Air Canada strike over? Vancouver shoots itself in the foot with Stanley Cup riots

The Star's Vanessa Lu is reporting a tentative deal has been reached in the Air Canada strike; excellent news for travellers.

The Canadian Auto Workers, which launched a strike at midnight on Monday, has called a press conference for 2 p.m. CAW spokeswoman Shannon Devine confirmed the deal, but said nothing else would be released until the briefing.

Union officials criticized the government's quick decision to end the strike.

Stay tuned for more.

VANCOUVER'S WALK OF SHAME

It's not bad enough their star players performed like chumps in the Stanley Cup finals. Now, Vancouver has suffered a black eye around the world.

Many folks don't pay attention to hockey, but lots of people have surely noticed the headlines and terrifying photos of the looting and fires in downtown Vancouver following the Vancouver Canucks' embarrassing loss Boston on Wednesday night. Don't think so? There were photos of the riots as of noon eastern time on the front pages for the websites for both the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times; papers that represent prime markets for Vancouver's charms.

It's funny. A year and a few months ago, hockey served as the icing on Vancouver's cake at the Olympics. Sure, there had been issues and some negativity about the 2010 Winter Games early on, but by the time Sydney Crosby did his magic in overtime it all had been wiped away. Vancouver positively glowed in the after-party, and the reviews from press all over the world was remarkably positive.

Not today. Not when besotted youths set fire to cars and carry on like that. Shame on them. Someone's car can be replaced. But when people behave like that, they sully the reputation of an entire city and, by association, all of Canada.

Don't think it was all that bad? Check this report from the Star's Damien Cox, who witnessed it first-hand:

"First, it wasn't a small group. We're talking hundreds, probably thousands, of citizens involved in the ugliness that erupted even as Gary Bettman was handing the Stanley Cup to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. Having been around other sport "riots," I can tell you this was a whole other level.

Vancouver was an ugly, dangerous city last night, and people got hurt. Frightening. Not just police cars on fire. Not just looting and tear gas. Stabbings. Vicious, fights. Wanton violence accompanied by the joyful whoops and hollering of young people who apparently believed they were part of something exciting and were having a great time.

The game ended at about 7:45 local time, and by midnight weary riot police were still trying to disperse crowds. As I watched from my hotel balcony on Burrard St., a line of riot cops walked up the street, police dogs barking, police sirens wailing, a police helicopter overhead shining a light down on the street."

It's even worse than that, really. The Star's main web site has a video - posted this afternoon - that shows a man being horribly beaten after trying to stop looters. It's all over Twitter, as well.

I don't think anyone from San Francisco or L.A. is going to cancel their vacation to British Columbia because of a few idiots, but when you're in a competitive tourism market it can't help.

 

 

Canada SMOKES the U.S. in latest "livable city" survey - Vancouver tops list

One shouldn't put too much emphasis on these things, but let's go ahead and do it anyway. I mean, it's not often (or is it?) that Canada comes out so much better than the U.S. on one of these international surveys.

The latest, which Lesley Ciarula Taylor noted in today's Star, is the latest Global Livability Report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. According to the EIU, and who could argue with them, Canada dominated a list of the world's most livable cities, factoring stability, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Vancouver took home the gold medal out of 140 places surveyed, with Melbourne coming second and Vienna third. Toronto was fourth, followed (ahem - attention Alberta shoppers!) by Calgary.

Talk about owning the podium. That's three of the top five for us, and how impressive is that?

The next five spots in the top 10 went to Helsinki, Sydney, Perth (Australia), Adelaide (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand).

Guess one could argue that Australia having four top 10 cities compared to Canada with three is more impressive but I'd say that three in the top five beats four in the top 10. Take that, Oz.

(I read a Brisbane paper this morning and apparently they were miffed at being #21 and finishing back of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Sorry guys.)

"Vancouver (Canada) remains at the top of the ranking, a position that can only have been cemented by the successful hosting of the 2010 winter Olympics and Paralympics, which provided a boost to the infrastructure and culture and environment categories," the EIU wrote in a summary of the report.

It's the fifth year in a row that Vancouver came out on top, which is remarkable. Great city, but isn't it enough that they already have daffodils in bloom? Do they really have to rub it in like this?

There aren't any U.S. cities in the top 10. America's two largest cities, Los Angeles and New York, came in at No. 44 and No. 56, respectively.

What was the top U.S. spot? Pittsburgh, at #29, followed by Honolulu (see photo) at #30.

Pittsburgh has come a long way since its days as Steeltown, with new, revitalized areas downtown and lots of good restaurants. Honolulu also has cleaned up its act, with vibrant new parks and a much cleaner Waikiki Beach than was the case 15 or 20 years ago.

I spotted somewhere that Washington D.C. was 34th, followed by Chicago, Atlanta and Miami at 36th (a three-way tie), Detroit in 40th spot (good for them) and Boston 41st.

Of course, from a travel standpoint one has to take these surveys with a grain or six of salt. Just because a place is livable doesn't mean it's a great place to visit. I mean, as a tourist I don't care all that much about residents' access to top-notch health care, although you want to be sure you have good hospitals if you get sick. And it matters little to me when I visit New York whether they have a better education system than Vancouver or Melbourne.

The Economist report said its rankings are based upon stability (wars, unrest crime, 25 percent), healthcare (20 percent), culture and environment (including climate, 25 percent), education (10 percent) and infrastructure (20 percent).

