I’m not sure what filled me with more dread; the fact that the invitation to the opening ceremony specified a ‘creative chic dress code’ or that it would entail having to walk up the marches du Palais, the epitome of red carpets, possibly in the footsteps of Richard Gere and Michael Fassbender. In true wallflower […]
For two days in mid May each year, Sri Lanka turns into a be-laterned island of colour and food, music and gifts. Vesak is a wonderful Buddhist festival that commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away (parinivarna) of Gautama Buddha. It’s observed at the full moon of the lunar month Vesakha, which generally falls in […]
The Greece of my earliest imaginations came from the iconic pictures of whitewashed villages and blue roof houses overlooking the Aegean Sea, and sun-scorched white sand beaches. I was always dreaming of warmer and sunnier pastures, likely a function of Canadian climate and culture. Greece was a “forever summer” country in my mind, with endless […]
Knowing I have a train to catch fills me with joy. Rail stations are always a fascinating hive of activity, people and machines on the move. Some stand out, most blend in. The human zoo in all its glory. I take great pleasure in observing the madness while turning inwards and entering what I call […]
There’s something relentlessly compelling to me about harsh environments. I find the way that they focus my mind to only the most immediate concerns very calming. It’s like having the volume turned down on your stream of consciousness. In that way, Namibia is something of a revelation. The entire country is functionally a pretty harsh […]
2012 to 2024 RIP My Hiking Boots. “Strong, durable, and comfortable on any trail,” declared MEC. And for once, the marketing department didn’t lie. After a 12-year career of loyal service, These Boots took their final step in the cobbled streets of Casco Viejo, Panama City. Succumbing not to time, but to the cruel inevitability […]
It’s a good hour before sunrise as our party of six board a Blackfin powerboat. A thin mist of rain dissipates as the first light of dawn emerges from the brooding clouds in the distance. Our vessel cleaves through thankfully still waters as we leave the port of Barbate in southern Spain. A cool poniente […]
Lately, it feels like things are changing faster than we can keep up- especially when it comes to the planet. So here’s a pause. A story from a quieter corner of the world, right inside one of its loudest cities. A glimpse of something ancient, resilient, and still very much alive. Welcome to Xochimilco. Maybe […]
No doubt about it, this is a dream job. Even if there comes a point on every research trip when my inner traveler werewolf sprouts a hairy back and howls at the moon. One too many luxury hotel visits or carefully plated amuse-bouche pom poms and the revolt is inevitable. What’s the remedy? To the […]
Are you one of those cooks who tends to get distracted doing 300 things at once, and ends up burning some of your meals? If so, this dish is for you – here you intentionally burn your pasta (to a certain degree). You heard that right, my friend. Spaghetti all’Assassina, or killer pasta, has you […]
Trieste is a city that seems to have been unearthed from the bottom drawer of a well-travelled desk—forgotten for a while, perhaps, but still scented with ink, salt, and old ambition. Here, on the northeastern edge of Italy, I recently spent several days drinking in the atmosphere of this unique city with its Venetian, Slavic […]
I’ve never really thought of myself as a city person, yet here I am, living in Toronto and daydreaming about my favourite cities in Latin America. There’s just something about certain cities that gets under your skin. I love the hum, the energy, the people, the way you can wander into a side street and […]
Last March, while researching in Mexico, I found myself swept into the fun chaos of Carnival in San Martín Tilcajete, a small town just outside Oaxaca City. Unlike the massive parades of Rio or the glittering masks of Venice, this was something raw, intimate, and deeply rooted in tradition. Here, Carnival isn’t just a party; […]
There’s a particular hum that fills a museum when it opens for the day. Footsteps on polished floors, whispers bouncing off tall walls, the occasional squeak of a bench being shifted for a better view. It’s comforting, familiar. But what if you could skip all that? What if it was just you—and the art? In […]
We are walking through a winding courtyard which, as far as I can tell from all the monks moving quietly around us, must lead to a temple. “Here it is!” my friend calls out to me in my reverie, so I turn. Ah! The coffee shop. In my meditative state, I’d walked right past it. […]
An early embedded memory for me is the black and white haze of the 1934 film Babes in Toyland. It aired often during the holidays on various channels. Not that there were many channels. In those days, in our house, we had 3, and that weird UHF channel thing that had the clicks and lots […]