Ooops. I’ve been AWOL.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Yes, I’ve totally neglected the blog. Ooooops. My job requires me to do a lot of creative content, so by the time I’m done work, I really don’t want to turn the computer back on and write more travel content. I’ve been pretty good lately about shutting down…

Going Beyond London: The Surrey Hills

With the upcoming 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, London is even higher than normal on people’s travel radar. Although the British capital usually tops travellers’ must-see lists, this year is likely to be busier than normal in big, bad London town. But consider this. When you’re in town for the festivities, would you consider a…

Louis, the Llama Who Hated Me

Normally, animals like me, but in the first look we shared, I knew Louis the Llama disliked me. By the time our fifteen minute ‘acquaintance’ period was over, I was certain that Louis the Llama loathed me. Before we even left for our trek, Louis had both spit at me and rejected my kind, gentle efforts…

Hola, 2012!

…I’ve got big plans for you! In terms of travel, 2011 was a great year. It also ended with a bit of a (good) bang. Epic sunrise atop Mt. Kinabalu, Malaysia – a highlight of 2011 After nine months working part-time with WHL Group doing sales and project management for Urban Adventures (and a lil’…

Authentic Thai Food in an English Bookshop

Have you ever eaten a meal in a bookshop? (I don’t mean when you sneak food into Indigo or Barnes and Noble or Waterstone’s to eat while you read books you never intend to buy). Chances are, most people haven’t eaten a meal in a bookshop because most bookshops don’t moonlight as restaurants. As unlikely…

The Best Bits of Road Trips

I’ve done a few road trips in my time, from little day trips to a big cross-country trip, and I’ve definitely had my fair share of good times (and bad) while on the open road. Best Bit #1 — Ummm…how do I change the oil in the car? I love cars, and know a lot…

England v. Canada – Part II: Driving

And no, I’m not making the uber-obvious observation that we drive on different sides of the road. Duh. When I talk about driving differences, I’m specifically referring to attitudes towards distance. We have very different ideas about what constitutes ‘far’. To them, a two hour drive is far. Anything above four or five is ridiculous….

Old England in the Surrey Hills

Last spring we lucked out and had fantastic weather for our planned hike through the Surrey Hills from Guildford to Shere. Lucky for me, as I was a tad worse for wear, and really couldn’t have handled poor weather. Oops. The walk was beautiful, and almost made me forget about how terrible I felt. We…

England v. Canada – Part I

It’s been about six months since I’ve moved back to Canada, so I thought I’d do a little reflection, if you will, of England v. Canada. The finer points. Hockey In England, they call it “ice hockey” (how cute), and don’t know anything about it. To them, hockey is what we call “field hockey”, and…

Big Trips vs. Little Trips

Last year, I was the queen of little trips. In my time living in England, I made the most of accessible and affordable travel to a crazy diverse amount of destinations, and managed to do a little trip about once a month. In a full calendar year, I spent: – Canadian Thanksgiving in Manchester –…