It's quite amazing, really, that Toronto and, especially, Calgary did so well when you consider climate is 25 per cent of the ranking. No offence, but I wouldn't put either Hogtown or Cowtown in the top 100 cities in the world in terms of climate. But that's just a guy who refuses to ride a bike unless it's at least 15 degrees Celsius with no wind.

For the record, the WORST cities, according to the Economist, are Harare (Zimbabwe), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea). Guess I won't be making plans to visit any of those in the next couple months...Also in the "Bottom 10" were Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dakar (Senegal), Tehran, Douala (Cameroon), Karachi (Pakistan), Algiers (Algeria) and Lagos (Nigeria).

The Daily Mirror in Sri Lanka noted that Canada and Australia kicked butt, and added that it was interesting because those are the two countries with the largest Sri Lankan diaspora numbers. Apparently having a lot of Sri Lankans makes your country pretty great. Unless you're actually IN Sri Lanka. Or maybe Sri Lankans are simply quite wise about where they emigrate to?

As for other notable cities, I was surprised to see London way down at 53. Apparently, the Economist gave them a lot stability score, in part because of the perceived threat of terror.

The China Daily reports that Hong Kong came 31st, while Beijing was back at 72nd. And you know that can't play well with the folks in charge in China...

The whole list costs $500 to purchase, which is slightly out of my range. But I looked around various websites this morning and spotted an Asian paper that noted Osaka was #12 and Tokyo #18.

Enjoy the spotlight, Canada. Just watch out for another winter storm.

 

 

 

 

Grand Tour goes to Sydney: beautiful water, awesome food, iconic architecture.

SYDNEY - Far, far better than I remembered it.

My only time in Sydney, prior to Star Travel's Grand Tour series, was to cover the Olympics in 2000. I stayed at a hotel in King's Cross and got to see a bit of the city on my way to and from work, but most of my days and nights were spent in the main media centre at the Olympic Park in Homebush Bay. We had one night on the rocks and a night in Bondi, but other than that it was all work.

This time I was there to cover Sydney for our Grand Tour (see story in Star Travel), so it was a much more enjoyable visit that allowed me to see the sights. I spent a couple nights madly snapping photos of the Opera House from my room at the Park Hyatt Hotel, a terrific spot perched at the bottom of the Harbour Bridge. I ate some terrific Thai food and Japanese food in the Rocks, took the Manly ferry to remarkable Manly Beach, wandered around the neighborhoods of Paddington, Darlinghurst and King's Cross, and took in the surf at Bondi Beach.

I also had a night at the Shangri-la hotel in the Rocks, which has great views from every room, as well as a terrific cocktail bar. And I got a night at the beach-side Swiss Grand Hotel in Bondi, where I had stayed a night back in 2000.

Bondi was better than I remembered, and that's saying a lot. I caught some waves, thanks to Leo, an excellent surf trainer from Brazil, and wandered along the cliff walk that goes from Bondi to Tamarama Beach. They had a sculpture exhibit on, and there were wonderful sculptures and artworks of all kinds and thousands of people checking out the action.

I spent time in 2000 at Watson's Bay, but this time I wandered over to Manly on the ferry. I got rained out the first two tries, but the third attempt was a glorious Sunday morning in full sun and I got some fun pictures of a surf rescue competition and other good stuff.

It's a remarkable city, and easily one of the top three or four in the world. You can't beat New York's energy, and it's tough to beat the culture and pace of Hong Kong, or the beauty of Vancouver or San Francisco. Let alone Paris, the final stop on our Grand Tour. But Sydney is right up there with all of them; a confident, beautiful and multi-faceted city that truly has something for everyone.

 

GERMANY AND FRANCE DOINGS

Thanks to the folks at Germany's tourism office for a nice Christmas reception at the ManuLife Centre Wednesday night. There's a lot going on in Germany next year, what with the women's world cup of soccer in June and other events.

Lufthansa helped stage Wednesday's show, and they've got several things happening as well. As Star columnist Bert Archer pointed out in a story we posted the other day, Lufthansa now has wi-fi available on some flights to Europe, so you can surf the web at 35,000 feet. They also are introducing a biofuel mix on some flights, which is apparently much better for the environment than traditional fuels.

Officials said they bring in a new, Michelin-starred chef every two months to work out a new menu for Lufthansa flights, which is pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, all of us in the media are sad to see Caroline Putnoki leave her post as Atout France, based in Montreal. She's a wonderful help, and we wish her the best in her new endeavours in Brazil.

They had a going-away lunch for her Thursday at ICI, a restaurant run by Jean-Pierre Challet at Manning and Harbord. It's a touch out of the regular restaurant loop, but it's a lovely, sunny spot with bright colours and wonderful food. He makes a terrific, savoury lobster bisque and wonderful veal blanquette served in a crepe-like shell.

 

 

 

 

Lonely Planet travel awards recognize Tokyo, Barrier Reef, Rio, Reggae, Rum

It's perilously close to year-end, folks. I mean, I hate to say it, but Christmas is only two months and a week away. They're already getting the Christmas ornaments ready at some of the malls, I bet. Anyhoo, year-end also means travel awards are being collected/doled out by a number of publications. Lonely Planet Magazine and lonelyplanet.com just put out their first-ever awards, and it makes for some interesting reading.

Rather than simply listing the top 100 hotels or some such, which is fine, they changed the categories around a bit and got folks to list such items as their "greatest outdoors experience," greatest food experience" and favourite place to relax." It makes for a more interesting read, I think, so good on ya guys. Here's a rundown of some of the category winners and runners-up, with a few thoughts from yours truly.

