spa treatments for guys, one of which, I kid you not, is a hot golf ball massage. I’ve heard of hot rocks being put on your back, but I love the idea of a hot golf ball. All you need to complete the guy-spa trifecta is a cold beer and a pulled pork sandwich.

Down Virginia way, I was told that Canadian overnight visits this year are up 10.6 per cent. Flights on Porter from Toronto to Washington Dulles (located in Virginia) and Air Canada flights to Dulles and to the under-appreciated city of Richmond have helped a lot, of course, as has the fact you can reach the northern part of the state from Toronto in 10 hours of driving, or get to the state’s beaches in 12.

The Washington D.C. area Metro line is slowly being extended all around the city and by 2017 should reach Dulles airport. Virginia folks also are excited about the coming release of Lincoln, the Steven Spielberg film shot in their state that features Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.

The wine scene also is growing in Virginia, where Donald Trump recently opened a winery (see photo at right).

A touch further south in North Carolina, figures show Canadian spending last year was up 17 per cent and that there were more than one million Canadian trips to the Tar Heel state. Unfortunately for Carolina, less than half of those visitors stayed the night. Which is why they’re launching a “Get Off The Highway” program aimed at convincing visitors to see more of what the state has to offer.

North Carolina, not unlike Virginia, has both beautiful mountains and rolling, pastoral hills and big, fun cities and fabulous beaches. So there’s no shortage of stories to tell.

There’s lots happening down in Vegas, too. Canada’s Shania Twain starts her rotation Dec. 1, joining Celine Dion, Rod Stewart and Elton John.  Faith Hill and Tom McGraw also will be regulars in town, along with Taylor Hicks and others.

A spokesperson for Las Vegas tourism told me a lot of the credit for the resurgence in town goes to Dion for her commitment and continuing musical presence.

In Orlando, they're always thrilled to see Canadians. They're also stressing family travel but reminding folks they can do a family travel but still allow mom to sneak out for a spa treatment or a round of golf with her girlfriends, or for dad to get some alone time. Which makes sense.

Officials say there are more and more hotels with suites so folks can spread out or do multi-generational trips.

Orlando folks call their city the "no compromise vacation" spot, as folks can not only do theme park visits but also shop at everything from boutiques to outlet malls, as well as take in fine dining and all sorts of other activities. They'll be doing their "Made for Canada" deals in November, so have a look for those.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention a few things happening in San Francisco, one of the favourite American destinations for Canadians. They just completed the new Pier 27 Cruise Terminal on the waterfront. It’ll be used for the America’s Cup in 2013 and then will be made operational for cruise ships. San Francisco may not be the first city that comes to mind for cruises, but it’s a very active port and the new terminal will accommodate vessels up to 1,200 feet in length carrying 2,600 passengers.

The Port of San Francisco celebrates its 150th anniversary next year. The Golden Gate Bridge, for those of you keeping score at home, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. The renowned San Francisco Symphony celebrates its 100th season this year, too, and the Walt Disney Family Museum (located in the restored Presidio army base) celebrates the 75th anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s first feature-length animated film, from Nov. 15 to April 14 of next year.

Elsewhere, there’s a new “Earthquake” exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences, where you can experience a high-magnitude jolt in an an earthquake similar and learn all about quakes and plate tectonics and other cool stuff. They’re also redesigning Jefferson Street in Fisherman’s Wharf (completion date 2015) to make it more pedestrian friendly and bring in “mini-plazas” where folks can stop and relax or take in a street performance (see design/drawing above left).

I sometimes find tourism folks – and travel writers like me – get all caught up in what’s new in a particular city. But in some ways it’s a ridiculous question. I mean, it’s great that the symphony is 100 years old, I guess, but what most tourists want to do is ride cable cars halfway to the stars and stroll past the Italian cafes and shops of North Beach or drive down Lombard St. or ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. None of those activities is remotely new, but they’re what makes San Francisco what it is, and often folks in the business, myself included, forget that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruise with a favourite major league ballplayer ... World to reach 1 billion tourists

You gotta hand it to the cruise industry. They know what we like and they keep giving it to us; free drinks packages, fabulous swimming pools and rock-climbing walls and, increasingly these days, theme cruises with special guests.

