Greetings from Dublin, Ireland!

The Avid Traveller 2013 season is not going to be unveiled until later in April, but because I love the Avid Traveller community so much, I am going to let all of you in on a little secret – We are creating a tour in IRELAND for June 2013!!!

So, here I am in Ireland, scouting out potential accommodations, restaurants, and walks for this upcoming tour, and I happen to be in Dublin for St Patrick’s Day: lucky how that worked out, eh?

I definitely had an idea of what I might see, but there have been some surprises along the way:

Misconception #1: I arrived Thursday afternoon with the expectation that Saturday was going to be the big day for St. Patrick’s celebrations. Not so much! St. Patrick’s celebrations are spread over a four day event with the fun starting on Friday. Every since I arrived, I have seen Irish bands and street performers at every turn. There are three “Fun Fairs” spread out in the city which are basically small amusement parks with rides and ferris wheels. Everyone says that the “the best view of Dublin” is from the Guinness Sky Bar, but I have to disagree. The view from the Ferris wheel was spectacular – we saw the city, the coast and the hills of Co. Wicklow.

Misconception #2: I knew it was going to be busy but WOW! The streets are jammed with people – and it is quite the international community. I thought that I would be celebrating with 1 million of my closest Irish friends, but so far I have met a ton of fellow Canadians, Americans, Brit, Germans and even groups from Norway and Austria! We are noticing that to find the authentic Dubliners, you have to travel a couple of blocks outside of the main craziness and look for people NOT wearing green costumes.

Misconception #3: The theme of this year’s parade is supposed to celebrate Dublin’s reputation as a “City of Science” – don’t worry, I scratched my head too, over that one. The way this theme has made its way into the parade is through questions like HOW? WHAT? WHY? For example I saw a bus trying to tackle the question, “How is a rainbow formed” and there are a lot of people dressed up like scientists – mostly “mad scientists”!

The Parade begins as usual on Parnell Square and continues on to O’Connell Street and over O’Connell Bridge to Westmoreland Street and it finishes just past St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I have attached a little map.

Now I am heading over to a mass Irish dancing event which happens after the parade. Ask me to show you some of the Riverdance moves I have learnt when I get back – I am sure to be a pro by then!

More and more, Canadians are exploring their own backyards and travelling within the Great White North. As we watch this growing trend, Avid Traveller took the opportunity to sit down with tour guide (and former Novack’s manager) Terry Needham to pick his brain on travel in Canada.

What are some of the attractive features of travelling in Canada?

The rest of the world is coming to or wanting to visit Canada in part due to the marketing of our country with sights such as Niagara Falls and the Rockies. There is so much more than those “tourist destinations” to attract travellers. The advertised places are crowded, the others not. Few places in the world can boast of such a huge variety of scenery or activities. The lure of open spaces and nature are Canada’s strongest points. Where else in the world can you play a game of golf with elk strolling through the scenery? Secondly, our larger cities offer culture and entertainment found in the great cities of Europe and Asia, yet much of the culture is Canadian in content.

Canada has a long coastline that attracts many travellers. With wildfowl spotting,kayaking, great fishing or just beachcombing, these sea coasts with their boundless beauty and uniqueness, such as the Bay of Fundy or the Pacific Rim National Park, worldwide travellers see our country filled with absolute delights not found at home. Another increasingly popular Canadian vacation is the opportunity to take Via Rail or the Rocky Mountaineer across the entire country from Halifax to Vancouver with incredible views out of the train windows and no stress of driving or wondering where to stay. The sound of a loon on a northern lake transports you to another world. We as Canadians need to wake up and realize the wonders of where we live.

What are some of the problematic features of travelling in Canada?

Perception of cost and distances. For about $100 more than a flight to Vancouver, you can fly to England! That is one of the most common complaints one hears. However, staying in foreign countries, especially the U.K. or Europe is very expensive. Canadians in particular seem unaware of what is in their backyard, and seldom travel in Canada other than a few kilometers from home to their cottage or favorite campsite. We sometimes do not realize that we have some 42 National Parks, 950 National Historic Sites, 4 National Marine Conservation Areas, thousands of campsites, as well as wild and open country available for us to view scenery, wildlife not found elsewhere and a quality food and wine industry growing very quickly. Canadians need to have conversation with other Canadians about their own country and what there is available to see and do.