"Most Incredible Journey": This award, not surprisingly, went to the Trans-Siberian Railroad, followed by driving a 4x4 along the Silk Road from Uzbekistan to China, Cruising the Amazon, Taking an overland truck from Cairo to Cape Town (people DO that?) and driving the Pacific Coast Highway from L.A. to San Francisco. I'm a big fan of the latter, but an Amazon cruise would be far more interesting and incredible as a cultural experience. More than taking a train across Siberia, too, I would think. But likely with more bugs and sharp-toothed piranhas in the water than the train trip.

"Greatest Food Experience" Eating a steak in Buenos Aires. Now, I'm told that they have great steaks in Argentina. My fellow travel department guy, Adrian Brijbassi, is going soon and will report back. But it's still a steak, guys. Can't we be a bit more adventurous? Number two was Pad Thai at a place called Chote Chitr in Bangkok, which sounds more up my alley. I actually make a decent Pad Thai at home, if I do say so myself. After that was sushi at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, which I did for breakfast two weeks ago. It was unbelievably good. And, of course, remarkably fresh. Definitely a memorable experience.

"Greatest Sporting Experience" The Monaco Grand Prix came out on top, and I'm thoroughly baffled. This might anger some friends of mine in the Wheels section, but I can think of almost nothing in the world more stultifyingly dull than watching a car race. I guess if you're gonna do it, though, at least have the common sense to do it in Monaco versus Indianapolis or on the Toronto lakefront. Second was the Rugby World Cup, but I think we have to keep in mind that this magazine is based on England and we all know how crazy they are when it comes to sporting choices. Their number three choice was Wimbledon tennis (blatant homers!), then a football match at Camp Nou in Barcelona (great town) and, finally, The Olympic Games. Not sure that's the message Brits want to be sending out in advance of the London Summer Olympics in 2012, but there you go. And where's the World Cup on the list? They're bidding for the darned thing and it's not in Britons' top five sporting events? I'd take the Olympics over any of those. Camp Nou would be a close second. But I'd personally prefer the British Open Golf, having never had the pleasure. Many folks, of course, would rather watch a toenail-clipping contest than watch golf, so I understand if some of you are reaching for the telephone to harangue me about being impossibly middle-class and boring.

"Greatest Historical Experience" Tops was climbing the Mayan temples of Tikal, followed by touring the pyramids of Egypt, visiting the Taj Mahal, listing to Aboriginal stories around a camp fire in the Australian outback and exploring the Angkor temples of Cambodia. Hard to argue with any of those.

"Event You'd Most Like to Attend" Carnival in Rio topped the list, followed by Chinese New Year in Hong Kong.

"Greatest Cultural Experience" Reggae on the beach in Jamaica topped the charts, follwed by ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. I'm not a ballet fan but I did see a performance once at the Bolshoi in Moscow when I was there for Toronto's losing campaign for the 2008 Summer Olympics. I sat in the audience with Star sports columnist Dave Perkins and Vladimir Putin walked right past us. I was afraid to breathe, to be honest. Truly scary. But a wonderful thing to say I saw a performance at the Bolshoi.

"Greatest Outdoors Experience" Swimming the Great Barrier Reef in Australia topped the charts. Makes sense, although when I did it in 2000 I must've had a bad tour guide as we didn't really see that many interesting fish. Numbers two to five went to trekking to Everest Base Camp in the Himalayas, husky-sledding in Lapland, Sweden, climbing Mt. Fuji in Japan and hot-air ballooning over Cappadocia, Turkey.

"Greatest Place for a Drink" went to drinking a mojito (ugh, nasty things; I'll take a mai tai over a mojito) at Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba, while "Favourite Place to Relax" was Ko Kood in Thailand, followed by a treehouse in Costa Rica and a farmhouse villa in Tuscany (see photo).

"Greatest Wildlife Encounter" went to watching gorillas at Mgahinga National Park in Uganda, followed by checking out the "big five" animals on a safari in Kenya, seeing giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, visiting orangutans in Indonesia and...the only mention I could see of Canada in the whole shooting match...seeing the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba. A close sixth for greatest wildlife encounter was Rob Ford and George Smitherman in a ring full of jello.

Being a British publication, they asked for the most underrated British day out. Winning that category was "walking Scotland's wild beaches." Next was exploring British cities in August when workers are on holiday, and doesn't that just end any thoughts you might of Brits being dull???

The Lonely Planet folks also did some fun categories, including "You Wouldn't Go There If We Paid You," which was topped by checking out an all-inclusive resort in Benidorm, Spain. (Sounds about right if you've ever listened to the Monty Python travel agent sketch, and if you haven't you should).

Finally, and here's the segueway you've all been waiting for, readers were asked the person they'd most like to travel with. Topping the list was Michael Palin, currently a travel TV guy and formerly a Monty Python guy (who played the travel agent in the sketch I mentioned, I believe). The next four were Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Charley Boorman and Simon Reeve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sydney Olympics celebrates ten year anniversary. This makes me feel REAL old

They celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Sydney Olympics down in Australia the last couple days, complete with a re-lighting of the Olympic flame by star Olympian Cathy Freeman and Paralympian Louise Sauvage.

Hard to believe.

In some ways, it seems like yesterday that I was shipped down to Sydney to head up the Star's coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympics. I had never covered an Olympic Games before, but I was two years or so into being one of the associate editors in the Star's sports department, and I'd covered Toronto's bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics and been to a lot of Olympic meetings, so I guess that made me qualified.