Notwithstanding the fact that none of them seem to want to invite travel editors on board, they seem to have some pretty good concepts. The latest one I've read about involves former ballplayers, ranging from Ken Griffey Jr. and Juan Marichal to former Jays outfielder Jesse Barfield.

USA Today reports that MSC cruises has announced another round of 'baseball greats' voyages to the Caribbean this coming winter. There will be five sailings, all on the 3,010-passenger MSC Poesia (what kind of a name is that, anyway) out of Ft. Lauderdale and ranging from seven to 10 nights.

Barfield apparently will be on a 10-night southern Caribbean voyage that leaves Dec. 11 and also features former big leaguers Bill Russell, Dave Campbell and Stan Bahnsen. Former player and Jays manager Jim Fregosi, who I think would be pretty entertaining if my dealings with him in my career as a Jays/baseball reporter are any indication, will be on a seven-night eastern Caribbean trip leaving Feb. 9 with Banhsen, Larry Parrish and Griffey (senior, not junior).

The list I saw isn't bad. But I'm not seeing too many guys in their 40's on the list. I'd think MSC, in an ideal world, would want to mix in a few younger baseball guys to go along with the Griffeys, Marichals and Barfields, and you don't often see Jesse Barfield's name mixed in with Griffey and the legendary Marichal, do ya? (A side note here: I grew up outside of San Francisco and saw him pitch his no-hitter in June, 1963. Very cool, although I remember my dad telling me in later years I was bored by the lack of scoring in the game. Stupid kid.)

I was noodling about on cruisecritic.com this morning and found there are far more theme cruises than I had expected. There are art cruises (I'd heard about those) and history cruises (of course), but also nature cruises, "gaming and technology" cruises and political cruises. Yeah, that's gonna be awesome; talking with wrinkly, former senators around the hot tub.

The music ones sound pretty good to me. I'm not a metal fan but I read that Foreigner, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult and more than 20 other bands will do a four-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas early next year. Cruise critic says they'll "perform multiple times in three different venues aboard the ship, which will sail to Labadee, Haiti (the cruise line's private beach area), and back. Meet-and-greet sessions will be available, too.

A BILLION TOURISTS?

An amazing stat here from the World Tourism Organization: there were a record 467 million "tourists" around the world in the first six months of the year. If the numbers hold up, we could be on track to reach ONE BILLION tourists by the end of the year.

The number for the first six months of 2012 was up five per cent from last year, and officials at the WTO say we could very well crack the 1,000,000,000 mark by Dec. 31.

"Tourism is one of the few economic sectors in the world growing strongly, driving economic progress in developing and developed counries alike and, most importantly, created much needed jobs," said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

The WTO says Asia and Pacific tourism numbers are up a sizable eight per cent from last year, while Africa and Central America rose seven per cent and South America visitation numbers were up six per cent.

Numbers for the Caribbean were up five per cent. I didn't see numbers for Europe or North America as a whole but they can't be up too much if the world overall is up five per cent.

The report said outbound travel was up a whopping 30 per cent for China and 15 per cent for Russia, compared to nine per cent for the U.S. and six per cent for Canada and Germany. Growth was slow or even negative for the UK, Australia, Italy and France...

THANKS TO FRANCE TOURISM

The folks with Atout France held a nice gathering in Toronto Wednesday night, complete with French cuisine and French wines. The emphasis was on some of the southerly regions of the country, including Marseille, Provence and the Midi Pyrenees region, which is the largest region of the country.

Looking at the videos shown during the evening reminded me just how vast and varied France is. Sure, there are gentle valleys and wineries in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley (check this coming Saturday's Star Travel for a nice piece on the Loire), and there's Paris and the French Riviera, of course. But the mountain villages and swift-flowing rivers and deep valleys and snow-capped peaks were the images that had me gazing in wonder.

