Canada's top ten biking spots

The Canada Tourism Commission recently came out with its top ten biking spots. How many have you pedaled?

1. Prince Edward Island - Don't bring your bike, PEI has more than 25 bike rental shops

2. La Route verte - Network of trails crisscrossing Quebec

3. Saskatchewan - Really? Try Highway 56 that winds through the lush Qu'Appelle Valley

4. Kettle Valley Rail Trail - BC's long-abandoned right of way (includes tunnels/bridges)

5. Cabot Trail - Fishing villages, beaches, rolling green hills and even whales in Nova Scotia

6. Capital Pathway - A network of loops and dedicated cycling trails in Ottawa

7. Bike Train - Ride the rails in Ontario with Via Rail

8. Boreale Mountain Biking - Serious biking! Stay in yurts near Whitehorse in the Yukon

9. Riding Mountain National Park - Pedal with moose, elk and black bears in Manitoba

10. Kananaskis Country - For fat-tire aficionados who love Alberta's Rocky Mountains


Bicycle at Little Qualicum Cheeseworks on Vancouver Island
Photo by Sue Frause

Manoir Hovey: A charming Quebec resort inn

Manoir Hovey is one of those romantic inns that you see in the movies ... at first it almost doesn't feel real. But it is, and it's wonderful. I stayed there a number of autumns ago, a lovely time of year in this bucolic part of Quebec. Located in the lovely Eastern Townships village of North Hatley, 75 minutes east of Montreal (and only 20 minutes north of Vermont), it's on the shores of Lake Massawippi.

My first reaction was it looked like Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. It turns out that it was built as a private estate modeled after his home. Since 1950, it's been a resort inn and is a member of Relais & Chateaux.

Summer rates begin at $160 CDN per person ($137 US) and include:

~Full country breakfast
~Haute cuisine dinner
~Gratuities
~Heated lakeside pool, two beaches, tennis, windsurfing, canoes, paddleboats, kayaks, touring bikes, exercise room
~Lake cruises, massages and fishing lessons available (extra charge)
~Golf tee times, horseback riding, theatre tickets may be arranged

My cozy and charming room at Manoir Hovey
Photo by Sue Frause

Victoria Gin: Not every city has its own spirit(s)

No matter what I'm doing in Victoria, I somehow manage to make a stop at The Fairmont Empress Hotel's Bengal Lounge. Not only do I love this iconic bar, it serves Victoria Gin. How many cities can boast they have their very own spirt(s) named after them?

Handmade in small batches from a wood-fired still on Vancouver Island (OK, I stole that from their website), it's Canada's only premium gin. Here's what else they say about it:

Our gin balances the characteristic evergreen flavour of juniper with notes of citrus, floral, and spice. We distill it in small batches in a gleaming handmade wood-fired copper potstill. Only the middle part of each run, the hearts, is saved for bottling. The result is an intensely flavored spirit that is as full-bodied and complex as a fine single-malt whisky.

Victoria Gin is only available in British Columbia and Ontario. I hope to be back in Victoria sometime in the fall. And although gin & tonic season will be over for me, it will be time for a sleek Victoria Gin martini.

Prosit!

Summer afternoon in the Bengal Lounge
Photo by Sue Frause

Window on Canada : Train with a view

A beautiful waterfall as seen from the Whistler Mountainer, which departs North Vancouver daily at 8:30 AM, arriving in Whistler three hours later. The train runs through Oct. 6, 2009. Photo by Sue Frause.

USA & Canada: Children of a common mother

Cars line up to return to Canada at the Canada-US Peace Arch crossing between Blaine, Washington and Surrey, BC. The inscription on the US side reads Children of a common mother and on the Canadian side, Brethren dwelling together in unity.

Above the gates hinged on either side of the border is the inscription, May these gates never be closed. The Peace Arch stands 20.5 metres (67.2 ft) tall and was built by Sam Hill. It was dedicated in September 1921 and commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.

Photo by Sue Frause

Window on BC: Canada Day in Sidney

Strolling along the Sidney Pier
Photo by Sue Frause

New BC Visitor Centre opens @ Peace Arch

While driving up to the BC Ferries at Tsawwassen yesterday, it was fun to see that the new British Columbia Visitor Centre @ Peace Arch had finally opened. Well, it was too early, so the doors weren't yet open for the day. But the $4.6 million visitor centre officially opened in April of 2009, with Premier Gordon Campbell ceremoniously cutting the ribbon.

Approximately three million vehicles pass through the Peace Arch border between BC and Washington state each year. With more than 250,000 visitors expected for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, BC is putting out the welcome mat. The centre was funded by Tourism BC.


According to website of the BC Liberals, the design was inspired by a Semiahmoo First Nations winter dwelling, with a Great Hall supported by local Douglas Fir columns. The layout of the building mimics the twisting Fraser River and from the air, the footprint of the building looks like one of BC's Gulf Islands.

The former visitor centre was a trailer.

Across the way from the centre are new restrooms, landscaping and the nearby duty free shop -- but there is still construction going on at the border crossing between Canada and the U.S. One of the quirky things about the new centre is the use of "@" instead of "at" in the signage. Casual and unusual to say the least.


