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All Articles (Page 67)

In this section, you'll find every article we've published on CheeseWeb in chronological order, starting with our most recent posts. If you're looking for articles on a specific travel destination, see our Slow Travel section.
The Saint John City Market

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Atlantic Canada

A bustling Saturday at the City Market

As travellers, we dream for far-flung destinations; palm lined beaches, vibrant cities and postcard-perfect landscapes. But in our search for the exotic, we often neglect the unique and interesting places right on our doorstep. In over six years of travel writing, I have never once written about my hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick. Today I’m going to change that, by showing you my favourite thing about Saint John – The City Market.

One of the things I love most about living in Europe is the market culture. Even the smallest town has a place where locals can gather to buy fresh produce, meats, seafood, baked goods and handcrafts. I’ve fallen in love with markets in Paris, Arles, La Rochelle and Pau in France; Barcelona and Valladolid in Spain; London, Helsinki, Krakow and Amsterdam  to say nothing of our fabulous markets here in Brussels. And yet, for years, I had neglected the one special place I had grown up with – The Saint John City Market.

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Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Atlantic Canada

Exploring the beautiful Bay of Fundy coast in New Brunswick

When Andrew and I tell people in Europe we’re from Eastern Canada, we usually get the confident response “oh, you’re from Quebec!” Of the 3 Canadian cities most Europeans have heard of (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal) Montreal is the easternmost. However there’s still a lot of Canada hanging out east of Quebec.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island may be small, but what they lack in size, they make up for in personality. We Canadians call it the Maritimes, and we think there are many reasons you should visit us on the east coast. Here are seven of the best:

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Summer in Brussels, Belgium

It may not always be sunny, but there’s still lots to love about summer in Belgium

Despite the lack of a government and the chilly days of the past week, there’s a lot to love about being in Belgium during the summer. Recent visits from travel blogging friends have reminded me of these things and I thought they were worth sharing. The following is my list of favorite things about Belgium in the summer.

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Bunratty Castle

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Bunratty Castle

Visiting historical sites is a great way of gaining an appreciation for events and places. In my previous post about the Castles of Shannon Heritage, I wanted to show history doesn’t have to be boring. I’d love to travel back in time, but sadly the time machine hasn’t been invented. However, there is Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, which does more than just present the history, it immerses you in it.

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Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

When I was in university, I had a poster on my wall of a beautiful castle. It was built of pale grey stone and had turrets and arched windows. It was perched on the edge of a lake and was surrounded by forest. I didn’t know what it was called or where it was located but, for my young self, it represented all that was wild and romantic about travel. I longed to visit it someday.

It wasn’t until many years later, I learned my dream castle was actually Kylemore Abbey, located in the stunning mountains of Connemara, Ireland. At that time, it wasn’t open to the public and I believed I would never get to see my poster castle in person.

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Knappogue Castle, Quin, Co. Clare, Ireland

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Dark and Foreboding, Knappogue Castle tower looms over the countryside.

Alison and I recently returned from a week-long road-trip of Western Ireland. One of the highlights was visiting the castles and heritage properties of the Shannon region.

While there, we visited no less than seven castles, abbeys, and tower houses. Even so, we barely scratched the surface, as there were hundreds of tower houses built during Norman rule, in the 12th century, and beyond. We decided to concentrate on properties maintained by Shannon Heritage. Each one had something special to engage the visitor and bring Ireland’s ancient history to life.

Studying history in school often requires boring memorization of dates and names. Luckily, I was inspired, early on, by a public school teacher who showed my class slides of his travels in Italy, Greece, and more. His personal descriptions of the places and their history made it more real to us as students.

Twenty-five years later, having had the opportunity to travel, I understand his passion for history.  When you visit historical locations in person, the story becomes much more engaging. If done right, such a visit should make you feel like you have stepped back in history. This is exactly what we found at the Shannon Heritage castles.

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