Where are the areas in particular that you are noticing growing numbers of travellers within Canada? And why have these locations become so popular?

The three areas that are growing in popularity are the west and east coasts and the north. The beauty of ocean coasts have been fascinating people for hundreds of years, and the growth of facilities has allowed more people to explore from Tofino to Twillingate. In the north, travellers who venture into the lesser known areas, find, for lack of a better word, a mistique like nowhere else. The wild spaces draw you back! Ask anyone who has been to these three areas, and you are in for a long conversation.

From your perspective, as someone who grew up in British Columbia, what is it about that area that attracts Easterners to the West coast?

In my opinion, there is no other province that can give you as much as British Columbia. (no bias, honestly!) Cool rainforest, desert, lakes and mountains, opportunities for skiing, hiking, fishing, canoeing and kayaking, enjoying the big cities and exploring the Native culture, not to mention the growing food and wine industry. Did you notice that Penticton B.C. in the Okanagan Valley was named the number 4 spot to visit in the world by facebook users? One can go on forever talking about the “West Coast” of Canada. For Canadians living east of Calgary, the lure of variety is the key. Where else can you ski in the morning and go sailing in the afternoon? Whatever you want in a vacation, it is there.

You have travelled extensively in the UK and Europe, how does travelling in Canada compare in terms of accommodations, food and wine?

I think we all kind of dream about arriving at a U.K. b&b – a wonderful old English cottage covered in roses with those huge breakfasts. In reality, accommodation in Canada can meet and surpass anything you will find in the UK and Europe. Much of it depends on your style of travel, how much you want to spend and where you want to stay. To stay in convenient downtown large cities, the pricing is comparable in rough numbers. I checked with a major hotel in Toronto at $275 including breakfast and the same brand name in London England at 379 English pounds for similar room. (do the math) Canada has everything from hostels to major 5 star hotels. So you can find whatever you want, and of course it depends if you are travelling in summer high season or not!

Food and wine have become one of the reasons many people travel. Canada is now proudly producing “world class” wines, surprising the judges in Europe with a disbelief of origin. We have come a long way! Wine tourism is growing especially in Ontario and British Columbia. Unfortunately living in one province does not give you much choice of tasting another province’s wines due to provincial protectionism. So – plan a trip to the region you want and enjoy the wine tastings. There are many. Canada has perhaps more diversified food than many places in Europe. As much of Canada’s population is from elsewhere, the food also is from elsewhere. We have less strictly regional food than many places in Europe. For an instance, in the Dordogne in Southern France, every restaurant menu has at least 2/3′s of the menu with duck or goose dishes. Although I personally like French food in France, I can find it here, even in London. And then there is Thai….we truly are blessed.

Terry will be leading the tour “Okanagan: Walking and Wine” in June 2012. For more details Click Here.

On August 19 2011 Michelle and Jackie jumped in a car packed with food, gear and dreams. They drove Southwards and found their way to Tennessee and North Carolina where they spent the next 10 days hiking, camping and adventuring (yes, that’s a word I think we just made up).

We asked them about the planning and preparation of such a trip, and they had so much good information, we decided to make this a “two-parter”. Therefore if you have any questions you want answered in part II, let us know. Enjoy!:

Some people avoid planning a trip like yours because they are overwhelmed by the possibilities of places to see and things to do – how did you avoid becoming overwhelmed?

We started our planning in February 2011. Originally we were overwhelmed, the world was our oyster and we had no idea of where to start!! We knew the region we wanted to travel, so we started with the Pisgah Nat’l Forest, but it blossomed from there. We originally had the idea to go zip lining as it was something on both of our bucket lists. So we thought, why not sign up for Groupon in Asheville (nearest metropolitan centre to the Pisgah Nat’l Forest) and see if we got any zip lining deals which would decrease our expenses. As time progressed, we got other great deals such as white water rafting for $10, Haunted Houses for $8, and Caving for $35.

As our departure time neared we reviewed “what we wanted to do or see while there other than our groupon items.”  So we went onto mapquest, added all of the points of interest, and mapped it as a 1 way trip start to finish to save gas and time. Once that was accomplished we then added in the days we wanted to attend our groupon excursions, our hiking days, travel time and our downtime. Once we did that, we weren’t as overwhelmed. If it weren’t for Groupon we wouldn’t have had a clue, it kind of shaped our trip for us!

