Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Nervous and Excited - My First Solo Trip in 20 Years!!!

So I am leaving to go to Cuba tomorrow, really early in the morning, to be at the airport at about 5:30 am. The last few days have been absolutely nuts, 16 hour days just to take care of work and get ready for the trip... And for the first time in a long time I am really nervous before a trip.Over the last few years all my trips have basically been to nice, predictable and safe places like Cana. . .

Hello from Toronto (4) - An Exploration of Toronto's West...

One of the beauties of Toronto is its diversity, the fact that hundreds of ethnic groups from all over the world congregate here in this metropolis and give their distinct flavour to this urban mosaic of cultures.Since I had already taken my European visitors on a walking tour of downtown, covering most of the main sights, as well as on a bicycling tour of Toronto's waterfront, I decided it was. . .

Hello from Vancouver - Reporting on the Canada-US Servas ...

One of the things I do for the website is I continuously search out individuals and organizations that have accomplished unusual things or made special contributions. Through my research I had come across an organization called SERVAS, an organization of hosts and travellers world-wide throughout 130 countries that intends to foster peace through intercultural exchange. Hosts throughout the mem. . .

Taking Stock - The Last Few Months

So every few months I take stock of what's been happening, where I stand now and where I am going. You probably know by now that www.travelandtransitions.com is a project that has grown out of some of my true passions and I work on it part-time, in addition to running a full-time translation and language services business by the name of Textronics Communications Ltd. This process of taking stoc. . .

Hello from the Kawarthas - Early Fall Colours, Scarecrows...

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in Ontario when forests light up in hues of yellow, orange and red. It's the perfect time for drives in the countryside, to visit small villages, check out farmer's markets, attend country fairs. We've had a long hot summer this year, even as I write this we are expecting temperatures 10 degrees Celsius above average. As a result the fall colour season . . .

Hello from Vancouver (4) - A Walking Tour through The Dow...

The University of British Columbia has a drop-in centre downtown in Vancouver's East side called the Learning Exchange where it provides educational opportunities to people who live and work in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and other inner-city communities. Vancouver's Downtown East Side is an inner city neighbourhood that has been experiencing problems with drug addiction and prostitution for . . .

Hello from Rochester: A Discovery of its Architectural Je...

My second day in Rochester started off with a lovely Park Avenue neighbourhood breakfast and an exploration of the ArtWalk neighbourhood. I only had a few hours left before I would have to hop back on the high-speed ferry, the CAT, to Toronto, and I definitely wanted to get a more indepth look at some of Rochester's historical architecture. Rochester is one of those North American cities that h. . .

Hello from Rochester: A Perfect Getaway for Stressed Out ...

Two days ago I took the CAT fast ferry from Toronto to Rochester and arrived well-rested after a 2.5 hour boat ride in the Port of Rochester, a scenic Rochester suburb called Charlotte. I was greeted by Patti and Carrie from the Rochester Visitors Association who had helped me with my itinerary and were kind enough to show me around.It had been raining all day and Port Charlotte greeted me with. . .

Hello from Rochester: The CAT - An Awesome Beast

For a while now I have been dreaming of taking the recently re-introduced high-speed ferry service from Toronto to Rochester. The ferry service briefly ran last year, introduced by a group of private investors, but stopped running after a few weeks due to financial difficulties. It was reintroduced this year after the City of Rochester purchased the ferry at an auction and contracted an experie. . .

Hello from Vancouver (3) - The Grouse Mountain Experience

No visit to Vancouver could be complete without a real mountain experience. So after covering the Servas conference I left at 2 pm for downtown. To get to Grouse Mountain was quite an experience in itself, I got to take 2 buses downtown, then I boarded Vancouver's light rail rapid transit system, the Skytrain, which runs underground downtown, just like a subway. Then I hopped on the Seabus, a r. . .

Hello from Vancouver (1) - Arrival in Vancouver

I left beautiful Victoria early yesterday morning at 8 am and took the Pacific Coachlines bus/ferry combination back to the mainland. It was another gorgeous day and I spent the entire ferry ride on the top deck soaking in the scenery and the sunshine. At about 11:30 I exited at Broadway and Cambie as the bus driver had advised me and caught the 99B bus to the University of British Columbia cam. . .

Hello from Toronto (2) - Exploring Toronto's Waterfront b...

Since my European visitors are quite sporty I figured that renting a bicycle would be the perfect way of exploring the city. So to join them on their first guided bicycle tour I grabbed my bike and the 5 of us headed off to the subway station to go to Bicycle Solutions near Parliament and Carlton Streets. Getting outfitted with a bike didn't take long and the cost was pretty reasonable at $70.0. . .

Local Explorations - Hello from Lake Ontario's Waterfront...

