Vancouver Bed And Breakfast

Hello From The Canadian Rockies – Part 4: Dinner At Il Giardino

After catching a lovely and much needed rest at the historic Twin Gables Bed and Breakfast we set off to explore the immediate neighbourhood, the restaurant area on 4th Street. We were going to walk, but considering I had been really sick with an aweful chest cold in the last few days, venturing out into the cold evening air had me a little leery. Henry from the Twin Gables was really kind to offer us a drive a few blocks up to a restaurant called Il Giardino, one of the places that had come highly recommended for this area from Tourism Calgary.

We entered a Mediterranean-looking restaurant that was just packed with people. We sat down at a cozy table and had a chance to spend some time with the owner, Mike Ciccaglione, and his restaurant manager Dorothy, to find out more about this establishment. Wherever I go I try to get the human stories, and boy, was I in for an interesting one here. I did not realize that I had connected with one of Calgary’s most successful entrepreneurs, a real immigrant success story.

Mike was born in the Italian region of Molise and left Italy when he was 16 years old to study business administration and restaurant and hotel management in Switzerland. He came to Canada in 1962 following which he worked in a variety of hotels and restaurants in Calgary and Banff. He also studied English as a second language. In 1967 he opened his first restaurant called the Prairie Dog Inn which initially specialized in Mexican food.

As if that wasn’t enough, Mike went on to open the Mexican Village chain of fast food restaurants in several shopping malls and in 1980 he opened the “Pied Pickle” chain.

Logically he decided to expand his business to encompass the supply and distribution of tortillas and other Mexican foods: El Molino food manufacturing was born. This company manufacturers Mexican food products as well as pizzas and Italian pasta dishes and distributes its products to warehouses in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.

In 1998 Mike opened “Il Giardino” (the ultimate in Italian food and fun), a restaurant where all the dishes were home-cooked had always been his big dream.

When we walked into this restaurant I had no idea that we we would meet such a successful Canadian entrepreneur. At the same time, you’d never know it – Mike walks around in casual clothing, laughs and smiles a lot and always keeps his eyes open to check on his guests’ enjoyment. During our conversation he got up several times to greet or say goodbye to guests and Dorothy referred to him as a “big flirt”. It is plainly obvious that even at 65 years of age, Mike loves what he is doing and Dorothy told us that he does the rounds throughout his various Calgary businesses on a daily basis. Mike is one of those people who loves his work and always has a twinkle in his eyes.

Dorothy has an interesting story herself: she is originally from Montreal and her husband, an engineer in the oil industry, hails from England. Before Calgary they have lived in Montreal, St. John’s / Newfoundland, as well as Jakarta where they ended up as refugees in Singapore for a month during President Suharto’s coup. Now they settled into a calmer life in Calgary.

Mike attributes his success to a strong commitment to quality ingredients and preparation, and he credits great support from his wife Lucy, his daughter Judy and his son Michael Jr. for much of his fortune and he hopes that one day his children will take over. He also recognizes the importance of his employees as a critical success factor. He told us that he feels it’s very important to reward his employees and many of the staff at the Il Giardino Restaurant have been there 10 and more years. A young couple, the evening manager and the hostess, have 15 years of service (5 years at Il Giardino and 10 years at the Pied Pickel) between them and Dorothy confirmed that people really enjoy the work here. Mike says “You’re nobody until people make you somebody”, that’s why treats his employees well and appreciates his winning team.

The construction of Il Giardino is a story in itself: Mike designed the restaurant and one of his long-time friends, Walter Petrin, did all the brickwork while his other great friend Vic Finot was the general contractor. Every Friday he and these two special friends get together to solve the problems of the world. Strangely enough, the next day the problems start all over again.

Outside of work Mike loves to spend time with friends, some of whom he has known for 40 years now. His family is very supportive of him and his wife dedicates a lot of her time to charitable work. Mike also supports the United Way and various fundraising drives for breast cancer and the Calgary Children’s Hospital.

He still goes back to Italy every once in a while although he says he’s seen almost everything in his home country. So now he is thinking of traveling to places like Asia, Africa and Latin America as long as it is safe and reasonably clean. Mike loves soccer and he even used to own a local soccer team that was called the El Molinos Dinos. Another one of Mike’s big passions is his Ferrari and he said that every once in a while he puts it on sale just to see the interest on the part of potential purchasers. But when it comes down to it he really has no intention of selling it.