A month before departure as we started to plan our food and itinerary bookings etc, we started to get overwhelmed. Especially since both of us were working two jobs and had little down time. Things became overwhelming, until we decided instead of both of us doing everything together, which was creating scheduling conflicts, we delegated items to each other. Jackie took on planning the menu and I took on booking the excursions and doing the maps and itinerary. We would check in with each other frequently to ensure acceptance. This was a godsend! Once that happened the feeling of being overburdened diminished exponentially.

Why pick the destination you chose?

We chose the Pisgah National Forest as a destination originally as Michelle had driven through that region in error on a rock-slide detour on I-40 the year before on her way to Daytona Beach. She oohed and ahhed at the mountaintops and hairpin roads etc. The scenery was just incredible! And randomly her sister had recommended it, not realizing her previous experience was the very same place! The rest of the trip morphed on it’s own! Jackie had always wanted to hike the Appalachian trail.

Looking back on your trip, what would you say were your “must haves” and what would you leave behind?

Can’t think of anything we could have left behind. Because we planned for months, we had it down to a fine science.

Must Haves include: Duct tape for everything including blisters.

Back pack prepacked with all the essential hiker needs: whistle, rain poncho, compass, tissue (ladies, you know why!), band aids, duct tape, matches packed in a water tight container, etc.

GPS was great, but having actual current map books was handy when the GPS didn’t know where we were in backwoods Appalachia. (NC / TN)
Hand sanitizer – for those moments when you need clean hands somewhere.

Cell – texting plan  – to keep in touch with key contacts at home, to ensure your safety! (while we were gone, London had a few tornado watches, and the earthquake hit Virginia, and the hurricane hit the North Carolina coast. Being able to appease everyone’s fears by easy contact was helpful.

Wooden spoon and spatula for cooking, oven mitts

How did you calculate how much food to pack? And what foods did you pack?

We knew that we both had big appetites and were going to be expending a great deal of energy, so small portions were not an option. Because we were camping the whole time and had limited space, we needed food that would not expire and didn’t take up a lot of room.  Our itinerary was jam packed and we didn’t want to spend a lot of time on meal preparation.  Heat it up and go was our motto.

Vegetarian meals were our best bet, pre-cooked and frozen flat in advance, in plastic bags (ugh, I know…plastic is bad, but necessary for our needs). Because Jackie eats a lot of meatless meals and is very active, she had a good grasp on what they needed to bring. Jackie took a whole day 2 weeks before we left and spent it cooking and baking.  I (Jackie) had the crock pot working overtime for 2 days, and had to make double of all the snacks so my son and I wouldn’t eat our snacks before we left!

Pre-cooked frozen food included: 3 bean vegetarian stew; chicken stew (eaten the first day to avoid the meat spoiling); rice & black bean burritos, with spinach, grated cheese (pre-grated & frozen as well) and salsa (bottle nestled safely in the cooler); black bean & spinach pasta; we had more than enough leftovers for the other dinners.
Because we were going during the summer, any fresh produce was purchased on site: spinach, eggs, fruit, cucumber, etc. 

Lunch was pb & j; pre-made couscous or quinoa salads in bags (made the day we left); and bagels with hummus, tomato and cucumber. Breakfasts were scrambled eggs (with cheese, spinach, salsa & bacon bits), french toast, pancakes (this is tricky with a wooden spoon…remember your spatula!); and coffee, the most important part of the day!

I’m a baker by heart, so snacks were a must!  I made GORP (dried cranberries, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds and smarties); S’More cookies; peanut butter oatmeal cookies; pumpkin chocolate muffins; homemade peanut butter cups; and Michelle threw in the mountain pie irons (didn’t take up much room) and by the firelight we had cherry cheesecake!

Jackie’s son works at McDonalds and his boss was great about letting us stock up on packets of: ketchup, syrup, salt, pepper, sugar and jam.  These were all stored in air tight containers to avoid spillage (syrup still got messy somehow) and water damage in case of rain.

…….Stay tuned for Part II…….and send us any questions you want answered!

“I am more of an independent traveller.” We hear this all the time at Novack’s. And it’s not surprising – from Algonquin to the Arctic, our retail component has outfitted many wilderness expeditions for those who prefer independent travel. We also cater to all types of adventurers, including solo travellers, couples and small groups. Our slogan, “Been getting you out there since 1939” demonstrates the philosophy we hold to be true: there are many ways to see the world and you have to find what style works for you. However, if you are not inclined to travel with a group or had a poor experience with group travel in the past, we ask you to consider the following:

“When people say, “I don’t like group travel.”
We usually respond, “We don’t like group travel either.”

