Winter Wonderlands

When it comes time to celebrate the snow, a few of us run for cover, and scarcely can be found outside our homes, where we are usually tucked under layers of blankets, and are nursing a glass of red wine, or a hot cup of cocoa. But there are a few things that can entice even those of us that hibernate for extended periods of time to emerge from our hideaways. This is a collection of some of those things:

The Hotel de Glace - Quebec

This unique hotel is made completely of ice. Before you spend the night, they invite you to come for a walkthrough, where they will take you for a guided tour of the hotel. When you decide that you are up to the challenge, you will find that the bed frame is made of solid ice, although the box spring and mattress are normal so to speak! When you are ready for bed, an artic sleeping bag is delivered to your room, for you to snuggle into for the night. Definitely a unique experience not to be missed.

Banff Springs Hotel - Alberta

This castle of the Rockies has long been a favorite of mine, with amazing service and a roaring fireplace around every corner in the depths of winter. This castle gets transformed into something out of the pages of a fairytale around winter, with garland strung from every staircase, and mistletoe hanging in quite a few doorways! An outdoor pool and large open concept lounge with floor to roof windows will help you get through those long winter days and nights.

Four Seasons - Whistler, BC

This 5 star resort is not quite like any other in Whistler. With sweeping walks and the hotel itself hidden among the base of Blackcomb Mountain, this is a hotel made for those that want to hide from winter, and those who want to revel in it. With some of the best skiing right outside your doorstep, and some of the most comfortable lodge like lounges and sitting rooms overlooking the mountains, this is a home away from home that you will never want to leave.

There are many more getaways that will beckon sun lovers out of their homes, but these are my favorite. If you have some that you feel I have missed, please let me know!

Snow in the Rockies

After a fun filled, sun drenched holiday in Florida, I have returned to my 'home' of the moment in Calgary to find it covered in a thin layer of cold white frozen stuff. As much as I love the sun, I must say I do harbor a fair amount of the opposite emotion towards snow.

It makes things beautiful, but people forget how to drive in it, and it's just plain cold. If we could have the fun of snow, while enjoying the warmth of the sun and summer, I would enjoy it as much as any other person!

But sliding around in a car, avoiding icy patches that are staring you in the face, falling on my butt because it was plus 10 this morning, and icy rain is coating everything this evening type of days, do not actually do anything to win me any favor.

Seeing as winter is the option that we are stuck with on this part of the equator and world, I have decided to put together a list of the best places to go while it's snowing. Keep a look out, it will be posted soon, with some old favorites, and some new tidbits that might even have me smiling about the snow. Maybe.

Top 5 All Inclusive Destinations

Well, it seems that the craziness of All Inclusive season has begun, and people are looking for deals that should be accompanying the recession that we are supposedly still a part of. The strange thing is, we are still traveling. En Masse. That has not changed. Flights are not empty, and although hotels aren't near capacity, they are still making enough to charge a decent rate.

Where are the hot destinations this year? Well it's hard to say. Hurricane season is still if full swing when it comes to the Mayan Riveria, as well as Cabo San Lucas. The weather has finally turned nice in Canada, as well as the United States (minus the West Coast where fires are burning uncontrollably with no real end in sight.) and people are wondering if it's too early to head down to the beach.

5. Bahamas

- Over rated and over priced - especially if you are coming from the Western part of Canada. A 7 day all inclusive package easily gets reduced to 5 when you figure that you have to spend two full days traveling. The resorts are few and far in between, unless you have the pocketbook to stay at a place like Sandals or Atlantis. I would suggest another destination for you 1 week sun seekers.

Varadero

4., Cuba

- The food, not so great. The resorts, can leave some people wondering where their money went. But the real reason that this destination is so low on the list? The lack of American influence. While Mexico may be too American, a little salt and pepper would go a long way to making this a top tier destination to visit.

3. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

- Beautiful beaches and beautiful resorts. This is a laid back version of my number 1 pick. Still a great place to go, I just feel that it is overrated at the moment. Too many people are going, and too many resorts are dropping their prices to get the masses in. Leave it for a good three years and the budget seeking travelers will have found a new destination.

2. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

- While I'm not struck on Mexico as a whole, this little gem is well worth the time and money to visit. Not a tourist trap, and focusing on the high end resorts that cater to those that want to be pampered, this is a great place to go to sit on the beach, eat good food and recharge the batteries before heading back to Canada, the land of snow and work.

1. Negril, Jamacia

- The land of the party, this is a great destination for everyone! Lacking the American influence that is so standard in most of resort laden Mexico, Negril has it all. Amazing beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see, cliff jumping for the not so faint at heart. There is also zip lining, atv'ing, bartering with the locals, it has it all. But be warned, this place is not for the reserved. The Jamacians, although they are a fun loving people, are known to be loud and in your face and won't take no for an answer!

Summer in the Rockies.

I never thought I would miss the Calgary Summers, and to tell you the truth, I still don't.  What I do miss are the beautiful and majestic mountains that oversee us, bringing us their magnificence in a way that is completely understated and yet strangely powerful.

Escaping to them brings a sense of calm, and a sense of fulfillment, allowing oneself to enjoy the quiet peacefulness that being away from the city brings.  Mind you if you never stray far from the highway, and are only on a hair brained trip to the next big city centre, you will probably find that these are just large obstacles that would be so much nicer if they weren't in your way.  But take a step off the beaten path, and you will discover all that they offer.

