To Travel is To Live

Always on the hunt for a new experience, friends joined us last night to try out Xocolat , a relatively new Mexican restaurant to the Calgary food scene.  Located on 11th Avenue SW near the popular King and I Thai restaurant, Xocolat is refined elegance in an open concept dining room.  Surprisingly, for a Thursday night, the place was practically deserted, but perhaps the word has not yet been spread about this gem.   Or, perhaps, people haven't noticed it driving or walking by.   Xocolat's sign is stylish and simple, yet, because it's relatively small compared to neighbouring adverts, and because it's not lit up or designed to stand out, it was very easy to pass by their front door.  They need to place some lighting behind it or impose a more eye-level (and eye-catching) sign to draw customers in.  Outside was an Erdinger beer sign with the name and specials written in chalk - not exactly an accurate advertising scheme for this intima...

Through the irritation of planning our third dinner club installment, I had not really been looking forward to our evening at Teatro.  I appreciate the choice of venue, because the building, both inside and out, is stunning.  The atmosphere is magical and old-world, and people have had previous experiences that have impressed.  Walking into the cavernous dining room enforced with vintage, white pillars, you are taken back to another age.  As promised, our group had one of the alcoves all to ourselves.  What surprised me was, our table was set for 8, there was one table tucked away for 2 (not set up), and a serving station for our waiter.  This all seemed to just nicely fit in the alcove, so I'm curious what 20 people would look like in the space.  The settings were elegantly placed, with our own special menu printed out below our napkin. A huge appreciation goes out to our waiter.  He was outstanding, always attentive and there when we nee...

A glimpse of the beautifully historic Teatro building on the corner of 8th Avenue and Macleod Trail SE, and one can't help but wonder at the extravagance and elegance that lies inside.  My first experience eating at Teatro was pretty positive:  my loaded friend was buying so I was able to place my worry over money aside for a few hours, but I was nervous about what I was wearing and who the typical clientele were in this majestic place.  It turns out I was nervous for no reason, really.  The decor is lovely, yet understated, and the space is strategically filled with tables and alcoves.  The food was yummy, but not anything to rave about.  And the clientele were what you'd expect at a relatively high end restaurant.  Source: calgaryculture.com My opinion of this restaurant continued to grow over the years from other experiences.  The food remain tastier than average, yet not to die for (by any means), but it was the ambiance and thrill of w...

Ugh, I have actively avoided getting any unnecessary needles since I was 15 years old, but as I was reviewing my Advanced Diving course material, it occurred to me that I should suck it up and get some of the necessary ones.  Wreck diving involves close proximity to old, rusted iron and steel structures, so the possibility of tetanus from accidentally scratching myself on something underwater seems quite high.  Dammit!  And, it will protect me when I go to some more exotic locations in the future, too.   The idea of travel is one of big dreams, beautiful scenery, and endless exploration.  However, there would be a down side to this adventure, as there seems to be one for everything.  Vaccines.  I hate needles, especially after that one terrible blood technician jammed it right into my nerve.  I couldn't move my right arm for over a month after that!   Traveling anywhere outside of Canada poses risk to anyone, so up-to-date vacci...

People always ask me, "Why do you want to move to Belize?" This seems like a reasonable question, especially since I haven't yet visited the country.  How can I decide upon which country I want to pick up and relocate to if I haven't experienced it at all? Back when I was attending Brandon University, I had a professor who spoke very highly of Belize.  He and his wife had visited and loved it so much that they bought a house and spent a couple of months there each year.  He stated how friendly everyone seemed to be, how easy it was for them to purchase property and live for so long there, as well as the reasonable cost of living for two months at a time. What appeals most to me about Belize is it's lack of tourism to date.  I know some people visit, and tourism is increasing within the country, but for the most part, I don't hear of many people choosing to visit it.  Upon researching Belize, the population of the entire country is spread out within vario...