BOLD Issue #44 Spring

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must-see places for your soul

WHAT’S HOT NOW

MÉRIDA’S

SENSUAL DELIGHTS

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The essential guide to cruising now

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CONTENTS SPRING 2018

In This Issue 40 PRIME MÉRIDA

The cultural capital of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Mérida has charms that extend well beyond the food and folkloric dancing– something Andrew Brudz discovered lounging in a hammock

46 CAJUN CONNECTIONS

Southern Louisiana offers all sorts of pleasures, but for Paul Gallant, the links to Canada’s Acadian culture makes for a deeply personal visit

52 BEYOND SHERWOOD FOREST

In the UK countryside, legends live alongside grand mansions and even grander meal times, reports Ruth J. Katz

58 WHY DO WE TRAVEL? Liz Fleming reports on nine places your soul needs to visit now

Aerial view of an overwater bungalow at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa.

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CONTENTS

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SPRING 2018

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Also in This Issue 12 EDITOR’S NOTE 14 CONTRIBUTORS 17 STAY: Victoria’s Fairmont Empress stands guard over the B.C. capital

19 OUR INSIDER’S GUIDE: The Best of

Victoria, B.C.

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24 FOOD DIARIES: The life of chef Nicole

Gomes in photos

26 GLOBETROTTERS: The writers of the

37 EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCES: Feed your need to travel in Sri Lanka, Belize and Bratislava

62 WHAT FLOATS YOUR BOAT? BOLD’s Guide to Cruising in 2018

80 INTEL: How to figure out hotel star-rating systems, plus other news 82 WORTH TRAVELLING FOR: Kauai’s

North Shore

smash hit Come From Away, back in Toronto for a limited run, share their travel philosophies

28 WANDERLUST: A culinary tour of Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood 29 WEEKENDER: Being a tourist in one’s

own city

32 STYLISH TRAVELLER: Designer

Farley Chatto gives us a tour of his favourite things in the country

33 FRAGRANCES: Scents that will transport you around the world

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34 INSPIRED BY: Singapore 35 BEAUTY: Treating your skin to a spring adventure

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because of your rich colonial history

GRANADA Located near the shores of Lake Nicaragua, Granada is one of Nicaragua’s most important cities historically and is currently one of the nation’s tourism hubs. Founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba, Granada has a rich colonial heritage, seen in its architecture and structure. Pictured here, Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral - built around 1525.

Ostensibly the first European city in mainland America, the city of Granada was not only the settlement of the conquest, but also a city registered in official records of the Crown of Aragón, and the Kingdom of Castile in Spain.

SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Kindness Is cool

Declaring “What’s hot now,” as we’re doing in this issue of BOLD, is always a dangerous move. Trends change at a lightning pace. Where are the hipsters headed this month? Estonia, Croatia, Portugal? Which is the newest hotel in Abu Dhabi, and did it open last Tuesday or last Wednesday? The declaration itself can have unintended consequences: the burgeoning popularity of Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, for example, has obliged crowd-haters to be strategic about exactly when they visit the iconic geothermal spa.

So in this issue, we’re choosing places we’re sure will delight readers this year or next year, even if the fickle crowds have moved on. Nobody needs to tell you that London is always in style, but on page 52, Ruth J. Katz takes us out into an English countryside that feels eternal but, these days, is anything but frumpy. Mérida, the historic colonial lady of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, has been on the radar of sophisticated travellers for years. But writer Andrew Brudz celebrates the city’s newly confident cool (page 40).

As for myself, for the feature starting on page 46, I went on an exploration of my heritage (or, as an Acadian whose ancestors remained in Canada, rather than fleeing to the American South during the Expulsion of the mid-1700s, my parallel-universe heritage) and found hospitality that will enchant travellers who have no cultural connection whatsoever with Louisiana. Of course, the food, the music and the manners will make them wish they had a claim.

New Orleans remains a destination that’s always finding new ways to seduce you, but the range of experiences beyond the French Quarter–the repurposed plantations along the Mississippi, the cultural richness and adventures available in Cajun country–are also genuinely “hot,” too.

If there is a common thread in this issue of BOLD, I would say that it’s graciousness. We live in an era where cordiality and harmony are at the core of what we seek when we travel.

PROUD PARTNERS OF BOLD MAGAZINE

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Photo by Tishan Baldeo

Paul Gallant Executive Editor

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Applies to new 2019 bookings only and will not be applied to pre-existing bookings. Air must be purchased through Avalon in conjunction with a Europe vacation. Cruise only packages may require additional overnight stays at passenger’s expense. Air Credit will apply to the per person air price and is non-transferable. An additional $300 non-refundable deposit is required for air booked in conjunction with a land vacation. Once ticketed, airline reservations subject to change/cancellation penalties of between $300 per ticket and 100% of ticket price; air tickets may not be eligible for frequent flyer mileage/point accrual; stopover costs are additional. Promotional discounts do not carry forward on changed air bookings however other promotions at time of change may be available. Once airfare is confirmed, with full air and land deposit received, air-inclusive price is guaranteed. We reserve the right to ticket passengers upon receipt of full land and air deposit. Additional airline fees for baggage may apply; visit www.iflybags.com for more details. Availability of promotional prices are limited and may be restricted to specific flights, class of service, travel dates or length of stay. Additional restrictions apply; see our Travel Terms & Conditions for details. Offers reliant on space availability at time of booking and may be withdrawn at any time. Offers are available from participating GFOB offices only. 3280 Bloor Street West, Centre Tower, 4th Floor, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M8X 2X3, TICO#1893755/50015835

Photo by Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel and Spa

CONTRIBUTORS SPRING 2018

ON THE COVER The pure pleasure of sunbathing by the pool at Rosa and Xocholate Hotel, Mérida, Mexico.

Marlon J. Moreno Publisher + Editorial Director Luis Chavez Associate Publisher, Special Projects Paul Gallant Executive Editor Liz Fleming Associate Editor, Digital Magda de la Torre Americas Editor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Victoria Bass • Andrew Brudz • Anita Draycott Liz Fleming • Ruth J. Katz • Jared Mitchell Doug O’Neill • Michael Smith • Sarah Treleaven ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN Laura García PHOTOGRAPHY Tishan Baldeo

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JARED MITCHELL Writer

ANDREW BRUDZ Writer

RUTH J. KATZ Writer

Andrew is a Toronto-based writer who has covered travel, food and goings-on for Toronto Life, Tourism Toronto and Insight: The Art of Living, amongst others. When he’s not behind his laptop, you can find him at the movies or in an antique shop. He has travelled in Mexico from Guadalajara to Bacalar, but Mérida, Yucatán, captured his heart, with three visits in the past year (with many more sure to come).

Ruth J. Katz is a well-known luxury and lifestyle journalist based in New York City. She is the former travel/style editor of the upscale, NYC-based Promenade magazine and has written extensively for The New York Times and New York magazine. A cruise aficionado, she has travelled to more than 80 countries.

PLAYING THE TOURIST IN MY OWN TOWN A former internationalbusiness journalist and web-fiction creator, Jared Mitchell is the author of five novels. When not travelling throughout Europe, he splits his time between Toronto and a houseboat on Amsterdam’s Schinkel River.

PRIME MÉRIDA

BEYOND SHERWOOD FOREST

WEB DEVELOPER Rahul Nair SOCIAL MEDIA INTERN Clare Mulvale

ADVERTISING & SALES United in Change Media Yvonne Xenidis Chief Revenue Officer 416-624-5496 yvonne@unitedinchange.com For lifestyle and Co-Branded Partnerships, Promotions, Reprints and Sponsorships inquiries marlon@morenoco.com • luis@morenoco.com Phone: 1.416.323.7828 extension 25

PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY Jesson + Company jessonco.com info@jessonco.com 77 Bloor St. West, Suite 1200 Toronto, ON M5S 1M2 CORRESPONDENCE The Hudson Bay Centre 20 Bloor St. East, P.O. Box 75075 Toronto, ON M4W 3T3 BOLD® is published bimonthly by Moreno & Company Inc. Opinions expressed in BOLD® are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the publisher or advertisers. BOLD® does not assume liability for content.

All prices quoted are in rounded Canadian dollars, accurate at press time, unless otherwise noted. www.boldmagazine.ca

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Style MEN’S EDITION

The Essential Reference for the Fashionable Traveller

FALL 2018

AGENDA SEE. EXPERIENCE. HEAR. SHARE. GO.

ROYAL TREATMENT Probably the most iconic building in B.C., the refurbished Fairmont Empress has a new spring in its step… and a new dessert on its tables.

BY SARAH TRELEAVEN

SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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AGENDA [ STAY ]

OPENING PAGE: Pop art-style portraits of Queen Victoria at Q Bar. ON THIS PAGE: The salon for high tea; the rooftop lounge for Fairmont Gold guests.

For more on where stay, where to eat and what to see in Victoria, B.C., our Insider’s Guide to the city starts on the next page.

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“The hotel now feels as though all of the windows were opened to a contemporary Pacific Northwest breeze.”

he renovation of an iconic property is always a tricky proposition. A hotel like the Fairmont Empress–a grand dame that opened in 1908 to oversee the small city’s harbour–comes to feel more like a family member than a private luxury hotel. With a massive restoration, the new owners of the Empress sought to preserve the hotel’s heritage while updating and renovating its hallowed spaces.

The $60-million restoration was completed last May, and the result is magnificent. In addition to updating and modernizing the 464 guest rooms, the Empress has a spectacular new lobby, a renovated pool, spa and health club, and new culinary venues, including Q at the Empress, which serves contemporary regional cuisine, and Q Bar, which offers signature cocktails inspired by local ingredients.

The hotel now feels as though all of the windows were opened to a contemporary Pacific Northwest breeze–complete with all of the little regional nuances one expects from a Fairmont property: the refurbished, two-storey lobby has a dazzling abstract crystal chandelier that resembles glittering flower petals suspended in the sky; the executive lounge serves exquisite candied salmon as well as ruby red wines from the Okanogan Valley; some of the airy and luxurious Willow Stream Spa’s newest treatments involve fresh-foraged seaweed; and the classic high tea, served in a beautiful, light-filled Lobby Lounge, is a collection of treasures from producers across Vancouver Island.

And there are more delicious little details: The new Empress Torte was developed for the hotel’s re-launch by executive pastry chef AJ Thalakkat, who flew to France to craft custom chocolate for his cake with a cassis centre.

Hirsch Bedner, who has worked on other upscale brands like Raffles, Ritz Carlton and St. Regis, was the lead designer for the guest rooms, which have been renovated in fresh neutral palettes inspired

by Vancouver Island’s natural beauty. The hotel is also notably pet friendly, and I can attest to seeing no fewer than a half-dozen pampered pooches striding through the lobby after having the door held open by an employee in a top hat. My tiny pup was greeted by smiles everywhere we took him (with the exception of the Fairmont Gold Lounge, which has a no-canines policy) and the housekeeping staff prepared for his stay by providing bowls, treats and a comfy dog bed.

The ivy has been removed from the brick exterior and the entire property has been refurbished, but the iconic character of the Empress happily remains. In the Library, a wood-paneled private event space which feels like a set from The Crown, guests can mingle with glasses of bubbly in front of a roaring fireplace and stained glass windows.

Of course, the superb location hasn’t changed. The Empress is perfectly positioned to explore charming Old Victoria on foot, from sampling seaside fish and chips and local craft brews to wandering one of North America’s first Chinatowns. Inside and out, the beautifully restored Fairmont Empress is a wonderful way to experience Victoria, old and new. Rooms from $270/night. fairmont.com/Empress

It’s been called the Portland of the north.Victoria most definitely speaks to outdoorsy, organic-loving folk, but it offers so much more. Doug O’Neill reports that the gateway city to Canada’s true Pacific Northwest is increasingly about style, innovation and relaxation.

S TAY Convivial concierges, creature comforts and topnotch cuisine

E AT

SHOP

Dock-to-dish and field-to-table, seafood and local ingredients rule

Indie boutiques devoted to West Coast style and Canadiana

SEE & DO Mother Nature provides food for the soul

our insider’s

guide to victoria,b.c.

AGENDA [ INSIDER’S GUIDE TO VICTORIA ]

S TAY

Convivial concierges, creature comforts & topnotch cuisine AWARD-WINNING SERVICE Personalized service (customized city maps, cruiser bikes to borrow, fresh cut flowers in the rooms) helped the Magnolia Hotel & Spa win the 2017 Travel + Leisure Award for number one City Hotel in Canada. The boutique property unveils a new restaurant this spring. From $199. magnoliahotel.com DOWN BY THE WATER Spying on float planes and whale-watching boats from the glass-enclosed indoor pool is a favourite pastime at the Inn at Laurel Point, which sits in

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Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Sleek, minimalist décor. From $169. laurelpoint.com ROMANTIC AT HEART Count on Abigail’s Hotel, a 1930s Tudor mansion with only 23 rooms, to fulfill its promise of intimacy. The Sapphire Room comes with a four-poster bed.

From $179. abigailshotel.com EXCELLENT MANORS Guests at Oak Bay Beach Hotel can book a lift to and from the airport in a luxury Cadillac Escalade. A seaside mineral bath goes well after a late lunch. From $254. oakbaybeachhotel.com

OPENING PAGE: The British Columbia Parliament Buildings at the height of the season.

ON THIS PAGE: The corner suite at the Magnolia Hotel and Spa Signature; Oak Bay Beach Hotel’s pool looks out toward Haro Strait.

ON THIS PAGE: At AURA restaurant, the ingredients for the kombu cured, torched trout and rockfish roll don’t travel far to get to your plate.

E AT

Dock-to-dish & field-totable, seafood & local ingredients rule FRENCH INSPIRATION Saveur, which partners with local food producers whenever possible, offers two tasting menus.

The vegetarian option includes dishes like chestnut tortellini and broccoli goat cheddar soup. saveurrestaurant.ca FISHED, FARMED AND FORAGED Chef Brad Holmes makes the most of organic and locally sourced ingredients at Olo Restaurant.