I've seen the Gorges de l'Ardeche in southern France, and it's quite something. And a couple years ago I spent several days along the Lot and Dordogne rivers, which feature great canoeing and fabulous, fabulous food and wonderful castles and gardens. If you've never been to France and have an image in your mind of "typical" French countryside, the Dordogne just might be your ticket.

Britain tourism aims for Olympic boost and an Olympic-sized Vegas buffet

The Games are over. Canada still has only one gold medal from the London Olympics. Michael Phelps is still a great swimmer but incredibly boring to watch in an interview. And Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen are still awaiting a reunion where someone won't pull the plug.

So, what's next for Britain? Why a marketing/advertising campaign to capitalize on the Games in the capital, of course.

Travelmole.com says VisitBritain has launched a new campaign following the release of disappointing tourism figures.

The British Airport Authority said traffic through its five UK airports in August was down 2 per cent from last year, including a fall of 1.9 per cent at Heathrow to 6.5 million passengers. The reduction was more pronounced in the first two weeks of August, when traffic was down 4.6 per cent. In the rest of the month traffic was up 0.3 per cent.

It's quite common for tourism to drop during an Olympics as folks naturally think the host city will be too busy and too expensive. The secret to making the Games work in the long run from a tourism standpoint is to capitalize on the feeling and to give folks places to tour about.

I wasn't in London for the Olympics this summer, but I suspect this could be a little tricky. Games organizers rightly tried to keep costs down, which means they didn't go crazy building monuments and didn't spend gazillions to give London new parks and such, the way Barcelona did.

I think folks will continue to want to visit London, of course. It's a great, great city. And some likely will wander to East London to see the Olympic village and check out emerging neighourhoods. But I have a feeling they won't get an enormous tourism boost from the Games. A moderate increase, perhaps, but I suspect it won't be much more than that. And given the economy in much of the world, a moderate jump would be pretty sensational.

According to today's travelmole report, VisitBritain said the UK's image around the world was "riding high" and the tourism body  is aiming to convert worldwide interest in the the UK into visitor numbers. A new 'Memories are GREAT' TV ad will include footage from the Olympics opening ceremony.

NEW BACCHANAL BUFFET IN VEGAS

This sounds truly awful to me, but here we go. USA Today today (I love writing that) has a good piece on the truly massive Bacchanal buffet at Caesar's, which apparently will serve up 500 dishes a day.

The USA Today story says Bacchanal's executive chef, Scott Green, "has worked on high-end cruise ships as well as in top restaurants." He gave the newspaper a tasting tour on Monday, showing off the "traditional Vegas buffet staples: prime rib (fine, not great Monday), shrimp (firm and tasty), bread pudding (scrumptious)" and more.

"But what sets this spread apart," the newspaper said, "are the sheer number of quality dishes and the half-dozen chefs presiding over their areas, with staffers doing much of the preparation in front of customers and trained to interact with guests." There are guacamole experts and tortillas being made in front of the guests, plus sushi cones and 22 types of gelato. And here you thought Vegas was going to do something to excess again.

FREE BOOZE PROGRAM EXPANDS ON CARNIVAL

Speaking of excess, USA Today also reports on how new Carnival Cruise lines is expanding its "all you can drink" alcohol package to a second ship.

"The Long Beach, Calif.-based Carnival Splendor has joined the Carnival Victory in offering the nearly $50 per day package, which gives buyers access to unlimited wine, beer and spirits as well as sodas and non-alcoholic frozen cocktails."

The package only includes spirits under $10, so you're probably getting Absolut instead of Grey Goose. Full bottles of wine and champagne, as well as wines by the glass, beers and individual cocktails priced above $10, are available at a 25% discount.

Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have similar packages, USA Today reports.

 

 

 

 



Segwun steamship on Lake Muskoka ... Shangri-La Toronto opens Sept. 17

I think it was last summer. We were at a friends' cottage on Lake Muskoka when the RMS Segwun chugged into sight.

