Window on Canada : My 2007 Pix

Peace Arch International Park located between BC-Washington.

Aboard the Prince of Whales from Victoria to Vancouver, BC.

BC's Okanagan Wine Country is a colorful place to visit.

Over the rainbow at La Punta Norte B&B on Lake Okanagan.

The Thompson-Okanagan is a riot of tastes and fragrances.

Grapes on a barrel lie in wait at Oliver's Black Hills Winery.

Stefan Posthuma at Edible BC's Audi Okanagan Weekend.

The view in Vieux Montreal is perfect for people watching.

Max strolls around Montreal's historic Jean-Talon Market.

Premiere Moisson Bakery has an outlet in Jean-Talon Market.

Do you expect people in Montreal not to talk while they shop?

A view from our room at Montreal's Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel.

Richmond, BC is known for its variety of Asian restaurants.

Steveston Village has Canada's largest commercial fishing fleet.

PaJo's in Steveston Village is famous for its fish 'n chips.

BC Ferries is a scenic way to see the beautiful Gulf Islands.

Poultry is popular at Salt Spring Island Cheese Company.

Do Imelda Marcos' offspring live on Salt Spring Island?

Breakfast at Hastings House Country House Hotel.

Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics are only two years away.

Stanley Park's trees were destroyed in a major wind storm.

A view across Coal Harbour from Stanley Park's bicycle path.

Springtime tulips in bloom at Vancouver's English Bay.

Although Victoria is Canada's fittest city, Vancouverites rock.

The Opus Hotel Vancouver in Yaletown is home to cool beds.

Red Fish, Blue Fish is Victoria's newest fish 'n chips spot.

A seagull takes a break atop an old church in Nanaimo, BC.

The Dinghy Dock Pub is a foot ferry away from Nanaimo.
Nanaimo bars and Diana Krall are both from Nanaimo.

Passengers await VIA Rail in Courtenay on Vancouver Island.


The Whistler Mountaineer on its journey to Whistler.

Breakfast, tea and scenery aboard the Whistler Mountaineer.


Sylvia Main at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks.

All photographs by Sue Frause 2007.

Travelers want to be transformed

British Columbia travelers are trading relaxation for transformation.

That's according to the British Columbia Automobile Association, who say that adventure and educational travel are the trends for 2008.

During the past year, BCAA Travel has noted a marked increase in educational, adventure, health/spa and culinary getaways.

The survey group included 102 BCAA member travel counselors, North American travel specialists, travel consultants and travels services' staff.

Here are their findings: 

Adventure Travel: This includes outdoor activities, volunteering and cultural immersion. It can range from traversing the Arabian Peninsula on camelback to such soft adventures as watching giant sea turtles lay their eggs on a Costa Rica Beach. More women, honeymooners, families and the over-50 set are booking adventure holidays.

Educational Travel: Learning over lounging. It can be a skill, sport or lifelong interest. Activities range from themed tours of the great opera houses of Europe to studying the Amazon rain forest. Particularly popular with university-educated professionals who want to enrich their lives in areas other than which they are working.

Health and Spa Travel: These range from rustic retreats to luxury destinations resorts. Health-centric vacations are popular getaways for people seeking balance in their lives. Vacationers are selecting resorts that specialize in their preferred sporting pursuits such as golf, tennis, yoga or Pilates.

Culinary Travel: Combining food, wine and travel is the ideal sensory experience for many. Tuscany has long been a destination for foodies. Other popular getaways including dining at unique restaurants, touring farmers' markets, wineries, gourmet food shopping and food and wine festivals.

Another trend is group travel. This includes multi-generational family getaways for reunions, weddings, milestone birthdays or holidays. Individual travelers are also connecting with other like-minded travelers to vacation as a group.

James Bray of Blue Planet Kayaking on one of his Gourmet Kayaking Weekends in British Columbia's Gulf Islands. Photo by Sue Frause.

Window on Quebec : Universe of Sled Dogs

L'universe du chien de traineau in Quebec.

Photo by Sue Frause

Harbour Air goes carbon neutral

Vancouver based Harbour Air Ltd, the world's largest all-seaplane airline, announced that it will go 100 percent carbon neutral by the end of 2007.

Beginning October 1, Harbour Air began purchasing high quality carbon offsets to mitigate the climate impact of all scheduled service, charter and tour operations.

This made Harbour Air the first air carrier in North America (and the only seaplane airline in the world) to make all of its flight services 100% carbon neutral.