Recently found on the menu: Birch syrup drizzled over alder-smoked salmon. olorestaurant.com HARBOURING JAPAN Patrons at AURA restaurant (part of the Inn at Laurel Point) appreciate the Japanese influences (thanks to Chef Takashi Ito) in shio koji-rubbed striploin and wakame butter-poached shrimp. Waterfront views are a bonus. aurarestaurant.ca LET’S DO BRUNCH Nourish Kitchen & Cafe has an excellent dinner menu (pan-seared rockfish with spaghetti squash) but it’s the Sleeping Beauty Pancakes (with bee pollen sprinkles and maple syrup) that entice crowds at midday. nourishkitchen.ca BREAD WINNER Chef/owner Clif Leir opened his organic bakery-pastry shop Fol Epi (where Red Fife heritage wheat is the main ingredient) before launching the adjoining sister restaurant, Agrius, which reflects Leir’s slow-food ethic. agriusrestaurant.com SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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AGENDA [ INSIDER’S GUIDE TO VICTORIA ]

SHOP

West Coast style & Canadiana SWEATER WEATHER Handspun Cowichan wool sweaters are trademark garments of the First Nations Cowichan Tribe. No two sweaters are alike. Available at Cowichan Trading. cowichantrading.com BRING IT ON HOME Housed in an 1890s noodle factory in Chinatown, Fan Tan Home & Style is all about West Coast home décor and accessories. fantanvictoria.com TURN A NEW LEAF One of the top purveyors of tea in Canada, Silk Road Tea carries all types of tea leaves (curative, restorative or just for pleasure) and brewing accessories. silkroadteastore.com

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ART AND SOUL The Robert Batemen Centre carries iconic Bateman nature paintings, of course, but also devotes wall space to local and British Columbia artists and wood-carvers. batemancentre.org BUY THE BOOK Nobel Prize–winner Alice Munro co-founded Munro Books in 1963 with her first husband, who ran the popular bookstore for decades.

Ideal spot to stock up on the best of CanLit. munrobooks.com

Orcas photo by Destination BC/Reuben Krabbe

THIS SPREAD CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE PAGE: Daniela Cubelic, founder and chief tea ambassador at Victoria’s Silk Road, tries a cup of her own brew; mountain biking on the B.C. landscape; a pod of orcas check out life on Vancouver Island; sunshine through the trees in Mount Douglas Park.

DRINK UP Craft beers, herb-infused cocktails and all that jazz!

SEE & DO

Mother Nature provides food for the soul WHALE OF A TIME Visitors can’t come to Victoria and not go whalewatching. Eagle Wing Tours is Canada’s first 100 per cent carbon neutral whale-watching enterprise. eaglewingtours.com INTO THE FOREST Ryan Leblanc at The Natural Connection introduces newbies to Shinrin-yoku, the art of Japanese forest bathing. If outdoor meditation isn’t your thing, opt for a hike or a geocaching excursion. thenatural-connectionvictoria.com EAT, DRINK, PEDAL The Pedlar team offers customized (guilt-free) cycling tours of Victoria specifically for foodies.

First you burn the calories, then you nosh. thepedaler.ca A MATTER OF ART The Asian Garden at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is the only authentic Japanese Shinto Shrine in North America. The gallery houses the second-most important Asian art collection in Canada, including relics from the Ming Dynasty. aggv.ca

To sample West Coast craft beers (such as a Salt Spring Golden Ale), grab a seat at The Drake… not “that” Drake. At the hipsterfriendly Little Jumbo, creative cocktails (along the lines of a ginheavy, herb-infused concoction called Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves) are paired with non-traditional bar snacks (truffle frites, pickled red beets). On the other end of the spectrum, Penny Farthing Olde English Pub, in the heart of Oak Bay Village, is the epitome of tradition with its four fireplaces and Victorianetched glass doors. And what’s a night out without music? The decades-old Herman’s Jazz Club features big bands, jazz guitarists and tribute bands from across the country. Hermann’s Swinging Martini Tuesdays are popular with locals. drakeeatery.com; littlejumbo.ca; pennyfarthingpub. com; hermannsjazz.com

GETTING THERE A Royal Ticket on the recentlylaunched V2V Empress ferry allows you to travel from Vancouver to Victoria in the comfort of a reclining red leather chair while enjoying Mother Nature’s West Coast eye candy: the beauty of the Gulf Islands. v2vvacations.com SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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AGENDA [ FOOD DIARIES ]

1

Counting

her

chickens

After taking the top prize in Top Chef Canada: All-Stars, Calgary’s NICOLE GOMES is ready to take on the world

A

graduate of Vancouver’s Dubrulle French Culinary School, Nicole Gomes cooked in restaurants in France, Australia and Asia before landing in Calgary in the early 2000s to work at Catch under chef Michael Noble, and then as executive chef at Mercato. Back in 2013, she failed to make it to the final round of season three of Top Chef Canada, but Gomes came out on top of last summer’s Top Chef Canada: All-Stars, winning with a five-course meal highlighted by sea bream with fingerling potatoes, crispy capers and beurre blanc sauce. People are more likely to recognize her these days and she’s picked up a few sponsorships, but becoming a TV celebrity hasn’t changed Gomes’s daily life that much.

She still divides her time between Richmond, B.C., where she grew up and where most of her family still lives, and Calgary, the home of her catering business, Nicole Gourmet, and Cluck n’ Cleaver, a fast-casual chicken place she co-owns with her sister. “My businesses run themselves so it’s not always necessary that I’m there,” says Gomes. Easy-going and affable, but also ambitious, Gomes hopes to turn Cluck n’ Cleaver into a national– perhaps even international–brand. —PAUL GALLANT

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1. That’s a pheasant hunt, two hours south of Calgary, for a charity dinner to buy equipment for a neonatal unit of the Calgary Health Trust. I am familiar with a gun. My dad was a duck hunter, grouse and small birds. My sister’s an elk and deer hunter.

Afterwards, we all went back to a house in Turner Valley where I made dinner. Not with what they got–I had to pre-prepare– but with wild game birds from Montana. I confit-ed the legs and then brined and bacon-wrapped the breasts.

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2. A home-style dinner at mom’s in Richmond, B.C. I do a lot of cooking at home and one of my biggest influences has been from home because she’s still teaching me. I get a lot of my Asian influence from her.

She’s Shanghainese. One of the things people forget about food is that it brings people together. My mom was a single mom who had two or three jobs at any time, but always made a point to come home and have dinner with us. When they were married, my dad, who is Portuguese, was also a chef.

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6

3. That’s my car, a 1991 Nissan Figaro, at the side of our building.

I love driving it. I saw it on Instagram two years ago and I said, ‘I’ve got to have that car,” and I bought it from the guy right away. Her name’s Misty. She’s a right-hand-side drive imported from Japan. They only made them that one year and there are only 20,000 in the world, 300 or 400 in Canada. You can fit four people into it, believe it or not. The graffiti was painted in the 1990s by an ACAD [Alberta College of Art + Design] student.

4. That’s when we first opened Cluck n’ Cleaver. Back in the day, I worked at a restaurant in Calgary called Mercato, which started out as a small pasta counter at a grocery store, and we had so many regulars. They’d ask me, “What else do you cook?”

I made fried chicken for them and I started getting requests, “I’m hosting a poker or a Super Bowl party….” Then my sister moved to the Kootenays and started a hobby chicken farm, and we joked for 10 years that it would be hilarious if two sisters opened a chicken joint.

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5. My dog Truffles is the love of my life. I got her 12 years ago from the Calgary Humane Society. Look at her eyes! How could you not love her! She’s known for eating everything, absolutely everything. If there’s a container of dried lentils, she’ll eat it. She’s a real menace. She’s broken into the freezer, she’s broken into the fridge and pulled out the vegetable drawers. I don’t know how she does it. I had a game hen in the oven roasting at 350, and went out for a second to get something, and when I came

4 back, she had eaten the whole thing—the bones, the parchment.

6. Foraging is another one of my loves. We went chanterelle picking in Tofino in late September for my 40 th and got eight pounds of perfect chanterelles. The secret is to go somewhere mossy and boggy, and there has to have been rain the day before. We were camping in yerts at Wya Point Resort.

We cooked them in butter and garlic. They’re a very delicate mushroom, so you don’t want to cook them with too many things, especially when they’re that fresh.

7. Chesterman Beach in Tofino is my favourite place on Vancouver Island. When I need to get away, I go there. It’s so beautiful. I have a friend who has a restaurant there called Wolf in the Fog, and I’ll fly in or get on the ferry and prep for him. I’m not in the restaurant scene anymore but sometimes I miss it.

For more information, visit nicolegourmet.com; for more pictures and visual stories, explore instagram.com/ chefngomes and twitter.com/ chefngomes.

SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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AGENDA [ GLOBETROTTERS ]

A RO U N D T H E WO R L D W I T H T H E C R E ATO R S O F T H E H I T M U S I C A L

Photo by Tishan Baldeo; hair and makeup by Julie Ha; location courtesy of Bisha Hotel

Come From Away

T

hough neither David Hein nor Irene Sankoff are from Canada’s East Coast, their affinity for Newfoundlanders helped the husband-and-wife musical-writing duo win over the hearts of North American theatre audiences. Last year, their musical Come From Away played to sold-out Broadway houses and was nominated for seven Tony awards (it won one for direction). Based on real stories of the hospitality shown by Gander residents to the passenger of the 38 planes forced to land there during 9/11, the smash production has returned to Toronto, the city where it originated, for a run till September 2.

Where in the world have you felt happiest?

DAVID HEIN: Since we first travelled to Newfoundland to research Come From Away in 2011, the people we interviewed have become family. They’re truly the nicest people in the world.

IRENE SANKOFF: Anywhere surrounded by people I love. It may seem clichéd, but it’s true. I’ve had a wonderful time travelling by bus on Christmas Day or in a fishing hut with no toilet north of Sudbury. It’s the people who count.

To get away from it all, I go to: HEIN: Disneyland, with our daughter. We’ve had a bunch of meeting and work trips to Southern California and it always feels less like work when you start it with a trip to Space Mountain.

SANKOFF: Disneyland with the family. Or the spa, by myself.

Which is your favourite hotel and why?

HEIN: In Newfoundland they wouldn’t let us stay in hotels–they kept saying, “Don’t spend your money, come stay with us!” We also love the Disneyland Grand Californian. It’s a work of art – and comes with cartoons and cuddly giant chipmunks in the lobby.

SANKOFF: The Royal Hideaway Occidental Resort in Cuba. I was there with a troupe of murder mystery actors. We were completely out of our element, and just had the best time.

Confession time: name one thing you’ve taken from a hotel.

HEIN: We take half-finished mini bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash. (Is that stealing? This is the most Canadian confession!)

SANKOFF: The worst thing I didn’t take from a hotel was a barely started bottle of champagne while on our honeymoon in Italy. I thought I had to leave it! I didn’t know I could have taken it on the tour and sipped it on the bus!

Who is your favourite travelling companion?

HEIN: My lovely wife and writing partner. We started writing to spend more time together and now we spend 24/7 hip-to-hip. People tell us they couldn’t work with their spouse, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

SANKOFF: David is awesome. He does a great job balancing my neuroses while doing a one-man-perpetual-improv show to keep our daughter happy.

Who is the most interesting person you’ve met on your travels?

HEIN: We had a wonderful tour guide on our honeymoon in Italy. I asked questions non-stop, he was such a history buff. We kept in touch with him for a long time, and when he came to New York, we let him use our apartment for New Year’s Eve. Now it’s become a tradition when we travel (and we travel a lot) that we offer up our home to friends or friends of friends who need a place to stay.

SANKOFF: Probably the women I met in Newfoundland whose stories we tell in Come From Away: Captain Beverley Bass, the first female captain of American Airline, or Bonnie Harris, who runs the Gander SPCA and cared for the animals in the airplane holds.

“I used to pack my guitar for every trip, but with a fouryear-old, there’s no room.”

What’s the one thing you pack for every trip?

HEIN: I used to pack my guitar for every trip, but with a four-year-old and a lot of stuffies, there’s no more room for a guitar. So I’m getting a ukulele.

SANKOFF: A card from my mom.

What’s your essential item for making travel more comfortable?

HEIN: We just discovered neck pillows.

SANKOFF: A sense of humour. And Ativan.

What’s your guilty pleasure while travelling?

Hein: Food. In Newfoundland everyone fed us nonstop: cod au gratin, cod cheeks, cod tongues.

Sankoff: Shopping, eating, drinking, not returning calls or emails... the usual.

Which is your road most travelled?

HEIN: I toured across Canada a number of times as a singer/songwriter, but always came home to Toronto–we met there on the first day of university.

SANKOFF: I firmly believe I can get anywhere in the 6ix by memory alone because I’ve lived there my entire life. I don’t use street names. Just pure instinct. David has heard me say, “There used to be a ____ on the corner!” so many times he doesn’t trust me anymore. And he shouldn’t.

What inspires you to keep exploring?

HEIN: I love finding new music, whether it’s discovering Newfoundland jigs in Winnipeg, where I first heard Great Big Sea, or discovering Cuban music in Havana.

SANKOFF: Working with David. I’m a huge homebody but now travel is a requirement for work.

What would be your trip of a lifetime?

HEIN: I’d love to do a roadtrip across Canada performing with favourite Canadian bands.

SANKOFF: I’d love to go back to 1985. But if time travel isn’t invented, I’d settle for the ultimate Disney Vacay, with all my favourite people, trying out the different hotels.

I lost my heart in….

HEIN: Lago Maggiore in Italy. We went to Italy for our honeymoon, and while Rome and Venice were stunning, we knew nothing about the Lake District and were completely floored by its beauty. Sometimes your favourite places are the ones you end up in accidentally.

SANKOFF: I fall in love with every place I go, despite my reticence to go in the first place. But the places that have truly changed me are Remedios in Cuba and, of course, Newfoundland.

Which travel experience most changed your worldview?

HEIN: Travelling to Newfoundland in 2001.

SANKOFF: Yup. Newfoundland.

Tell us about a time when you got lost or otherwise knocked off course.

HEIN: I was once touring across Canada and was driving through the Rockies, when my GPS told me to turn left off of a cliff. Thankfully, I looked before I leaped.

