%)
Books
Gift Idea for Bookish Travellers, Part 1
12/12/09 12:47
My Maasai Life
By Robin Wiszowaty
Me to We Books; 316 Pages; $22.95
At 21, Robin Wiszowaty bid farewell to malls, SUV’s and household debates about Frosted Flakes vs. Cap’n Crunch and said hello to bare feet, true communal living and cabbage.
In My Maasai Life, Wiszowaty takes the reader along on her transformative journey from suburban Chicago to rural Kenya. At first an overwhelmed outsider who barely speaks the language, Wiszowaty sticks it out for an entire year, ultimately gaining acceptance in a traditional Maasai family.
“I wasn’t treated as a visitor, I was treated as a Maasai daughter,” says Wiszowaty, on the phone with The Citizen.
Far from a dry travelogue, Wiszowaty’s story is compelling, charming and tear-jerking at times. Though her quest for personal escape soon turns into a lifelong commitment to international development (Wiszowaty is currently the Kenya Program Director with Toronto-based Free the Children), My Maasai Life never seems contrived or overly preachy. Read More...
|
Gift Idea for Bookish Travellers, Part 2
12/12/09 12:45
Good Night and God Bless, A Guide to Convent & Monastery Accommodation In Europe, Volume 1: Austria, Czech Republic, Italy
By Trish Clark
Hidden Spring, a division of Paulist Press; 264 pages; $20
Ever traipse around a city for hours searching in vain for a hotel with vacancy, then exclaim “oh thank God!” when you finally find one?
Trish Clark knows that feeling well. Especially the God part.
In 1970, she was backpacking in Rome and, finding her youth hostel of choice fully booked, reluctantly ended up at a convent near the Spanish Steps.
Would there be rigid rules? Would the sisters be stone-faced? Would fun be banned? Would she be forced to pray?
The questions clanged in her head like church bells.
But Clark’s fears were quickly hushed when she was greeted warmly then led to a former nun’s cell that was both clean and comfortable.
“I was woken by the sound of the nuns singing hymns during morning Mass. I soon learned that when the singing stopped breakfast was ready,” says Australia-based Clark.
At the table, she was joined by other travellers who shared stories and tips as they dined on fresh bread rolls, homemade jam and “delicious, steaming hot milky coffee.”
Read More...
One Ultimate Experience Book
07/10/09 08:17
In keeping with the 1000 Places to See Before you Die, 100 Things to do Before you Die and 30 Angry Phrases to Scream Before you Die trend in publishing (ok, made that last one up), Lonely Planet is releasing 1000 Ultimate Experiences this month. Thankfully no death theme this time - that was getting a little depressing. 
Here are the ultimate Canadian experiences included in the book:
Best Road Trips -- Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island
Classic Train Trips -- Rocky Mountaineer
Most Extreme Environment -- Banff National Park
Best Adventure Travel Ideas -- Cycling the Icefields Parkway
Top 10 Boys (and girls) - own Adventures -- Cattle drive, Alberta
Best Party Cities -- Montreal, Canada
The World's Best Human Races -- Grouse Grind Mountain Run
Most Lip-Smacking Street Food -- Poutine
The Best skiing in North America -Blackcomb/Whistler, British Columbia, Canada,
Whitewater, Nelson, British Columbia and Banff, Alberta
Sea kayaking -- Johnstone Straits, Canada
Here are the ultimate Canadian experiences included in the book:
Best Road Trips -- Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island
Classic Train Trips -- Rocky Mountaineer
Most Extreme Environment -- Banff National Park
Best Adventure Travel Ideas -- Cycling the Icefields Parkway
Top 10 Boys (and girls) - own Adventures -- Cattle drive, Alberta
Best Party Cities -- Montreal, Canada
The World's Best Human Races -- Grouse Grind Mountain Run
Most Lip-Smacking Street Food -- Poutine
The Best skiing in North America -Blackcomb/Whistler, British Columbia, Canada,
Whitewater, Nelson, British Columbia and Banff, Alberta
Sea kayaking -- Johnstone Straits, Canada
Reinventing Yourself Through Travel
17/04/09 09:19
You can’t afford the trip.
Giraffes scare the bejeezus out of you.
Adventure travel is for young men with six-pack abs.
Go on…make all the excuses you want. But Carol Patterson won’t buy them.
The Calgary-based author of a new book called Reinventure: How Travel Adventure Can Change Your Life, Patterson urges you to tackle risks head-on.
Why? Not so you can flaunt a stamp-riddled passport or show off a new Turkish carpet at your next neighbourhood gathering.
For Patterson, the true reward of travel is something intangible: personal growth. Read More...