Everett Potter's Travel Report

9 Tips if You're Heading to the Olympics in Whistler

Heading to Whistler for the Olympics? Contributor Steve Jermanok gives you the rundown

1. Don't Rush

The two-hour drive from Vancouver to Whistler is on Highway 99, otherwise known as the Sea to Sky Highway.  Take your time and savor the exquisite scenery as you ride along the quiet shores of Howe Sound and then up into the high peaks. A good rest stop is Shannon Falls, where you can watch ice climbers pick their way up the iced-over falls with ax and crampons.

Four Seasons Whistler.

2. Worth the Splurge

Once in town, you'd be wise to drop your bags off at the Four Seasons.  In fact, you probably won't have much luggage if you booked the Four Seasons Ski Lite package, which provides skis, boots, poles, and the latest ski wear.  Upon your arrival, they'll outfit you and your waxed skis and pre-warmed boots will be waiting at the hotel's Ski Concierge Shop at the base of Blackcomb each morning. The sophisticated hotel also features a Ski Elite Program with one-on-one instruction for skiers, a concierge that works solely with teenagers, and, this being a Four Seasons, the requisite spa.


Lounge at Hostelling International Whistler.

3. On the Cheap 

You'll be lucky to get one of the 33 beds at Hostelling International Whistler this winter.  They usually book up by the end of fall for the entire winter season.  Yet if you do snag an opening, you'll be treated to a pleasant abode with deck and lawn on the shores of Alta Lake. In winter, they have a wood-burning stove, sauna, and drying room for ski gear. 

Smart Deals: Montreal at Half Price

The Deal: The world is divided between those who love Montreal in winter and those who, well, you get the point. For those of us who can't get enough of Montreal’s French style, lunch at Schwartz's and a last-minute table at L'Express bistro, the season is irrelevant. Now, 25 of Montreal's hotels are having a Sweet Deal a La Montreal, offering a second night at half price. Bring your mittens.

In Search of Value: The Drake Hotel, Toronto

Dining at The Drake.

Reviewed by Ed Wetschler

THE BACKSTORY:  By the 1980s Queen Street West was the pits. Between suburbanization and a mental health facility whose overflow filled the streets with characters who were forlorn, or worse, this east-west thoroughfare was run-down, to say the least. Sure, the neighborhood still had a century-old hotel, but it wasn't a hotel you'd have booked for your parents.
Jeff Stober, a computer guy who bought that hotel in 2001, has not only reinvented the property; he has created a gathering place that's revitalized the entire neighborhood. The Drake's eclectic design, artworks, lounges, restaurants, live music, and star power (yes, including Mick Jagger) attract the young and/or the hip every day, every night.

My Family Does the Falls

Maid of the Mist

By Shari Hartford

A multi-generational vacation is usually difficult to plan. Someone wants the beach, someone else craves culture and there's one in every crowd who pushes Disney World. But in our case the suggestion of Niagara Falls got a unanimous "Yes!"

A FINE ROMANCE: SEVEN ROMANTIC GEMS

   It seems like every hotel worthy of the name is pitching a Valentine's Day deal in this year of the recession. But the fact is that the best romantic getaways are romantic year round, not just on February 14. So forget about the legions of mediocre hotels and their bean counters tarting up rooms with champagne and chocolates to boost the bottom line.
    Here are seven of the most romantic places I've ever stayed. And I was fortunate to enjoy them in true romance-mode, with my wife. The litmus test: they're good enough for a great honeymoon (first or second) but not necessarily magnets for honeymooners, which is another matter indeed. And needless to say, there are no bargains to be had on February 14. So book for a month or two from now. These are published prices, so you can expect to do better.

The Interview: Anita Stewart, Culinary Activist

 It's the end of the harvest season in North America, and thus an opportune moment to speak with Canadian writer Anita Stewart. For decades, Stewart has been writing and speaking about the bounty of Canada. She's been dubbed the “patron saint of Canadian cuisine" by the National Post. Call her a "gastronomer" or "culinary activist" and you're on the money. Her latest book, her 11th if you’re counting, is Anita Stewart's Canada: The Food, The Recipes, The Stories (Harper Collins, 2008), a loving, photo-filled journey across that country.