SANKOFF: I have an unhealthy acceptance of getting lost. It’s probably because I grew up in Toronto where the subways just go back and forth along the same track, so you’ll get where you were going eventually. Also, no matter where you are, if you can find The CN Tower, you know which way the lake is, and which way is south.

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AGENDA [ WANDERLUST ]

When in Rome In the Italian capital’s storied Trastevere neighbourhood, visitors get to taste recipes that were served to Julius Caesar

LEFT TO RIGHT: Hanging out with the pontifical Swiss Guard; Piero, the butcher at Antica Norcineria; in Rome, even a typical sausage and wine store will overwhelm you.

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henever I’m in a big city I am magnetically drawn to its bohemian quarter. In Paris that’s the Left Bank; in New York it’s Greenwich Village. When in Rome, I cross the Eternal City’s ancient Ponte Cestio and wander to my stomach’s content the cobbled, twisting streets of Trastevere, which literally translated means “across the Tiber.”

Staunchly resisting the tides of change for centuries, Trastevere was a proud working class area until about a decade ago when gentrification hit. Today it’s a winning combination of traditional and trendy, and remains heavily populated

by Trasteverini, the born-and-bred locals who view themselves as the true remaining Romans.

On my last trip I sign up for Eating Italy’s Twilight Trastevere Food Tour for a “moveable feast” in this neighbourhood that’s about a close as you’ll get to discovering a village within a city. After meeting our guide, Bethany Ryczek, an American with a passion for history, food and all things Roman, we walk to the patio of Da Enzo al 29 where the owners serve an aperitivo of Prosecco accompanied by prosciutto, melon, cherry tomatoes and creamy burrata cheese.

“Rome is like an archaeological lasagna. They just kept piling buildings upon buildings,” explains Ryczek as we approach Spirito di Vino, formerly a Jewish synagogue, now one of Rome’s finest restaurants. Its owners are advocates of

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the Slow Food movement, an approach to cooking and eating that embraces natural ingredients and traditional methods; it launched in 1986 after a demonstration on the intended site of a McDonald’s on Rome’s Spanish Steps. Downstairs in a wine cellar that predates the Colosseum, we taste Sicilian wine and pork braised in honey, apples and spices–a dish that was served to Julius Caesar.

Ask any locals where to find the best porchetta and they’ll direct you to Piero, the butcher at Antica Norcineria, who serves us roasted pork focaccia sandwiches washed down with craft beer. Piero slow cooks his porchetta (a combination of pork belly and loin stuffed with rosemary and garlic) for hours in ovens in Ariccia, a nearby town where porchetta originated.

Ryczek suggests it’s time for some typical Roman street food.

At I Suppli she ordered fried rice balls and pizza marinara.

We take our snacks to the Piazza Santa Maria. This popular outdoor “living room” attracts both tourists and locals who lounge on the steps of the fountain and admire the façade of the Santa Maria basilica. Italian director Federico Fellini shot much of his film Roma here. At night, it’s centre stage for buskers, musicians and gamboling dogs, all vying for attention from the throngs of passers-by.

Just after our group declares that we could not consume another thing, we find ourselves at the Enoteca Ferrara, twirling pasta and drinking wine from an encyclopedic selection. Run by sisters Lina and Maria, one a chef, the other a sommelier, Ferrara was awarded best Enoteca in Italy in 2003.

Our cool finale is a stop at Fatamorgana for a gelato tasting and some tips from Ryczek about how to tell fake gelato, made from powder, from the real thing. The colour should be natural. Pistachio should not be neon green. True artisanal gelato is never presented in high pyramids, nor is it topped with gimmicky garnishes.

Fatamorgana is the real deal, with flavour combos that are inventive and intriguing. I try scoops of pineapple and ginger, pear and gorgonzola. Like the rest of our walk: pure ambrosia. eatingitalyfoodtours.com–ANITA DRAYCOTT

BOLD STYLE G E A R U P. PAC K . TA K E O F F.

PLAYING THE TOURIST IN MY OWN

TOWN

Contemporary Toronto offers indulgences that should be the envy of other cities.

JARED MITCHELLS reports.

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BOLD STYLE [ WEEKENDER ]

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OPENING PAGE: The lobby at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel. THIS SPREAD CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: View of Toronto’s iconic CN Tower from Queens Quay; the Ziggy Stardust chocolate egg from La Banane Restaurant; the once-controversial Royal Ontario Museum; the striking Aga Khan Museum; an exhibition at the Bata Shoe Museum; getting dapper at Harry Rosen.

s they so often do, it’s the younger generation that takes the lead. I am a long-time resident of Toronto–45 years and counting–and like so many I’ve led a life busy enough not to notice the changes that have taken place around me. When I first arrived here as a student, downtown Toronto had little glamour. There were car lots on Bay Street, a gas station in what is now a prime intersection of the financial district and auto-body shops and tire dealers on today’s hot bar strip, Ossington Avenue.

The land south of Front, now a flashy new financial district and tourist destination, was given over to railway yards. Change often comes subtly, such that a resident doesn’t always notice it. So on a recent weekend I played the traveller and took a close look at just how much the city has transformed.

I say that it’s the youth who show the way forward because the young generations today have none of the embarrassment and apologies for Canada’s economic engine. Gone mostly are endless, gormless comparisons between the city and New York. A colleague once mocked the Big Apple preoccupation when he saw me with a carton of chocolate milk, declaring, “It’s what everybody’s drinking in New York.” Today, Drake celebrates “The Six” in his music, something that was inconceivable 20 years ago, when residents pre-empted foreign criticisms with masochistic brickbats of shame at their unloved hometown.

The city’s artists, intellectuals, entrepreneurs and three million other inhabitants have created dense, sophisticated neighbourhoods. The food scene at places like La Banane on Ossington or Bar Raval on College Street should be the envy of Europeans.

The depth of film-festival programming–TIFF, Hot

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Docs, Inside Out, Images and others–have made it a magnet for creative people and celebrities. It is no longer preposterous that a prince should fall in love with a TV star in Toronto.

Start with Bloor Street West, the spine of Toronto indulgence, the so-called Mink Mile. Where once stood a Woolworth dime store and the lunch counter where a female buddy of mine once lusted after white-bread grilled-cheese, the flagship Holt Renfrew now reigns supreme. Founded 180 years ago as a Montreal furrier, Holt’s boutiques carry plenty of global lux brands.

Holt’s recently opened a menswear annex in glowering competition with the flagship Harry Rosen menswear store at Bloor and Bellair (built on the site of the raucous Embassy Ballroom, which jitterbugged to an end in the 1980s). When Rosen, the man who introduced Toronto to Ermenegildo Zegna and Canali, built this great store in 1987, friends told him it looked like a temple. “Come,” the ebullient Harry Rosen said, “Worship!”

T-DOT ESSENTIALS Stay The Toronto-based chain that began with a humble motel at Jarvis and Carlton streets has risen to become a global luxury leader, and the Four Seasons Yorkville property represents the apotheosis of the company’s philosophy of having “hands on beds,” as in knowing precisely how to manage and maintain a hotel room. fourseasons.com Just down the street, the Hazelton Hotel is a veritable stockyard of movie stars during the Toronto International Film Festival. thehazeltonhotel.com

Shop Among the totems that line Bloor Street such as Tiffany & Co. and Céline, there are independent shops presided over by experts who love to guide you to the perfect buy. Microchain Black Goat Cashmere carries exclusive designs by Vancouver’s Claudia Remy; made only with the long hairs of the Mongolian cashmere goat, there’s less pilling. blackgoatcashmere.com

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oday, Rosen is joined by a new generation of retailers who have their own equally smart fashion sense and keen insights into what works. In the Distillery District I met Melissa Austria, owner of Gotstyle, whose clothing is favoured by all generations, but particularly the young. “Young men don’t want to dress up like their fathers,” she tells me. “They want to dress like their grandfathers.”

That means a business-suit revival, and owned formal wear instead of rental tuxedos. Women, on the other hand, can these days try high-fashion rentals at the West End’s “Rent, Frock, Repeat,” which not only rents fine frocks but consults about what works best for each customer.

The museum scene has grown too. In the erstwhile suburban wasteland of Don Mills, the Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Art now graces high ground next to Eglinton Avenue East, a stellar connoisseur’s collection of Muslim art rebuffed by its foolish original potential host, London. The Aga Khan is a reminder of the growing place specialized museums have here. The all-purpose Royal Ontario Museum and Art Gallery of Ontario are supplemented by the Bata Shoe Museum (a recent exhibition examined gold footwear), a museum of sugar and numerous ethnic institutes. My only regrets are the disappearance of a museum of cats and dogs, and a contraception museum, the latter of which decamped to Cleveland.

Of all places.

If you feel like re-inventing yourself as much as Toronto has, Yorkville alone has 130 spas, cosmetics boutiques and wellness shops. Located inside the new Four Seasons at Yorkville and Bay, the hotel’s spa one of the largest in the city. Whether you’re looking for a Hungarian mud facial or a copper-enriched lactic acid peel, the quiet-to-the-point-of-Trappist precincts

of Toronto’s largest spa will renew and replenish you.

My hiccupping, pimpled teenager of a hometown has matured into a truly admirable metropolis. No longer a stand-in for other cities in TV movies, it has become a bright and glowing place in its own right.

In 2018, Toronto is better than it was last year. Next year it will be even better.

“THE CITY’S ARTISTS, INTELLECTUALS, ENTREPRENEURS AND THREE MILLION OTHER INHABITANTS HAVE CREATED DENSE, SOPHISTICATED NEIGHBOURHOODS.”

Eat So popular is the Toronto branch of the New York-based STK minichain of steakhouses that you have to reserve weeks in advance.

Nominally a supper club (a DJ comes on later in the evening), the wait staff dance-walk with sheer enthusiasm. STK has solid T.O. bloodlines in chef Tommy McHugh. His father owned the now-lost Penny Farthing coffee house in Yorkville, where Joni Mitchell sang and Oscar Peterson played. togrp.com La Banane on Ossington is part of the gentrification wave that has transformed a corner of Little Portugal into an enclave of smart bars and restaurants. A genial French bistro with a great wine list, you’ll have to shout to be heard over all the diners.

Chef Brandon Olson’s menu includes raw scallops and pastry-latticed sea bass. labanane.ca

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BOLD STYLE [ STYLISH TRAVELLER ]

CANUCK BY DESIGN FA S H I O N I S TA FA R L E Y C H AT TO TA K E S U S O N A TO U R O F H I S FAV O U R I T E T H I N G S Raised in Regina, married to a Prince Edward Islander and based in Toronto, fashion designer Farley Chatto has coast-to-coast connections. A lecturer at Ryerson University’s School of Fashion, Chatto has dressed the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Noth, Laurence Fishbourne, Drake, Elton John and George Clooney. His eponymous design house has won him much acclaim over the years, but he’s more recently focused on sustainably produced “origin assured” fur as in-house designer for Four Seasons Fur Co. Who better to play that part of local guide in a stylish tour of the country? —PAUL GALLANT

E AT

OBJETS D’ART

In Vancouver, I took my husband to Goldilocks because he had never had Filipino food beside my parents’ and they really have an excellent menu. The business began as a bakeshop in 1966 in Makati, Philippines, and has two locations in the Lower Mainland, on Main Street and in Burnaby. Very limited seating. goldilocks-can.com

Eugene Paunil is woodworker based in Toronto who does modern tonguein-groove furniture, but also mascot heads and totem poles made of cardboard. He’s really a talented and gifted artist. eugenepaunil.com

S TAY When we travel in Canada, I’ll typically stay at a city’s railroad hotel, the Hotel Saskatchewan, Autograph Collection, in Regina.

I love the Old World charm. hotelsaskatchewan.ca M E N ’ S FA S H I O N In Vancouver, it’s Boys’Co, for sure.

They very smartly curate European and American designers, with just enough tight T-shirts mixed with high-end designers. boysco.com W O M E N ’ S FA S H I O N I find the aesthetic of UNTTLD flawless. Montreal designers José Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger are young, but their execution and construction are beautiful. Out west, there’s Jason Matlo, another amazing young designer, for women’s evening wear, women’s bridal. I’ve worked with these designers for the White Cashmere Collection [where top designers create haute couture pieces using Cashmere bathroom tissue to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation] so I know they’re very giving, very generous people. unttld.ca; jasonmatlo.com JEWELLERY Myles Mindham, on Hazelton Avenue in Toronto, can do traditional fine jewellery, but he’s been loosening up and doing more fun and edgier pieces. He’s a classicist with a modern take. mindham.com

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LANDSCAPE The walk along PEI’s Greenwich Peninsula is my favourite because you walk through marshlands, over floating pontoons, then into a wooded area and then end up on the dunes, where it’s red sand and very Anne of Green Gables. It never gets tired. pc.gc.ca

BOLD STYLE [ SCENTS ]

Global Essences These five fragrances have been formulated to evoke a strong sense of place, bringing you back to specific streets or straits around the world.

BY SARAH TRELEAVEN

LONDON

AMSTERDAM Centred around the sights and smells of the Dutch capital’s busy flower market, Atelier Bloem Nieuw Amsterdam is meant to evoke an urban day at ease–literally stopping to smell the flowers. atelier-bloem.com

LEBANON Inspired by the designer’s native Lebanon, Elie Saab Le Parfum has feminine notes of orange blossom, honey, jasmine and cedar–the fresh, fragrant bouquet of newly blossomed flowers in a Mediterranean breeze. eliesaab.com

Gallivant London Eau de Parfum pays homage to the UK capital’s dense—and sometimes gritty—urban jungle, hinting at everything from dusty Georgian buildings to fresh slices of cucumber. gallivant-perfumes.com

THE ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN Salty ocean spray gives way to inland spice in this new concoction. Straight to Heaven by Kilian combines the essence of white rum with rich notes of nutmeg, cedar, amber and just a hint of vanilla. bykilian.com

RUSSIA Molton Brown’s Russian Leather Eau de Toilette is a unisex formulation that is a tribute to Russia’s storied craftsmanship. With notes of Siberian pine oil, leather accord, cade oil and birch. moltonbrown.com

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BOLD STYLE [ INSPIRED BY ]

WHAT TO PACK FOR

SINGAPORE

A QUICK STOP IN THE LION CITY Singapore is a superb blend of high and low, fussy and unfussy, and a fusion of cultures from around the world–so be prepared to dress for a full day and night on the town.

