Posted: March 28th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: dining | 4 Comments »
Victoria, British Columbia has plenty of great qualities and features. Obviously there’s the amazing ocean stuff, rain forest junk, great gardens, recreational options galore, etcetera so on and so forth. However, let’s quit beating up bushes and get down to what really matters: stuff that intentionally goes into my white man tummy. There is a disproportionate amount of world class cafes and baristas in Victoria. There’s also an overly great selection of brew pubs and breakfast spots there, but I’m saving those for another post. In order to help the casual Victoria visitor nail down some world class latte action I’ve undergone extensive sampling and compiled the Top 5 Cafes In Victoria BC. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 11th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 5 Comments »
There’s probably no shortage of swanky lists that rate and rank the various airlines of the world. I don’t check any ranking lists though when I book my flights. I just search up what I need on Kayak and go with what looks best. However, after so many years of flying in and around Canada, I have come to strongly prefer Air Canada. They’re not perfect, don’t get me wrong, but I think they’re better than most. I’ll even pay a little extra to fly on Air Canada, and I have a dozen reasons why. In no particular order, the dozen reasons why I prefer Air Canada are… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 4th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: travel photos | 7 Comments »
In order to get on to Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia you pretty much have two choices: plane or ferry. My favourite is definitely the ferry. The BC Ferries are remarkable in that they can carry 1650 passengers, and up to 370 vehicles between the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island. They’re the largest double ended ferries in the world. Plus they serve a damn tasty veggie burger on board. The most common route is from just outside Vancouver over to the capitol of British Columbia, which is Victoria. It’s an hour and a half voyage which winds through several small islands in the Pacific Ocean and is really quite scenic.
The sore point for me is watching this great scenery sail past while I have no photography skills at all. So a few days ago, I stood on the deck of the seventh floor, right up at the bow and tried my best to get a good photo. With it being a chilly February afternoon, high up on the bow of a fast moving ship, it wasn’t exactly crowded. I have a very tough time taking photos; I don’t feel comfortable taking them, plus I don’t have much of an eye for it. So excuses aside, here are a few that I got which seem fairly nice to me. Let me know what you think! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 3rd, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah, web | No Comments »
I had the good fortune to contribute to a cool roundtable post up on the Where I’ve Been blog about visiting Canada. It covers some really good questions about destinations in Canada. I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re ever likely to visit Canada or know someone who is.
I really like the style of those roundtable posts they do at Where I’ve Been. Comparing the different answers from various travel folks gives a different sense of perspective on the topic. Plus it’s neat when all three of the contributors give the identical answer to a question. Then you know there must really be something to it beyond personal opinion. This is actually the second one I’ve contributed to and with some luck I hope to do more in the future. Anyways, check it out!
Oh, Canada: In a few days, epic NBC Winter Olympics montages will remind the world that its rugged environs have provided us photogenic landscapes, hockey, poutine and moose for decades. And while Bob Costas and co. might boost interest, Canada remains a remarkably overlooked tourist destination. Why?
Continue reading Travel Tuesday Roundtable: Canada on the whereivebeen.com blog.
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// shawn
Posted: January 12th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: places | 4 Comments »
Give me exactly three minutes of your time and I can pretty much guarantee that Newfoundland will fly to the top of your “must see” destinations list. I know because three minutes is all it took for me to be convinced. I grew up in British Columbia, which for those of you not up on your Canadian geography is the opposite coast from Newfoundland, and I had no clue about the secrets they were hiding over there on the east coast.
I’ll take this claim one step further and officially predict that Newfoundland is going to become an increasingly popular global tourism destination over the next few years. You might as well start talking about it now so your water cooler buddies think you’re cutting edge. You’ll agree with me in the next three minutes, just you watch.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 7th, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 2 Comments »
I moved to Montreal one year ago, and thought I would share my observations. I’m originally from British Columbia, but directly prior to Montreal I was living in San Francisco. Montreal was a perfect destination for my move as I was keen to return to Canada, but also wanted to try somewhere new. I quickly found that Quebec has some interesting differences from the rest of Canada. I considered writing a thought provoking essay on the cultural nuances of the various regions of Canada. However, I instead figured I should show some respect to the fifth graders of the world. So I made a simple like/dislike list.
Some of these would be true in general for most folks, and others are very specific to my preferences. Here is just one man’s opinion of living in Montreal for one year.
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