Harbour Air has so far contributed more than $15,000 to carbon neutral programs.

Harbour Air in Nanaimo, BC

Photo by Sue Frause

Renowned jazz pianist Oscar Peterson dies

Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson died on Dec. 23 in his Mississauga, Ontario home at the age of 82.

His six-decade career resulted in more than 200 recordings and seven Grammy Awards.

Read more about his career in The (Montreal) Gazette.

Photo courtesy Monterey Jazz Festival

Rocky Mountaineer : Top Train

Three times a charm for Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (RMV), owners and operators of Canada’s acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer train.

For the third year in a row, Rocky Mountaineer Vacations has won the prestigious World Travel Award as World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train.

The pretigious 14th annual World Travel Awards gala was held in Turks and Caicos earlier this month. Tourism leaders from around the world attended the event.

Other nominees for the award included The Blue Train (South Africa), Rovos Rail (South Africa), Great Southern Railway Ltd. (Australia), Palace on Wheels Inc. (India), Orient - Express Ltd. (U.K.), Orient Express (Peru), Grand North Western, The Royal Scotsman (Scotland).

I've been aboard the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Calgary in both summer and winter. It's one of my favorite ways to experience the beautiful scenery of British Columbia, the Rockies and Alberta.

Santa magically appears alongside the Rocky Mountaineer

Photo by Sue Frause

Whistler Sliding Centre Opens

Pierre Lueders, four-time Olympian and the most decorated slider in Canadian history, and brakeman Justin Kripps participated in the christening of The Whistler Sliding Centre track.

They made some of the first runs at the new venue on December 19, 2007.

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games are February 12-28, 2010. The Paralympic Games follow, running March 12-21, 2010.

Early test runs on the track were designed to test the ice as well as the support facilities. VANOC tested 10 curves of the winding track.

Following inspection, Lueders and Kripps made six runs from a lower start, approximately 1/3 down from the top of the 1,450-meter lit competition track.

The first test run included a short push start, a clean run and a small jump during the slide leading into the deceleration zone due to an ice ridge.

The six runs on the 10 winding curves tested were completed over the course of two hours.

The first test run of Canadian bobsledders Pierre Lueders and Justin Kripps on the Whistler Sliding Centre track included some "air time" at the end due to an ice ridge. It was shaved down for their next five test runs. Photo courtesy VANOC / David McColm.

Order your Olympic goodies online

You've missed the deadline to order by Christmas, but The Olympic Store is now officially open online.

Items range from $8 pins to $209 jackets.

The online shop includes the Vancouver 2010 mascots Sumi, Quatchi and Miga.

There is plenty of apparel: shirts, outerwear, sweaters/hoodies, headwear and clothes for kids.

Accessories range from umbrellas and scarves to bags and pet items.

My favorite pooch outfit is the West Coast Rain Wear pet coat with waterproof shell, cozy fleece liner, reflective tape and the 2010 emblem.

Woof!

For now, the online store only ships to Canada.

A US Store is "coming soon."

A Zigzag Peruvian beanie with earflaps and braids
Wool blend with microfleece lining - $30

Canada's population tops 33 million

Canada now has more than 33 million people.

To be exact: 33,091,200.

Leading the way in growth is the province of Saskatchewan, while Alberta is starting to lose more people than are moving in.

For more details, go to a recent story on CTV.ca.

People enjoy a sunny day in Regina
Photo by Sue Frause

World Hypnotism Day in Toronto

First off, I didn't know there was World Hypnotism Day.

And secondly, it's actually celebrated!

January 4, 2008 marks the fourth annual World Hypnotism Day.

This year it's being hosted by Dr. Georgina Cannon of the Ontario Hypnosis Centre in Toronto.

The free seminar on hypnosis is open to the public and covers such topics as:

What is hypnosis?
How does hypnosis work?
What can hypnosis be used for?
How do we use self-hypnosis without being aware of it?

The event is in the Mullock Room of the Comfort Suites City Centre, 200 Dundas Street East in Toronto, from 7-8:30 PM on January 4, 2008.

The view from Toronto's CN Tower can be hypnotic.
Photo by Sue Frause.

Window on Canada : Saskatchewan

Much of Canada is in the grips of winter, which doesn't officially arrive until December 22.

And as the headline reads in The Gazette, it's causing Airport anguish.

Summer begins on June 20, 2008.

That's six months from now.

In the meantime, stay warm.

Saskatchewan Road Trip - August 2004
Photo by Sue Frause

Top Ten Tea Rooms : Vancouver makes the list

Vancouver is tops for tea.