Fashion lovers can partake of the fancy global boutiques (Prada, Hermès) on Orchard Road and the eclectic local shops (like the hip multi-label Threadbare & Squirrel) of the Kampong Glam neighbourhood. Visiting a traditional “hawker centre” (a collection of food stalls) like historic Lau Pa Sat is a must to sample grilled stingray and Hainan chicken rice. Or snag a table at Native Bar, the hot new place for cocktails that combine Asian spirits and local ingredients.

At the end of a long day, find your way to a pillow at colourful and chaotic Chinatown’s PARKROYAL on Pickering–a skyscraper hotel with lush vertical gardens and some of the city’s best views.

—SARAH TRELEAVEN

CHANEL,“Impression Camélia” Necklace in 18K yellow gold and diamonds, price upon request CHANEL, COCO MADEMOISELLE Eau de Parfum Intense, $183/100ml BOTTEGA VENETTA, Chamomile Lilac Intrecciato Palio Tote, $7,436 HUNTER, Original Refined Perforated Trench Coat, $560 MANOLO BLAHNIK, Ovieda Satin Green and Purple Boots, $1,376 DOLCE & GABBANA, Sparkling and Emerald Sunglasses, $1,960 MINDHAM Bunny Brooch - Magical Woodlands Collection in 18k white gold, featuring diamonds accented with rubies, $18,000 COACH 1941, Mixed Print Dress, $1,030

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pop& glow

BOLD STYLE [ BEAUTY ]

Say goodbye to dull winter skin with new products to help revitalize and refresh–just in time for a spring adventure.

BY SARAH TRELEAVEN

THE BODY SHOP This Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Face Mask revives dull skin with bamboo charcoal, green tea and organic tea tree oil. $28. thebodyshop.com

Y V E S S A I N T L AU R E N T CLÉ DE P E AU B E A U T É

Pucker up for this lightweight Glossy Stain Lip Colour, which gives lips a bright pop of colour and uniquely long-lasting shine. $43. yslbeauty.ca

MAC COSMETICS

BENEFIT COSMETICS A silky and translucent oil-free balm, the POREfessional Face Primer minimizes fine lines for the appearance of smooth skin. $42. benefitcosmetics.com

CPB Cleansing Clay Scrub is a mineral-rich product that offers a pore-level deep clean to maximize skin radiance. $82. cledepeau-beaute.com

To create pre-makeup skin perfection, try Prep + Prime Skin Base for a gel lotion that reduces redness and evens skin tone. $38. maccosmetics.ca

DERMALOGICA Phyto Replenish Oil is a rapidly absorbing formula with replenishing lipids that act as barriers against aging and environmental stress. $103. dermalogica.ca

HERBIVORE Coco Rose Body Polish combines moisturizing coconut oil with sweet Moroccan rose in a pretty minimalist package. $42.26. herbivorebotanicals.com

FA R M H O U S E F R E S H Revitalize dry winter skin with Big Bare Whipped Shea Butter Body Polish, which combines shea butter and exfoliating sugar crystals. $42. farmhousefreshgoods.com

CLINIQUE The Sweet as Honey Palette of eye shadows will take a look from day to night with 14 pretty colour combinations. $44. clinique.com

DIOR For soft and smooth lips primed for lipstick application, Lip Sugar Scrub offers gentle exfoliation and a hydrating natural gloss. $41. thebay.com

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EXTRAORDINARY STORIES WELL TRAVELLED

“I think having that sense of adventure and wanting to know the unknown is why i am where i am today, you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone.” mark mcmorris

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ultural exploration. Limitless adventure. Joyful discovery. Those of you who love to travel, to go beyond your borders (yet, at the same time, go deeper into your own backyard), you are a true traveller and these words are a part of your language. And for true travellers, the need to feed your wanderlust is a part of who you are. Taking in the sights, then going further–the history, the locals, the traditions, immersing yourself in the who, what, why and how of where you are, in the moment. A moment that will last a lifetime in your memories. The tastes, the smells, the sounds of where you are fuel the passion for discovery of a new destination, or a more meaningful rediscovery of a timeless favourite place, somewhere you’ll return again and again. We have a name for these travellers–we call them Avioners.

One of these Avioners is Mark McMorris, an RBC Olympian (he captured bronze at the 2018 Winter Games) and seven-time X-Game champion. “In my opinion, a traveller is much more about adventure than a tourist,” Mark says. “A tourist will go to the sights and sounds that are most popular and that most people would tell them to see. A traveller is someone who is going to try and find the unknown.”

We asked Mark to share with us how he feeds his need for travel through exploring and supporting the local community of a new destination, with a dose of foodie fun thrown in–and how you can, too.

Where do I start, if I’m heading somewhere totally new?

Mark McMorris: “If I’m going somewhere totally new, what I would do to have the best experience is to talk to the locals. Locals always point you in the right direction.” Stay among the locals. Avioners go local by renting a resident’s house or apartment via Airbnb or another homestay service, and exploring the neighbourhoods and cafés for a homegrown perspective, including the best places are to eat. “When I’m seeking out the best food I can find in a new place, I definitely try to ask the locals. All my best adventures start with a connection through friendships created with the locals. You have to start with the real interactions before you resort to the Internet.”

So, for you, food plays a huge role in experiencing new cultures and new places.

Mark McMorris: “I think one of the most fulfilling things when you travel to a new place is finding good food. One of my best food memories is from when I was in Davos, Switzerland, and I ate ostrich for the first time.

They brought it out on this hot rock and you

had to cook it yourself. I was actually surprised by how much I liked it, and it was fun to cook.”

For Mark, experiencing a new destination through its cuisine is also a major mood booster. “Certain food just makes you happy!

My all-time favourite is Spaghetti Bolognese.

Now when I travel, I always try and find the best Italian food… because who doesn’t love to eat Italian food?”

If it’s about authentic experiences, how can I take a bit of that home with me?

I want to support the local economy, too.

Mark McMorris: “Whenever I go to really cool villages around the world, especially in Europe, I always like to get an authentic little keepsake that I take back home with me.” In Aspen, McMorris discovered a local milliner, a hat maker who uses a unique technique to ensure quality and fit: it involves lighting the hat on fire! Shopping locally is another great way to get to know the culture. Night markets where you can hone your haggling skills, custom boot shops to get your cowboy on, arts and craftspeople who share their family’s timehonoured traditions and skills–when you travel like an Avioner, it’s almost unlimited what you can bring home with you.

Visit rbc.com/Avioning to watch how Mark McMorris feeds his need for travel while in Aspen.

About to take-off on a trip? Keep us posted and show us how you feed your need to travel using #Avioning. Avioners® Can Do That.

BOLD Partnerships

EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCES

FEED THE NEED TO TRAVEL Discover the people, places and experiences that make a trip unforgettable with

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INTO THE NEW

BOLD Partnerships

A

n intrepid traveller knows that in this world, there are still plenty of paths less travelled, destinations yet to be discovered by tourists.

How do we satiate our wanderlust and feed the need to travel and seek out the unknown? Of course, we’re not suggesting going to extremes. It’s more about easing into the undiscovered and using the experts to help us get there. Destinations such as Southeast Asia and Central America still have plenty of places that demand a closer look. Europe too. Travel rewards programs can help you do that.

Take the RBC Visa Infinite‡ Avion® card, for example, as your guide to exploring the unknown: it brings the world in focus, and makes it even easier to just go.

If you’re a wildlife lover or looking for pristine beaches and ocean life, why not choose Sri Lanka? Do natural wonders, rainforests and soft adventure make

you feel good? Belize is the newest hotspot in Central America. And if you feel you’ve been there, done that when it comes to Europe, Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, with its views over the Danube, will excite with its Old World charm and European hospitality.

BOLD Partnerships

In Sri Lanka, we feed the need to travel for… ancient cultures and indigenous wildlife

In Belize, we feed the need to travel for… natural wonders, rainforests and soft adventure

In the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of India, sits the island of Sri Lanka.

Its multi-cultural heritage, infused with Southeast Asian influences, gives this country a rich diversity of customs and traditions. It is said that evidence of some of the earliest humans on earth have been found here, and the country hosts one of the oldest civilizations on record. A mix of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim, Sri Lanka has been shaped, over the centuries, by a number of external forces, Indian, Thai, Moorish, Malay and British among them. The ancient archaeology will fascinate the history lover, while the Indoglobal cuisine will tantalize the the taste buds of even the most ardent foodie.

This tiny island is a powerhouse when it comes to the variety of flora and fauna; it is the most densely bio-diverse country in Asia. Visitors can spot unique animals, including Sri Lankan leopards, which are native to the island, Asian elephants, sloth bears and wild boars. Birding enthusiasts will revel in the remarkable wealth of species that fill the air with their song. On the coast – all 1,585 kilometres of it – get into the swim of things in the aquamarine waters of the Indian Ocean. Inland, rivers and rainforests give way to waterfalls. A tropical paradise far from the madding crowds, Sri Lanka is a destination that will

Central American by its location, English-speaking due to its British colonial past and Caribbean in its nature, Belize is an undiscovered gem on the isthmus that stretches south from Mexican border to hot-weather favourite Costa Rica and on-the-rise Panama. Despite the English, he Spanish influence also remains intact here, as does the ancient Mayan culture, one of the earliest known civilizations in the Americas. In fact, Belize is home to a number of ruins, including one of the best-preserved Mayan pyramids, found at Caracol.

When the American filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola, discovered Belize, he was looking for a retreat.

But his experience of being enveloped in nature so lush and so remote led him to create Blancaneaux Lodge hotel. Located inland in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, it’s a hideaway he felt he could share with like-minded travellers. Within the surrounding jungles live some of the world’s rarest and near extinct animal species. For those yearning to be closer to the open water, Coppola has built another property, Turtle Inn, on a narrow peninsula reaching out into the Caribbean Sea. And just off the country’s coast sits Belize’s barrier reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site comprised of a series of tiny coral islands, or cayes, along these crystalline waters. This diver’s paradise is home to rich marine life, matched only by the teeming wildlife inhabiting the country’s interior forests. Natural

wrap you in its intricate beauty.

wonders, indeed.

In Bratislava, we feed the need to travel for… Old World charm and European hospitality Reflected in the waters of the storied Danube, Bratislava takes on a sparkling new sheen. Long overshadowed by her well-heeled Central European sisters, Vienna, Prague and Budapest, Bratislava is now having a moment in the spotlight. The cobblestones ring with the sounds of the daily commute, and walking here is the best way to get around. In many parts, it’s the only way.

History, particularly that of the Second World War and the time the country spent behind the Iron Curtain, looms large in Bratislava. Yet the mainly pedestrian old town is alive and well, with a well-honed European café culture, vibrant medieval squares and the legendary Bratislava Castle. The city’s botanical garden provides inspiration for the green-thumb traveller, with more than 5,000 species of plants and a spectacular rose garden where one can inhale the perfume of 150 hybrid varieties.

The city hugs the edges of the Little Carpathian mountains, while just on its outskirts, miles of vineyards can be found, with grapes at the ready to be plucked and juiced. Hiking and biking are easy modes of transportation and exploration, and river cruising along this stretch of the Danube provides a unique view of the city and the imposing Bratislava Castle, which sits perched on a hill, like a king overlooking his domain. Automobile enthusiasts might take a tour in a classic Skoda – the car for the masses manufactured in the former Czechoslovakia – or visit Volkswagen Slovakia. Take one of the company’s SUVs out for an off-road spin. It will be sure to get the adrenaline going!

Want to feed your need to travel? As an AVIONER® you can do that. Discover how an RBC Avion card makes it easier to explore the places you’ve always wanted to go – or revisit a culture that’s made a difference in your life.

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Prime

MÉRIDA With spacious colonial homes to temporarily call your own, colourful streetscapes and an exuberant local culture, ANDREW BRUDZ proposes that now is the time to visit the historic Yucatecan capital

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Angel breaks it

to me

gently.

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“I don’t think Canada houses can have hamaca. Your house will get broke,” he says, in accented English.

Pointing out the sturdy hooks embedded in the concrete walls of the two-storey house I’ve rented in Mérida, the charming 28-year-old local I’ve befriended explains, “You need this to hang.”

Dreams of installing one of my own back home dashed, I resolve to enjoy as much hammock time in Mérida as I can. Here, they stretch across bedrooms, courtyards and shops during siesta time, designed to keep you cool in the unforgiving heat and, in some circumstances, keep sleepers out of the way of ants and other pests.

The hammock is as close to a metaphor for the city itself as you’re likely to find: colourful, locally crafted, impossibly comfortable and hard to leave.

“They say Mérida’s fascinating,” wrote Gore Vidal in his seminal 1948 novel, The City and the Pillar. And they’re right. Only four hours from Cancun, yet a world away from that city’s bustling resorts, it’s the heart of the Yucatán’s unique culture and home to almost 900,000 Méridanos. With its vivid Mayan culture (many of the people here still speak the traditional language) with Spanish and Caribbean influences, Mérida is proudly Mexican, yet somehow, unlike anywhere else in the country.

The centuries-old Mayan city was known as T’hó before Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1542 and renamed it. For a time, it was one of the continent’s richest cities, a fortune made from agave-fibre rope sold around the globe. But 20th-century synthetic rope-making techniques hit the area hard and its magnificent infrastructure began to crumble. For a look at the city’s opulent past, you only need stroll past the weathered historic homes on Paseo de Montejo. Throughout the years, however, the city held onto its charm and reputation as one of the country’s safest destinations.

Today Mérida is having a 21st-century moment. A new generation of visitors has discovered the city, historic homes are being restored and rejuvenated, and new attractions, including the stunning Mayan World Museum, which just celebrated its fifth anniversary, are turning heads.

