Category: travel

Toronto HOLIDAY in December

On By Rick McIn Art and beauty, movies, sport - pro, travel, TVLeave a comment

Having traveled over 90 nations, IF you asked me where to go in December … near bottom of the list would be Toronto, OnTerrible. 😀

Yet for reasons I’m too embarrassed to relate, I ended up staying in a downtown hostel for 5 nights.

ON THE UPSIDE, the Planet Traveler Hostel in Kensington Market is excellent. I knew the eclectic Kensington neighbourhood from the  Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.

The STAR of King of Kensington was Al Waxman, a household name in those days.

Waxman died in 2001 — but there’s a statue of him in a neighbourhood park. Crowded by homeless tents.

I really did enjoy funky Kensington, however. Weird shops, cafes, and restaurants.

I went looking for the #GardenCar. And found it.

There’s a lot of bad graffiti. And some excellent art.

My best meal was slow cooked ribs and brisket from Hogtown Smoke. I brought it back to the hostel where the wine was cheap. 😀

What do you do in a big city during wet, dark winter?

Photo by Vincent Albos on Pexels.com

MOVIES. MUSEUMS. STAGE PLAY. WALK. WALK. WALK.

First stop was an immersive van Gogh exhibit.

I attended my second NBA game ever. Toronto defeated the defending Champion Bucks — who were without their MVP Giannis that night.

My first visit to the Royal Ontario Museum was a surprise. Expensive. But excellent. The space compares well against the Prado in Madrid, for example.

My highlight? Light of the Desert, the world’s largest faceted cerussite gem, weighing 898 carats (179.6 g).

By Miranda1989

Next December? … Hawaii. 😀

“My Name Is Rek” 

Visiting the Prado

On By Rick McIn Art and beauty, travelLeave a comment

Mike Sisson’s favourite work in the Prado Museum, Madrid, is Las Meninas (‘The Ladies-in-waiting‘) by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age.

It’s one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting.

5-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa is surrounded by her entourage. The artist is stage left. I like how the entire top half of the painting is wall and ceiling. 😀

Margaret Theresa died age-21.

For some reason, the painting below by Antonio Fabrés jumped out at me.
The Slave Girl. Of course it seems to more be his  erotic fantasy — not anything to do with slavery.

“El Greco“ moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577. So different than anything that had come before that he’s considered unique. Imaginative, colourful and … weird. So different than the endless portraits and dark religious paintings of the day.

Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta caught my eye.

The model for nearly all of the female figures in his genre paintings was Aline Masson, the daughter of the doorman at the Paris residence of the Marqués de Casa Riera.

Google Maps – LIVE view

On By Rick McIn Google, product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

In the tangled web of European old city cobbled streets, I used LIVE view for the first time.

A preview of the augmented reality we’ll all be using soon.

NOW … Google Maps often screws up. LIVE view often doesn’t work. But when it does, it’s a game changer for those frequently lost. Like me. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I’ve also used Google Map LISTS for the first time. Very handy.

Time Out Market, Lisbon

On By Rick McIn food, travel3 Comments

Best advice when visiting Lisbon is to eat MOST of your meals at Time Out.

It’s a massive place where you have a lot of choices at reasonable prices.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Over a couple of weeks, I ate there perhaps 6 times.

My favourite was something billed as a traditional Portuguese meat sandwich. I tried several variations.

Last time I Portugal, my favourite was the Francesinha ( ‘Little French Girl’). It’s a high calorie feed.

My friend Paulo recommended I try a traditional Portuguese light lunch. Cod croquettes alongside a beans dish.

Of course PORK is a mainstay in Spain and Portugal. This was a delicious dish … of some kind.

The traditional desert is a custard tart.

Tree to Sea Bike Touring Loop, Vancouver Island

On By Rick McIn cycling, travel1 Comment

I’m looking forward to exploring the northern half of Vancouver Island by bike.

Sometime.

I’ll do some variation of the Tree to Sea Loop, 1000-kilometres on gravel around the lesser-known areas on the north end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It’s 90% unpaved.

Highlights include massive valleys, oceanside villages, towering coastal mountains, and deep fjords via an impressive patchwork of forest service roads.

Right now the route requires a water taxi from Tahsis to Zeballos, which will be replaced by the Unity Trail that will eventually connect the two communities.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Birthday Party in LISBON

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travel2 Comments

I’m 64-years-young on November 2nd.

I’ll be celebrating in Lisbon, Portugal. You know — the most vaccinated nation in the world? 😇

No quarantine. No covid test. BLAST. Connecting in Montreal, I was one of about 10 connecting passengers informed that we did need a Covid test before getting on the plane. I got a 20 minute test at the airport for $150. Very confusing as Portugal allows vaccinated passengers to arrive without a test on TAP airlines and others. I blame Air Transat for poor communication.

I’ll be hiking famed Fisherman’s Trail. And Seven Hanging Valleys.

Renting a touring bicycle from BikeIberia.

BUT if anyone asks, I’m there mainly looking to get some dental work done. North American dentists are the most overpaid in the world.

searching for a dentist

As usual, I’m flying to Europe on Air Transat. Cheapest by far — BUT they don’t have many flights / week.

As it happens, I celebrated my 53rd birthday in Porto, Portugal. So this is something of a re-do.

Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon 

On By Rick McIn friends, gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

I lived in the ‘toon for 10 years. After pandemic delays, I finally got back to visit my longtime friends there.

The big skies at dawn and dusk have a unique prairie beauty.

I been hangin’ around grain elevators
I been learnin’ ’bout food
I been talkin’ to soil farmers
I been workin’ on land

Warren took me disc golfing. NOW I’m planning to buy some discs of my own.

Cycling Scottish “Bothies”

On By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

Alastair Humphreys likes to cycle to remote huts in Scotland.

The Mountain Bothies Association administers about 100 such huts.

“… No tap, no sink, no beds, no lights, and, even if there is a fireplace, perhaps nothing to burn …”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Finding BEST Flights on Google Sites

On By Rick McIn product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

I’ve booked a number of flights lately.  #PandemicOver 😀

I ALWAYS start with Matrix Airfare Search by ITA Software  A few companies — e.g. Southwest — opted not to be included. 

Even if my date of flight is fixed, I always start with “See calendar of lowest fares”.

Clicking around, once I have the price, date, details (usually AC or WJ), I go directly to the airline website to book the flight.  One. Less. Middleman.  

I try to avoid booking on a series of airlines as — when something goes wrong — each blames you and the other airline for your woes.

Google Matrix originally let you book flights.  But the airlines complained so they dropped that feature.

If I can’t get the price promised on Matrix, I try Expedia or one of the other aggregators.  Once in a while they have a block of cheaper tickets no longer available directly from the airline. 

If that’s too confusing, here’s a comprehensive tutorial. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.



Recently I used another Google flight site, deciding to fly to Lisbon on November 1st from Calgary.  

From that page you can click from any country to any continent. From Canada to Europe, for example.

As usual, Air Transat was the cheapest way to get to Europe from Canada.