But that’s not all: Mike is a movie star as well! He has had roles in “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids” as well as in “Cool Runnings”. It seems Mike is always up to something, and when you listen to his list of endeavours it seems incredible that one person can get all this done.

Mike embodies hospitality and while we were there he insisted that we get a real taste of what his kitchen is capable of. For starters we got to sample Il Giardino’s soups: I tasted a Stracchiatelle egg drop soup while my husband got the “Brodo con Polpettine e Pasta” (chicken broth with tiny meatballs and pasta). Then I got to sample a taste of Il Giardino’s famous Calamari (extremely tasty and tender) while Nigel had their Bruschetta bread. We also received a sampler plate of appetizers – Antipasto Italiano (prosciutto with melon).

That wasn’t all: we also got a taste of Il Giardino’s home-made Gnocchi della Nonna which, by the way, are home-made by Mike’s 70 year old sister. Then, we couldn’t believe it, the main course arrived: a sampler plate of three of Il Giardino’s specialties: Pollo ai Funghi (chicken breast in a white wine sauce topped with mushrooms), Piccata al Limone (veal in lemon and white wine sauce), and Agnello al Rosmarino (rack of lamb in a rosemary, mint and red wine sauce). I am not usually a huge meat eater, but these dishes were phenomenal, the meat was tender, the sauces very tasty without being overpowering. Mike topped a fabulous meal off with a tasting of the most famous Italian desert: tira misu.

Without exaggeration, our culinary experience at Il Giardino ranks right up there as one of my best restaurant experiences of a life-time, the food was that delicious. I love Italian food, and the folks at Il Giardino certainly know how to prepare Italian delicacies. We had to take a doggy bag back to our bed and breakfast, there was no way we could actually eat all this delicious food. There is no doubt that Il Giardino serves great, freshly made food. And even more so, it was a pleasure to meet the creator behind this welcoming neighbourhood institution.

For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/calgary_il_giardino.htm

7.2% rise in Maui visitors offsets losses on other Hawaii islands

7.2% rise in Maui visitors offsets losses on other Hawaii islands
A jump in the number of visitors traveling to Maui in February helped offset declines on the other major islands, the Hawai’i Tourism Authority reported yesterday.

Read more on Honolulu Advertiser

Canada Top Travel Destination Cities

After the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) collapsed, Canada became the world’s second largest country by land mass after Russia and despite a considerably territory area within these countries are tundra land, Canada is a popular tourist destination for both visitors from its neighbor country (USA) and anyone around the world.

Canada is situates in northern North America bordering with the United States in the south, the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Pacific Ocean in the West and the Artic Ocean in the north. Historically Canada’s the first settlements took place thousand years ago, time at which researchers believe the Bering Strait was connect to Asia.

However, after its historical timeline, Canada is a parliamentary democracy of the British Crown that preserves the French culture and language of the early French Expeditions arriving to the country along with British surveying the region, providing to modern Canada multicultural settings that can be observed throughout different cities and towns.

When it comes to visit Canada, keep in mind the following cities that are considered among the top tourist Canadian destinations to enjoy unforgettable vacations time:

Niagara Falls

Bordering with the city of New York in the United States, the Niagara Falls, in the province of Ontario, are a natural phenomenon attracting visitors from around the world. Best known as a honeymoon destination, Niagara Falls is a top-notch destination with an exciting nightlife, sightseeing and adventure opportunities.

Besides the waterfall, Niagara Falls has a popular Fallsview Casino and long-time running traditional tours including Marineland and the Maid of the Mist tour. At Niagara Falls, expect to find word-class resorts and small bed and breakfast facilities that invite to adopt this place like a dreaming retreat.

Montreal

Situated in the province of Quebec, Montréal is perhaps the most French city in Canada. The city of Montreal is a busy place where dinning, shopping and enjoying the French heritage of the city in every street are just a few of those delightful activities that visitors can find at this place.

Montreal is located between the St. Laurent River (St. Lawrence) and Rivière des Prairies, home to the Olympic Games of 1976, the city keeps the memories of the event in many building including the Olympic Stadium, although there are many other attractions such as the Underground City complex downtown and its main festivals.