I feel the city’s history while meandering through its streets, crisscrossed with gently waving strands of papel picado, Mexico’s ubiquitous paper-flag banners. In Centro Historico, each stucco façade painted a different, vibrant hue harbours something intriguing, beautiful or delicious. Through open shutters and intricate lattice work, I get a glimpse of the lives happening inside. Naps in hammocks, of course. Prayers being whispered. TVs flickering. Dogs lazing on unique patterns of traditional pasta tiles.

Through one such doorway is the home of Elsie Perez, famous (here, anyway) for her freshly pressed orange juice.

Inside her sparsely adorned home, the 70-something shuffles from one room to another in her floral caftan. Her oranges stored in a shopping cart in one room, juicing apparatus in another and to-go cups in yet another all make the process more of an endeavour than it need be. In a faster-paced city, this might not fly, but things move slowly here. And despite the wait time, or maybe because of it, there is a lineup each morning down the sidewalk, where a sign lists the “market price,” painted over each day. And after one sip of her sweet and tart creation, it’s clearly worth waiting for.

Cenote photo by Jiri Duzar; pool photo by Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel and Spa

OPENING SPREAD: Soaking up the sun by the pool at Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel and Spa. OPPOSITE PAGE: The Cenote Yokdzonot, formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, is a natural swimming hole.

“Each stucco façade painted a different, vibrant hue harbours something intriguing, beautiful or delicious.”

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THIS SPREAD FROM THE LEFT: The clock tower of the Palacio Municipal presides elegantly over the city; the entrance to the Dzibilchaltun Mayan Ruins; the plaza in front of Santa Ana church provides a relaxing spot to while away the hours.

Another much grander doorway leads into the

Fundacion de Artistas.

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The hacienda, built by a Frenchman thought to be escaping the First World War, was purchased in 2015 by the owners of Coqui Coqui, an upscale perfumery next door. Since then the space has functioned as a nonprofit arts centre and cafĂŠ.

Stepping inside feels like I’ve wandered into the longforgotten palace of an eccentric millionaire. In an open courtyard, cacti and flowers surround a trickling water fountain. Floors are decked in a black-and-white optical illusion of more pasta tiles. Layers of peeling paint reveal decades of blues, reds and yellows.

MÉRIDA ESSENTIALS Exhibits in the rooms surrounding the courtyard often include contemporary art in stark contrast to their historic surroundings. Like a dedicated butler, manager Enrique Ckokom keeps his distance yet is immediately there with anything I need: details about the history of the space or a cappuccino he whips up seemingly out of nowhere. I sip it in blissful silence. Enrique invites me back later that night for a party celebrating the installation of Mexican artist Ruben Maya’s black-lit, mutant sculptures that fill the rooms of the hacienda like an alien invasion.

Amidst a culture as rich and friendly as this, I am more than happy to stay right where I am in Mérida.

But locals press me to visit attractions outside city limits. I rent a car and make the 40-minute drive to Dzibilchaltún, a small collection of Mayan ruins, most notably the Temple of the Seven Dolls, a simple stone structure atop a small pyramid.

The site is particularly popular during the vernal equinox when the sun shines through its doorways in a spectacular display.

At nearby Cenote Xlacah, a lilypad-filled watering hole, locals swim in their clothes to avoid sunburn.

The place provides me the perfect reprieve from the relentless heat, and there is something special about watching local people enjoying their land, rather than them watching foreign tourists enjoy it. My initial reluctance to leave the city is whisked away, and I am ultimately happy for the brief interruption.

Is it possible to become addicted to a place?

It’s a question I ask myself back at the house, gently swaying on the hammock that I am told my Canadian house could never hold, the splaying leaves of a palm tree the only thing blocking my view of the stars.

I am nearing the end of my second visit to Mérida within six months. Back for more of its intoxicating charms, another dose of its warm breeze, another fix of brightly painted stucco and more of the people who have never stopped being proud of their home and their history.

I don’t just want to come back to Mérida again. I have to.

Stay Urbano Rentals is a collection of upscale homes ranging from sleek minimalism to rustic charm, all equally luxurious. urbanorentals.com

Eat Mercado 60 is essentially a fancy, open-air food court, with 18 vendors offering everything from Yucatecan favourites to burgers and steaks, accompanied by a wide craft beer selection. mercado60.com

Drink The charming, casual La Pulquerida gets crowded on weekends, with live music and locals coming to sip pulque, the bar’s milky signature drink. facebook.com/lapulquerida

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Photo by Chris Granger

cajun

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connection

Beyond the city limits of New Orleans, PAUL GALLANT explores the distinctions between Cajun and Acadian cultures and what still binds them–and discovers a link to his own ancestry SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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PREVIOUS SPREAD: Jazz musicians playing to the NOLA beat. THIS SPREAD FROM LEFT: All decked out for the the Mardi Gras parade; lobsters ready to play their part in a gourmet Louisiana meal; chilling on a classic French Quarter terrace.

V

ermilionville, an interactive museum and park on the banks of a humid and murky bayou just outside Lafayette, Louisiana, has costumed locals fiddling and spinning yarn like in the olden days. It’s an smart, interactive way to engage visitors in the history of the area. But it’s the Acadian/Cajun family names listed on a sign on the gift shop wall that I’m most fascinated with.

Some are familiar to me: Gaudet, Blanchard, Longuepeé. Some are not familiar at all: Guillory, Romero and Melancon. Two names I know intimately: Arseneau, a version of my paternal grandmother’s maiden name, Arsenault, and Haché dit Gallant, which contains my own last name and the legal-name-plus-nickname of my ancestor, Michel Haché-Gallant. My great (times about 10) grandfather spent most of his life in what is now Canada’s Maritimes until his death by drowning in 1737. His offspring somehow managed to evade the British when they started expelling the French Acadian population from the region in 1755. Therefore, I am a Prince Edward Island Acadian, growing up amongst Gaudets, Blanchards and Longepeés, not a Louisiana Cajun, amongst Guillorys, Romeros and Melancons. In that 18th-century ordeal, the ancestors of those families took refuge in what would become a U.S. state, settling amongst local indigenous populations, earlier migrants who came directly from France, the Spanish who ruled the region at that time and African slaves, whose blood and sweat working on sugarcane plantations built the region’s economy.

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Lafayette, at the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun country, is not my homeland. But if history had gone a different way, it easily could have been. If I pay attention, I notice some shared tendencies. Franglish?

Check. Friendly, folksy people who are all up in each other’s business?

Check. Gut-busting portions of seafood? Check. Landscape where rivers and bays are rarely far from sight? Check.

Here in Louisiana, whose history and geography have made it so radically different from Atlantic Canada–and the rest of the U.S.–I see flashes of what can remain constant over centuries.

But I also realize how the interplay of various ethnicities in the U.S. south has made for a truly distinctive cultural gumbo. Though New Orleans still holds the title of America’s party city, the small communities and rural areas beyond its city limits, along the Mississippi and southeast into the bayous, are where curious visitors can wrap themselves in the many layers that make Louisiana so special.

On the side porch of Johnson’s Boucaniere, a Lafayette takeout place whose walls are covered by menus, art, handwritten notes and family photos, I slice into a hot boudin. The steamed sausage, stuffed with a moist pork-rice mix, is delicious. It wouldn’t be nearly so spicy if it were of Atlantic Canadian origins. Only about 3,000 expelled Acadians ended up in Louisiana during the expulsion, and though they have have

Photo of Mardi Gras participant by Pableaux; French Quarter photo by Paul Broussard

LOUSIANA

French Architecture by Richard Nowitz.

a pronounced influence, much of what is marketed as Cajun is actually Creole. Creole is a fuzzier term, more about language and culture than DNA, usually referring to people whose background is some mix of French, Spanish, African and indigenous, dating back to colonial times. While true Cajun cooking rarely strays far from onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper, it’s the Creole dishes, like this boudin, that aim to knock your socks off.

***

Captain Billy Gaston, who runs Cajun Man’s Swamp Tours & Adventures, escorts passengers across a plank over a flooded dock before we cast off for our cruise through the canals and bayous outside Houma, another town where French-sounding last names prevail.

Water levels have been high in Louisiana; earlier that week I visited a hotel in plantation country on the Mississippi the day after a 500-year live oak on the front lawn had tipped over because the earth had gotten so water-saturated. It’s another reminder how important it is to visit places before they are forever altered by climate change.

Once we’re out on the narrow waterways, mossy cypress trees brush against the roof of the boat. Gaston periodically stops to let passengers hang a pole with cut-up fish over the side, enticing the local alligators to jump up for a meal and a photo-op. It’s always a little scary to see a gator jumping toward you, even if you’re not the target.

Gaston, who was raised in the swamps of Terrebonne Parish, tells us

he’s been hunting gators for 30 years. “I’ve only been in about a dozen fights. Not like on TV, where they want more action.” But the ones we’re feeding are too savvy for hunters. Gators have good memories.

One of Gaston’s regulars is about 70 years old and knows Gaston’s vessel and usual routes.

The Zydeco music playing over the boat’s speakers reminds me a bit of the old-time fiddle music I was brought up with, but the frenzied accordion playing gives the songs a more headlong on-theverge-of-losing-control feel, like the band is playing while tumbling down a staircase.

While the friendly easygoing attitude of Cajun country makes me miss home, it’s this impassioned, eclectic side of Louisiana life, something my distant relatives picked up down here in the south, which makes me want to stay.

“You can see flashes of what can remain constant over centuries.”

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There’s revelry and romance in the figures used for the Mardi Gras parade.

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CAJUN COUNTRY & NEW ORLEANS ESSENTIALS Whether seeking the history and adventure of the countryside and towns or the temptations that have made NOLA famous, Louisiana has something for everyone. Get out of the French Quarter to explore some of the Big Easy’s other fascinating neighbourhoods.

STAY Situated in a former bank building that’s recognized as a national historic landmark, The Whitney Hotel is one of seven stand-out properties managed by the New Orleans Hotel Collection. In the Central Business District, just outside the French Quarter. whitneyhotel.com There’s an elegant inn, museum, three top-notch restaurants and a cute-as-a-button bar on the lushly landscaped campus of Houmas House, a lovingly restored 1800s plantation house founded on the banks of the Mississippi by a sugar baron. The movie Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, among others, was filmed here. houmashouse.com

EAT Food, as much as booze, has made New Orleans America’s must-visit city. Arnaud’s might be the most quintessential and storied fine dining establishment in the Quarter. Their Bananas Foster is as much a show as a dessert. arnaudsrestaurant.com After a stroll around New Orleans’ pastoral Garden District, dine at Commander’s Palace. Founded in 1880, it’s now run by Lally Brennan and Ti Adelaide Martin, members of the Brennan clan responsible for so many of New Orleans’ top restaurants. After your meal (and a 25-cent martini), watch Ella Brennan: Commanding the Table, a documentary about the matriarch who ran the place for many years. commanderspalace.com

There is gator on the menu at Boudreau & Thibodeau’s Cajun Cookin’ in Houmas, but any of the seafood dishes, slow-pot cooked, fried or grilled, will satisfy your hankerings. bntcajuncookin.com

SEE & DO A tomb in one of NOLA’s cemeteries might have as many as 60 souls resting inside; the summer heat is a natural form of cremation. Many of the graveyards will transport you to another world, but St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 is quieter than others. saveourcemeteries.org The fun Ogden Museum of Southern Art lies at the heart of NOLA’s rapidly evolving Gallery District. Hipsters will also want to check out the Contemporary Arts Center across the street. ogdenmuseum.org; cacno.org Museumification has helped restore many old plantation homes that had fallen into disrepair. Many are worth visiting, but Laura, with its focus on the relationships of four generations of a Créole family, both free and enslaved, tells its story with great sensitivity and compassion. lauraplantation.com

PARTY You could run into anyone–politician, outlaw, future spouse–on the dance floor of Lafayette’s famed Blue Moon Saloon, where a variety of accordions are needed in order to play a full set of Zydeco music. bluemoonpresents.com

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UK

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UK

BEYOND SHERWOOD FOREST In the shires of the UK Midlands, RUTH J. KATZ hears the stories that make the astonishing landscape come alive

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A

s I amble through the verdant and sometimes wild off-road “savannahs” of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, I am glad to have Robin Hood as my guide. Better known outside of the forest as Ezekial Bone–an actor, interpreter of history, an extraordinary storyteller and font of information playing the character Robin–he is able to supply me with fascinating cocktail-party persiflage for years to come. (How did Robin get his name? Where does the expression “caught red-handed” come from?) During this stroll, his merry band consists of me and a few other Sherwood Forest interlopers, there to learn from a man who calls these woodlands home. The area’s magical landmark–where supposedly Robin, Little John and the benevolent highwaymen did their sleeping–is the majestic Great Oak, perhaps 1,000 years old, with a girth of 33 feet and a canopy of nearly 100 feet.

I am here sampling a slice of a tour from UK Countryside Tours, a British touring company, which espouses the mantra, “Telling the Stories of England.” This gambol in Sherwood Forest is part of several of its itineraries, each enlivened by guest lecturers, knowledgeable academic and local guides, all of whom know how to weave captivating tidbits into their tales.

While the subject matter is fascinating, the landscape is equally captivating. I have been to Shakespeare’s “sceptred isle” at least a dozen times, but this mid-section of the UK is a part I do not know well: The aptly named Midlands, the Peak District and the “”Pilgrim Fathers” turf bordering Yorkshire. The terrain from Cambridge, just northwest of London, to Manchester and north, was just as stunning as other regions I’d traversed, whether in or around the New Forest in Hampshire, or the charming market towns (like Tavistock) and the Dartmoor National Park in Devon. For such a tiny island, England offers so much history, interesting topography and delightful villages, as well as cosmopolitan cities.

While London is assuredly an international culinary hub today, it has been getting fairly serious competition from these other regions, and so there are gustatory reasons, as well as historical ones, to head north, where a few Michelin stars dot the countryside. And the UK’s history resides as much in pastoral settings as the towns.