 

"Oh, I don't like that thing," an acquaintance said. "It's dirty."

 

It was all I could do to not toss a drink in her face.

 

Okay, the Segwun is a steam ship. It sends out smoke.

 

We don't see it much, but last time I checked the cars we drive up to Muskoka emit a fair bit of pollution, too. Not to mention the boats and the jet skis we use. Of course a ship like the Segwun (see photo below) is going to send out smoke. It's an old-time steam ship.

 

And thank God for it.

 

Sitting at another friends' cottage on Sunday (we're lucky to have several friends in this happy situation), I was reading a book when someone said, "Look, the Segwun's so close."

It actually was the Wenonah II, which was built about 10 years ago and doesn't belch smoke. But it's very pretty and just as wonderful to see out on the lake.

Just hearing the whooshing "toot" of the horn when I'm on the dock or inside at the cottage is enough to make me smile.

If you've never taken a cruise on either the Segwun or the Wenonah II, you're missing something truly wonderful. The views of the lake and the cottages are lovely, and you get a sense of stepping back in time.

A check of the website shows that this year marks the 125th anniversary of the R.M.S. Segwun.

"This special anniversary will be celebrated on a grand scale Muskoka wide with live entertainment and performances planned throughout the summer," the website says.

There's a big beer, wine and cocktails festival planned for Aug. 25. Or you can hop a daytime or sunset cruise anytime.

Built in 1887, the R.M.S. Segwun stands tall as North America's oldest operating steamship.  With a sailing season of just 145 days, present day Segwun welcomes passengers on board from around the world.

SHANGRI-LA TORONTO

The Shangri-la, the latest in a string of top-end hotel properties in Toronto, is slated to open to the general public Sept. 17, a source tells me today.

The hotel, at the northwest corner of University and Adelaide, will open for the Toronto International Film Festival on Aug. 31 but that's for TIFF business and clients and partners, and not folks like you and me.

The hotel will have a much-awaited Momofuku restaurant, plus a sumptuous lobby with Asian touches and a first-rate Hammam spa. There are some 202 rooms.

More to come on this front later today or tomorrow.

The plan originally called for the hotel to open Aug. 7 but they ran into small delays.

The design look stunning, for sure. The Four Seasons new hotel in Yorkville is slated to open in October, and we already had the Trump open this year and the Ritz Carlton last year.

GOLF IN THE MALDIVES?

The Telegraph in London says the Maldives "has unveiled plans for a £320 million floating golf course, as part of a mission to transform the archipelago into a network of man-made floating islands, covering more than 80 million square feet of water.

Teaming up with the master developers of the project at Dutch Docklands, the Maldivian government launched The Five Lagoons project in an effort to save the sinking islands.

The lowest lying country in the world, the Maldives sits about five feet above sea level and is in danger of becoming uninhabitable due to elevated water levels and other effects of climate change.

Are cruises safe? Not as much as you think...New Calgary hotels...Amex Pearson

Great story/expose in today's Star by Petti Fong, our Vancouver bureau chief and a regular contributor to the Travel section.

In a story on our front page, Fong writes that nearly 200 people have disappeared off cruise ships in the past decade, eight this year alone.

Most frightening is the seemingly universal lack of law enforcement. The ships themselves have little in the way of policing, even with thousands of "residents" on board. And the cruise companies register their ships in far-flung places that appear more interested in getting tax dollars than investigating potential crimes.

I mean, does anyone REALLY think Liberia or Panama police are going to go out of their way to look for a missing Canadian from a cruise ship registered in their country? It doesn't look like it. Fong writes about ships that fail to lock down after serious incidents and about what look like the most cursory of investigations.

Said Kendall Carver, president of International Cruise Victims: "The cruise ship industry has a reason to cover up any indication that these trips are not safe."

I'm not saying cruise ships are dangerous places to be. Heck, downtown Toronto looks pretty scary the past couple weeks. But it seems the cruise industry hasn't exactly distinguished itself when it comes to missing passengers, and, if nothing else, one would be wise to enter a cruise ship with the same kind of open eyes one would have while walking the streets of a major city.