    But beyond singing the praises of her native land, Stewart has spent years unearthing immigrant traditions, finding great chefs and discovering extraordinary restaurants. She’s someone who seems equally at home fly fishing for salmon in British Columbia and perusing the food markets of Toronto. Long before the concept of  "slow food" entered daily conversation, Stewart was an advocate of food grown and eaten locally. And of course, from a traveler's standpoint, one of the joys of going to Canada -- apart from the fact that the US dollar once again has buying power at $1.20 to it's Canadian counterpart --  is discovering just how amazing the food is at Vij's in Vancouver or at Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal. It about tasting extraordinary riesling on Vancouver Island and eating fresh seafood in Halifax, Nova Scotia.On November 12, Stewart received a lifetime achievement award from Cuisine Canada.
The award, called The Edna after culinary pioneer Edna Staebler, was presented during a ceremony at the Royal Winter Fair. I wanted to find out more, so I caught up with Stewart at her home in Elora, Ontario.

Can you give me a few examples of some truly Canadian dishes from "Anita's Stewart's Canada" that exemplify the bounty and diversity of the country.

This question really frames the book. For over 500 years Canada has welcomed immigrants who've built the second largest nation on earth. When they arrived they found a land already rich with ingredients but they also brought their own. Spices from the Caribbean, seasonings from Asia. They brought wheat and lentils and potatoes. The list is enormous. They also brought a whole series of very real food traditions which have remained intact largely because of the vast distances between the various communities stretched from coast to coast. In Cape Breton travelers can find marvelous oat cakes and Fat Archie's and maragan sausages (if they're lucky). In my own village we have buttery Gateau Basque prepared by a Roger Dufau, a chef from the southwest of France. The ingredients are absolutely all-Canadian. Literally across the road, a former math teacher from Kashmir prepares his Masala of Georgian Bay Whitefish with Fresh Mint Chutney. Georgian Bay provides magnificent whitefish and he grows most of the other ingredients in his large backyard garden. Canada is the world's largest exporter of pulses - lentils, chickpeas, etc. In Saskatoon, smack dab in the middle of lentil/wheat/canola country, Devini Desilva makes her Sri Lankan Dahl. Dead easy and totally delicious! The Japanese community in British Columbia has been there for well over a century. They came to fish. There's Gyoza stuffed with pork and seasoned with ginger; cucumber and seaweed salad to simple baked salmon blessed with soy and ginger.

The Interview: Trish Sare, BikeHike Adventures

  In the competitive world of adventure travel, the small adventure travel companies can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Which is a shame, because they can provide the ultimate in personalized service -- you're often dealing with owner of the company as you plan your trip. These small companies may also offer departures at a very attractive price, something to be grateful for in these tough economic times. Typically, these operators choose comfort over luxury when it comes to accommodations, and the best ones try to integrate you with the local culture rather than cocooning you in a fancy hotel.

Vancouver-based BikeHike Adventures is one of those companies. They have departures to 27 countries, many in Asia and Latin America. And their prices are in tune with the times. A 12-day "Paddle and Play" in Vietnam that combines mountain biking and sea kayaking is $2,299. And voluntourism takes on fresh meaning with "Ecuador- Adventures with a Purpose," an 11-day trip that combines days of community service with mountain biking, rafting, sea kayaking and hiking and costs $2,199.

Trips like these are why BikeHike Adventures was singled out as "One of the Best Outfitters in the World" by National Geographic Adventure in 2007. I ran into company founder Trish Sare in Brazil last month and decided to follow up with her when I returned to the States.

So Trish, where are you now?

At present, I am in Vancouver, British Columbia. I've recently returned from three weeks in boisterous Brazil, which was fabulous. I was at the Adventure Travel World Summit conference, the cream of the crop of this industry, as well as designing some new BikeHike Adventures.

What makes BikeHike Adventures stand out in the rather crowded field of adventure travel?

We want our clients to interact first hand with the local people, by riding their bicycles alongside the locals, stopping into family houses along the way when we get invited to try a local delicacy, or attending an impromptu wedding because we've just been invited by the locals. I want to offer those types of experiences to our travelers, not the staged "tourist experience," but real life encounters. We are a business, but more importantly, we are an experience and we've developed a community of friends to share those experiences with.