When we visit the famed Chatsworth House, the current owner, the Duke of Devonshire, comes to greet us and to answer questions. Chatsworth, which has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family (since 1549), is situated on the banks of the Derwent River and has a breathtaking 105-acre garden and a 1,000-

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“THE PILGRIM FATHERS’ 1608 JOURNEY TO FOUND PLYMOUTH IN THE AMERICAS BECOMES A CAPTIVATING ADVENTURE STORY IN HER RETELLING.”

acre park, designed in the 1760s by the celebrated Capability Brown. The day we visit, the lush grounds were awash with families and dogs. The estate’s exhibitions are another draw and, this year, the first artist-in-residence, Linder Sterling, who wore a meat dress long before Lady Gaga did, will be fêted in an exhibition.

At the fortified medieval manor house, Haddon Hall, described as the “most perfect house to survive from the middle ages,” we are greeted by Lady Edward Manners, the doyenne of the estate, and her dog, a sweet Lurcher named Sorcha. As she shows us around and shares tidbits of her life and the history of the buildings, the very stones of the edifice seem to crackle with life. Many visitors will have seen Haddon Hall already, if only on celluloid, in 1987’s The Princess Bride (Prince Humperdinck’s castle), 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, 2008’s The Other Boleyn Girl and other films that have used this astonishing building as a backdrop.

In Cambridge, we get to know Darwin much better, with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the great botanist/naturalist’s life and letters, partly through his long-dead, catalogued specimens. A drive to Welbeck’s School of Artisan Food on the Welbeck Estate in North Nottinghamshire (housed in the estate’s former fire stables, dating back to 1870) introduces us to the arts of chocolate-, breadand cheese-making, butchery, charcuterie and preserving. At All Saints’ Church in Babworth, we see where Pilgrim Fathers William Bradford and William Brewster lived and worshipped before setting off on their history-changing journey to colonize the New World. Scrooby Manor, home to the latter (and where secret prayer meetings were held), reverberates with life, with the help of another costumed, well-educated interpreter, Sue Allen, Scrooby’s official historian. She handily chronicles the Pilgrim Fathers’ 1608 journey with ease and ebullience; their arduous trip to found Plymouth in the Americas becomes a captivating adventure story in her retelling.

American author and humourist Bill Bryson, who lived in the UK for 20 years, called the British countryside “the loveliest, most fetching landscape the world has ever known.” But the adventures that have taken place on its hills and valleys are equally lovely and fetching.

UK Countryside Tours range in price from US$3,000 to US$10,000; in 2018, the company is rolling out 17 shorter versions of its tours priced from US$732 to US$2,440 per person, exclusive of air fare. ukcountrysidetours.com; ezekialbone.com SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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UK COUNTRYSIDE ESSENTIALS The Tamburlaine, named for the Marlowe character, is a new property striving to be not merely “in Cambridge,” but “of Cambridge” with its 155 guest rooms, all-day Brasserie and a contemporary style that’s anything but twee. thetamburlaine.co.uk Charles Rolls met Henry Royce within the Edwardian Baroque walls of Manchester’s four-star Midland hotel. But the famous people who have dined and slept here is not the only reason to visit.

Its two restaurants are considered among the best in the north. themidlandhotel.co.uk Ye Olde Bell is an independent hotel and spa in Nottinghamshire, which began its life as a 17thcentury farm. Though it’s become far more luxurious since then, the restorations have recognized the property’s distinctive heritage. yeoldebell-hotel.co.uk In Whittlesford Bridge, the Red Lion pairs 13 th-century wonky floors and low ceilings with a 21st-century glass atrium. The inn boasts both wifi and weathered charm, not to mention deliciously prepared, locally-sourced cuisine. redlionwhittlesfordbridge.com University of Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery has a café with a bucolic vista over a leafy park. The menu features everything from the classic full English to a more exotic avocado on toast with tahini dressing and black sesame seeds. whitworth. manchester.ac.uk

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WHY WE TRAVEL

PLACES YOUR SOUL NEEDS TO VISIT

NOW

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J

ust like music has many purposes in our lives— unleashing our inner party animals, bonding with those we love, providing a balm in hard times, enlivening our days—travel also calls out to us in many ways.

For the most mundane motives, like travelling for business, it’s the efficiencies that matter most: is this bed comfortable enough, is this room dark enough, is the hotel close enough to my next meeting, that I’ll arrive calm and collected? But here at BOLD, we’re always looking at travel as a means of stirring our souls. No matter your impulses, there are places on the globe that have the capacity to quench it. Over the course of eight destinations (okay, nine—we picked two in East Africa), LIZ FLEMING grapples with a serious question: Why do we travel?

ON THIS SPREAD: Aerial view of the the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa. SPRING 2018 boldmagazine.ca

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“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” —Anonymous

Venice, Italy

With a wealth of art, fabulous cuisine and fine wine, Italy offers everything the pleasure-seeking traveller could ever want. With its heritage stretching back to antiquity, the country also more than satisfies the culture-seeking traveller. It’s hard to pick one supreme Italian destination, but Venice, with its romantic gondola rides on its otherworldly canals, is the best candidate.

Staying in a piece of art: The Aman Venice features such treasures as centuries-old leather wall coverings and gilded ceilings in a 16th-century palazzo in the heart of the Floating City. aman.com

Ios, Greece

Athens may be the birthplace of ancient Greek culture, but it’s the Greek islands that will transport you back to a earlier ways of life in the Mediterranean. Everyone has their favourite, but Ios is perhaps the most beautiful and fascinating. The glamorous Ios Palace is situated in a gorgeous collection of classical Greek white buildings, with softly rounded archways and splashes of bright sea-blue paint. iospalacehotel.com Seafood splendor: Ios Palace’s Tomatini BBQ Restaurant is the perfect place to celebrate the bounty the Mediterranean provides.

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Panagia Gremiotisa church photo by Diego Martinez

Cultural Immersions

Finding Great Adventures

Kenya& Tanzania Great migration photo by Mudflap

For many travellers, safaris hold the promise of the ultimate adventure and for this, there’s no better choice than East Africa, with its breathtaking scenery, majestic wildlife and fascinating cultures. Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve has animals that are impossible to find in other environments: Grevy’s zebras, reticulated giraffes, Somali ostriches and the gerenuk. In the Serengeti ecosystem, which includes the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, you can witness the annual wildebeest migration.

To see great migrations: Visit Ngorongoro Crater in Amboseli National Park.

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Though the country has more than 4,500 square miles of shimmering glaciers, drifting icebergs, black lava beaches, explosive geysers and simmering volcanoes, Iceland is surprisingly easy to explore on your own. A simple self-guided driving tour of Ring Road, the national route encircling the country, will introduce you to such wonders as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, the East Fjords and the Dettifoss waterfall. The first stop for most visitors is the famed Blue Lagoon, with steamy waters known for their age-defying powers.

A less crowded soaking: The geothermalheated swimming pool at Reykjavik’s Laugardalur Park, is just one of the many places in Iceland to offer a natural hot tub.

Choquequirao, Peru

Peru’s Choquequirao, in a dense jungle in the deep Apurimac Valley, remains one of the most remote and spectacular Inca ruins in the Andes. To this day, archaeologists remain hard at work, digging to reveal a city they believe was three times the size of Machu Picchu. Choquequirao sees only a dozen guests each day, but plans to build a cable car to transport as many as 3,000 visitors daily will put an end to the four days of hiking currently required.

Rearranging routes: With Peru’s Inca Trail at capacity with hikers, you’ll find more elbow room on the Inca Rivers Trek to Choquequirao.

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Fjallsárlón ice lake photo by Sergii Gulenok; Choquequirao temple photo by Danielle Pereira

Iceland

Achieving Nirvanas “When you get into a hotel room, you lock the door, and you know there is a secrecy, there is a luxury, there is fantasy. There is comfort.

There is reassurance.” —Diane von Furstenberg

The

Seychelles One hundred and fifteen islands in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles are rimmed with powdery-soft white sand beaches, lapped by turquoise waters and punctuated by palm tree-covered hills and rugged boulders. Among the many options for accomodations, the stunning Six Senses Zil Pasyon resort, on the private island of Félicité, stands out. sixsenses.com Ideal escape: Plan your Seychelles getaway for April or October, the months when the ocean waters are most calm.

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French

Polynesia

Surrounding Mount Otemanu, the lagoon of the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora is what exhausted wintry dreams are made of. The moment you see the lush green fronds swaying in the breeze, your soul will begin its rebirth. A week at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, on an exclusive beach on Motu Piti Aau, might complete the process. thalasso.intercontinental.com Glimpses underwater: The InterContinental’s villas feature glass-bottomed coffee tables where you can watch the marine life swim.

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Turks and Caicos Home to to the globe’s third-largest coral reef, Turks and Caicos provides divers and snorkeling enthusiasts a pictureperfect way to commune with nature.

Providenciales, one of the most popular islands in the chain, is a perfect place to experience the magical mix of sun, sand and sea.

When you need more than sun and sand: The Somerset on Grace Bay resort has island-inspired treatments at their spa. thesomerset.com

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THE BOLD

GUIDE TO CRUISING 2018 If this is the year for a river cruise, your timing couldn’t be better. Never before have there been so many great choices for exciting, active itineraries that invite you to discover some of Europe’s most beautiful rivers. While you’re sorting out your plans, we thought a few tips might come in handy.

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BOLD Partnerships

EXPLORATION IN MOTION CHARTING A WHOLE NEW COURSE FOR THE ACTIVE & ENERGETIC Bike, hike, paint, learn and engage your way through Europe

T

he secret to success in the highly competitive river cruise world is understanding your guests - and no one does that better than Avalon Waterways, renowned for its sleek new ships, award winning staterooms and innovative offerings.

Introducing the innovative Active Discovery cruises was a timely response to a need for shore excursions and onboard activities that would offer more – more activity, more opportunities to explore and learn and more enriching experiences.

Avalon’s “Active” excursions are designed for the traveler who thrives on motion and engagement and include a broad menu of energetic excursions such as a guided jogging tour through Amsterdam, a guided biking tour around Vienna or even a canoe trip on the Danube. “Discovery” itineraries are perfect for those who believe that life is about trying new things. This inspiring selection of engaging, interactive excursions are created for a different kind of “doer” – the sort who loves handson experiences such as taking part in a painting class in Amsterdam, tasting locally-produced cheese and beer at an ancient abbey or saying “good morning” to Vienna on an early-riser walk to a quaint café.

Renowned for having reinvented river cruise ships with their expansive Panorama Suites, each featuring a window wall which opens over two meters to bring in the sights and sounds of Europe – and (bliss!) beds that face the view.

In 2019, Avalon Waterways will not only enhance its collection of Active Discovery river cruises with a new itinerary on France’s Rhône River but will also introduce a completely revamped Avalon Choice program, introducing “Classic,” “Discovery” and “Active” options on every itinerary, as well as creating a new AvalonGo App for travelers who’d prefer to spend their time ashore independently (perhaps with a picnic provided by the culinary team!)

“It’s the Old World in a whole new way,” says Pam Hoffee, managing director of Avalon Waterways. “Our passengers tell us they are active at home and want to keep that up while they’re on vacation. What’s really nice about these cruises is that there’s such a great choice of included excursions – and you don’t have to decide what you want to do until that day.”

And that’s not all: The award-winning river cruise operator has also announced plans to unveil a new Suite Ship in 2019. The new Avalon Envision will be the company’s thirteenth Suite Ship in Europe and their sixteenth Suite Ship worldwide, making the fleet all Panorama-class.

“Each of our Suite Ships in Europe features two full decks of these spacious 200 square feet staterooms,” says Stéphanie Bishop of Avalon’s Canadian office. “Our clients tell us they love the contemporary furniture and marble bathrooms, complete with amenities from L’Occitane. And since our beds face the windows you need only lie back and relax to enjoy the passing views of medieval towns and vineyards.” Avalon’s Panorama Suites are so pleasing that they’ve been named, three years in a row, the best river cruise accommodation in the world by industry paragon Cruise Critic.

And there’s still more. Avalon has also announced the coming of Adventure Hosts, to be based in new Adventure Centers on all 2019 European cruises.

Avalon Adventure Hosts will help guests with everything from checking out onboard bikes, to grabbing Nordic walking poles for a hike to a hillside vineyard or castle, to setting up a kayaking excursion on the river or participating in a complimentary fitness class on the Skydeck.

With a new river now offering Active Discovery possibilities, a completely suite approach to staterooms, an app to set you free to roam as you please and an Adventure Host ready to help you get active, Avalon Waterways is sailing into 2019 with everything adventurous guests could ever want.

For further information about Avalon Waterways and its lovely river cruises in Europe and other parts of the world,

visit www.avalonwaterways.ca, call 1-800-268-3636 or see your travel agent.

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What Floats Your Boat?

It’s like choosing between lobster or filet mignon… George Clooney or Ryan Gosling…. Belgian chocolate or Champagne. They’re all fabulous, but very different. Cruise styles are equally distinctive and can range from a four-month, round-the-world extravaganza on a ship the size of a small town, to a four-day, bare-bones escape on a schooner, with a whole smorgasbord of other possibilities in between. Ships – both river and ocean – run the gamut from cost-conscious to over-the-top-luxurious with every price point in between.

The question is… what floats your particular boat?

Are you a foodie? The bigger the ocean cruise ship (from 200 to 6,000 guests), the more restaurant choices and the more luxurious the vessel, the more famous the chefs and cuisine aboard. River cruise ships also offer spectacular dining, but their smaller size limits the number of restaurant choices.

Are you all about the view? River cruise ships rarely sail more than a mile from shore and most feature staterooms with expansive windows and balconies so you’ll never miss a thing!

Do you live for entertainment?

The biggest ocean cruise ships have the most going on. Swim, play in a waterpark, ice skate, take cooking classes, ride bumper cars, try indoor skydiving and more. By night, bounce from casino to cabaret, symphony to art auction, dance club to jazz bar – there’s never a dull moment.

Love feeling like a local? Sleek river cruise ships can sail into ports too small for their ocean-going sisters. When you disembark for shore excursions, not only are you part of a far smaller group of travellers (from 89 to 200 guests per ship), but you’re also right in the heart of everything, with no need for any transportation but your feet

No Surprises Be sure to build these into your cruise budget

Gratuities The lovely room steward or butler who takes care of you and your stateroom is going to feel like family by the time the cruise comes to an end – and you’ll want to thank him or her. In case gratuities aren’t built into the cost of your cruise (note: some companies kindly take care of that for you), an appropriate amount is between $10 and $12 per day. Shore excursion guides and drivers often receive tips as well – $3 to $5 for the guide and $2 for the driver would be appropriate.