HILTON COMES TO CALGARY

HIlton is putting up not one but two hotels (in the same complex) in the new East Village area of downtown Calgary.

The city's downtown east end has seen its share of troubles, but the city started a redevelopment scheme a few years ago and it appears to be paying off. The U.S.-based Widewaters Group, a commercial real estate firm, said it will build a pair of Hilton hotels with a combined 315 rooms at Fourth St. S.E. and Seventh Ave. S.E. (and can someone please find the idiots who came up with this system for naming streets in Calgary; it's godawful). According to today's Globe and Mail, one hotel will be a Hilton Garden Inn (usually good value) with 198 rooms and the other will be a Hilton Homewood Suites with 117 rooms/suites (always good for families or folks wanting a bit more breathing space).

Hilton isn't represented in boomtown Calgary, so officials called the project a "no-brainer."

Plans call for 11,000 new residents in the East Village by 2025. There's also a new National Music Centre being built in the restored King Edward Hotel.

Good times for Calgary, for sure.

AMEX AT PEARSON

I'm not sure I like this.

It was announced Monday that American Express Canada cardholders are about to get extra perks at Toronto Pearson Airport, including parking discounts and the ability to skip long security lines. The benefits depend on the type of Amex card one holds, so it may not be available to the run-of-the-mill cardholder.

Still, I don't really like the sound of it. I mean, isn't it bad enough that folks with money can pay to use Highway 407 and most folks are stuck on the 401? Do we really need to take this sort of system to our airports and give rich people more opportunities to stand apart from regular folks?

Amex says the new project will promote its brand and help Pearson strengthen its position as a major North American gateway. Yeah, maybe for elite business types, but not for you and me. Then again, Canadian airports long ago ceased to be affordable for average citizens. So maybe this is the best way for Pearson to stand out amongst the New York LaGuardia's and Chicago O'Hare's of the world....

Chasing icebergs in St. John's is a very cool thing (yeah, sorry about that)

ST. JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND - You’d think icebergs are a regular occurrence in and around St. John’s. But apparently not.

I took a boat tour with Iceberg Quest the other day and found out there was a pretty solid period of several years not long ago when the winds weren’t right and the bergs didn’t make an appearance. But just as the oil business has given this town a shot in the arm – and how – so has the return of the icebergs.

For a mere $60 ($28 for kids 12 and under), they’ll take you out on a reasonably-sized, very steady boat to check out the icebergs. When the season’s right, and it’s approaching fast, you’ll also (or instead) see puffins and friendly humpback whales.

They also do tours from Twillingate, the iceberg capital of Newfoundland, where you’re more likely to spot bergs. But, this year anyway, it’s pretty good in and around St. John’s. We did a two-hour tour and spotted three reasonably-sized icebergs, all within a few miles of the city.

The first part of the tour is through the harbour and you get great views of downtown and the brightly painted homes called Jellies or Jelly-bean houses. Then you get even better views of the equally colourful homes on the Battery (see photo above right), that stretch of land that reaches from downtown out towards Signal Hill, just above the entrance to the harbour.

The day I went I was accompanied by some tourists, including roadies and members of music star Chris De Burgh’s band, De Burgh having played St. John’s the night before. We had a great time, although it was pretty chilly out on the boat. Luckily there’s a glassed-in portion with a heater, as well as a small bar dispensing beer and rum and other spirits.

The cliffs along Signal Hill are massively impressive; huge chunks of brown stone slashed and broken through eons of wind and water and towering up over the ocean. After cruising along outside the harbour for maybe ten minutes we spotted a couple of bergs that have been partially blocking the entrance to Quidi Vidi harbour for some time.

A few minutes later we spotted a flat top iceberg and a small, spiky one nestled up against some cliffs.

The big one (well, by my standards, not a Newfoundlander’s) was a few minutes after that. We approached it through a trail of small chunks of ice that had broken off and were floating about in the water. Then we came up to the main attraction of the day; a flat-top berg that I’m guessing was 100 metres long and perhaps six or ten metres high; depending on where you measured.

