My wife Karen has dreamed of celebrating a milestone birthday in Tuscany since her 20’s. We hoped to go to chef Umberto Menghi’s cooking school in Tuscany for her 40th, but family and finances did not allow for it. So we were determined to get to Italy for her 50th.
Read More14 things to do in New York with a 14-year old
My son Oliver and I were fortunate to spend 5 days in New York City during his spring break, leaving on his 14th birthday. We stayed with our friend Judy in her wonderful brownstone in the upper West Side. These are the things we did that resulted in Oliver having one of the best spring breaks he says he ever had.
Read More72 Hours in NYC
For the past 25 years Karen has joined me on much of my work travel, doing as she pleases while I attended conferences or meetings. She now has a job that demands a fair bit of travel (much more than my work does) and I was able to tag along on her most recent trip, New York City. Having the freedom to do as I pleased while she worked was a great way to experience the Big Apple — here is what I crammed into 72 hours.
Read MoreChristmas Down Under
We spent Christmas 2016 in Australia to visit our daughter and to get to know her boyfriend and his family better. Read on for the top 5 highlights of our trip!
Read MoreSan Francisco, off the cable car track
Well this was a first. I’ve been to San Francisco on business before, but this time it was a business trip for Karen and I got to just tag along. We stayed at the remarkable Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square, near Fisherman’s Wharf.
Read MoreMontreal’s last winter weekend
Karen and I had a great weekend in Montreal to visit her brother and celebrate his 50th birthday. It was early April, but winter wasn’t finished with the city yet, and as you can tell from the photos, it was (bitterly) cold!
Read MoreWinter Cruising
This past winter Karen and I were lucky to spend a weekend with my business partner and her husband on their boat. We are also lucky to live in the best part of Canada for boating, even in January!
Read MoreDella Falls, the easy way
Ever since moving to Vancouver Island I’ve wanted to see Della Falls, one of the highest in Canada, right here on Vancouver Island.
So when my friend John asked me some time ago if I’d like to go for a flight on his plane, and if so where, I immediately said, “Yes, Della Falls!”
Read MoreUtrecht!
Our 2015 Netherlands house exchange ended with a stay in the historic city of Utrecht. Several Dutch people recommended it, telling us that it was just as historic and beautiful as Amsterdam, but cleaner! It is also very compact, so once we arrived we didn’t use our car until we left.
Read MoreLa Rochelle
Our 10th summer house exchange, to La Rochelle, France, was unlike any exchange we have ever done., but probably one of our best.
We knew from the pictures that our exchange family sent to us, and from the Google Earth and Street views that we looked up, that this was going to be special.
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