It was the early days of the Internet for us at the Star, so I only did a few updates each day, as well as a fairly primitive blog. I don't think we even called it a blog. I think it was simply a notebook that we posted online with daily observations about the Olympics, Sydney and life in general in the five-ring fishbowl.

Most of the journalists were given sleeping quarters at the official media village, which was was on the grounds of a former hospital for the mentally ill (supply your own punch line about journalists here). But there wasn't room for little old me, so I was stationed in the allegedly wild King's Cross area in a hotel. I think it was called Top of the Cross, but I can't seem to find it on the Internet.

Anyway, it was a drag in some ways to walk to the train station, take a half hour train to the Olympic complex in Homebush and then walk another 15 minutes to the media centre, where I pretty much stayed from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day (a pattern that would repeat itself every two years, as I've now managed the Star's crew at six Olympics in a row). Yet it was also a blessing, as I didn't just hang around with journalists but got to see everyday Sydneysiders in action.

The hotel was fine, with great views of the Harbour Bridge. The area wasn't at all wild; kinda like a milder version of Yonge north of Dundas as I recall. No sweat.

What I really liked was the coffee shop at the bottom of my building, where I went for breakfast every morning. The wait staff was covered with tattoos and pierced body parts at a time when it wasn't quite so common, and they made a mean cappuccino and served great croissants. My wife came for part of the Games, and we quickly made friends with a young couple and their baby. The father was originally from, I think, Chatham, Ontario and was a cop in Sydney. I wish we'd stayed in touch, as they were great company and very welcoming.

I got a little sick of the chants of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oy, oy, oy" every day, but it was tons of fun to watch the Sydney folks embrace the games as only Australians (I thought at the time) could do. They celebrated every medal, even when it wasn't theirs, and kept up their spirits over a long haul.

I remember celebrating the start of the games with a night out in the Rocks district, drinking a few beers in the shadow of the Opera House. It was late at night and we ran into Paul Beeston's daughter down on the waterfront. Paul was then working for Major League Baseball, and for some reason Dave Perkins and Doug Smith (I think) and I thought it was wise to call him at 5 a.m. New York time and wish him a good morning. I doubt he recalls the incident as fondly, if at all.

Perkins, who recently retired from the Star but still, thankfully, writes one column a week, rode downtown with me on the subway that night. I remember a little old lady got on board the train and Dave literally jumped out of his chair to make sure the lady had a place to sit. I looked at him to suggest "Hey, nice move," but he just shook his head at me as if to say, "Don't tell anyone I'm such a nice guy." Good stuff.

I got to see a couple innings of baseball plus one swim race and a quarter of a USA basketball game with Vince Carter, but the rest of the time I kept an eye on things via the television. Not ideal, but I was in Australia, for goodness sakes, so no complaints.

My favourite memory actually involved an event I didn't even see. My wife had gone to, I think, a session of track and field one day and was sitting in the stands with a bunch of Aussies (duh). It was the day Daniel Nestor and Sebastian Lareau were playing for the gold medal in men's tennis, and they were taking on the Australian doubles team known as "the Woodies."

Tennis is pretty big in Australia, and everyone was rooting for the Woodies. One guy next to my wife was listening on his radio while he watched the track action. He'd been kidding her about Canada not winning much (there was a lot of that going around in Sydney), but then it was suddenly match point for the Canadians. He took the earphone out of his ear and handed it to my wife and said, "Hear, you listen. It's your gold medal."

She hasn't stopped loving Australians since that day.

I'm planning a trip in early November, and I can't wait to get back to see the Opera House. I got to hear the International Olympic Committee's opening session there in 2000, and it was spectacular. Maybe this time it'll be AC-DC. Nah, probably not.

Also can't wait to just hang around a bit and play tourist, as well as check out Bondi beach (see photo at left) and take one of the ferry boats in the harbour. I might even sip a little Barossa Valley cabernet and climb the Harbour Bridge, not necessarily in that order.

See ya soon, Sydney.

Cuba to remain American free, methinks...Whistler tix on sale...More Blue Rodeo

A couple months ago it was all the rage. U.S. President Barack Obama was at last going to lift the gates on American tourism to Cuba.

Stacks of New Yorkers and Miamians would flock to their local airports and hop on planes to embrace the heady culture of Havana and the endless beaches. Thousands of blenders would be fired up to greet them on the ground with minty mojitos, and tourism in Cuba would skyrocket.

It sounded too good to be true. And I suspect it is. There was a report from Time online yesterday that said a U.S. lifting the ban on American travel to Cuba is, quelle surprise, stalled in the House of Representatives. The bill apparently has cleared one committee but truculent congressmen in two other House bodies might make sure it doesn't even come up for a vote this year.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd have to think Cuba's embargoed status is about minus-173 on Obama's to do list. My goodness, the economy is in near disaster mode down south, he's dealing with the horrible situation in Afghanistan, not to mention Pakistan and a very strident Russia...and now he's trying to put his stamp on the Middle East peace process, and he's gonna worry about little old Cuba and give the Republicans another sword with which to slice and dice his political capital between now and the mid-term U.S. elections in November?

I'm no expert on American politics. I did grow up there and studied political science in university, however, and I still think I have at least a vague idea how things play out with our neighbour to the south. And I just can't see the Obama administration going to the trouble.

The bad news is the lack of competition might not drive down prices the way some thought, although prices are already quite good for a Cuban holiday. The good news is you won't have to elbow anyone from Michigan out of the way at the buffet table in Holguin come January.

BRRRR....IT'S HAPPENING, FOLKS....