Train Time: Adventures on the Rails

-Richard West

An automobile is just a mobile box, airliners isolating metal tubes whizzing through space. But a train is its own world with great character: mysterious, romantic, and, yes, also ordinary but where commonplace actions can gain a new perspective. When we travel by rail the train itself, unlike the car, bus, or airplane, plays a major role. For these reasons, and more, travel writers have been drawn to writing about their train adventures. After Paul Theroux's very successful The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), others followed: 

..."The Big Red Train Ride: A Ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway," by Eric Newby (1978): Newby and wife Wanda rock and sway 5,900 miles across the former Soviet Union, from Moscow to Nakhodka, at that time on the only continuous land route from Western Europe to the USSR'S Pacific coast.

10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT BANFF AND LAKE LOUISE: The Canadian Rockies in Late Winter

(Banff Springs Hotel)

By Ed Wetschler

Go to Banff and Lake Louise next week. This isn't some out-of-left-field imperative; this is good advice. And not just for skiers. March may be the most beautiful month of all in the Canadian Rockies, and given the region's grandeur from late spring through midwinter -- I'm talking scenery that gives you cramps in your shutter finger--that's saying something. The pristine peaks, forests, and lakes are still covered with white stuff, but the midday mercury averages about 40 degrees F, and the sun brightens your day until around 7:40 or even later.

It's a brilliant sun, too. When I was in Banff last week, I used sunscreen on my nose that first day but forgot to put it on my ears. By 3 p.m. the ears looked like Melba toast. Dumb, but I'm happy to report that everything else I did was smart, even brilliant. Which brings me to those 10 reasons for visiting Banff now:

THE PERFECT ESCAPE: MONTREAL

The old cliche is that Montreal is like a quick trip to Paris. So much for old cliches. No one in Montreal will correct your French. The architecture, apart from the cobblestone theatrics of Old Montreal, is a tag sale of skyscraper, student and serious design. And while it may be the second largest French-speaking city in the world, it is an energetic one-off, a hybrid where 20 percent of the locals are Anglophones and the other 20 percent are busy speaking Lebanese, Syrian or Creole. If you're looking for a French museum piece, travel north to Quebec City.

"Montreal is a bit of Brussels and Barcelona, with an attitude like Copenhagen's," says fashion designer and native Montrealer Philippe Dubuc. "It is a small, concentrated city, the cultural metropolis of Canada. There 's almost too much creative talent here for the population."

With one foot in Europe and one in North America, this city that was founded by the French and conquered by the English has long performed a cultural pas de deux. In Montreal, you can shop for French and Quebec fashions, eat foie gras and frites, and do some serious clubbing until the sun rises over the St Lawrence River, which surrounds this island city. Flirting, not hockey, is the city's major sport. (Photo credit: Tourisme Montreal, Stephan Poulin)

 

The Deal: Hotel Gault, Montreal, Quebec

THE BACKSTORY:

There are two words to ponder when speaking about the Hotel Gault: minimalist and boutique. I'm partial to minimalist design, but these days, "minimal" in many hotels is another way of saying that "there was nothing left over in the budget for furniture." As for "boutique," I've seen it applied to hotels with hundreds of shoebox rooms. The term is now thrown about to characterize any hotel with a front desk staff with attitude, uniforms and room temperature IQ's. So imagine my surprise at discovering the Hotel Gault, a former textile warehouse in Old Montreal with an exterior that looks like a 19th century bank. Inside, it's minimal with a vengeance, as in concrete, brushed steel and blond wood. The front desk seemingly doubles as a coffee/drinks bar, and there's a ramp leading to a library filled with architecture and design tomes. Self conscious? Well, yes, but it works. And at 30 rooms, it fits my idea of boutique as well. As for the staff, they were smart, personable and likeable. Incroyable!

The Deal: The Fairmont Empress, Victoria, BC

THE BACKSTORY: The fact that you can look out of your window in the stately Empress hotel and watch sea planes take off and ferries come and go is high praise in my book. This dowager overlooking Victoria's busy harbor offers old fashioned comfort. It feels like one of those venerable Scottish railway hotels, and indeed, it was built by Canadian Pacific in 1908, back in the days when that railroad company was erecting similar structures like the Banff Springs and the Chateau Frontenac. The Empress was, in fact, built to serve the passengers brought by Canadian Pacific's steamship line. The hotel's endless corridors, the mahogany paneling and the chandeliers still seem redolent of those bygone times.