My cousin is a birder and photographer with back woods knowledge I don’t have, which is why I rely on him for these kind of pieces. The Blue Winged Warbler you see before you is from Backus Woods, part of the Backus Heritage Conservation area.  This is about a 30-minute drive from Tillsonburg. Backus Heritage Conservation Area has historical and natural offerings and is part of the larger Long Point Region Conservation Authority. Bring binoculars or a long lens!

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Point Pelee National Park is about 10 km from Leamington and has a couple of unique characteristics.  Namely, it’s point (which on the map looks really pointy as it heads into Lake Erie) is the southern most point of the Canadian mainland and it’s the smallest national park. More information: Point Pelee National Park Bird watching is huge in the park, and my cousin took this shot Orchard Oriole. If you head to this part of Ontario, make sure to bring binoculars or a telephoto lens!

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Plutarch wrote that Alexander the Great sought “to combine foreign things with things Greek.” Though more sensational than historically accurate, one could imagine Plutarch’s fictitious version of Alexander visiting Toronto’s Greektown today, laying down his sword and exclaiming, “Eureka!” And why not? “The Danforth,” as it is affectionately called by locals, is not only the largest Greek diaspora neighbourhood in North America, it has also become one of the city’s most cosmopolitan areas, making it one of Toronto’s hottest tourist destinations. Recently ranked the 3rd Greekest Place in North America, this vibrant, must-see neighbourhood, stretching along Danforth Avenue between the […]

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Carrot Common 348 DanforthAn oasis of Health & Wellness Shops tucked away in a peaceful little courtyard, featuring health foods, minerals, gourmet coffee, organic juices, massage products, books, unique jewellery and clothing, and much more. The 2nd floor is home to a host of wellness services such as massage, shiatsu, aromatherapy, acupuncture, reiki, and yoga classes. Climb up further and discover the tranquility of the Carrot Green Roof & Garden, with 8000 square feet of vegetation and garden exhibits. Moss 544 DanforthBilling itself as a “Canadian-owned-and-operated lifestyle store,” Moss offers indoor and outdoor gems for your home or cottage, everything from […]

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The Bata Shoe Museum is a fairly new (1995) place to check out in Toronto. The obvious question for people with no sense of fashion (e.g. me) is “how could there be enough about shoes for a museum?” Well, I’m a nincompoop on that point. I was drawn in on the first level to the early history of shoes and how different ancient cultures took shoes from foot protection to haute couture. There was a floor dedicated to high Arctic clothing and footwear that showed just how smart indigenous peoples were at working with the available material. This leads us […]

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This place has great ice cream. It’s close to the original old part of Oakville near the lake on Lakeshore Rd W. We had the great fortune to go during a work day when it was quiet. As you can see from the photos, there are a ton of flavours and many not typical, like Sicilian Pistachio. However, you could tell by how the place is arranged, it’s rigged up for line ups. So you if you go at a popular time, be aware and plan for patience. For more information see: www.ladolcevitaoakville.com

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Bloor West Village in Toronto runs from High Park to Jane St on Bloor St. West. It’s an interesting walk to take and you’ll never know what you’ll bump into. The shot below is a gift shop specializing in Lavender. The other photo is of a church called St. Olaves. Is this the plural of Olaf? We did find an old fashioned book store, Book City. It was nice to be able to browse a variety of titles instead of insanely clicking online. I forget the name of the store, but it specialized in storage stuff and I bought a […]

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It was a very hot holiday Monday in Toronto and the decision for dinner was to do pot luck at our rented apartment. For fresh foods, it was suggested the Sorauren Farmers’ Market could provide what we need. This market is tucked in the Roncesvalles/Parkdale neighbourhood and is open even on holiday Mondays, which worked out well for us. The market features we took advantage of was some wonderful sourdough bread, sugar pears, water buffalo cheese and awesome perogies from very authentic people. Enjoy the snacks! westendfood.coop/market soraurenpark.wordpress.com/park-features/farmers-market/

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After a lame hotel breakfast experience, we did some searches in the Prince Edward County area for good breakfast places and this inn and breakfast place in Picton popped up. It sits on Picton Harbour, which is this small cute harbour where pleasure craft from Lake Ontario can come and dock. The place is popular for breakfast and we had to wait, but you can wait outside on a picnic table and enjoy the boats and scenery. Inside, the service was great, the portions generous and they had the best hashbrowns I had in memory. I learned some interesting history […]

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I don’t want to give you the wrong impression about me, but when a hotel doesn’t have a hotel bar, there’s just something wrong. Fun fact: Travelodge Belleville used to be in the 1970s a Four Seasons Inn on the Park. My mother and father would take us to dinner there for their wedding anniversary. Therefore it was disappointing to find this stunning and convenient Belleville location had been left to decay. In fact, I’m not convinced the current Travelodge is up to even its own brand standards. The bathrooms are always the tell. There were some rough edges around […]

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