Saw a tree that was more red than green on a bike ride in North Toronto on Sunday. That's not good. Now comes word that, and I can hardly bring myself to type this, (sniff)...now comes word that 2010/2011 Whistler Blackcomb early bird season passes have gone on sale.

Basking in the aftermath of the Winter Olympics and what they say is 1,025 centimeter (404 inch) snowfall average, folks at Whistler Blackcomb say that from now until Oct. 11 an unlimited Season Pass is available for $1,349; a saving of $350. Unlimited Season Passholders get unlimited access to the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains year-round, both winter and summer.

I've had a chance to ride the gondola twice, and it's a hoot and-a-half. Beautiful in winter, as you can see at left, but also lots of fun in the summer if you get the chance to check out British Columbia next year.

ADRIAN BRIJBASSI ROCKS OUT IN STANLEY PARK

I wrote last week about seeing Blue Rodeo, my favourite band on the planet, perform at the Molson Ampitheatre. Naturally, fellow Star Travel dude Adrian Brijbassi was out west and saw them sing outdoors at Stanley Park in Vancouver on the weekend. He, of course, had to trump the travel editor by filing a report on the beauty of it all. I'm not jealous. He did a nice job, as you can see below. I just hope he enjoys that nice two-week trip to Serbia next January for our "Testicle Cooking Festival" special section.

By Adrian Brijbassi

VANCOUVER - The B.C. bud was fragrant as several hundred Blue Rodeo fans helped Greg Keelor celebrate his birthday on Sunday night at one of the country’s best open-air venues, Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. After the crowd belted out “Happy Birthday”, Jim Cuddy serenaded his partner-in-rhyme with “Try” (kind of a creepy choice for the moment, but hey, it’s Vancouver). The highlight was a lengthy jam on “Five Days in May” as Cuddy again sang better than a white, heterosexual man should be able. Keelor usually regales the Vancouver audience with “English Bay” and the story of how he wrote that tune about long-distance love while watching the waves from the Sylvia Hotel, but this time he did the haunting “What Is This Love?” Almost thought Sarah McLachlan would walk out on stage at that moment. Kudos to the crowd who were on their feet a lot – a nice change from many previous sit-on-your-hands-like-you’re-a-hostage audiences. Another great show from these Canuck icons!

Now, if Cuddy would only share his favourite travel stories with Travel Editor Jim Byers – that’d be an encore!

Toronto Olympic bid for 2020 just got tougher...Less tarmac wait times in U.S.

There's been the odd talk that Toronto's Pan Am Games work for 2015 is part of a desire to once again try for an elusive Olympic bid. The Big Smoke has been toasted twice before in Olympics competition, being humbled by Atlanta for 1996 and by Beijing in the voting for 2008.

It looked a while back as if a 2020 bid for North America would be a good bet, the Summer Games having last been here in Atlanta way back before the age of the Internet. But with the success of the World Cup in South Africa, there's renewed interest in the Olympics making a touchdown in the African continent for the first time ever.

I personally think South Africa should wait and see how the dust settles; maybe save a little money (how's THAT for a thought) and bid for 2024. But International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge today told Around the Rings, a very solid Olympics website, that he thinks South Africa should wade into the 2020 Summer Games battle.

Now, when an IOC president says he'd consider a bid from a certain city that carries a reasonable amount of weight. But when he more or less starts soliciting a bid, that's something else entirely.

"We would be delighted to receive a strong bid coming from Africa in general but from South Africa in particular," Rogge told ATR. "They already made a good bid with Cape Town in 1997 when they came a commendable third behind Athens and Rome. But they have the potential there's no doubt about that."

I don't think Toronto should try for the Olympics at all given the horrendous costs for these things, especially the security. We just had a rather nasty experience with securing a big event, and I sense little appetite to do anything remotely similar anytime soon. But if you ARE someone who wants to see the five-ring circus come to T.O., you might want to start thinking about something way off in 2024 cuz I think the fix already might be in for South Africa for 2020.

A vote on the 2020 Games should be held by the IOC in 2013, which means bid cities need to start organizing soon. It'll be interesting to see if any U.S. cities jump in.

Don't forget the Canadian Olympic Committee and its now Quebec-oriented management team is already kicking the ties for another Winter Olympic bid, possibly in 2022 for Quebec City.

U.S. PASSENGER PROTECTION RULES WORKING...TOO BAD ABOUT CANADA

May was the first full month that new U.S. government rules were in place to protect passengers from being stuck on airport tarmacs for too long. And, wouldn't you know it, flight delays were WAY down.

A new federal law down south says airlines have to let passengers off a plane if it's been stuck for more than three hours, or face a fine of up to $27,500 per passenger. Airlines cried about it, but figures show there were only FIVE such delays in May; the second-lowest monthly total in several years.  There were 268 such delays in June of 2009, said USA Today.

The airlines say good weather helped, but people who pushed for the law aren't buying it.

"This rule is a resounding success," said Kate Hanni of a group called FlyersRights.org.

Isn't it great to see a powerful government taking on the airlines in order to protect its citizens. Isn't that a concept? Well, don't expect it in Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has shown ZERO interest in jumping out of the collective laps of the Canadian airline industry, and I get absolutely NO indication that's about to change.

Too bad there's no opposition leader who could point this out to ordinary Canadians....

 

A Blackberry fit for a queen...Honolulu #1...Google turns sights on travel. Hmm...

I got a charge out of the folks at Blackberry giving Queen Elizabeth a new device. Apparently it's a Blackberry Bold, and a sleek-looking white one.