As coordinators of the Avid Traveller “small group experiences” program, are we allowed to say that? We sure are.

We don’t like travelling with 55 other people on a crammed bus. We have no desire to be on a boat with 5000 of our closest friends (check out the photo from a previous tour to Monaco – this Cruise ship was probably our biggest nightmare). We don’t need to see 10 cities in 5 countries in 9 days – unpacking and repacking everyday. We don’t like the fact that after one week in a large group, we still don’t know all the names of our fellow travellers.

These are the traditional views of group travel and it is important to remember that not all tour companies are cut from the same cloth.

You know what we DO like?

Peace of mind, knowing that if there is an emergency, that we will be safe and looked after by a qualified leader.

Friendship, camaraderie and the opportunity to meet life long travel buddies.

Knowing that all of the details have been taken care of, and our only job is to be on time and have fun.

Having free time to explore a place either with or without fellow guests.

A mix of group dinners and independent meals in order to get the best of both worlds.

Building a sense of community through organized meetings held both before and after a tour.

Feeling like we are travelling on our own but without any of the hassles.

Hey Avid Travellers!

As many of you are aware, every Saturday morning, Novack’s hosts a “Walk of the Town”. We depart from the store at 10am and walk for an hour around London, ON. Sometimes we walk along the Thames, other times to Wortley village and we have also been known to check out the old beautiful Victorian homes of the old downtown. The walks are a great chance to chat with friends (new and old) and get in some exercise – which is never a bad idea. The walks are also designed to help us prepare for Novack’s Walk for Wellspring, which is being held September 10th this year.Tomorrow is supposed to be one HOT day, and the forecasters are saying the heat will be with us for at least another week. So this got me thinking: What can we do on our morning walk to help keep us safe and cool?

A lot of the “Beat the Heat” information is what most of us would consider fairly common sense – wear light colours, loose clothing, sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat. Drink lots of water, look for shade etc. etc. As obvious as these tips are – it is super important not to forget these basics which many people do and later regret.

Here are some extra (not so obvious) facts to remember:

• 1) We all know that keeping hydrated is key.

  What a lot of us don’t know though is how often we should be drinking. You should never wait until you are thirsty, because by that time, your body is already dehydrated. The key is to take small frequent sips. This is why the idea of having a camel pack (or something similar) is great idea when on a walk. With the water nozzle in close proximity to your mouth, it becomes second nature to drink little bits at a time, as opposed to chugging down a water bottle when it is too late.



• 2) Also on the subject of water,

  I don’t know about you but there is nothing more satisfying than drinking a cold Coca-Cola can on a hot day. Just the sound of the can opening alone is magic. BUT – save it for when your physical activity is over. Sugary drinks are a big no no when trying to stay hydrated. Wanna make your water tastier and more effective? Try an electrolyte tablet which fizzes into water and helps you restore valuable electrolytes you lose from sweating and adds a little flavour. We have a product called “Nuun” which is very popular here in the store.

• 3) When travelling by car or chartered bus

  (either home or abroad), always make sure you have a large supply of water and a small supply of food as well. It is completely possible that you could run into standstill summer traffic or your ride could over-heat while you are on the road. We all know it is important to have an emergency car kit in winter – but do not underestimate the importance of one all year long.

• 4) One last scenario to consider:

  you have spent many months planning an awesome trip (and spending your hard earned cash). You arrive to your destination during a heat wave (if the destination is not notoriously hot already). You may be eager to get out and see the sights, but don’t put your health in danger. Doing any activity between 11am – 3pm is not advisable. More often than not, your sights aren’t going anywhere (ie. You can still see the Eiffel tower at 5pm with plenty of sun). Don’t just sit in your hotel – find a nice, hopefully air conditioned restaurant and chill out. It will be difficult, but you don’t want to say years later, “Hey, remember that time we went to Brazil, and we had to try to speak Portuguese with those ambulance drivers when you doubled over with heat stroke? Yeah that was great.”

Do you have any stories like that? What are your tricks to keep cool? Let me know by leaving a message below!

LJ