Tahiti with Paul Gaugin

A few years ago Bruce and I got to explore Tahiti and her islands on a Paul Gaugin cruise. We voyaged around the South Pacific, stopping at various islands and discovering beautiful beaches. It was a wonderful experience that I would recommend to everyone.

One of the most exciting aspects of the trip was swimming with sharks in crystal blue waters. Assisted by a guide, we were also able to get up close and personal with Tahitian stingrays!

The ship itself was lovely and we enjoyed great entertainment throughout the cruise. Here I am enjoying a morning coffee on the top deck of the ship.

Bahla Fort in Oman

Last year, I had the opportunity to embark on a seventeen day cruise with Seabourn that started in Singapore and ended in Dubai. One of my favourite stops along the cruise was the city Oman. The city is welcoming and unique, and I really enjoyed my time exploring and getting a sense of the region.

When we arrived in Oman we took a taxi to the Bahla Fort – a UNESCO World Heritage site that was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun wandering around and exploring the fort.

-Wendy

Exploring the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon had been on my bucket list for years and Bruce and I finally got the chance to experience it in October of 2010. We drove down from Vancouver, arriving at Grand Canyon Village at sunset. The next morning we got up early and took a hike down into the canyon from the Grand View. It was such a treat to hike down in the early morning with the sun coming up changing the look of the canyon as we hiked down.

You can walk for 10 minutes, an hour or a day. If you really want to get out and experience the wilderness you can also camp. The Grand Canyon is really quiet and peaceful. I was amazed at how in such a short time we were on our own, exploring without a person in sight. It was an experience that I won’t soon forget and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Theatre Tour Review

One of our clients, Allen, is currently on our 35th Annual London Theatre Tour. This is what he had to say about the tour thus far:

We are Thursday morning here in London, and the tour is going wonderfully. Our first show was at the Old Vic. We saw Playboy of the Western World and it was great. A very traditional interpretation of the script and a lovely production.

On Monday night we saw Comedy of Errors at the National Theatre. This was truly fantastic. They did a modern interpretation of the script and I think it really helped to bring the story alive. Shakespeare's texts are timeless and seeing this story set in a contemporary London setting really underlined that. Personally, this has been my favorite so far.


On Tuesday we saw a matinee performance of the horror ghost story, The Woman in Black. Another excellent production. Very suspenseful and, at times, terrifying. What made this really exciting for me, though, was that there was also a field trip of about seventy high school students in the audience who were very vocal about screaming in terror at all the right moments. We were basically watching a horror film with a bunch of kids and it made it even better because they were so into it.


Tuesday evening we saw Reasons to be Pretty out at the Almeida. A very gritty and brilliantly acted American play. This one incited the liveliest post-show discussion so far as the play really questions modern relationships and marriage as well as the obsession with beauty. The tube ride back home was a barrage of differing opinions and points of view on the topics that the play raised. Theatre is supposed to provoke discussion and this production certainly did just that.

The improv show was on Wednesday night. I performed with an all-Canadian team against two local London teams. Needless to say, we won in a landslide.

Tonight we're off to see Jerusalem. All the talk in London right now is about how brilliant this show is. It's the hottest ticket in town. Can't wait!

Prickly Pineapple Daiquiri Recipe

from A Taste of Elegance, Rudi Sodamin)

Feeling the cold this winter? Well if you can't get away to the tropics, bring a little piece of the tropics to you. This drink is a lovely treat - not to sweet, not too sour.


Yield: 1 Serving

INGREDIENTS

• 2 wedges lime
• 1½ ounces spiced rum
• 2 ounces homemade sour mix (4 cups sugar, 1 quart water, 1 cup fresh lime or lemon juice)
• 1 ounce pineapple juice
• 1 ounce soda water
• Prickly pear puree, for drizzling

DIRECTIONS

In a pint glass, hand-press lime wedges with a muddler. Fill glass with ice. Add rum, sour mix, pineapple juice, and soda water. Cap with shaker can and shake vigorously. Pour into a pint glass and drizzle with some prickly pear puree. Serve with a straw.

What's one of your favourite summer drinks?

Touring Canada and New England

Our clients recently returned from a cruise tour of Canada and New England with a stay in New York and shared the highs and lows of their experience. The trip started with a seven-day coach tour that took them from Washington through Williamsburg, historic Gettysburg and onto New York. The couple had this to say about the coach portion of their tour:


“The bus tour was terrific - we thought it would be a bit of a drag, but we both enjoyed it! Washington is very interesting, Williamsburg is fascinating and Gettysburg was the highlight. We had limited expectations for the bus part but it was a VERY pleasant surprise. Most enjoyable.” They also commented that the tour guide was “very good - knowledgeable and helpful.”

After the bus tour, they embarked on a seven day Canada and New England cruise with Princess, visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia; St John, New Brunswick; Boston, MA and more. Unfortunately the weather was iffy and a few of the port cities were cold and wet, which dampened their experience. “Boston could have been great but it rained the whole day,” they shared. In addition, they didn’t enjoy the large ship experience, saying “I think we should stay with Crystal or Oceania or something around 1,000 passengers.”



The cruise disembarked in New York where they stayed at the Westin for a few nights, which was a real treat for the couple. “New York was fantastic - even though we arrived the day of the BIG storm,” they shared. “The hotel was well located and very good in providing service.” While they were in the Big Apple they caught two Broadway shows - Wicked and Memphis - which they both really enjoyed. “The theatre scene in NY is something special. There are nearly 30 shows on Broadway right now!!!”
 
Have you ever visited Canada and New England? Share the highlights of your experience below!

Berlin's East Side Gallery

The Berlin Wall's East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km long section of the wall and a memorial for freedom. The gallery has over 100 paintings by artists from all over the world making it the largest open-air gallery in the world. The artwork is moving, inspiring and powerful.

Here are some photos of the remarkable gallery.