From Canmore, in it's little town feel, sitting just over an hour from Calgary, and outside the National Park, with it's amazing pubs like the Rose and Crown, and quaint outdoor art galleries on the weekends, to Banff, with it's tourist pull and large 'Chinaman's Peak' overseeing it.  (This peak has been a PC nightmare, and has been re-named, but for those localites that live and breathe the air here, it will forever be known as just this.  Nothing else.)  Banff has been slightly overrun by the chains, but still maintains it's small town charm with places like the rock and gem store and the candy store which is a must do whenever in town.

Following the road further out, we get into the heart of the rockies.  From Jasper and Lake Louise, to further reaching places just over the border.  Far enough away to be a holiday, but close enough that you don't need all month to enjoy.  

I know that my travels will be taking me further into the rockies before the snow starts to fly, and brings me back to the city reality, but let's pray for an indian summer, and miles of open road in front of us.

Hotel Barcelona Princess - 5*

I have to say, my recent stay in Barcelona was made amazing by the incredible staff at the Hotel Barcelona Princess. They were attentive, and helpful through everything, including setting me up with internet in my room, free of charge, as well as borrowing me an adapter so that I could charge my camera to keep taking my hundreds of photos as I toured through the city.

They even helped pay for my taxi when I arrived at the hotel, walletless after being pick-pocketed on La Ramblas. They were friendly and remembered me, even with the large conference that was going on in the hotel, making me feel right at home - no matter how many people had looked at me strange as I attempted to speak Spanish!

The food in the hot breakfast buffet was incredible, although slightly different from what we are used to over here! Cold cuts, cold toast (it's the way they eat it over there), fresh fruit (rather than fried breakfast items) and a large selection of juices were only a few of the things that were there, ready to tempt the taste buds and keep me going for my long days wandering.

The rooms were incredible, with comfortable beds, black out blinds that made sleeping incredibly easy, and some of the nicest showers that I have found through all my European trips. It even made my shower at home look weak in comparison!

I would highly recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a hotel in a quieter part of Barcelona with excellent metro access, and a fairly affordable taxi ride home. A 5* in my books all the way.

(As per other reviews on TripAdvisor, the hotels are remarkably slow, but this is a small price to pay for the incredible service and amazing accomodation.)

Barcelona

Recently, I returned from a whirlwind holiday to Barcelona.  I don't know if I can ultimately call it a holiday, as I was there to attend a conference, but it was an amazing glimpse into a completely different world.  In North America, we are blessed to be able to speak English, no matter where we go, whether it is in Canada, America, or even Mexico.  

In Europe, you can be speaking Portuguese in Portugal, Spanish in Spain, and French in France.  And that's all in one day.  In Canada, we can travel for days, weeks or even months and still not get out of Canada.  In Europe or the United Kingdom, you can hop on a train and be in a different country in less than two hours.  

And that's not even mentioning the other differences we will encounter.  In Barcelona, the standard fare for breakfast was bacon, eggs and chips.  (That's fries for those of you not versed in the British word for fries.)  But don't think that obesity is an epidemic over there.  With Bicycles for rent by the hour, day or week, you don't need a car to get around this city.  And driving is not for the faint of heart, with one way streets with only inches to spare.  As they used to say in London, an inch in between vehicles and another one can sneak in.

While I was blessed to visit the other sights, which I will touch on, in another blog to come, the differences are what makes traveling such a blessing.  Learning what we admire about our own country, by experiencing others.  What better way to discover a new way of appreciating all that is outside our own doorsteps.

Travel Agents and Their Expertise.

I have a travel agent that I use.  It's not that I can't do everything myself on the internet, it's that I enjoy having someone else's opinion on things.  It's that I like having someone do some of my work for me.  Again, this isn't saying that I can't do everything myself.  It's that I have other things to do.  

But seeing as my travel agent works for me, planning my trip and doing research, whether it's to book a $400.00 Westjet flight from Vancouver to Montreal, or a $4,000 holiday to Sandals, they do the work.  And I realize that they have to get paid for this work.

Although we know this in the back of our minds (We all get paid for the work that we do as well), we still don't want to pay them for their hard work.  I was sitting in Flight Centre the other day waiting for my consultant, and wondering where I was going next, and of course, over hearing the conversations that were going on in the office.

There was one lady on the phone, trying to explain to a client that the flight was booked, and non refundable, and that unfortunately, prices can change - which they can.  If that client had booked her flight online one day, and then the prices went on sale the next day, she would have had to deal with it.  But because she had a travel agent, she called to complain and ruin her day.

Another consultant was sitting with a couple for about 30 minutes going over the benefits of going to one all inclusive destination over another.  Once the undecided couple had decided on their destination, the agent spent another 20 minutes going over resort options with the couple.  At the end of all that, they stood up, and stated that they could find better prices online.  

I couldn't believe it, and I still can not believe how well these agents deal with their clients antics.  So in writing this blog, I hope to point out that if you want the cheapest price, do it yourself, but be prepared to deal with every little thing that goes wrong yourself.  If you like having someone deal with all the little pain in the ass details that we usually screw up (I'm a master of booking wrong days it seems) then pay a little more, and be thankful for the exceptional service that a good travel agent will give you.