(HEADS UP: This article is lengthy. But if you like local history and trivia, then this is for you. Happy reading!) Ever since childhood, I have always been afflicted by a nostalgic bug. This strong fascination for all things old and ancient has made me into a bit of a history buff. I buried my nose in books and spent hours watching documentaries about ancient civilizations, medieval tales, and accounts of gone-by days. I preferred visiting museums and perusing artifacts over

I had a restful night sleeping on the comfortable couch in our cabin’s screened-in porch, while my husband and son snored lightly on the queen-sized bed inside. At dawn the following morning, I was awakened by soft paddling sounds. I arose and watched a couple of kayakers quietly trudging the waters as their oars gently swept the glistening surface of the lake. Their faces appeared so serene as their graceful strokes synchronized with the ripple of the waves. If not for their

We arrived at the North Frontenac Astronomy Park at around ten o’clock that night. It was just a fenced-in lot with an observation pad where people could gather and gaze at the stars, and has very basic amenities - a parking lot, electrical outlets, benches, picnic tables, and washrooms. But this is said to be one of the best places for astronomy, as North Frontenac has one of the darkest skies in southern Ontario. In fact, in August 2003, it became the first municipality in

In Canada, you will hear the terms “cottage” and “cottage country” a lot, specially in the summer months, and occasionally, at winter. During my first summer of working in Vancouver, my Canadian co-workers would say they were going to spend the summer “at the cabin.” When I moved to Ontario, it was “at the cottage.”  It seemed like everyone either owns or regularly goes to a “cabin” or “cottage.” This was something new to me. I didn’t know what that exactly meant. I knew of c

My late aunt, whom I considered my second mom, finally agreed to travel back to Canada a year before she was diagnosed with a serious illness (and sadly, she passed away the following year). Her very first trip to Canada was with me, many years ago, when I was still living in Manila. We visited my other aunt in Vancouver and did a side trip to Portland, Oregon that time. It took almost a decade, long after I had moved to Canada for good, to persuade her to travel again (She w

If you would like to travel back in time, even if it is just to pretend, I would recommend visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake, a pretty, little town nestled in the corner of the Niagara Region in Ontario. Yes, it is but a 20-minute drive from the bustling city of Niagara Falls, but the moment you arrive, it will feel like you have been transported back longer, not just in distance, but in also centuries. The well-preserved Heritage District most feels like a movie set for a period

Niagara Falls is one of the, if not the most iconic tourist destination in East Coast Canada. Anyone visiting Toronto usually visits the famous falls as well, since it is only about an hour and half drive from the city. I recall visiting Niagara Falls from the U.S. side in the early 90s. Unfortunately, I lost all travel photos prior to 2001, so my memories of it are very vague.   From what I remember, we drove to the Niagara Falls State Park in New York State to view the fall

When our son was about five years old, we decided to drive to Toronto one long weekend to basically traipse around, do fun things, and be kids again. On the list were the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Vaughn Mills, the Toronto Zoo, and Ripley’s Aquarium. This trip was going to be all about our son and the things he was crazy about (at that age) – LEGO, animals, and aquariums. We did not plan anything else, as for sure, the three fun places alone would tire us. Ripley’s Aquariu

When our son was about five years old, we decided to drive to Toronto one long weekend to basically traipse around, do fun things, and be kids again. On the list were the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Vaughn Mills, the Toronto Zoo, and Ripley’s Aquarium. This trip was going to be all about our son and the things he was crazy about (at that age) – LEGO, animals, and aquariums. We did not plan anything else, as for sure, the three fun places alone would tire us. Toronto Zoo A fr

When our son was about five years old, we decided to drive to Toronto one long weekend to basically traipse around, do fun things, and be kids again. On the list were the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Vaughn Mills, the Toronto Zoo, and Ripley’s Aquarium. This trip was going to be all about our son and the things he was crazy about (at that age) – LEGO, animals, and aquariums. We did not plan anything else, as for sure, the three fun places alone would tire us. LEGOLAND Discove

Our 2012 visit to Toronto was mainly to see Bruce Springsteen in concert, and my husband and I managed to squeeze in some date time that weekend. Little did we know that seeing “The Boss” would go beyond the typical arms-length encounter between the performer-on-stage and his audience, but something that was much, much closer. And it was totally unplanned...and unexpected. My husband is a huge fan of “The Boss.” When he heard that Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band were

Since moving to Ottawa, we’ve only been to Toronto four or five times, which is not a lot. I guess it’s because we have always preferred going to Montreal. It’s closer and more accessible to us, and my husband’s family lives there. It has become our second home here in the East Coast. And we’ve never really had any compelling reason to drive five hours to Toronto each way. However, the last two times that we visited were quite memorable. The first one involved a first date of

Toronto was the very first city I visited in Canada, even before I lived in Vancouver. I went to Toronto in the summer of my second-to-the-last year in university. That time, I was part of a theatre group that got invited by our North American alumni association to perform in four cities in the U.S. and Canada East Coast – New York, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Toronto. I liked Toronto right away. It is a bustling city with soaring skyscrapers and a dynamic metropolis life.