Ottawa: Remembrance Day 2025
November 9-11, 2025 Despina, Vince and I spent roughly 48 hours in Ottawa to attend the Remembrance Day services there. […]
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Byward Blue Inn (Ottawa, Ontario)
Great Hotel! We’re just back from a thoroughly enjoyable 2-night stay at the Byward Blue Inn. It could not have
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Amery House (Sliema, Malta)
A Gem In Sliema There is little to fault at Amery House and, after a stay there, I see why
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Malta: Closing Thoughts On The Trip
So ends our much-anticipated visit to the tiny and beautiful country of Malta. It was certainly an educational and interesting
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Malta: Day 4
Revisiting Valletta Our first visit to Valletta earlier in the week seemed to fly by and we felt we didn’t
Malta: Day 3
Mosta In an effort to, again, get out of the city and see more of Malta, we chose the city’s
Malta: Day 2
On our second day we took a Bolt car out of the city to visit two ancient Maltese cities: Mdina
Malta: Day 1
A Day In Valletta Today we took a very short ferry ride across the water from our base in Sliema
Malta: Logistics
Here are the “nuts and bolts” of our visit to Malta Flights Toronto to Malta: October 11-12, 2025 Air Canada,
Malta: An Introduction
Where?? I find it interesting how many people are only very slightly familiar with Malta, or have never heard of
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Sandman Signature Calgary Downtown Hotel (Calgary, Alberta)
Average and Overpriced My overall impression of the Sandman Downtown Hotel in Calgary is one of… meh – only the
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Kelowna: Day 4
Time To Leave Kelowna We got up at 7:00AM, showered, and did some minor packing. We then went out for
Kelowna: Day 3
Today is Victoria Day. We got up at 8:00AM, showered, and made our way down to the hotel’s breakfast room.
Kelowna: Day 2
We had a great sleep! The bed and pillows in this room were a slice of heaven! – incredibly comfortable
Kelowna: Day 1
Our alarms came screaming on at 5:00AM, so we got up and got ready to go in good time. The
Kelowna: Introduction
Kelowna is located in the south of British Columbia. It’s in the Okanagan Valley, on the eastern shore of Okanagan
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Venice: Closing Thoughts On The Trip
Well, my Venice trip is now well behind me and I’m left with so many wonderful memories. Venice was a
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Venice: Day 8
Home Time! Time to return home to our true north strong and free. One Last Venice Breakfast I had set
Venice: Day 7
Winding Down It was the last official day of the Light & Land Venice tour. There was no dawn shoot
Venice: Day 6
Sunrise Shoot: Accademia Bridge Our group met in the hotel’s Reception area at 6:30AM to proceed to the location of
Venice: Day 5
A Day Trip to Burano Our group met at 7:30 this morning in the hotel’s Breakfast Room. There was no
Venice: Day 4
An Early (Enough) Start One of my life’s big challenges is coping with early morning starts. This morning there was
Venice: Day 3
Farewell, Ca’ Tessera I woke up about 7:45AM. I was anxious about possibly sleeping in and missing my connections today,
Venice: Day 2
Good Morning… About an hour out of Paris, the cabin lights gently came up, passengers started to wake up, and
Venice: Day 1
I’m Off! As usual for the trip from home to Toronto’s Pearson International, I booked an airport “limo” with Toronto
Venice: Introduction
Discovering Venice Venice in mid-January? Have I gone mad? I hope not. As a little boy, my first awareness of
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Eurostars Porto Centro (Porto, Portugal)
A Great Porto Base With Fantastic Staff We recently returned from a 5-night stay at this hotel. It was a
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My Story Charming Hotel Augusta (Lisbon, Portugal)
Cozy & Comfortable We had the pleasure of staying at My Story Charming Hotel Augusta for 7 nights. Our room
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Portugal: Links & Photos
For convenience, I’ve gathered the Lisbon and Porto travel links sprinkled throughout my Portugal blog and consolidated them here. For
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Portugal: Eats
A Food & Drink Guide To Our Portugal Trip LISBON RESTAURANTS(breakfast/lunch/dinner) Hamburgueria Burgers and TacosRua Augusta 96No surprises with a
Portugal: Closing Thoughts On The Trip
What A Great Trip! On the whole, this was a great trip. Aside from a few minor disappointments, everything went
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Porto: Day 6
Time to go home! We both had a rotten sleep last night as the air conditioning was not working properly
Porto: Day 5
Our last full day in Porto! We slept in a little this morning but got up at 9:00, showered and
Porto: Day 4
I was quite tired this morning, so we intentionally slept in a little. We got up at about 10:00AM, showered
Porto: Day 3
We got up at about 9:00 this morning, showered and went down to another plentiful breakfast in the hotel’s dining room.
Porto: Day 2
Our First Full Day in Porto We were up at 9:00AM this morning, showered and went down to the Eurostars
Porto: Day 1
Hello Porto! It was a pleasant, uneventful trip from Lisbon to Porto, although we paused and stopped several times at
Lisbon: Day 9
So Long Lisbon, Hello Porto! Time to leave Lisbon! We got up this morning at 7:30AM to shower but there