March 19th would turn out to be a special day. It was the Feast of St. Joseph, a religious festival held annually in the town of Rabat, not far from Valletta. Waiting for a municipal bus to get there was hopeless, so we shared an uber with (yet another!) Canadian couple, Ed and Fay, who had been waiting at the same bus stop in Sliema. In Rabat we followed the crowd along St. Joseph Street from the Basilica where St. Paul stayed for 3 months in 60 AD after being shipwrecked, a

It did not begin well. The fellow at the U-Save car rental desk in Valletta (Malta's capital city) told us 'No car for you!' due to age and insurance restrictions, even though our package deal included a car. Someone at Yes Getaways had not done proper diligence. That's when we met fellow Canadians Tamara and Dwight from British Columbia who had coincidentally bought the same package tour. They kindly offered us a lift to our shared hotel, the Lady Todd. We quickly learned th

Lis and I dubbed ourselves a couple of Maltese Falcons, having spontaneously signed onto an 8-day YES Getaways trip to Malta . Delta / Air Canada flew us from Toronto to New York. Air France took us to Paris. In conversation aboard AF I happened to mention to a flight attendant that it was 26 years to the day (St Patrick's) that Lis and I got to know each other on a return flight from the Galapagos Islands. Shortly afterward, a certificate and miniature liqueurs arrived at

Here's a fascinating backgrounder on the origins of and interpretations of American Thanksgiving by Thomas Tweed as published in THE CONVERSATION. https://bit.ly/4o0dkT0

2025 Nov. 11 Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Georgetown cenotaph. A few years ago I listened as a veteran commented to a group of school children about war and bullies. "Don't let anyone push you around." Always smart advice. #RoyalCanadianLegion #haltonhills #remembranceday

Tour boats churn past the Konstanz harbour entrance, Lake Constance, Germany. From our family visit in Schwäbisch-Gmünd we drove south to...

We made sure our road trip through the southern half of Germany included a visit with extended family members Katrin, Stanislaus and...

As one of the oldest cities in northern Europe (and arguably, Germany) Worms is probably best known as the site of Martin Luther's...

A New York Times story talks about Cleveland, Ohio as the birthplace of Superman, but fails to mention, as Global News points out in 10 fun facts about Superman's Canadian ties "The Superman character was co-created by Canadian artist Joseph Shuster. Born in Toronto, he is a cousin of Wayne Shuster, one-half of the beloved Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster. Joseph, who passed away in 1992 at the age of 78, said Metropolis was modelled on Toronto and the Daily Planet was i

Upon extricating ourselves from a rabbit hole stairwell in Cochem, next day we continued down the Mosel to Trier. Painted stairwell...

Cochem is one of those gems on the Mosel River. For travellers, the river is all about leisure. Our satisfying day trip by car from...

A German trip for Lis and me, spring 2025. The powerful Rhine and lesser Mosel rivers form an upside down wishbone where they meet at...

Not for skiing or swimming, but for hiking, driving and sightseeing, you betcha! Sure, the weather can be fickle, especially these days,...

The annual travel convention known as IPW, organized by Brand USA, promotes travel to the United States. This year it was held in Chicago. As Frank Sinatra sang, it's my kind of town. Media from around the world were invited, but for Canadians this is a conflicted year due to the sudden policy changes and dramatic rhetoric coming from the White House. It was difficult, but I chose to attend IPW for a number of reasons, including a show of support for empathetic American touri

If so, I think it's due to the human tendency to believe the first news we hear about something, plus the inability to think critically...

We're encouraging the baby aloe plantings in our entrance hall to absorb the morning sunlight and grow. The sticks, not so much.

April 1, 2025. Astounding discovery of a camera thought to be from the Photerozoic period some 10 million years ago! Imaging experts,...

The secret is freezing rain. For as long as temperatures remain below freezing, plants covered in rain that has turned to ice are...

https://www.garycralle.com/jane-austen

It was a bit chilly on our back deck at 2:30 in the morning of March 14, but I nevertheless set up my camera to capture the blood lunar...