In our neck of the woods the summer has been absolutely gorgeous, a little on the hot and humid side occasionally, but I am unable to recall a summer that has been so warm and sunny as this summer of 2005.The weekend before last I just felt like exploring the local area a little bit and since I was unable to pry my husband away from watching some of the season's first football games, I struck o. . .

Hello from Caledon, Elora & Guelph:Fall Colours, Ghosts a...

Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in Ontario, and after last weeks early fall colour tour through the Kawarthas east of Toronto, it was time yesterday to check out the areas west of Toronto. My husband and I set off on the highway, left the 401 at Mississauga Road and drove north into rolling agricultural farmland. Our first interesting village along the way was Glen Williams, a little . . .

"Toronto Unlimited" & Sampling Toronto's Street Festival

I recently went to my first press conference in Toronto's hip, recently renovated Distillery District, where the new "brand" of Toronto was unveiled. Toronto's Brading Project was the culmination of a 13-month process with over 4,500 local survey responses and more than 230 in-depth interviews and roundtable discussions with leaders in the leisure and customer travel and convention business and. . .

Hello from Toronto: A First Little Driving Tour -The City...

So my brother is in town, together with his wife and 2 friends from my little home town in Austria. It is everybody's first time in North America and their initiation to Toronto. Just to give you ideas of dimensions: Austria has a population of about 9 million and the country extends about 900 km from east to west while the Greater Toronto area nowadays probably has about 4 to 5 million people . . .

Hello from Toronto (3) - Exploring Niagara Wine Country

Two days ago I took our European visitors on a little driving tour of the Niagara Peninsula, specifically to explore some of the 50 something wineries. My brother is a chef and very interested in exploring the authentic tastes and flavours of Canada. So far my visitors have been very impressed with the quality of the Canadian vegetables, meats, spices, and even the various types of beers that t. . .

Ian Wright - Live in Toronto!

Yesterday my buddy Arnie and I had a chance to meet one of my idols in person: Ian Wright, the most famous presenter of the Pilot Guides travel show. The event was sponsored by three great players in the Canadian adventure travel industry: Outpost Magazine – Travel for Real; Mountain Equipment Coop – one of my favourite travel equipment outfitters; and Gap Adventures, a major adventure travel c. . .

Post-Cuba Reflections: Appreciation and Balance

As I sit here in the morning, listening to the rhythmic salsa of Manolito Simonet y Su Trabuco, I am reflecting back on my 16 days in Cuba and all that I have experienced and learned. My time in Cuba has been the single most interesting and amazing travel experience in my life so far - bar none. I have never jumped head first into a vastly different culture like this before, and it has, without. . .

Hello from Vancouver (2) - Wheeling around Stanley Park

Stanley Park is Vancouver's famous urban paradise and I knew weeks in advance that I would need to explore it in detail, preferably on a bike. So this afternoon at about 1:30 pm I set off from the UBC Campus, and navigated my way downtown by bus, taking 3 buses to get to the eastern edge of Stanley Park. This was my first chance to glance at the city of Vancouver. It is a relatively new city an. . .

Getting excited: My brother is coming into town - and it'...

Well, you probably all know by now that I grew up in Austria and came to Canada when I was about 20 years old. I don't really have much family left over there, the only people left are my brother and my sister-in-law. In fact, my brother is my only living biological relative as both my parents were single children. So no cousins, no aunts, no uncles. I often say in jest that my family tree is a. . .

Hello from Victoria (2) - Exploring Victoria and Its Vici...

Another perfect day with beaming blue skies, great temperatures and no humidity greeted me yesterday. After a lovely strengthening breakfast and some business issues, Clare and I set off by car to explore British Columbia's capital Victoria. We started by parking our car pretty close to "Mile Zero", right next to Beacon Hill Park. This expansive city park is right next to the waterfront and at . . .

Hello from Vancouver (5): Gastown and My Final Explorations

After my extremely interesting walking tour of the Downtown East Side I decided to round out my exploration of the city with another bicycling trip. In my mind, bicycling is just the perfect way to discover a city, it gives you greater range than walking, you don't need to wait around for buses, and you get exercise at the same time -bonus!I realized that I had not even seen Gastown yet, which . . .

Hello from Toronto (5) - Novice Golf, Driving through the...

It is unbelievable how nine days can just fly by. Today my brother, sister-in-law and our two Austrian friends are scheduled to fly back to Graz, Austria, via Vienna. There has been an increasingly palpable sense of sentimentality in the air, in light of the fact that this wonderful time is coming to an end alarmingly quickly. It's also amazing how many activities one is able to cram into a sho. . .