Vancouver

Vancouver is the largest city in the province of British Columbia, facing the Pacific Ocean. This coastal city offers a wide array of outdoor activities thanks to its privileged location surrounded by Mountains and water streams that amalgamated with climate are the idea setting for skiing at the famous Whistler/Blackcomb ski resort.

However, there are countless opportunities for shopping, dinning and dancing at nightclubs along Granville Street, or visiting the Commodore Ballroom, a live classic music venue established in 1920. Otherwise, Vancouver invites visitors to hiking trails, take a guided museums tour, or enjoy the events and festivals taking place all year long.

Hello From Victoria- Part 1 – Reaching The West Coast

Jetlag is an amazing thing. It’s barely after 5 am and I have already been reading for an hour an a half. So I figured I might as well use this bout of sleeplessness and record my first impressions of British Columbia.

My WestJet flight out of Toronto left a 7:15 am yesterday, so that meant I got up at 4:30 am, after 2.5 hours of sleep, to check all my luggage, eat a brief breakfast and get myself out to the airport. Sometimes a little travel savvy goes a long way, I had decided to use my Airmiles to go to BC and upon doing some research I found out that WestJet had a special on that only required me to use 1600 Airmiles instead of the regular 3900 Airmiles, so off I went and booked the trip, saving myself 60% of the Airmiles that I would have otherwise spent. When you travel frequently, you have to look at every available option of savings costs and my travel reward miles came through big for me.

I was able to book a flight from Toronto to Calgary and another from Calgary to Vancouver. WestJet is always an interesting experience because its flight attendants are known for cracking jokes over the PA system. The flight to Calgary was actually really bumpy and for about an hour we went through what felt like a dirt road in the sky full of potholes, hitting the occasional air pocket and dropping a few feet. But the WestJet crew brought us down safely and humorously, something I was very happy about.

In retrospect I actually felt pretty lucky, considering that the very night before my departure an Air France flight had crash-landed in Toronto. Fortunately, all 300+ passengers and crew survived and only 43 people ended up with light injuries, despite the fact that the plane went up in flames. Not surprisingly the newspapers referred to this incident as the Miracle Flight.

Well, my aerial transport went a lot smoother and after about 7 hours of flight and transfers our plane touched down in beautiful Vancouver. The natural setting of Vancouver is indeed impressive: it is set in the Coastal Mountain Range, surrounded by Vancouver Island and the Pacific Ocean. It certainly looked breath-taking from the air, but my exploration of this city had to wait since my first item of the agenda was to get myself to the City of Victoria, on Vancouver Island.

I located the Pacific Coachlines desk at the Vancouver airport and for just over C$70.00 I bought a return ticket for a coach and ferry ride across to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. I only had about a half hour between my arrival at the airport until a comfortable air-conditioned bus whisked us to the Tsawassen Bay Ferry Terminal, following which the bus went onto the BC Ferries boat itself.

The ferry was a very large vessel with 3 different decks for cars, trucks and buses. There are 3 additional passenger decks including an open-air sitting area in the front of the ferry. We slowly started our crossing of the Straits of Georgia and I thoroughly enjoyed the panomara of mountains and water. Due to my lack of sleep my head got a little heavy and I fell asleep on the open-air deck. When I woke up we were just chugging through the narrows between Galiano Island and Mayne Island. The narrow channel is embedded in between these islands which are covered by coniferous forests. The entire approach to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal was one of the most scenic waterways I have ever seen.

Punctually at 2:25 pm people headed back down to the bus, at 2:35 the bridge was lowered onto the ferry and our bus was the first vehicle out of the boat. Another 45 minutes later and we arrived in downtown Victoria at the bus terminal, right next to the Fairmont Empress Hotel, one of Victoria’s most famous landmarks. Designed as a chateau-style luxury hotel, it was built in 1908 for $1 million and was extensively restored in the late 1980s to the tune of $45 million. But more extensive exploration of this stunning building would have to wait, since a local friend was picking me up at the bus station.

My co-worker Clare, who works with me in my full-time business in new business development, relocated to Victoria with her husband Haishan in March of this year, and the two of them have been graciously accommodating me since my arrival yesterday. Both Clare and her husband are originally from mainland China and have been calling Canada their home for the last few years.