Room Service What’s more relaxing than having breakfast in your stateroom or, better yet, on your balcony? Just one tiny detail… there may be an extra fee attached. Be sure to check before you order!

How to Handle Any Weather There are lots of things in life we can control, but bad weather isn’t one of them! When you’re investing your precious travel time and money – not to mention months of eager anticipation – you can’t let Mother Nature get the better of you. Hope that you’ll be cruising with sunny skies and warm winds, of course, but be sure to plan for more challenging conditions.

Start by packing smart wet-weather gear. A reliable waterproof jacket is essential. Choose one that’s long enough to keep your backside and thighs dry, with a hood that can be pulled snugly around your face. The best ones are made of soft, foldable material, that will roll up and tuck into your equally waterproof backpack, another key travel gear element.

A lightweight, waterproof backpack will give you a place to stow your camera and wallet in the event of a downpour – it’s a must-have. Some travellers bring small umbrellas, but trying to manoeuvre yours through a sea of other umbrellas crowding around the guide is an experience you might rather skip. Put up your hood instead. Because there’s nothing worse than wet feet, be sure that your walking shoes are waterproof or give them a good spritz of Scotchguard before you leave home.

If your cruise is scheduled for the spring or fall, warmth should be a key factor in your packing strategy. A bulky coat isn’t the most space-efficient choice, so instead opt for down-filled layers, with a wind and waterproof outer shell. Technology has created a wealth of great, thin down jackets and coats that are easily packable but offer solid warmth on a cold day. My best advice is to bring both a down jacket and a vest for layering on the coldest of days. Toss a couple of colourful scarves and gloves into your bag and you’re ready for whatever the weather might bring!

WiFi Can’t imagine living without WiFi while you’re away?

The good news is most ships now offer solid, reliable onboard Internet service. The bad news is that it often involves an extra charge. Check before you sign on to see what the most economical package will be for you.You do need to pay for Internet service?

Here’s a tip to make the most of every minute. Compose any messages you’re planning to send, using your Word program, then log on and paste them into the email program. Quickly read your incoming messages, log out and again use your Word program to write your replies to send when you log in the next time.

Transfers While many river cruise companies include the cost of transfers to and from the airport in the price of your holiday, it’s not a given.

Check to see if you’re covered. If not, it will be up to you to choose either to pay to use the cruise company’s transfer service, or hire a taxi or Uber. Note: while the cab or Uber could be the less expensive choice, it’s important to be onboard well ahead of the sailing time, so plan accordingly.

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Get Some Great Advice From Your Travel Agent A well-informed travel agent can help you find exactly the right cruise line and the perfect itinerary to make your river dreams come to life. Selecting the right agent might take a bit of research, so before making your big decisions, be sure to ask a few important questions

1 WHEN DID YOU LAST DO A RIVER CRUISE YOURSELF? It’s all about experience and an agent who has taken the time to sail on the cruise lines he or she is selling can be a great source of solid advice. Someone who hasn’t cruised with a particular line in more than a year might not be as up-to-date as an agent who can offer recent personal experience of the staterooms, food and onboard activities. Ask!

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Which cruise line and itinerary do you think would work best for me?

Everyone’s tastes are different. A history buff might love a tour of Second World War battlefields, while a wine lover would rather spend her days touring the vineyards of France or Portugal. Guests coping with mobility challenges might find that one ship’s layout is more easily managed than another, while someone eager for an active holiday would appreciate a ship that offers bikes and Nordic walking sticks. An honest chat about your particular preferences will make it possible for an agent to come up with wellchosen suggestions.

When should I travel?

With your activity level and personal travel preferences firmly in mind, a good travel agent should be able to offer some great suggestions for specific itineraries in particular destinations. For example, if you don’t mind cooler weather and love the fun of twinkling ports decked out in their holiday best, you might enjoy a late November Rhine cruise through the Christmas markets of Germany. On the other hand, if wine is your passion, an earlier autumn sailing with opportunities to watch the grapes being harvested and to taste the delicious result of all that work might be the better choice. A travel professional who understands both your personal tastes and the offerings available in every season will be able to guide you to the best timing.

Before and after: What’s happening?

Pre and post tours can add a world of excitement to your travels! Does your trip begin in Budapest? Plan to arrive a few days early to enjoy the world-famous Turkish baths. Will you disembark in Amsterdam? Stay! There’s nothing better than having a few days to really explore a great city. Whether you choose to do your land explorations on your own, or prefer to be part of a guided tour group, your travel agent will have suggestions suited to your tastes and timelines.

Are there any little extras available?

An agent who has a good relationship with the cruise line you’ll be sailing with can often negotiate all kinds of little perks for his or her guests. See if there’s any possibility of a stateroom upgrade, an invitation to the captain’s table for dinner or perhaps a drinks package.

Every little bit helps to make your holiday that much more special!

Insider Tips for Savvy Cruisers Ideas to amp up the fun!

Live like a local You know the food onboard is fabulous – and included in the cost of your cruise – but sometimes it’s fun to have a meal ashore, and try a local restaurant. If you’re overwhelmed by the prospect of finding something great in a new place, ask for advice at the ship’s desk.

The crew visits each port regularly and they’re fabulous sources of information!

Plan your own shore escape Guided tours are a fantastic way to learn about any port, but making your own plans for a day adds a whole new note of excitement. Many river cruise ships now offer bikes to their guests and even provide maps and picnic lunches for those who’d like to spend an afternoon exploring country roads on their own. As long as you’re sure to be back on board before sail away, you’ll have the day to yourself!

Get your gang together Busy lives and packed schedules can make it difficult to connect with even our favourite friends and family members, so why not organize everyone to share a cruise adventure?

While you’ll all have your own staterooms, you can gather for incredible meals in the dining room, enjoy the evening entertainment together, share the excitement of shore excursions as a group and even plan pre- and post-cruise tours. With someone else to take care of the cooking, cleaning and organizing, you and your nearest and dearest can concentrate on what’s really important – each other!

A little knowledge When you have just one day to explore a port, it’s important to know what you want to see, so a bit of advance research can make a huge difference. If more than one shore excursion is offered, you’ll want to know which one will be most up your alley. Maybe you’ll decide that instead of joining a shore excursion, you want to tour a gallery you’ve read about or plan a visit to a nearby town. When you know what you want to do, you can book ahead, make restaurant reservations or book a taxi service and be ready to hit the ground running when you sail into port.

Timing is everything Choosing the right cruise for you is important.

Knowing just when to book that cruise might be equally key.

The early birds get the cruise they want Because smaller ships can book quickly, it’s important to make your reservations early – particularly for popular itineraries. If you have special preferences for particular staterooms and sailing dates, you’d be wise to book a year ahead to ensure that you get exactly what you want. If you’re concerned that you might miss out on discounted fares that might appear as the dates draw nearer, check with your travel agent. Many companies will honour the better price for you.

Let’s make a deal Every business has its season for bargains and the cruise industry is no different. From January through late March, savvy cruise guests can snap up special deals on great itineraries, ranging from big discounts to free airfares and to two-for-one offers. The trick is being ready to commit when the right deal appears – and that might mean asking your travel agent to keep an eye out for you. Be sure to take the time to compare offers to make sure you’re getting the biggest cruise bang for your buck!

Repeat customers get the best prices Everyone loves a loyal customer and many cruise companies offer great discounts to guests who book their next cruise while they’re still on board. If you’re loving the experience and wishing you could stay aboard, why not console yourself with something to look forward to? By booking on board, you’ll get a great price on another experience you can be sure you’ll love!

Feeling spontaneous?

If you have the flexibility in your schedule to pull together a last-minute holiday, you can find great savings on cruises. Those who book 45 to 60 days before a cruise often find deeply discounted prices as cruise ships work to fill empty staterooms.

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THE INSIDER

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“It is very satisfying to help visitors discover this part of Italy that is not very well known but has so much to offer!”

EXODUS INSIDER:

Serena Cassol

THE REGION:

Prosecco Hills, Italy

Serena Cassol, Exodus’s resident Prosecco Hills expert, spills all – from the best places to watch the sunset to the area’s only Prosecco vending machine

S

erena Cassol was born in a small town called Vidor in the province of Treviso, a hilly area between Venice and the Dolomites where Prosecco grapes are cultivated. She left her hometown to study biology at Trieste, then got her master’s in Marine Biology in Bologna. But a career under the sea was not in the cards. Upon returning home to Vidor during harvest season, she began to get interested in winegrowing.

“After my graduation, I started working in the vineyards with a friend who taught me everything. When I am not leading [for Exodus], I am busy with the winter pruning,” she says.

Last year, she also began leading Exodus’s walking tours of the Prosecco Hills and has loved it so far. She explains, “I am very proud to show people the places where I grew up. It is very satisfying to help visitors discover this part of Italy that is not very well known but has so much to offer!”

We sit down for a glass of bubbly with Serena, Exodus’ resident Prosecco Hills expert, as she spills her seven tips on the region – from the best places to watch the sunset to the area’s only Prosecco vending machine.

My most important piece of advice when visiting is to: visit Primavera del Prosecco, a series of wine shows with tastings, outdoor activities and concerts from March to June, in

17 different towns in the Prosecco area. The best way to discover the area in spring!

If I could describe the Prosecco region in three words, they would be: welcoming, astonishing and green.

When you are here, you must eat at: Locanda da Lino, Solighetto. Lovely atmosphere and traditional food, prepared by a great chef. And Ristorante al Roccolo in Miane, nestled in the Prosecco Hills, with a beautiful terrace on which you can dine and admire the sunset.

My favourite way to travel around the Prosecco region is: cycling!

My best-kept local secret is: L’ Osteria senz’oste, the tavern without an innkeeper! It’s a small cottage on the top of a hill in San Pietro di Barbozza. The door is always open and the fridge is always full of cheese and cured meat.

People can go in and help themselves and leave a tip. There is also a vending machine that sells… guess what? Prosecco!

A big misconception about the region is: that Venice is the only place that must be seen.

One thing you can’t go home without from my region is: a stock of Prosecco, of course!

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DEPARTURES E X P LO R E . D I S C OV E R . E X P E R I E N C E . I N D U LG E .

BUBBLICIOUS We embark on Exodus’s energetic and tasty walking tour through Italy’s lush Prosecco Hills.

Photos by MAUREEN BARLIN

PRESENTED BY

BOLD Partnerships

L

ike every glass of crisp Prosecco, the region of Italy from which it comes is bright, steeped in history and tradition, and best enjoyed with delightful company. On our week-long trek through the Prosecco Hills, we get close to the land and the people that make it all happen.

While the bubbly concoction is experiencing something of a resurgence around the world, it’s been produced in Northeastern Italy with the same care and attention to detail for centuries.

Strada del Prosecco is Italy’s oldest wine route, brimming with nature, medieval towns and wineries. Its grapes, Glera, are a plump white variety grown in the Veneto region – perfect for creating a rewarding glass of Prosecco to enjoy at the end of each day on our feet.

GO TO TOWN It’s easy to get swept away in the romance of our first stop: the enchanting town of Cison di Valmarino. Like something out of a fairytale, it’s brimming with arched bridges, stone buildings and shuttered windows – seemingly frozen in time.

Fewer than 3,000 people call the town home, but it’s rich in human history, dating back centuries.

In fact, fascinating artifacts from the Paleolithic period (40,000 years ago!) to the Bronze Age have been excavated in the area.

There’s no better way to take it all in than by walking, greeted by villagers going about their day, caressing the textured walls as we pass by and hearing the serene sounds of the River Soligo rolling through riverside mills.

And there’s no more impressive monument to the area’s history and opulence than the grand CastelBrando, a former monastery turned four-star hotel and theatre. At 370 metres above sea level, on a cliff of the tree-covered Dolomites mountain range, it’s a quick funicular railway ride away to enjoy an unparalleled view of the rolling green hills and tiny villages below.

THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE Veneto is one of the world’s best wine regions, but has gone largely unnoticed. This makes for a visit that is often free of large crowds and gives us an intimate visit with local winemakers, some with generations of knowledge.

We venture into heartland of the Prosecco Hills – Valdobbiadene, San Pietro di Barbozza and Santo Stefano, just three of the 15 towns covering 20,000 hectares of fertile countryside on the edge of the Alps.

Meandering through charming pathways that twist through vineyards dedicated exclusively to Glera grapes, we have a spectacular view of the landscape and hillside hamlets. The area provides the perfect cool climate the grapes need to thrive.

We have the opportunity to visit some of the top local Prosecco producers, who harvest the grapes by hand on the steep slopes, and to explore their wine cellars. And of course, we are treated to samples of their fizzy creations!

UP AND UP Considering how close we still are to bustling Venice, only an hour’s drive away, it’s amazing how easy it is to escape from it all. We leave town to step foot on some of the Italian countryside’s most untouched land.

Monte San Giorgio is a wooded mountain stretching 1,000 metres above sea level. It is also an UNESCO World Heritage site, for those looking to cross another off their to-do list. Overlooking Lake Lugano in Switzerland, it’s a must for science and natural history buffs. It contains some of the best records of marine life from the Triassic period, some 245 million years ago.

A unique combination of tropical lagoon, separated from the open sea, and diverse marine life have created the ideal conditions for exceptional fossil preservation. We dip into the Museo Civico dei fossili di Besano to explore some of its fascinating collection.

And for a maximum glute workout, we make one final climb, 1,570 metres up Monte Cesen, on the edge of the Italian province of Treviso. It offers some of the most stunning views of the area – meadows, mountains pastures and, on clear days, even Venice in the distance! A breathtaking finale to what has been an unforgettable walking adventure.

COMPARING BUBBLES TO BUBBLES Prosecco has long stood in the shadow of its fancy French counterpart. But the bubbly Italian creation can more than hold its own. Here’s how they go head-to-head.