The Joys of Summer

For me there is no better time of year than late spring, early summer. From about the middle of May to the middle of July I am totally in my element. It's finally warm, the weather gets better, the days are really long. The summer solstice for me is a magical time, you're out until 9:45 pm and there is still light on the horizon.Well, it's finally warmed up in Toronto. After a long winter (isn'. . .

New Travel Plans: Heading Off To Vancouver and Victoria, BC

Well, I finally did it. I took a bunch of Airmiles and booked a flight yesterday to Vancouver. I'll be out in beautiful British Columbia from August 3 to 8 to cover the Canada-US Servas Conference and to explore and report on my West Coast adventure first-hand.In all the almost 19 years that I've been in Canada, I have never made it out to the West Coast yet, so I am really excited. Some of my . . .

8 Tips to Quickly and Efficiently Pack Your Luggage

Nothing spoils a well planned vacation or business trip faster than finding out you forgot some essential item in your luggage. It happens all too often and it can be very easily avoided.Packing luggage is a skill that is too often learned by trial and error. And since most of us do not travel every week, it is a skill that often fades away to zero before our next trip. There are several simple. . .

Royal Visit Boost For Holiday Isle

Leaders of over 50 countries from the Commonwealth will be meeting on the Mediterranean island of Malta from November 25 to 27, and for three days the island will be enjoying the attention of hundreds of millions of TV and online news viewers and newspaper readers worldwide.Malta has often been overlooked by holidaymakers and second home owners in favour of other Mediterranean islands such as M. . .

Adventure Travel - an Exciting Thrill?

Do you want to add a little adventure to your life? Do you want to be engaged in something you have never done before? The unique information here will help you to considering a vacation that will bring memories and expierences that will last a lifetime. Believe it, adventure travel is for every kind of people. Youngsters who want to get excited by travelling through Alaska with a dog sled or o. . .

How To Find Hotels With A Sauna

You are on vacation with your family and decide its time to get away from them for a while, to get some space. Walking around outside is an option but you’ve been exploring your destination all day. You decide that the hotel’s sauna room will provide the best place to get some peace and quiet. You may even sweat away that greasy burger you had for lunch and come out refreshed and rejuvenated.So. . .

Light Travel - Carry-On Only

Light travel? The last time my wife and I went to Ecuador, I had 10 pounds of luggage, all in one carry-on bag. Ana had just 8 pounds in her carry-on bag. We spent six weeks in Ecuador, at times on glacier-covered mountains, and at other times lounging on Pacific coast beaches.Why travel lightweight? Simplicity. With only carry-on luggage, we were in a restaurant in Quito, while others still wa. . .

Traveling to the Canadian Arctic and Native Inuit Communi...

There have been more travelers going to the Canadian Arctic region in recent years for both business and tourism. Adventure tourism companies are beginning to promote the Arctic as a unique destination to experience the natural beauty and wildlife of the north as well as the culture of the native Inuit who live there. As a result of the creation of the Nunavut territory and government, the ca. . .

New Year’s Eve 2005 in Montreal – VIP Special Tour Packages

Montreal VIP announces its 5th annual exclusive New Year’s Eve 2005 Tour packages. Ring in the new years in style by experiencing the best of Montreal’s nightlife at Montreal’s top venues and best parties while avoiding inflated hotel rates and long lines with Montreal VIP’s tour packages.Montreal is quickly becoming one of the best places to ring in the New Year with partygoers due to its exce. . .

What is a Desert

A desert is a landscape region that receives very little precipitation. For a peice of land to be classified as a desert it must receive less than 250 mm of precipitation per year. Because of such a low level of precipitation deserts are known for supporting very little forms of life. With that said though, with a closer look deserts still have a wide variety of life. These desert creatures nor. . .

Relax In An Orlando Vacation Rental

Well have you ever stayed in a single hotel room as a family of 4 or more? There is one television to cater for all 4 tastes, one bathroom so you must organise a rota to get washed and dressed. If you are lucky you may be allowed to pay extra to rent a fridge – failing that you may just need to buy everyone in your party a cool drink from the hotel as and when they require one – a cost which ca. . .

Italy – Naples and Sorrento

Italy is really two countries in one with the wealthy, historic north dominating. To get a taste of the south, Naples and Sorrento are your destinations. NaplesIf ever there was a city with a reputation, it is Naples. Dirty, nasty, crime infested and fanatical are all words thrown around when describing. In this case, the descriptions are true and it is GREAT! The place is a madhouse and colorf. . .

Siena, Italy – Medieval Life and Horse Racing

Italy has many well-known travel destinations such as Rome. Less publicized destinations such as Siena are even better. SiennaLocated roughly an hour outside of Florence, Siena is one of my favorite places in Italy. When you think gothic architecture and medieval town, you think of Siena. Built as a fortified city behind large, thick walls on a small mountain, Siena oozes history. Cars are barr. . .