Haishan came to pick me up and after a beautiful drive through Victoria and some of its suburbs, I arrived at Clare and Haishan’s beautiful house in a little hillside community outside Victoria. After a couple of hours of rest due to my utter exhaustion, I got up to a beautiful Chinese dinner complete with 3 different meat dishes and the most delicous chicken with chestnuts dish I had ever eaten.

While we were savouring this gourmet meal, a deer made its appearance in the backyard, and Clare had already informed me earlier that deers show up in the backyard on an almost daily basis and take care of all newly planted landscaping and flowers, much to the chagrin of the residents.

After this delicious dinner we went on a little drive in the neighbourhood and drove down to the lagoon from where we had a perfect lookout to the Olympic Mountain Range in Washington State, across the narrow strait from Vancouver Island. One of the mountains was snow-covered and this majestic mountain range combined with the waters of the Pacific creates one of the most stunning sceneries this lovely planet of ours has to offer. We had a view of a historic light house and the Esquimalt navy base and after a brief drive through the hilly coastal roads (and another close encounter with a deer) we drove back to Clare’s beautiful house on the slopes.

After another hour or two of shop talk I was positively exhausted and dropped into bed like a sack of potatoes, only to wake up before 4 am, unable to sleep. Well, this early rise has given me a chance to record my first impressions, and I have avidly been reading my guidebook on Vancouver and Victoria, laying out a draft itinerary for today. The sun is coming up now so I’ve got another couple of hours of reading ahead of me in preparation of today’s discovery.

For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/hello_victoria_1.htm

Vancouver Lodging

Vancouver Lodging – Most Important Factors to Think About When Looking for Vancouver Lodging.

Where to stay while you are in Vancouver can be quite a dilemma. The choices are limitless. While some believe this is a good thing, others are concerned over where they should stay. There are many things to bear in mind, among them just a few are essential.

Price is always one of the main things to keep in mind. After all, we want to take advantage of our vacations without paying in excess. Though it depends on many factors, it is generally asociated to the type of lodging, amenities they offer, and location.

Types of lodging include:
* Hotels, Motels and Inns
* Bed & Breakfasts
* Resorts Spas, Lodges
* Cottages, Cabins & Chaletes
* Vacation Home Rentals & Condos
* Hostels

Amenities are anything above a room, for instance a bar, pool, spa and so on. It is highly advisable to consult previously what amenities they give, since amenities vary greatly from one type of lodging to another. Never presuppose anything and find out things ahead of time, otherwise you could result very disappointed, and that’s something you want to avoid on your vacation.

Depending on the ambience you are in search of, Vancouver lodging can be found in all districts of the city. The hotel business has been blooming, giving visitorsa rich variety and great range of prices. The easiest way to decide on a spot is to decide what attractions you’re most interested and stay in the part of town which can give you what you want.

You will find most of the hotels in the downtown nucleus or the West End, where the most crowded neighborhood in Canada is found. Some apartment buildings there have been transformed into hotels, as well as some great incredible hotels which are right on the beach.

Some interesting choices are also available in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. There you can find Bed and Breakfasts for a homier, less-touristy experience.

The North Shore, across another bridge, offers other wonderful options, perfect for those more interested in hiking, biking, and discovering the great outdoors.

Coal Harbour, Gastown, as well as the popular Grandville Street are in the financial district of downtown Vancouver. Here, lodging options are either incredibly luxurious hotels or simple hostels.

So, no matter where you stay, Vancouver Lodging can guarantee an unbeatable variety of options.

www.VancouverBC.com – Vancouver Lodging

Lizard Head Hockey brings in renown coach

Lizard Head Hockey brings in renown coach
Wayne Gretzky. Gordie Howe. Sean Skinner? Skinner’s may not be a household name in hockey homes, but he is arguably the most sought-after hockey coach in the world.

Read more on Telluride Daily Planet

Four favourite Canadian hotels

Four favourite Canadian hotels
SpringHill Suites Old Montreal has a great location tucked away on a narrow street of Old Montreal a couple of blocks from the basilica of Notre Dame and the old port.

Read more on Canoe Travel