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May is the Month to Visit Ottawa

If you never had the chance to visit Canada’s capital city of Ottawa, then you’ve missed out on seeing North America’s only version of the Changing of the Guard ceremony, the morning ritual where dozens of red-coated soldiers with bearskin hats parade down city streets to the lawn of Parliament Hill. The best month to visit the city is in May during the Canadian Tulip Festival. From May 4-21, over three million tulips bloom in Ottawa. Visitors can sample food and entertainment from around the world at the International Pavilion, located near Commissioners Park, where 300,000 tulips bloom alone. Later in the month, Dutch tulips give way to a Dutch painter named Vincent Van Gogh. From May 25 to September 3, the National Gallery of Canada will present Van Gogh: Up Close, which explores the artist’s representation of nature. Visitors can marvel at 45 of Van Gogh’s paintings, including The Iris. Afterwards, reenergize with a BeaverTail. This wholewheat pastry, cooked in canola oil, and topped with a variety of savory toppings like chocolate, jam, pie filling, or cinnamon, is available year-round in Ottawa’s ByWard Market neighborhood. 
 

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The Caped Crusader of Birds, the Razorbill Auk

I was in Maine last week researching an article on birding for Yankee Magazine. My wife and I took a boat from a small fishing village in Down East Maine, Cutler, 10 miles off the coast to the southernmost nesting spot of the Atlantic puffin, Machias Seal Island. As soon as we arrived on the rocky shores, the plump black and white birds were whizzing over our heads finding herring to bring back to their young. We got close enough to the puffin to see its colorful beak, which was worth the ride over in the fog. However, we were also there to see another highlight, the black-hooded razorbill auk. A bright white line can be found under the bird’s eye. Contrasting with its sleek black head, the bird has the look of a superhero straight out of Marvel Comics. It was just as mesmerizing as the puffin to view. You can venture out to Machias Seal Island on a 4 to 5-hour jaunt with Captain Andy Patterson.
 

(Photo by Lisa Leavitt)

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Grabbing Drinks in Zurich West at Frau Gerolds Garten

After dropping our bags off at our boutique hotel, Marktgasse, in Old Town, we went on a wonderful walking tour of Zurich’s historic core before grabbing lunch at Kaiser’s Reblaube, a wood-paneled restaurant locaed in a house that dates from 1260. Both hotel and restaurant, I would highly recommend. We checked out the vast chocolate selection at the resplendant Globus food court before getting on a train to visit the burgeoning Zurich West neighborhood, a favorite local hangout after work. Nestled under the train tracks behind the container tower that is the corporate headquarters of Freitag bags, we found Frau Gerolds Garten, an oasis in a former industrial park. Craft shops, a restaurant, large outdoor beer garden, even a surfing pool, are now situated outside the confines of old factory buildings. We ordered mojitos and grabbed a seat at the picnic table, taking in the ambience. Then wandered over to Freitag to walk up the tower of shipping containers and see their innovative bags made of truck tarps, inner tubes and seat belts. A fun outing with the locals. 

 
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Boston Ski Deals

I headed to the Boston Ski Show this past weekend and found some decent deals. If you book by 11/23/11, you can get round-trip tickets on American Airlines from Boston to Steamboat, Colorado for $300 round trip. You can also save an additional 20% on lifts and lodging. Steamboat has one of the premier teen programs in the States. “Rough Rider” clinics are offered daily for kids 13-18. Afterwards, teens can mingle among themselves in Night Owls, partaking in such activities as tubing and indoor climbing. Or drag the entire family over to Steamboat Springs for a look at an authentic Wild West town. Closer to home, Omni Mount Washington Hotel and neighboring Bretton Woods Ski Area are offering a Stay Here, Ski Free package. Simply book a room and you receive free lift tickets. Book by December 15th and mention the promo code “BOSSKI.” 

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Head to Historic Banning Mills to Try the Tallest Climbing Wall in the World

Hey Georgians, take a break from your holiday shopping this Saturday and head 45 minutes outside of Atlanta to Historic Banning Mills. Representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records will be on hand to verify that the new Banning Mills climbing wall is indeed the tallest in the world. Give the wall your best shot and then try the largest zipline canopy tour in America. More than 40 ziplines span over 7 miles of course. That means you can be out there for eight hours, flying high above the Snake River and its exquisite gorge and not sample the same zipline twice!

I’ll be heading south this next week to kayak, bike, and hike in the Everglades. I’ll be back on December 20th. Have a great week and keep active!

 

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Family Surf Camp in Costa Rica

A well-known destination for eco-adventurers, Costa Rica’s abundant wildlife, warm beaches, and natural beauty are hardly a secret. However, the small surf town of Montezuma is home to a little-known gem of a property that delivers all that Costa Rica has to offer, and so much more. This spring we took the kids to Peaks N’ Swells for a week of family surf camp. The coaches were so instructive and encouraging that I was up and riding on green waves the first week! My boys, ages 6 and 8, were able to paddle out into the white water, turn around and catch waves all on their own. 
 
After a full day on the water, we would return to the beachfront villas for a dip in the pool, fresh coconut water directly from the “pipa,” homemade chips & salsa, and mangos picked from trees on the property. The kids occupied themselves hunting for the howler monkeys that swing through the property while the adults enjoyed daily yoga on the patio. Though the villas do have kitchens, most nights we opted to have a local woman come in and cook. There is no restaurant that could beat sitting down family style to feast on Nora’s fish tacos and homemade arroz con leche. Peaks N’ Swells delivered everything we were looking for in a family vacation. It was active, cultural, educational, and adventurous…but most important, it was a blast. We’ve already booked our return trip.
 
Written by Guest Blogger Emily Bradbury
 
 
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London’s Savoy is Finally Open Again

On the way back from Nairobi, I had a 12-hour overnight in London, just enough time to check out The Savoy. The grande dame reopened on 10/10/10 after a 3-year renovation, with Prince Charles on hand to do the ribbon cutting. Now under the helm of the Fairmont, they enhanced the Edwardian and Art Deco design so all that polished silver and lacquered onyx shines again. We had a casual dinner of tuna sandwiches in the Thames Foyer next to a large winter garden gazebo under a glass cupola. Across the room, a woman was belting out “All That Jazz” from the stage of the Beaufort Bar, the same spot where Gershwin first played “Rhapsody in Blue.” That night in the American Bar, the classic cocktail lounge that came to fame in the 30s, Jerry Hall was supposedly in the house near a photograph of a younger Jerry Hall shot by photographer Terry O’Neil. Conveniently located on the Strand in the heart of the Theater District, the Savoy is hopping once again, so stop by for dinner, drinks, or afternoon tea and you’ll probably be staying the night like Richard Harris often did. In fact, there’s now a suite named after him.
 

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