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Toronto, The Culinary Capital of Canada

We’re headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake this morning to start our bike trip. Yesterday, I was fortunate to spend Victoria Day in one of my favorite cities to dine, Toronto. No need to travel the world to find varying culture when you can simply walk around Toronto’s ethnically diverse neighborhoods. Start with dim sum in Chinatown, where we dined at Rol San on Spadina (worth the wait). Or grab a traditional walnut cake in Koreatown, head to Greektown for helpings of saganaki and lamb souvlaki, order a cappuccino at one of the outdoor cafés in Little Italy, find chicken tikka masala at the Indian Bazaar in Little India, and dine on your fair share of pierogies and borscht in Little Poland, or “Ronceys,” as the locals call it. If you’re looking for more innovative multicultural fare, sample the sublime Duck Egg dish at Café Boulud, Daniel Boulud’s French restaurant at the new Four Seasons Toronto. Or venture to the Parkdale neighborhood to try the tasty smoke trout at Keriwa Café, the Native Canadian restaurant that I recently wrote about for The Washington Post. 
 

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Toronto’s Emerging South Core Neighborhood

As soon as my Porter Airlines flight arrived at Toronto Island Airport and I took the 2-minute ferry ride over to the city, I noticed the numerous cranes tilting towards the sky. Toronto has a mind-boggling 180 high-rises currently under construction, more than the combined building efforts currently underway in New York and Mexico City, which along with LA are the three cities that have a larger population than Toronto in North America. A good chunk of that construction are office buildings and condos going up in the South Core neighborhood, where I’m spending the week at the Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square. This is the entertainment corridor, bookend on one side by the Air Canada Centre, home to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors; and on the other side by the Rogers Centre, originally known as the SkyDome, where the Toronto Blue Jays play their home games under the retractable roof.

 On my first day here, Jason Kucherawy, owner of Tour Guys and guide at Toronto Urban Adventures, took me on his “Teams, Trains, and Tower Tour,” a walking tour that’s offered to the public for free (simply tip the guide). His first stop was right behind the hotel at the sports bar ESPN called the best in all of Canada, Real Sports Bar and Grill. Hundreds of folks were inside watching college football games on the largest high-definition television in the country. Then we walked along Bremner Boulevard to see Toronto’s newest attraction, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada (which I’ll describe later this week), backed by the CN Tower. Across the street is the historic John Street Roundhouse, now home to the Toronto Railway Museum. Next door is Steam Whistle Brewing, known for their one beer, a crisp, cool pilsner. If you like your brew, you’ll want to know about Jason’s other tour, a pub crawl. Other favorites include tours geared to bacon lovers, graffiti aficionados, and this being the Halloween season, ghost tours. 
 
One of our clients highly recommended Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square after we put his family of four up there this summer. The location is excellent for seeing the Toronto sights, rooms are spacious, a continental breakfast is included in the price, and there’s a cozy lounge downstairs, Play, that features local microbrews and Montreal smoked meat sandwiches. What I especially love is that there’s no bottled water. You simply fill your pitcher up with filtered water in the hallway, next to the complimentary apples. Sustainable practices along with great service (the concierge Chris and Susan can answer any question) are the reasons why the Quebec-owned Germain brand is growing across Canada, with 10 properties in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, and Calgary and another 4 under construction. 
 
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Lake George Week—Why I Return Every Summer

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking about my career as a travel writer at 15 state travel conferences, including Mississippi, Louisiana, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Nevada. Talking to publicists, hotel owners, outfitters, and heads of city CVBs, I discuss how to attract travel writers to a destination and how to entice them to return throughout their career, continuously turning out stories for magazines, newspapers, and blogs. At every one of those speeches, I’ve included this paragraph:

 
“I don’t need anyone to pitch me on the Adirondacks in upstate New York, because that’s where I grew up. And this is an important aspect to take away from this talk. You can pitch a writer up the wazoo on a locale, but a writer always returns to a region of the world he know and loves. This is the place he cherishes and where he or she tends to weave their best yarns. We writers tend to be nostalgic. I’ve been sailing Lake George in the Adirondacks since I was a toddler and I will always return. It’s a very special retreat for me. I have always written about the Adirondacks and will continue to write about that place whether someone pitches me or not. Because I yearn to get back there.”
 