Photo by Sue Frause

Whistler to be featured on Hell's Kitchen

It seems everywhere you look, there's Whistler! I posted a piece on my Examiner travel site about Whistler's most recent PR coup: Chef Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen was in Whistler earlier this year, taping a promo for the upcoming season of the reality show. Even better, the winning chef will be rewarded with a top position at Whistler's Araxi Restaurant.

Read my Examiner post about Whistler's lastest TV exposure (July 21!) right here.

Plus there are plenty of suggestions for outdoor adventures in BC's favorite playground. After all, it's summertime in the mountains.

Hiking at Whistler-Blackcomb
Photo by Paul Morrison

Get away to Canada sale (2/1 on United!)

Travel is down this summer and the flights aren't full. That must be why United Airlines is holding a Get Away to Canada sale that is a really good deal: two tickets for the price of one! Here are the rules and regulations:

Purchase by July 5, 2009
14-day advance purchase required
Travel valid daily, must be complete by Sept. 30, 2009
Two-night minimum stay required, maximum stay of 30 days permitted
Additional checked baggage fees may apply
Subject to availability and may not be valid on all flights/dates

Southern Saskatchewan
Photo by Sue Frause

Ridin' the rails with The Bachelorette

Tonight's the night that Jillian Harris and her suitors switch from the urban and ski resort venues of Vancouver and Whistler to a two-province train trip through British Columbia and on to Banff, Alberta. 

Read about the Rocky Mountaineer journey that I took several years ago from Vancouver to Calgary. Although I wasn't accompanied by all those available bachelors, the scenery was exactly the same. Stunning! 

The Bachelorette's Jillian Harris rides the rails on the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Alberta

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Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver, BC

Photo by Sue Frause

Quebec's Cirque du Soleil turns 25

Has Cirque du Soleil really been around for a quarter century? I saw one of their shows in Seattle a few years back, and most recently Cavalia in Montreal (described as Cirque du Soleil with horses). The latter is currently touring in North America (it opens in Chicago on July 14) and was founded by Normand Latourelle -- who is also a co-founder of Cirque du Soleil.

But I'm still itchin' to see O in Vegas. Recently, I ran across an article by fellow travel journalist Cinda Chavich of Calgary, courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission. It bears repeating!

I've witnessed lots of spectacles in many particular spots, but nothing sticks with me like my first encounter with Canada's creative circus, Cirque du Soleil of Quebec. It's Cirque's signature show in Las Vegas -- "O" -- that returns often to my mind's eye: a troupe of androgynous swimmers emerge like space creatures from the watery depths to pad softly across a puddled stage; when another dives headlong from a high wire toward the same spot, the stage miraculously dissolves from solid to liquid. In that split second I'm moved from shock to delight.

That surreal encounter was more than a decade ago, but it's still with me. It's been 25 years since the motley collection of 20 Quebec street performers joined together to form the now iconic Cirque du Soleil, and I've yet to see anything that matches the depth of their artistry and imagination.

Nearly 90 million spectators have witnessed Cirque's magical shows and, like me, they're lured back every time this unique circus comes to town. There's probably a show opening somewhereyou, with 20 running simultaneously around the world this year, including my favourite, "O," and five other permanent shows in Las Vegas.

Guy Laliberte -- himself an accordion player, stilt walker and fire-eater -- founded this company of stylish circus performers in 1984, building the phenomenon, literally, from nothing. Now Cirque du Soleil is a huge global company, with some 4,000 employees from around 40 countries (including Olympic athletes and Broadway performers) -- which I'm guessing makes it the world's biggest international theatre troupe.

And I'm sure it's the circus with the biggest social impact. When they're not breathing fire and turning themselves into human pretzels, the Cirque machine is a truly socially responsible citizen of the world, with programs such as ONE DROP foundation, to help ensure everyone across the world has access to water resources; and Cirque du Monde, circus workshops that train and inspire street kids.

Perhaps because of its crazy fusion of Euro-style circus traditions, Chinese contortionists, marvellous mimes, amazing athletics and operatic themes, Cirque du Soleil crosses cultural boundaries as relevant in Toronto, Ontario as Tokyo, Japan. With its visually and physically powerful show, it's a circus that captures the essence of wonder and delight, and a kind of beauty that is familiar yet truly unmatched as an art show.

There have been 25 Cirque du Soleil shows created over the past quarter century, including the new Cirque 2009, which opened in the Old Port of Montreal in April. It all started with the first show, Cirque du Soleil, and an early touring show, We Reinvent the Circus, and they certainly did -- life under the big top has never been the same.

By Cinda Chavich, June 2009

Photograph from O by Veronique Vial

Border towns affected by US switch to digital

American TV switches to digital, Canadian border towns affected


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TV remote photo by Sue Frause

Digging for dinosaur bones: Discover your own T.rex named Sue at Dinosaur Provincial Park

Digging for dinosaur bones: Discover your own T.rex named Sue at Dinosaur Provincial Park


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Photo courtesy The Field Museum, Chicago

Window on Canada: Gulf Islands, BC

Kayak trip with Blue Planet Kayaking
Gulf Islands, British Columbia
Photo b Sue Frause