Vancouver
The air is warm, but a shiver runs up your spine as you dip your toe into the cool Pacific water. Scampering back to the giant log you’ve annexed as your own, you wrap yourself in a warm beach blanket and an even warmer friend. All along the nearby Seawall, the hip and the healthy [...]
Banff & Jasper
Monumental frozen spires dip dramatically into lush green valleys and turquoise lakes. The pure mountain air fills your lungs with a rejuvenating essence. As you reach a cupped hand toward the rush of water roaring down the cliffside, a sudden flash of white catches your attention. You look up only to find a [...]
Calgary
At first, the lanky cowboy in black seems in control, one hand on the rope, the other stretched out behind him. But the angry bull beneath him won’t stand for it. Hind legs buck high into the air and the rider’s body ripples like a whip, his head snapping backwards. You grip the bench and [...]
Winnipeg
Strolling along the banks of the Assiniboine, you take comfort in the steady flow of the river. Families play and picnic on the spacious lawns between walkways. In the market, bakers, butchers, grocers and artisans are busy serving enthusiastic shoppers. Across the river, the ruins of the old French basilica stand out above the leafy [...]
Niagara
The thundering roar of millions of litres of water plunging 52 metres into a bubbling gorge drowns out the diesel engines of your ferry, the conversations of your fellow passengers, your very thoughts. Your ship charges on relentlessly, bucking and swaying its way into the horseshoe cradle of the colossal wall of water. You lean [...]
Toronto
The light turns red. You wait. In a flash, the piece of sidewalk you occupy fills with faces from around the world. Talking, laughing, dreaming, hoping – each one on a unique journey. She’s going for dim sum with her in-laws in Chinatown. He’s on his way to an art-house flick in the Annex. These [...]
Ottawa
The ceremonial music of bagpipes approaches with the heavy thumps of measured footsteps. Sidewalk spectators lean in to get a better look at the men in red coats and tall bearskin caps marching up the grand boulevard. As the neat rows of guardsmen pass, you notice they are being trailed by a loose group of [...]
Montreal
The pasta tonight was superb, the wine a revelation. You nod your head to the music filtering out from inside the bar. You don’t even mind the jostle as more revelers arrive on your turf. A casual bump leads to casual conversation. It’s a jumble of English, French and whatever you can gesture.
Your second bottle [...]
Quebec City
Spectacular fireworks illuminate the night skies as you explore the steep and narrow alleyways beneath the lofty ramparts and storied citadel of this historic walled city. The seductive charm of Old Europe is everywhere, and la belle provence’s photogenic capital has never looked so beautiful, or so festive.
Halifax
The fiddler rocks back and forth on his feet, instrument jammed under his chin, bow jerking at a frenetic pace, his face obscured by a bouncing curtain of blond hair. The tempo changes on a dime and the entire pub launches into the anthemic chorus that even you now know by heart. Singing at the [...]