Lake George, a wondrous 32-mile-long lake nestled in the mountains, is my home away from home, where I can truly relax. I can pick up my boyhood Schenectady Gazette at the local grocery, grab a cup of Joe, and head back to the shores of the lake to chill. If I’m a feeling a bit hungry in the morning, I’ll drive to Lone Bull for a huge stack of pancakes. Then it’s off to Goony Golf for a round of miniature golf, a sea kayak paddle around the Sagamore, or playing on the high ropes course of Adirondack Extreme. The finest vacation is often the one you return to each year, not having to worry about new sites to see or restaurants to try. Things rarely change on the shores of Lake George and that’s exactly why I love it. 
 
This week I’m happy to be blogging live from Lake George, divulging my favorite ways to get on the water and hikes that will reward you with spectacular vistas of the lake. I’ll talk about Georgia O’Keeffe’s years on the lake and how the region inspired artists from as far back as the Hudson River School crowd. I’ll also talk about lodging and restaurants, including staying at the classic Sagamore and dining at the Grist Mill in nearby Warrensburg. You can also follow me on Twitter @ActiveTravels. Thanks for checking in!
 
(Photo by Lisa Leavitt)
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Adventure Cruises, No Longer an Oxymoron

I’m in the midst of writing a story for The Boston Globe on how cruise lines are adding more and more active shore excursions for their clientele. For years, cruise lines were the antithesis of an active lifestyle, catering to a sedentary clientele who were far more fixated on the buffet tables. That’s changed dramatically in the past 3 to 5 years. Cruise brokers like Todd Smith, owner of AdventureSmithExplorations, feature small cruise lines whose specialty is getting people off the ship for a dose of adventure. Next spring, they’re unveiling two ships in Alaska, the M/V Wilderness Adventurer and M/V Wilderness Discoverer, that will feature overnight hiking and sea kayaking jaunts, white water rafting, and fishing charters that pick you up right from the boat. Each ship only carries 49 passengers, which helps them cater to your every whim.

 

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The Taconic Introduces Adult Summer Camps

The latest addition to Kimpton Hotels in New England, the Taconic in Manchester, Vermont, has just announced an adults-only summer camp that takes full advantage of its locale. Offered during two sessions, June 23-26 and August 25-28, adults can participate in such activities as a guided hike in the Battenkill Valley, kayaking and tubing down the Battenkill River, a glassblowing class at Manchester Hot Glass, kite-making and flying at the Southern Vermont Arts Center, afternoon escapes to secret swimming holes in the area, a picnic lunch at Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, and yoga on Taconic’s expansive lawn. Since this is an adults-oriented summer camp, also expect s’mores, scotch, and sing-alongs by the campfire. Your camp counselor will even deliver bugle wake-up calls and “lights out” warnings. The cost to attend Camp Taconic is $1,400 for one person or $2,100 per couple, which includes accommodations for 3 nights and all meals and activities.

 
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Top 5 Paddling Spots in America, Adirondack State Park, New York

The weather in Boston has been sunny and warm this past, which, believe me, is a rarity in spring. It’s a great time to grab a canoe and paddle one of the rivers or lakes before the mosquitoes start to swarm. This week I’m going to discuss my top 5 places to paddle in America. First up, the Adirondacks in upstate New York.

The countless rivers, lakes, and ponds in the Adirondacks are connected by short trails, resulting in a seemingly endless combination of canoeing options. One of the finest is a 4-day figure eight loop in the St. Regis Canoe Area that includes eight ponds and the Upper and Middle Saranac Lakes. Creeks, inundated with beaver dams and lily pads, connect the placid waters of the ponds. Mountains hovering over 2500 feet surround the lakes. St. Regis Canoe Outfitters will help plan an itinerary and provide all the necessary amenities for a canoe trip including canoe, paddles, maps, tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags. 
 

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Free National Park App

This one comes from my wife, Lisa Leavitt, from her Tuesday Travel Tidbits column. If you’re not receiving the Tuesday Travel Tidbits or our monthly newsletters, send us your email and we’ll put you on the list. Until May 12, Chimani, a Yarmouth, Maine based company, will be offering free apps for Apple and Android users, who want guidance in the National Parks. Usually $4.99 to $9.99, the apps provide trail maps, ranger-led events, biking guides, and even the ever-important directions to find the restrooms in the parks! We have been very busy booking many of our clients on trips to the National Parks this summer, so this will come in handy. Some of the parks that Chimani covers are: Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion National Parks. 

 

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