Ibiza And Its Night Life

Ibiza is famous around the world due to its amazing night life, although it offers several other things as well. This island is one of the most visited ones in the group of the Balearic Islands in Spain, and maybe the one which attracts the highest amount of young people as well.From June to endings of October, Ibiza's night life, as well as the rest of the attractions in the island, is at its . . .

Meeting Montes de Toledo

Montes de Toledo is located towards the northern area of Castilla - La Mancha in Spain. The Montes de Toledo can be found in the Province of Toledo and is one of the oldest mountainous formations in the world. This destination is very different to many other typical tourists’ destinations, and meeting it can be a very exciting and unique experience.The mountains of Montes de Toledo are located . . .

The Rias Altas in Spain

The Rias Altas located in Spain are part of a group of larger formations spread within the coast of Galicia, conformed by the Rias Altas and the Rias Bajas. The Rias are estuaries origin when sea levels rise as well as they can be created by other geographical factors. The rias in Galicia where formed after he Ice Age after the sea level rose and gave shape to several indentations or estuaries . . .

Inexpensive Travel - The Key

Inexpensive travel can be accomplished in two basic ways. First, get the best deals on the specific things you want. This approach is very limited though. For example, if you find the lowest price on the best hotel in Honolulu at the height of the season, you'll save money, but still have a very expensive room. Trying to get exactly what you want - or think you want - is an expensive propositio. . .

Why Car Share?

Around 60% of drivers of the 31 million cars on Britain’s roads travel alone, and with the number increasing every year, the idea of car sharing as an option is being promoted by County Councils as well as Friends of the Earth and Carplus.Car sharing, also known as carpooling, is when two or more people travel together by car, and the passenger generally makes a donation towards running costs. . . .

Ontario, Your Next Vacation Spot

Ontario is the second-largest in area of Canada's ten provinces and is found in east-central Canada. Its capital is Toronto. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is also located in Ontario. Ontario has a population of 12,449,502, representing approximately 37.9% of the total Canadian population. It's excellent transportation links to the American heartland has contributed to making manufacturing the . . .

Holidays

Now is the time that people are looking for Winter Holidays and also thinking about their Summer Holidays too. This article will look at the various options that are available to holidaymakers looking to go on a Villa Holiday in the Winter or Summertime.Firstly we will look at the winter Holiday options. If you are looking for some respite from the cold winter months there is an abundance of de. . .

Costa Rican Beach Jaco

Beaches in Costa Rica, like jaco, may well be one of the most important assets in the eyes of visitors. The beaches come in all sizes, shapes and types.One of the most known beaches is called Jaco.Jaco is one of the first beaches to become a real tourist magnet. It is also one of the closest beaches to San Jose.The beach itself is a three km long beach with nice sand and the water is inviting. . . .

Christmas in Budapest

Are you going to celebrate Christmas in Budapest with Hungarian friends? I tell you some essential information about opening hours, public transport and some interesting Hungarian Christmas traditions. In mid-November Budapest starts to prepare for Christmas. Streets are decorated with colourful lights, shop-windows are adorned to lure in customers hunting for gifts. More and more people set ou. . .

Best Places To Travel During The Holidays With Your Family

Thinking about taking your family on a Christmas vacation? Although it has long been tradition to wait at home for Santa to arrive, a number of American families spend Christmas away from home each year. Christmas vacations are becoming more and more popular and you will likely find that there is a wide variety of fun holiday vacations available to you.What better place to visit during the holi. . .

Travelling in the Arabian Peninsula

It may seem in the days of mass tourism and cheap worldwide flights that no stone has been left unturned in our pursuit of the unexplored. However, Arabia still offers much in the way of mystery and exoticism.If you are brave enough to venture into this unknown, a feast of surprises await the senses. The scenery is the first to strike. The picture-postcard desert is home to an astonishing array. . .

Sydney Beaches for Fun in the Sun

Whether you’re up for a Crocodile Dundee adventure or you’d just like a taste of the Australian sun, the beaches in and around Sydney can offer you all that and more. Being in the southern hemisphere, Australia’s seasons are reversed from those in Europe, North American, and much of Asia, so if you’re looking for good beach weather, make sure to travel some time from September to May – that is. . .

Travel Spain: Girona and the Dali Triangle

Girona and the “Dali Triangle” are destinations known to the lucky few who travel Spain. This area in Catalonia is one of the undiscovered gems of Spain. Girona is about 100 km from Barcelona, but no one who chooses to travel Spain should miss this lovely area. Easily accessible by train, bus or even automobile from Barcelona, this destination recalls some of spain’s most interesting history. . .