In an article in USA Today, Vancouver's Sawa Tea Lounge & Gallery was included in 10 great places to be steeped in tea, tradition and comfort.

The top spots for pots of tea are:

Dunshanbe Teahouse, Boulder, Colorado
Tea and Sympathy, New York City
Samovar Tea Lounge, San Francisco
The Tea Room, Savannah, Georgia
Ching Ching Cha, Washington, DC
Sawa Tea Lounge & Gallery, Vancouver, BC
The Dunbar Tea Shop, Sandwich, Massachusetts
Tea Gschwendner on Halstead Street, Chicago
Tower of Cosmic Reflections, Portland, Oregon
Floating Leaves, Seattle

Enjoying afternoon tea in Bellingham, Washington
Photo by Sue Frause

Home movie of BC in the 1920's

Somehow I stumbled across a link that shows a Canadian Pacific steamer journeying from Vancouver to Victoria and eventually Seattle.

The 1920s home movie includes shots of The Empress Hotel and the BC Parliament Buildings.

It also includes exteriors of Government House in the tony Rockland area of Victoria.

If you look closely, you'll see a large, white house pictured next door.

That's Fairholme Manor, an 1890's Italianate mansion restored by owners Sylvia and Ross Main that's pictured here.

Today it's an award-winning inn known for its lovely suites and fabulous breakfasts.

And yummy new cookbook!

( Full Disclosure : I edited the cookbook :-)

Victoria is fit as a fiddle and more

No doubt about it, Victoria is one fit city.

A writer friend of mine in Healdsburg, California just spread the word some more about what outdoorsy folks those Victorians are.

Read Matt Villano's story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Then go for a bike or hike!

Kayaking in BC's Gulf Islands
Photo by Sue Frause

Big new boat for BC Ferries

While nearby Washington State is having a worst case scenario with its ferries, the boats across the border seem to be doing just fine.

Yesterday, people in British Columbia saw the newest member of the BC Ferries fleet.

Coastal Renaissance is the first of three new Super C-class ferries built in Germany.

Her arrival in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet created a buzz in the air, land and sea.

The 370-car ferry will sail between Departure Bay/Nanaimo and Horsehose Bay in West Vancouver in early spring.

The second ferry will depart Germany in January 2008, arriving in BC in March. It will be on the Duke Point-Tsawwassen run.

The last of the new trio will serve on the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route.

All three are to be in service by summer.

The ferries are the largest double-ended ferries ever built, and are being painted with sports images to celebrate the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Calgary named tops in Canada

Calgary -- you're tops!

That's according to a recent Conference Board of Canada study that rated cities' attractiveness.

Judging was based on such things as economy, housing, health, commute time and crime.

In second place was Toronto, followed by Vancouver, Edmonton, Victoria and Ottawa-Gatineau.

The study primarily tracks the economies of the cities, which explains two of Alberta's cities in the top five.

To read the complete results, go to the Conference Board's website.

Here are the rankings and overall grades from the Conference Board of Canada's survey of cities with a population of more than 100,000:

1. Calgary A
2. Toronto A
3. Vancouver A
4. Edmonton A
5. Victoria A
6. Ottawa-Gatineau A
7. Halifax B
8. Oshawa B
9. Kitchener-Waterloo B
10.Abbotsford B
11.Quebec City B
12.Sherbrooke B
13.Saskatoon B
14.Montreal B
15.Hamilton B
16.St. John's B
17.Regina B
18.London C
19.Winnipeg C
20.Kingston C
21.Greater Sudbury C
22.Trois-Rivieres C
23.Windsor C
24.St. Catharines-Niagara C
25.Saguenay D
26.Saint John D
27.Thunder Bay D

The Calgary Tower in winter.
Photo by Sue Frause.

Window on Canada : Montreal

Photo by Sue Frause

Michael Buble is everywhere

I picked up a Michael Buble CD a number of years ago at Chapters on Robson in Vancouver.

I heard it playing and asked what it was. Sort of thought the guy might make it big, but I had no idea how big he'd become.

Michael Buble is big.

There he was on my favorite weekly TV show, CBS Sunday Morning.

It was an honest portrayal of the Burnaby, BC boy.

Although my husband and I did laugh when correspondent Cynthia Bowers referred to a small theater in Vancouver where Buble first performed as Granby Island.

Hey, it's Granville Island!

I'm hoping Santa brings me his new CD, Call Me Irresponsible.

That would be very responsible of Santa, doncha think?