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North America

North America

Top considerations when booking flights

One word:  Stroopwafels.* People are a real mixed bag. Some of us like to talk to your seatmate on a plane, while others prefer to bury their nose in a book. Some people like a window seat, while others insist on the aisle. But you know what everyone is into on the plane? Snacks! The…

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You want stuff? We’ve got stuff.

"One man's junk is another man's treasure" as they say.   Do you like stuff?  If you find yourself in the southern United States (North Carolina in this instance,) head over to The Raleigh Market .  Prepare to spend the day, as the market has more than 500 vendors with vintage items, collectibles and more. The…

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OMG . . LA is so HOLLOW

Los Angeles is often painted as being a vain and vapid place.  All looks and no substance.  Bring your alibis.  (We rather like the place.) But, to be honest, some of LA is, indeed hollow and in some places, shallow.  Some of its buildings, in fact. And they hide an interesting and still relevant and…

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Camino de Poutine-o

In addition to its other many allures, Canada cannot escape the universal tagging of poutine.  (In case you're not up to date, poutine is a sumptuous Canadian concoction made of french fries, gravy and cheese curds.  It's addictive)  Not that we Candians complain, but c'mon now, there is more to the country than just that. For…

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Skint?

It never fails.  Finally, we're able to travel again, but it doesn't always coincide with our bank balances.  And, of course, the travel companies have sales galore, and yet we're still up the creek without a paddle.  What to do? Well, like it or not, some travel companies feel our pain and look for ways…

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What’s love got to do with it?

 Shakespeare could have a field-day with this. This abandoned house looms a salt marsh, its pale pink paint looking like a mirror of the colorful sunsets that so often streak the sky.  It’s a celebrated local landmark, one with a definite air of mystery and romance. But the picturesque house’s story is not at all romantic. A local…

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Bonjour, eh?

In Canada, we move at our own pace. It doesn’t take long to drive around this tiny French territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, but it’s taken what seems like forever to get here. The new car ferry between a southern Newfoundland community and the last remnant of France’s once vast North American colony began operating in August,…

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Roadkill

It is almost certain that you recently interacted closely with an invisible giant, as the Harvard landscape ecologist Richard T T Forman has described it. Others have called roads ‘the single most destructive element in the process of habitat fragmentation’, declaring that ‘Few forces have been more influential in modifying the Earth than transportation.’  But, the engineering…

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Key West for Free / Less

Key West (Florida USA) is everything that they say it is.  Chilled. Hectic. Rich. Artistic.  And, most of all, sunny and warm.  Definitely worth a trip if you haven't been. But like most popular places, it isn't cheap.  So how can you have a good holiday without having to sell your children? Lonely Planet have some ideas…

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The party’s over

Like all of us, eventually we need to retire.  And so do ships (and planes.) We have all likely been on at least one cruise, and you'll comprehend the scope and size of those behemoths of the seas.  But, have you given any thought when it's time for the ship to be put to pasture? It's a…

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Spinal Tap Tower

As the famous circus magnate, P. T. Barnum used to say, there's a sucker born every minute.  Ain't that the truth?  Just scroll through social media if you want proof. Here's a story that will surely make you scratch your head, laughing all the while.  Was this an accident?  Purposefully enacted?  Vengeance?  As Tom Scott explains,…

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Finally!

If you visit our site, you'll know that we are huge proponents of rail travel.  What's not to like?  High-speed, comfort and better for the environment. Most countries have highspeed rail options in place, and have had for many years.  But there has always been one rather glaring exception - the USA.  Train travel works there…

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Take your time

There are so many wonderful family-run hotels and inns around the world.  You'll do well to stay there, rather than anonymous hotels. We're featuring The Barachois Inn here for a number of reasons, but one particularly caught our eye:  you know that a place means what it says about its values when it endeavours to…

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NYC . . . thin on the ground

As if encountering wafer-thin fashion models as they strut down Fifth Avenue in New York City  isn't enough to discombobulate your sense of self, now the high-rise apartments are getting into the act. New York has always been home to some of the world’s tallest towers, but in the last 10 years the city has seen…

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The oldest buildings in Canada

We have to chuckle a bit at this article - the oldest buildings in Canada .  We lived in London where we almost rented a house that was built in the 1400's, so considering that one of the oldest places in Vancouver is from 1921, it's not much of a comparison. But, fair is fair and Canada…

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I ♥ you!

Having grown up in the USA, your editor has some ancient knowledge of the tenets, legends and rituals of that country by heart. One such standard is Pennsylvania's Poconos resort area.  Once considered a last-ditch effort for a (cheesy) romantic getway, time has now caught up with the legend and the place is back in action. The…

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Think Cadillac

Here's another heart-warming story of people looking out for each other. In the late 1970s, former Heritage board member Leroy Looper (1924-2011) and his wife Kathy turned the rundown Cadillac Hotel in the heart of the Tenderloin district in San Francisco into a national model for the potential of single-room occupancy hotels. The Tenderloin Museum opened on…

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Hey, big spender

Is your life mundane?  Do you want power and influence? Do you have $2.75 million to spare? You could become the owner of a tiny desert outpost in rural California. The town of Nipton, California, is for sale after the idea to establish the community as a cannabis consumption destination went bust amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On any given…

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