Best of all? Apparently they only made her sign a two-year contract.

Bah-dah-boom.

HONOLULU LULU

USA Today has an item today about a contest that was done to name the top American destination. This being America, they did it like an NCAA basketball bracket, putting cities up against other cities in a winner-take-all format and letting the top cities advance to the next round of voting. The final eight, or elite eight to use the NCAA vernacular, were Washington D.C., the Grand Canyon, Charleston, San Francisco, New York, Santa Fe, Yellowstone National Park and Honolulu.

The Big Apple was ousted by D.C. in the next round of voting, while Honolulu dusted off San Francisco. The final four were D.C., Honolulu, Yellowstone and Charleston. It came down to Honolulu versus Yellowstone in the final, and the Hawaiian capital came in with a smashing, 77-22 per cent voting win. A landslide and a half.

I like Yellowstone a lot. But it's hard to compare geysers, lakes and bears with mai tai's, hula dancers,  sunsets and Waikiki Beach in my book. Yellowstone is better for nature, sure, but lots of folks don't know how close Honolulu is to some incredible natural areas. The north shore has small resorts and big waves, and there's tremendous hiking. The path up Diamond Head to watch the sunrise from the crater rim is one of the great experiences of my life, and it's an easy climb. I love the enthusiasm on the face of the girls I took a picture of just after the sun rose above the Pacific, lighting up Waikiki to the west.

I did the Diamond Head hike a year or so ago, and it was far more rewarding than my fog-filled view from top of Haleakala on Maui with my Dad one fateful morning many years ago. The park ranger at Haleakala, where hundreds of folks gather for what is said to be one of the top sunrises in the world, said it's only fogged in a few times a year. We picked the wrong day, but we did have a nice breakfast at the Pukalani golf course on our way back to our west Maui condo as I recall. Right, Dad?

The Hawaii folks pushed their cause with Honolulu fans on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, said tourism spokesman Nathan Kam.

"As we monitored the online buzz, we felt we might have a bit of an edge over the Yellowstone community since the black bears, elk and bighorns don't seem to very active in social networking."

Good line.

GOOGLE GOES TRAVEL

I gotta admit I find this fascinating...and a little bit scary. But with Google having purchased ITA Software, a hugely influential company most of don't know, all sorts of folks who are smarter than me are trying to figure out what those crazy Californians have in mind.

A story on openjaw.com quoted an unnamed Canadian expert as saying it's "the biggest change in travel distribution since the birth of the Internet," which sounds pretty interesting.

A piece I spotted on travelmole.com said that "travel meta-search engines such as Kayak" are likely to be impacted more than sites such as Expedia or Priceline, where providers don't allow users to book directly.

But the impact will be lessened on sites such as Orbitz, Expedia and Priceline, where providers don’t allow users to book with them directly, analysts say. 

“It seems that meta-search, rather than bookings, would be easiest for Google,” said the Wall Street Journal.

I'd suggest that what Google really has in mind is world domination, but they already have that.

THAT'S A LOT OF MUFFINS

Great story out of Moscow says the Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, paid for 97 breakfasts during a 20-night stay at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Vancouver while he was there for the Winter Olympics. His bill came to $4,500, which is high even for Vancouver.

What was this guy thinking? I mean, if you're trying to pad your expanses why not get a bunch of blank taxi chits like the rest of us (sorry boss, that's a joke). But, no, this guy charges for nearly five breakfasts every day on top of a suite that cost $1,400 a night.

He spent an average of $46 for breakfast! I've seen plenty of hotels that charge $25 for a buffet or $15 for bacon and eggs, but 46 dollar breakfasts five times a day is pretty impressive.

One can only imagine his mini-bar tab.

Vancouver Olympic memories...Richard Branson arrives today...Iceland blog

You'd think that four months and a day after the glorious Vancouver Olympic Games ended, that chief organizer John Furlong would've had a day off.

Nope.

"Not yet," he said in a swing through a post-G20 Toronto today. "I'm hoping maybe this weekend."

Furlong was busy, of course, with the Paralympic Games in March. Since then, he's been advising folks in London about the 2012 Games and Sochi, Russia about the 2014 Winter Olympics. He's also chairman of the board of Own the Podium.

Today, however, he was in town mostly to talk about the massive and impressive official commemorative book of the Olympic Winter and Paralympic Winter Games, titled "With Glowing Hearts."

There's everything you can imagine, including breathtaking scenery and athlete shots, photos of the opening and closing ceremonies and shots of the amazing volunteers. There are mountains aglow with light. Some even have snow on them (sorry, John). There's a guy named Crosby waving a giant Canadian flag. There's Moir and Virtue and a tearful Joannie Rochette and Alex Bilodeau and Shaun White and Lauren Woolstencroft, who swept all five of her Paralympic alpine events for Canadian glory. And, yes, there's something on the Georgian luger who was killed early on, Nodar

There's also a photo of give guys standing at a urinal, with their jackets revealing the fact they were from Peru, Croatia, the U.S.A. and Mexico. I guess there's solidarity everywhere at the Olympics.

Oddly enough, Furlong said this marks the first time an organizing committee has put out a post-Games book. You'd think it was a natural after, say, the Sydney Games or even Salt Lake, but it didn't happen.

"We tried not to leave anything out," he said as he went through some favourite photos.

The book retails for $85. Proceeds are split between the publisher, the bookseller and VANOC, which is using the money to help balance its budget.

Furlong yesterday said he still expects a balanced budget, but no major operating profit from hosting the Games. The Games budget included a $110 million fund to help maintain the Richmond Oval for speedksating, the nordic venues in the Callaghan Valley and the Whistler sliding track.