PROSECCO

CHAMPAGNE

FROM

Veneto region of Italy

Champagne region of France

MADE WITH

Prosecco, or Glera, grapes

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes

TASTING PROFILE

Green apple, honeydew, honeysuckle, pear and fresh cream

Citrus, white peach, cherry, almond and toast

CALORIES (STANDARD POUR)

121

128

PRODUCED BY

Tank Method

Traditional Method

PRICE (GOOD ENTRY LEVEL)

CAD$12-14

CAD$40

To discover Italy’s incomparable Prosecco Hills with our expert guides,

VISIT WWW.EXODUSTRAVELS.COM CALL 1-800-267-3347

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BY CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL

DISPATCHES FROM CWT INSIDERS:

The new, the cool and the experiences we can’t stop talking about.

BOLD Traveller Promotion In partnership With

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BOLD Partnerships

Beachside Chic

At Grand Velas Los Cabos, all the little details add up to a magical escape. The view doesn’t hurt either

W

hen Grand Velas resorts opened its Los Cabos property just over a year ago, it quickly grabbed worldwide attention for one of its featured menu items: A US$25,000 gold-leaf-flecked taco, stuffed with decadent ingredients like langoustine, Kobe beef, Almas Beluga caviar and black-truffle brie.

But the 304-ocean-view-suite luxury property, available through Air Canada Vacations as one of its specialized luxury packages, has quickly established itself as much more than a jaw-dropping headline (and a place for an indulgent snack). One of just eight new resorts this year to receive the prestigious AAA Five Diamond ranking, Grand Velas Los Cabos has proven its ability to stylishly deliver amazing experiences – all in a stress-free all-inclusive environment.

The seductive modern architecture grabs you first, with the sensual curve of the main building wrapping around a campus with three pools, each a different temperature, a large spa facility and access to the beach. But it’s the attentive, friendly service offered by staff, including personal butlers who do everything from making dinner reservations to taking care of the ironing, that’s earned the Mexican-owned brand its reputation, which was first established at its famed Grand Velas Riviera Maya. Order your favourite custom drink one day, and for the rest of your stay, mixologists and servers will know just how to make it, and astutely predict when and where you want to be served the next one. This winter, the hotel lured award-winning cocktail artist Nestor Daniel Can Jones, most recently of The Cape, A Thompson Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, aboard as their head mixologist.

Each of the resort’s seven restaurants has its own distinctive cuisine and its own way of expressing the Grand Velas elegance.

The food at Cocina de Autor is directed by Sidney Schutte, a twoMichelin-star chef who still presides over kitchens in his native Netherlands for part of each year. Schutte’s wildly creative tasting menu – perhaps venison with pomegranate, olives and beetroot – might make the biggest impression on gourmands, but poolside ceviche from the Cabrilla resto-lounge might be the habit most difficult to give up.

Despite the importance of style and comfort at Grand Velas, health and wellness have been equally considered. The spa, which includes a delightful water therapy program, will impress even the most jaded spa-goers. And just this year, the property opened six new twolevel Wellness Suites, which include a dedicated fitness loft, private training, personal wellness concierge, a healthy minibar and in-suite juicing. Though it’s one of the newer players in Los Cabos, Grand Velas has most definitely set an impressive standard. loscabos.grandvelas.com

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Great Heights One of the most unique resort properties in the world, Jade Mountain places nature at the heart of your visit The dream project of Russian-Canadian architect Nick Troubetzkoy, Saint Lucia’s Jade Mountain resort is a seriously one-of-kind property. Firstly, the colourful birthday cake of a building – artfully connected to its hillside location by a network of bridges, staircases and walkways – doesn’t have guestrooms, per se. Each of the 29 “sanctuaries” is a high-ceilinged indoor-outdoor space, part romantic retreat, part dramatic terrace, most with a private infinity pool, but no fourth wall to get in the way of the breathtaking view of the island’s two volcanic mountains.

Jade Mountain, one of the select resorts offered as specialized luxury package by Air Canada Vacations, has won awards for its commitment to eco-luxury in the lush jungle of Saint Lucia’s Soufrière district, celebrating and preserving the tropical nature surrounding it. Yet Troubetzkoy, who worked with west coast architects like Ron Thom, Bud Wood and Arthur Erickson before falling in love with Saint Lucia in the 1970s, has also painstakingly ensured that each sanctuary’s privacy from fellow guests, the boats in the bay, or Troubetzkoy’s neighbouring beachfront resort, Anse Chastanet, is absolute.

Of course, the pleasures of Jade Mountain are not just architectural and environmental. If guests care to leave their sanctuaries (some don’t), they can enjoy the on-site fine-dining restaurant, Jade Mountain Club.

Presided over by Chef Allen Susser, the kitchen focuses on seasonal and sustainable gourmet dishes. Heading by foot or by shuttle to Anse Chastenet, the 600-acre sister property, guests can explore that resort’s four restaurants, two bars, two spas and two sandy beaches.

(Guests at the all-inclusive, though, don’t have access to Jade Mountain’s facilities.) Paddleboard yoga, including a weekly training class, has recently been added to the long list of activities and facilities available, including spa, scuba, biking, hiking and watersports. Only a little further afield, Soufrière, the former capital of the island nation, has charming eating and shopping options.

All of which has rightfully earned Jade Mountain the reputation of one of the most romantic resorts on the planet. jademountain.com

SANCTUARY AT SEA For passengers who want a luxurious retreat after a busy day of cruising, Norwegian Cruise Line has the solution It might seem like an impossible ask to explore the routes and many diversions of the world’s grandest cruise ships, while enjoying a truly tranquil and exclusive experience. But with Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Haven, the best of both worlds is within reach.

Introduced in 2011, The Haven embodies the idea of a ship within a ship, offering a luxury experience amidst the bustle, activities and entertainment passengers expect from an exceptional cruise vessel.

Contained in the upper levels of Norwegian’s Jewel, Epic, Getaway, Escape, Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships, The Haven is one of the luxury cruise experiences that can be booked with CWT through Air Canada Vacations. The idea is built around accommodations that are spacious and full of ways to feel pampered. The threebedroom Garden Villa, perfect for families, comes complete with comfy living room, hot tub and baby grand piano, while the spa suites are perfect for romantic escapes.

But the concept, available on Alaska, Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Russia and Baltic routes, doesn’t end with exceptional

accommodations. The Haven contains a private, valet-serviced sundeck, lounge and a fine-dining restaurant accessible only to passengers with a keycard. The possibility of having to wait for or search for an ideal spot to unwind or dine has been banished.

Throughout their journey, Haven passengers have at their disposal the service of a concierge and dedicated 24-hour butler, who can help with everything from unpacking to pouring champagne right when it’s needed.

Beyond the dedicated retreat, Haven passengers have shipwide priority in debarkation and boarding, onboard entertainment (sometimes accessed through a special entrance) and dining times, including a personal escort on and off the ship at the pier and at ports-ofcall. While other passengers must plan their dining around peak periods, Haven passengers can have the concierge team make the perfect arrangements. With a ratio of about four staff for every guest, The Haven creates a five-star experience on whatever cruise you choose. CWT works with closely with select partners like Air Canada Vacations to put together specialized luxury packages to suit a customer’s unique needs. ncl.com/ca/en/why-cruise-norwegian/cruiseaccommodations/the-haven

FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND RESERVATIONS, CONTACT ONE OF OUR CWT TRAVEL ADVISORS OR CALL 1.800.CARLSON.

TRAVEL INTEL Our tips and tricks to navigating the world

What hotel star ratings mean

If you think a seven-star property outperforms a five-star property, MICHAEL SMITH has found that it depends where you are and who’s saying so Have you found yourself wondering why the five-star resort’s website photos seem more three star? Or thought about why all of one island’s hotels seem to have earned themselves five stars? Ever been curious how some hotels in glamorous locations have managed to reach seven-star heights?

The truth is, star rating systems differ greatly from country to country, and even city to city.

In Europe, local tourism authorities usually have their own rating system, but the leading continent-wide system, European Hotelstars Union, awards stars based on a defined list of possible amenities and services, as well as the look and feel of a property. One star gets you basics like soap or body wash, three will get you luggage service and other comforts, while you can depend on five stars to get you turn-down service and one-hour ironing.

In North America, ratings are usually given by local authorities and tend to be awarded based on a broader, more generalized view: is the hotel simply a place to crash, does it have a few extras, does it offer added comfort or does it have an array of services offered in a well-designed, luxurious environment? In other regions, the ranking may be more about where the property fits on a range of available properties. A lot has been said about North Americans being disappointed in Cuban hotels. That’s because Cuban hotels are ranked against other Cuban hotels in the city or the country. Though a five-star Cuban hotel may not compare to a five-star Swiss hotel, the big advantage is that it tells guests that they’re getting the best available in the destination they’re visiting.

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Illustration by Laura García

LUXURY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

SOMETIMES THERE’S NO SYSTEM AT ALL “In Jamaica there is no institutionalized star rating. If you build a hotel and can count to five, you can have a five-star hotel,” said Dimitris Kosvogiannis, GM of the Meliá Braco Village Jamaica, at an event last year promoting his new resort. The tourism board for Jamaica recommends looking at ratings from tour operators like Air Canada Vacations. Jamaica is not the only place you will find self-assigned ratings.

FOUR-STAR HOTELS… FIT FOR A KING Last year in Ireland I did a tour of Mount Falcon Estate, a breathtaking hotel with 100 acres of woodlands. Former U.S. VP Joe Biden had stayed there a week before. What was essentially a castle had four stars! Seemed strange to me. The owner said he didn’t feel the need to have 24-hour concierge, which disqualified the hotel from their deserved final star. If you Google “Ireland hotel rating system” you will find a 36-page document outlining every requirement for every individual star rating. The advantage of countries that have a strict system is at least you know they have earned it, but sometimes you might miss out on staying somewhere truly special based on a technicality.

SEVEN-STAR MYTHOLOGY For some hotels, five stars aren’t enough.

But look a little harder and you’ll find this is more about marketing than any objective standard. Here are the three best known seven-star hotels.

BURJ AL ARAB, DUBAI The home of the “world’s first sevenstar hotel” does have a system in place, but Dubai’s tourism board only offers a rating of one to five stars. The sevenstar reputation stuck after a glowing journalist’s review of the property, which offers a two-storey spa, two gyms, two panoramic pools, yoga studio, heliport and six excellent restaurants.

TOWNHOUSE GALLERIA, MILAN While it’s true that the property, which provides, among other services, a personal assistant for each guest, was granted seven stars by independent auditor Société Generale de Surveillance, Italy’s rating system only goes to five stars, which is what the hotel proclaims on its website.

PANGU SEVEN STAR HOTEL, BEIJING The China National Tourism Administration’s star rating only goes to five stars. According to The Economist magazine, the property’s seven-star claim is merely a reference to the seven-star constellation the Big Dipper or The Plough, not a suggestion that the opulent property exceeded the standard criteria.

Well played.

DIRECT TO TANGO

Have the fortunes of Argentina, long a struggling economy and a great value to visit, finally turned? Among its new flights for 2018, Air Canada is offering new direct service to Buenos Aires. Other new AC new routes from Toronto include Bucharest, Zagreb, Porto and Shannon.

There’s also a direct twice weekly flight between Montreal and Lima, and a new flight from Vancouver to Melbourne.

INDEPENDENT OPINIONS Looking to independent auditors is one way to have an international standard. AAA’s Five Diamond ratings is the most well known and it’s used across North America and the Caribbean, with 120 properties qualifying for their prestigious fivediamond ranking. Forbes Travel Guide is another big auditor stating, “our anonymous professional inspectors travel the world to assess hotels, restaurants and spas against up to 800 objective standards.”

LIGHTNING SPEED

The final phase of China’s Guangzhou–Shenzhen– Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) is expected to be completed this year, finally bringing Hong Kong and all its global connections into the system.

The most dramatic improvement: The bullet-train trip from Hong Hong to Guangzhou will drop to 48 minutes, down from almost two hours.

9.3

million

That’s how many overnight trips Canadians made in the last four months of 2017, according to Statistics Canada. We spent $10.2 billion during those trips.

BOLD QUERY SHOULD I AVOID SMART LUGGAGE? In the last few years, suitcases equipped with charging stations, GPS, built-in weight scales and digital remote locking and other features have been coming on the market to make travellers’ lives easier. But Delta, Southwest, American and Alaska airlines have implemented a ban on them. The concern is that that lithiumion batteries will overheat and cause a fire in the cargo hold.

In fact, in the U.S. and Canada, lithium-ion batteries have been banned for years in checked baggage. But there is away around the smart-bag ban: choose a product with removable batteries you can safely place in your carry-on baggage for the flight.

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WORTH TRAVELLING FOR

W

Gleeful on the Garden Island K AUA I ’ S N O R T H S H O R E

hen George Clooney, as native Hawaiian Matt King in the award-winning film The Descendants, stood fast to protect his beloved ancestral family home, we knew this place was special. Dreamy, like Clooney himself, this is the island of Kauai. The oldest of the ancient Hawaiian archipelago, yet in many a traveller’s mind, it is also the newest. The land, so rich with flora and fauna, inspired its nickname, The Garden Island.

Unspoiled stretches of beach, verdant tropical forests and a dramatic coastline (particularly that of Napali), the cliffs seem to dive headlong into the deep blue sea, so enraptured is the land with the sea. It is this, the longing for a connection with Mother Nature and all of her elements, where Kauai is the shining jewel in the island chain. Its multifaceted character is what makes it unique, what beckons and entrances the traveller to experience this special spirit of Aloha.

Experience the north shore’s jagged cliffs, home to luxurious accommodations, such as the St. Regis and the Westin Princeville; the pristine Wailua Falls that surround the commercial districts of Lihue; the palm groves on the Coconut Coast, where the trees sway in the breeze like they’re doing an ethereal hula while standing proud over a wealth of high-end hotels and family-friendly resorts; and the Grand Canyon-like Instagram-worthy Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park on Kauai’s west side.

A constant ocean breeze washes over the island, mingling with the sunshine. “Aloha,” Mother Nature whispers; “Mahalo,” we reply in thanks. —VICTORIA BASS

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