To Travel is To Live

Four years ago, my cousin and I visited Amsterdam, in November 2009.  The weather was typical for The Netherlands at that time of the year – mostly rainy, around 10-15 degrees – so we were forced to visit a number of indoor tourist attractions.  This trip marked my first overseas vacation and sparked my keen interest and desire to travel the world and see it all.  My travel research had been limited beforehand, leaving much of our destination ideas up to Lee.  We knew the Anne Frank House Museum was in Amsterdam, and we planned an overnight trip to Paris to see the Louvre and Notre Dam.  Stephanie had agreed to tour us around her country, as well, so when we arrived in Amsterdam, we had a little planned.  One rainy afternoon we took the long walk to Versetzmuseum (The Dutch Resistance Museum), which Lee had wanted to see during our stay.  This museum has stuck with me as one of the most moving, poignant displays of World War...

The words “Mardi Gras” exude images of bare-breasted women, elaborate costumes, and spectacular, fabulous floats, not to mention color beads flying through the air from all directions.  A visit to New Orleans for their annual celebration of life, love and freedom did not disappoint on any of these well-known ideas of what Mardi Gras entails.  The city is alive, day and night, for weeks leading up to the famed party, and the closer you can travel to Fat Tuesday, the better.  However, don’t forget that New Orleans schedules parties, parades, and events for at least six weeks prior to Mardi Gras, so you can always catch a krewe or a king cake, and beads, well before the true party starts.  Historical beauty is found everywhere in New Orleans, but nothing beats the walk through time that the French Quarter offers.  Wrought iron balconies adorn each three or four story building, once housing single families but now renovated as apartments, shop...

Last year I returned to our cabin in August to attend my cousin’s wedding, and I spent 3 nights in the cabin, taking time each day to wander around and see what had changed.  I was instantly taken back to the age of 15, when life was easy and I was full of wonder and a sense of adventure.  The weather was beautiful and I was able to spend a couple of afternoons at the beach tanning and reading.             I realized just how much I have missed this place and went back to Calgary, telling Bryan how next summer I would like to spend a week here at the cabin.  Gambling with the odds of a great week of weather in the middle of August, we chose to spend a week here this summer and couldn’t be happier with the weather.  It’s halfway through our week, and we have had three days of above 30 (above 40 one day) weather, and today a nice break at about 24.        ...

You may have driven by this restaurant dozens of times in the past 11 years and not noticed it until about 2 months ago, only to be told it has been in operation for 13 years. Okay, yes, this is my story. Being a food lover, especially of Italian, you would think I had taken notice of Il Sogno years ago. Apparently, some things still get past me. For our (Bryan and me) 4th anniversary I chose Il Sogno for 3 reasons: it is Italian, I got 1000 Open Table points by using their reservation system, and I had a $60 Groupon to use. Score! We were greeted by a friendly, talkative server as soon as we walked through the door. Our table was ready, situated right by a window with the heat of the summer sun streaming in. 6:00 must not be a popular dinner time as there was only one other occupied table. However, when we left at 7:30 there were only 3 other tables with people. It looked and sounded like everyone was having a wonderful dining experience anyway. Our waiter explained th...

So, yes, I love to eat.  I also love my Open Table app so very much!  For someone (me) who is not a fan of the phone or calling people, I love that I can scroll through the latest restaurants in Calgary (or most cities) and choose a time and cuisine that is convenient for me.  And Bryan, of course.  With so many great options to choose from, my Open Table Experiment officially starts next Tuesday, on our 4th anniversary, and will run until Christmas of this year.  What is this Experiment?  I vow to try 1 new Open Table restaurant every 2 weeks and post my thoughts and feelings from the experience here.  Over time, I should be able to accumulate enough reviews that I could potentially write a more thorough, online travel and restaurant guide.  After this weekend's travel guide experience, I am realizing the opportunities I can make for myself as I slowly gain momentum into a writing career filled with experiences I take from my various travels....

Choosing a vacation package from a reputable vacation company can be stressful if you're not sure about the resorts or areas you are interested in, but usually you can be assured that the accommodations have been reviewed by the organization for safety, health and comfort prior to issuing sales to the public. This is one of the reasons many people still opt for using travel agents to book their vacations.  I wonder if the travel agency field is starting to experience dramatic declines in their usage because there have been a lot of articles recently discussing the benefits to using them.  Hmmm.  I enjoy the hours I spend jumping between different travel companies and then comparing customer reviews on sites such as Trip Advisor .  I can be fairly certain that no one is being paid to provide their feedback so it's likely that what I read is generally the truth.  Of course, there are always those grumpy travellers who had nothing but bad luck, so use your judge...

Well, I just submitted my first query for a magazine.  I did it - I put myself out there.  I have high hopes, of course, but I don't suspect I'll hear anything in return.  It's my first and I aimed high, to a well-read, widely distributed Canadian magazine.  I still think my idea is awesome! There isn't much left to tell about our adventure to Lake Louise last weekend, but I did want to talk about Field.  Have you ever stopped into that tiny, almost invisible town?  It is so cute!  There are a number of bed and breakfast housing options located in historical buildings from when the railway did first go through there.  It's very neat, though Bryan and I weren't sure what attraction would call for a stay here.  Hiking? The Kicking Horse Lodge appears to be a fairly new building, one that had two levels developed like a very small resort hotel.  Attached is a little restaurant called Truffle Pigs.  There are actually pigs with wing...