Olympics ended four months ago yesterday; the Paralympics a few weeks later. The Vancouver organizing committee had 50,000 workers at the peak, and Furlong said he's now down to 20. Not thousand. Twenty.

"We have a few more contracts to deal with and we have to do a proper audit and prepare a final report for the International Olympic Committee."

Furlong is now heading up the Own the Podium program, which helped Canada top the gold medal standings in Vancouver. He's trying to keep that going for Sochi, Russia in 2014 and to boost Canada's performance at the Summer Games in London in 2012.

"We want to be a contender in most sports," he said. "We haven't won a team medal at the summer Games in six decades."

To improve Canada's standings, Furlong and OTP are going to need corporate funding. They did quite well with Vancouver, but London and Sochi will be tougher sells. He also realizes the competition will be very tough.

"Every country is doing the same thing as us," he said, noting that Russia, in particular, wants to improve on a disappointing result in Vancouver.

Vancouver had 14 venues, but Sochi has 70 projects under construction, Furlong said, and they stretch over a 135-kilometre-long area.

"I think they'll get it done. Failure is not an option. This is about the face of Russia in this century."

Furlong said he expected a few dozen letters from Canadians after the Games. Instead, he said he received thousands. One of his favourites was from a couple who wanted to rent out their B and B in Squamish, B.C. They thought they had rented to some folks from Switzerland, so they festooned their place in red and white and brought in Swiss flags.

When the tenants arrived for the Games, they were Germans. It wasn't necessarily a problem, but the owners had relatives in the World Wars and had something of a history with Germany.

"By the end, they were good friends and exchanged keys. She told me the Games had removed hatred from her family's home."

Furlong said he expects Vancouver to get its Canadian face back on this week for Canada Day. That's the day they'll officially open Jack Poole Plaza on the waterfront; the plaza named after the guy who got Vancouver's bid off the ground some 10 years ago. It should be great, but it might not rival the feeling in the streets four months ago.

Furlong laughs when he talks about how Canadians went so wild in the streets and how he remembers talking to folks in China about the lack of people walking through the Olympic park in Beijing on a daily basis.

"I asked someone one day why they didn't open the doors and he told me, "Everyone would've come.' I guess in China, that's a lot of people."

VIRGIN AMERICA TAKES OVER THE THOMPSON

Should be a pretty good bash at the new Thompson Hotel in Toronto tonight. Virgin America chief Richard Branson and a bunch of celebrities were due to arrive on the tarmac at Pearson Airport today, then make their way downtown for a rooftop party under the (potentially chilly) stars.

I mentioned the other day that it was going to be interesting to see how Air Canada responds. I got a note from the good folks at AC the other day to remind me that they earlier added new services from Toronto to Orange County, as well as San Diego (which started June 17). They've also boosted service to San Francisco to five flights a day and brought in lie-flat suites in Executive First service on select flights to Los Angeles.

Capacity is to be increased 51 per cent between Toronto and California this year, compared to last, officials said.

LINDA BARNARD IN ICELAND

Star entertainment writer Linda Barnard, always good for some laughs and travel insights, is making her presence felt in Reykjavik. And apparently standing in both Europe and North America at the same time. You can check her out by clicking on this link. Keep up the good work, Linda.

Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Drury Inn, Microtel score high with consumers...

We rave about the Ritz and marvel at Microtel. At least that's what Consumer Reports found.

The long-standing publishing company/website surveyed more than 27,000 subscribers who spent a combined 124,000 nights at 48 hotel chains in all categories from Jan. 2008 to April, 2009 and came up with some pretty cool findings.

Top rated hotels in the fancy category were the Ritz-Carlton with an 88 score out of 100, followed by Grand Hyatt with 83 points. In the luxury category, Renaissance hotels garnered 86 points, while Embassy Suites had 84, Marriott 83, Westin 82 and Hilton 81.

In the moderate category, Drury Inn and Suites (I've never tried one but their property in Indianapolis, of all places, was rated third best hotel in the WORLD by Expedia.ca this week) took top marks with 87 points, followed by 84 for Wingate by Wyndham, 84 for Hampton Inn and Suites by Carlson, 83 for Fairfield Inn and 82 for Country Inns and Suites. I've always found Fairfeld's to be clean and just fine, but I liked Country Inns and Suites for the space and the free movies they had when I stayed there in the Halifax area a few years back.

Finally, in the budget category Microtel Inn and Suites got top marks with 78 points, followed by Super 8 at 70 and Motel 6 with 68 points.

Lowest rated of any chain in the survey was Americas Best Value Inn with 63 points. Travelodge and Econo Lodge didn't fare much better at 65 points.

Naturally, the budget spots didn't get as many thumbs up as the big boys. But you don't have to pay as much, of course, so the value for dollar figure tends to be pretty high.

"Respondents who stayed at a budget hotel said they were drawn by cheap rates," Consumer Reports said. "But except for Microtel, budget hotels continue to earn the lowest scores for value, upkeep and checking in and out. They also generate a dispropionate percentage of complaints about bedding, lighting, decor and heating and air conditioning. Travelode, Econo Lodge and the misnamed America's Vest Value Inn, a newcomer to our ratings, were consistently among the most trouble-prone."

The survey results in the magazine found that rooms at Microtel Inn and Suites ranged from $54 to $79 U.S. and got the 78 rating I mentioned. America's Best Value Inn rooms ranged from $50 to $79 and got the 63 rating. You might save $4, but Microtel looks like a far better deal to me. Motel 6 got a 68 rating but their rooms were listed at anywhere from $40 to $59, which is pretty cheap for a decent if unspectacular rating.