It was pale green-blue and dozens of gulls were stretched out on top and nesting, which I’m told means it’s a relatively stable chunk of ice – birds preferring not to make their homes on pieces of ice that are about to break off and send their eggs off towards Nova Scotia and all.

The colours in the water were beautiful, and it was incredibly serene to navigate around the iceberg, said to be thousands of years old and not long ago part of some distant glacier. The patterns and markings on the berg also are something you don't expect; all roughly chiseled with sharp angles and smooth surfaces and wavy bits.

It’s hard for photos to do it justice but it was a terrific couple hours. And these were relatively small bergs compared to the big boys you can often find…

The guys working my boat told me puffin season is perhaps two weeks away, while the time for whale watching is also getting close; depending on the weather.

“The humpback whales are awesome,” they told me. “They’re really smart and they even seem to recognize our boats. They come to us year after year and we’ve named some of the ones we recognize.

“There are two we call Mutt and Jeff, because whatever one does the other does the same thing. It’s really cool.”

Yes, it would be.

Coming up Thursday and Friday: Lunenburg and Nova Scotia.... 

St. John's a great city with spectular, wild scenery just minutes away (or less!)

ST. JOHN'S NEWFOUNDLAND - One of great things about St. John’s is how easy it is to get out to the country. Often in just a few minutes. Or even seconds.

If you take the walk out past the Battery, for example (just a few minutes stroll from downtown), and make the trek on the narrow path below Signal Hill and the Cabot Tower, you’ll feel like you’re on the edge of the world. Which is pretty close, as it’s certainly the edge of the North American continent.

The walk is absolutely glorious; past impossibly colourful, brightly painted and mostly ramshackle houses with crazy gardens and funky signs. You’re walking within a foot or two of folks’ private homes as you meander your way through a maze of tiny “streets” or paths, all well-marked with signs such as “Come on Down.”

It makes you realize everything you’ve ever heard about accommodating Newfoundlanders is true, which is one of the reasons it’s hands down my favourite part of Canada.

The last part of the little trail that connects the city to the Parks Canada trail crosses some guys’ front deck. His (okay, or her) front door is within reach of your left arm as you pass by and look in the front window of the house, and the plastic deck chairs are on the other side. Utterly and impossibly charming.

The views of the harbour and the Narrows, the tiny spit of water that allows even huge cruise ships to safely anchor in the St. John’s large harbour, are spectacular. And it’s not a long walk; maybe an hour to get all the way to Signal Hill.

On Sunday a Celebrity cruise ship was in town, and they made a big show of it in St. John’s, playing a “symphony” of ship bells and whistles as the cruiser got ready to depart. I drove up to Signal Hill to see the ship leave, only to find out the National Parks folks salute each passing cruise vessel with a three-gun salute fired by a gentleman in full British military regalia from the late 19^th century.

It was one of those unexpectedly awesome moments we all live for as travelers and it’s an image I’ll never forget.

Even if it’s just a normal day, the views are stupendous (assuming the fog isn’t hovering about) down to the harbour and the Narrows and over to Fort Amherst on the other side of the Narrows. On a good day, you’ll see Cape Spear, the easternmost point of North America.

A fun sign put up by the Parks Canada folks says it’s the beginning of Canada. Or the end; depending on your perspective. And isn’t that true for a lot of things in life?

Anyway, there are way too many cool places in and around St. John’s to get into too much detail, but here’s a quick look at a few others:

QUIDI VIDI – It’s technically part of the city, but it feels a world apart. There’s a lovely pond or lake called Quidi Vidi with a 5 kilometre long walking/jogging/biking trail. Best, however, is the small fishing village that carries the same name. It’s a tiny, quaint, perfect Atlantic Canada fishing village on the shores of the rocky bay, which is enclosed by giant, brooding dark cliffs topped with scraggly evergreens. There’s a cool brewery on site called Quidi Vidi, so check their product. I liked the Eric the Red quite a bit. There’s a small iceberg blocking part of the entrance to the harbour, which is a great draw for tourists. Some folks have, sadly, built monster homes right on the water. But it’s still a cool spot to visit. There's a small iceberg blocking part of the harbour right now, which you can just see in the distance in this photo (more on icebergs in Newfoundland later!).

