To Travel is To Live

This spring contains a triad of vacation accommodations, and with the luxury of each occurring within weeks of the others, I have had time to reflect upon the pros and cons of each:  the all-inclusive resort; the vacation rental by owner (VRBO), and the upscale hotel.  As my interests start to lean more towards experiencing a place like a local, you can expect that the vrbo or hotel are becoming my preference. However, each definitely has their pluses.  First, the hotel.  This option usually includes amenities such as in-room fridges, coffee makers, private bathrooms, and on-site lounges or restaurants.  Not every hotel has these options, as it does definitely depend upon the price range and the star classification.  As I try to compare 'apples to apples', I am looking at hotels in areas wrought with tourists, sandy beaches, daily tours and excursions, and located in high-traffic, safe areas.   A hotel offers you freedom to search out you...

Through all my research, it's been easy for me to overlook Laurier Lounge .  I'm not sure why:  the French-sounding name (and my bad experience at Belvedere)? it's lack of word-of-mouth reputation among my circle of friends and colleagues?  Whatever the reason, I was extremely intrigued by the choice for our dinner club this month.   What I did not realize was, Laurier Lounge, located in the heart of the Beltline (and easy to mistaken for just another old house in the area), offers fondue experiences, as well as a full menu of other delicious appetizers and entrees. For our group of 12, though, a fondue night seemed like the perfect addition to our club's desire to try new food while gathering to make new friends and catch up with old ones.   Walking in through the front door, we were greeted by a friendly hostess who took us up a narrow, creaking staircase to a small alcove where our party was seated.  I appreciate these old homes that have been restor...

Somewhere throughout my life, I have developed the impression that a luau in Hawaii would be this large group of people mingling on a beach, the centrepiece a huge bonfire.  Hula girls would be dancing and men would be playing ukeleles, with people singing along to traditional Hawaiian music.  I pictured a big party with people dancing and laughing, just enjoying the warm evening air, lounging around on a dark, secluded beach. Kalamaku has the reputation as the best luau on the island of Kauai.  Random people we have met along the way have stated this, as did our personal concierge for the house we are renting.  Driving up to the site, a few of us were clearly a tad disappointed that it wasn't taking place on a beach.  The building is huge, with an open-air architecture.  There were tables set up all around a stage that looked on the small side.  A band plugged into the amps was set off in one corner, and people tried to keep us entertaine...

Since completing my Advanced Open Water three weeks ago, I have been so excited to go on a dive to the depths of the ocean, having the ability to see wrecks and go inside caverns and tunnels, and to just experience so much more than what I could with my Open Water certification.  I spent the days working up to our trip to Kauai nagging Bryan, "which dives do you want to go on?  what days do you want to go"?  Eventually, I had to just say, "let's go!" We didn't book anything in advance, so on our first, long day in Kauai, we found a little booth at the Po'ipu Shopping Village that had people trying to sell tourists day trips and excursions.  The lady we spoke to was extremely nice, and managed to get us a small discount on a dive trip if we agreed to sign up for a 'free' vacation from Diamond Resorts.  Timeshares abound!  Anyway, as we were talking to this lady, she suggested either a 2-tank or a 3-tank dive.  Well, of course the 3-tank dive see...

When I first was asked to join my parents in Kauai, Hawaii for a week to help them celebrate their 40 th  wedding anniversary, I was happy to be going for a vacation but not sure what to expect.   From other people, we had been given varying opinions on what we may see or do – from “there is absolutely nothing to do on Kauai” to “it’s so beautiful, you won’t want to leave”!   I guess it depends on the person giving the advice and on what they enjoy most on vacation.   It’s a small island, quick to get around by car, with winding, narrow roads.   Few people live here, and there aren’t many chain restaurants or stores.   Grocery stores try hard to stock up on locally grown produce and meat, while importing some of the higher quality non-perishables from the mainland.   Houses are often seen with solar panels upon their roofs, and lush, green vegetation is observable for miles.   The beaches are small but sandy and clean; the surf can be quite h...

A lot of people haven't even heard of the Blue House Cafe in northwest Calgary.  And you may have even driven past the tiny strip mall on the corner of Northmount and 19th Street and not noticed the nondescript sign for this gem.  Tucked into the furthest corner of the mall, overwhelmed by the flashy outdoors shop with it's brightly colored clothing and accessories, Blue House Cafe, at first glance, appears to be just another attempt at a neighborhood restaurant.  Aside from the fish in its logo, you may not even guess that Blue House Cafe serves some of the freshest, most authentically tasting seafood in Calgary.   Through word-of-mouth, I heard that Blue House Cafe was an amazing restaurant with great decor, ambiance and food.  My first visit did not disappoint, so my second visit more recently was filled with high expectations.  We included an additional person in our reservation, informing him how he would be fully satisfied and impressed with t...