Subscribers lavished praised on the beds and bedding at Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance and Westin.

Consumer Reports found that only 35 per cent of respondents tried to negotiate a better deal, but those who did were rewarded with a lower rate or a room upgrade 80 per cent of the time, which shows it pays to haggle a bit. I don't like doing it much myself, but if you simply smile and politely ask, "I'm sorry, do you have any specials or upgrades," what do you have to lose?

KISS THAT ASH GOODBYE

Well, for now, anyway. As of early Thursday, the ash from the Iceland volcano that had been floating over Ireland and Scotland had moved west and airports in Ireland and the UK were fully functioning. That could change, of course, but it was certainly good news today.

NO FLY MEANS NO FLY

The Homeland Security Department on Wednesday ordered all airlines to begin checking for updates to the government's "no-fly list" within two hours to avoid scenarios such as the one that occurred Monday when a suspected terrorist boarded an Emirates airliner in New York City, according to federal and airline officials with direct knowledge of the policy change.

Airlines are currently required to download an updated version of the no-fly list at least every 24 hours to make sure none of their passengers is barred from boarding commercial flights.

In cases of emergency additions to the list, the government sends an alert to airlines, which are supposed to immediately add the new name to the no-fly list. Airlines are responsible for comparing their passenger lists to the no-fly list.

What part of keeping this list up-to-date and checking it religiously did the folks at Emirates not understand?

NASHVILLE FLOODS

As residents sift through the sludge caused by historic floodwaters, Nashville's tourism industry is doing some salvaging of its own, reports USA Today Travel.

"With flooded Gaylord Opryland Resort out of commission for several months and scores of conventions no longer able to meet there, tourism officials are scrambling to keep the business in town. Organizers of at least one convention scheduled at the resort said Wednesday that they plan to stay in Nashville at a new location."

The Humane Society of the United States said it won't change plans to hold its convention in Nashville, and good for them I say.

"We don't want to bail on the city of Nashville," said John Snyder, a humane society v.p.

THANKS TO BC TOURISM

A lovely dinner at Victor restaurant at Le Germain hotel on Mercer St. Wednesday night, thanks to folks in the tourism biz in British Columbia. Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler and B.C. officials all were there for some great food and talk about what's happening out west now that the Olympics party is over.

"It was great, and it was good to have the Paralympics as well," one official told me. "But it's kind of nice to be back to normal and have time to do things we want instead of constantly responding to the demands of the Olympics."

Indeed. Coming up, I'm told, is the Vancouver spot prawn festival. It's May 8, so you probably don't have time to hop on a plane from Toronto for it. But the little critters, which I'm told taste like lobster, are available in B.C. for several weeks this time of year so you might find them on a menu at a seafood spot like Go Fish or the lovely Coast on Alberni St. in downtown Vancouver.

A TALKING MICKEY? I'M NOT READY FOR THAT

The L.A. Times reports Disneyland is testing a groundbreaking Mickey Mouse meet-and-greet character that talks to visitors while posing for photos, according to Walt Disney Imagineering officials.

The talking Mickey Mouse has been greeting visitors during unannounced and intermittent “play tests” in his cartoon-style house in Toontown, officials confirmed.

After nearly 55 years of mute costumed characters at the Anaheim theme park, it’s equal parts jaw-dropping and off-putting to see Mickey’s eyes blink and mouth move as he greets visitors by name.

“Face characters,” such as Sleeping Beauty and Jack Sparrow,  whose faces are visible to visitors, typically speak and interact with them during photo sessions, while costumed characters, such as Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh, whose faces are masked by sculpted heads, usually pantomime their actions as handlers speak on their behalf.

NOTHING TO DO WITH TRAVEL BUT HERE GOES

The city of Toronto water people came onto my street two and a half weeks ago and dug up our lawns so they could replace aging, lead pipes with new PVC pipes. Good call, I'd think, and thanks folks. But here's the issue:

I wasn't here at the time - I was stranded in London after a trip to Ireland - but my neighbour said the city folks promised to have fresh sod laid down pretty quickly to cover the gaping holes. Two weeks went by and I still had what looked like a shallow grave on my lovely, green lawn: a large bare patch with rocks, huge dirt clods and tree roots sticking up. It was a mess. So I went to the store and bought soil and peat moss and grass seed and spent a couple hours fixing the city's mess and planting the seed.

I was still pissed, so I called my city councillor, Karen Stintz. Her assistant, the always reliable Andrew Bodrug, called city water folks for me.

On Wednesday he called me and said he'd spoken to the city. "They said they haven't dug up any properties on your street yet."

Really? I guess that huge hole and the new access pipe in my lawn is just my imagination. As well as all the other ones up and down my street.

Sheesh, guys, get your act together. Is it that hard to keep track of what properties you've dug up? And is there any excuse for not having a truck laden with sod drive down the street behind the water digging people and laying it down nice and fresh right after the work is done?

No, there's not. The city of Toronto never ceases to amaze me.

And here's the TTC talking about a new headquarters not far from my house, when they can't even fix the escalators at the Lawrence station. One of them is almost always being repaired. On Tuesday, I got home and one was under repair and the other was simply not working. Five flights of stairs isn't gonna kill me, but there are a lot of seniors who rely on that escalator.

Take care of the little things, guys, and then maybe you can talk about a new building for your under-worked bureaucrats.