MARINE DRIVE - Take a leisurely drive past fine, country homes on this drive just north of town. Sections look like the rolling hills north of Toronto or perhaps PEI. But the terrain soon switches over to more typical Newfoundland geography, with massive cliffs and gorgeous sea vistas and a lovely view down to Middle Cove Beach. Nearby is the community of Flat Rock, where Pope John Paul II visited in 1984. There’s a lovely and tranquil grotto you can check out. The pope knelt and prayed here during that 1984 visit.

PETTY HARBOUR - Not as attractive as Quidi Vidi to my way of thinking, but still pretty. And not far from Cape Spear. They say pirates used to store their treasure in caves above the cove.

CAPE SPEAR -  very cool spot with old World War II batteries, a couple of lighthouses (see photo) and a small gift shop where you can get a Newfoundland 20 cent piece (from before they joined Canada) for $20. Windswept and lonely but lovely views to the south and north, and nothing between you and Ireland but the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nudist motel in Florida ... New "Signature Experiences" for Canada travel ...

Gotta love Florida. It's okay to carry a concealed weapon but the idea of a nudist motel has people up in arms. Or something like that.

It seems that Paul Hodge, who owns the Fawlty Towers (yes, really) motel in Cocoa Beach, intends to buck the recession that has hit his family-run business by turning the place into a haven for nudists. He says he'll ban cameras and has already put up screening to keep out the peeping Tom types, and also says he'll ban any talk of swinging or other naughty activities. But the motel is only a few doors down from a local park and some folks in the area don't like the idea of naked butts and other bits so close to a family location.

The website for the resort describes the property as "Tropical, Tranquil and Totally Affordable."  Guess they'll have to add "and Totally Naked" at some point.

NEW GREAT EXPERIENCES IN CANADA

The Canadian Tourism Commission has announced 48 new tourism experiences have joined their "Signature Experiences Collection," a "collection of remarkable experiences available from coast-to-coast-to-coast throughout Canada.

Among the newcomers are building sandcastles at the Athabasca Sand Dunes in Saskatchewan and touring the historic fort of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. There are a slew of new Signatures Experiences in Ontario, including The Great Spirit Circle Trail on Manitoulin Island, A wilderness mushroom expedition on Long Pont, a tour of the 1000 Islands, Winterlude in Ottawa, A wolf calling trip in Algonquin Park, a culinary and wine tour in Prince Edward County and more.

The Signature Experiences program, launched in July of 2011, now has 163 experiences from every region of the country.

“Signature Experiences Collection® members include the best attractions that Canada has to offer and help show the world why our country is such an authentic and engaging place to visit,” said Maxime Bernier, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism). “This initiative is a key part of Canada’s Federal Tourism Strategy, which is based on a collaborative approach between industry and other levels of government to secure Canada’s competitive position in the global tourism market.”

“Each Signature Experience is a unique invitation for visitors to connect with Canada’s people, geography and culture,” said Michele McKenzie, CTC President & CEO. “Not only does the SEC provide a great way to showcase Canada’s amazing and memorable tourism experiences, it also inspires other businesses to up their game for more international appeal.”

COSTA CRUISE FAMILY DEAL

USA Today reports that Costa Cruises is hoping to rebuild its business in North America this summer with a new promotion aimed at families.The "Kids Sail Free" offer, available through Nov. 24, lets children ages 17 and under sail at no charge other than government taxes and fees when staying in a cabin with two paying adults.

Costa bookings took a huge hit earlier this year when the Costa Concordia ran aground on a small Italian island, killing more than two dozen people. Business has been picking up but they obviously feel the need to put some great deals out there, and this looks like an awfully good one.