Did you know I lived in Africa when I was just 23 years old? Talk about an amazing travel experience! Here are eight of my favourite things to do in Malawi. One of my favourite things to do in Malawi was to watch the gorgeous sunsets over Lake Malawi. Photo by Craig Manners on Unsplash My beaten, battered, dog-eared 2001 edition of Lonely Planet Malawi opens by describing how tourism brochures hype Malawi as “the warm heart of Africa” and, as much as they like to avoid generalizations, this seems particularly true as Malawians are among the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere.
It’s been 20-some years since that paragraph was written, but it still holds as true to me today as it did when I first read those words in 2004, and I was preparing to leave graduate school for an internship with the Malawi Department of Fisheries and the Canadian International Development Agency. I worked as a gender analyst, and my work took me throughout the country, from cities to tiny villages. Malawi’s warm heart made for an unforgettable experience. Malawi is a small country in southeast Africa. When I first applied for the internship that would take me there, I knew nothing about Malawi. In fact, I was all muddled between Maui, Mali, and Bali – and I wasn’t close to any of them! The country borders Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique. Visiting here is easier than you might think. It’s just a short flight from Nairobi to the north, Victoria Falls to the west, and Johannesburg to the south. While Malawi is admittedly not a destination for a classic “big 5” safari, the country has fantastic wildlife destinations plus many other experiences and attractions that should put it on any traveller’s bucket list. Here are some of my favourite must-do Malawi moments. If you're a reader like me, London is the perfect city. Step inside London's literary wonderland and discover 11 bookstores you'll want to visit again and again. London is a reader’s dream – and a shopper’s dream as well. However, how many bookstores are in London is a bit of a mystery. While one map claims there are 112 independent bookshops in this British capital, my personal experience says there are endless hidden gems when you add in the quaint second hand stores. Put the non-independent stores, regional chains, global powerhouses, and the kiosks dotting train stations and museums on the list and I suspect the number of book-selling venues easily surpasses a thousand. That’s great news if you’re a reader like me! These are eleven shops that are especially meaningful to me and the spots that I recommend to people again and again. London Review Bookshop (Bloomsbury) Nestled in Bloomsbury, the London Review Bookshop, an extension of the literary periodical, is a cozy haven with a penchant for classic and new fiction. Without a doubt, it is not only my favourite bookstore in London but it is now my favourite in all the world (don’t worry, Paris’ Shakespeare and Co is a close second). It feels like every single book in the shop has been carefully selected and I always discover something entirely new to me which I had never considered before but suddenly have to have. The shop also operates an absolutely delightful cake shop which offers hot drinks, homemade desserts, treats like coconut yogurt with rhubarb compote and granola, and savory fare including a soup and a stew of the day and a sandwich or two.
Did I mention I love this bookshop? I love it. Talking Mauritian Culture, Bajan Flavours, and Travel Treats with MasterChef Shelina Permalloo20/10/2023
At Barbados Food & Rum Festival, a renowned chef shared her secrets for creative, sustainable food (as well as the treat she can't travel without!) "The smell of happiness is, for me, frying plantain in Barbados."
Shelina Permalloo is a British-Mauritian chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author specializing in Mauritian cuisine. She's known worldwide as the first woman of colour to win BBC's MasterChef competition in 2012, but when I met her, she was thrilled to simply be an attendee of the Barbados Food & Rum Festival (just like me!) Permalloo first visited Barbados after finishing university (she reports: "There were 16 of us... and the island knew when we arrived!") That initial trip made some lasting impressions, as the large group quickly made friends with locals, got invited home for homemade dinners, and provided the future chef with an abiding love of Barbadian (Bajan) cuisine. During the Food & Rum Festival's Chef Classics event (an intimate series of cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs), Chef Shelina shared her thoughts on elevating traditional comfort food, embracing sustainable ingredients, and the special treats she can't live without when she travels. There's no travel treat I love quite like a fancy coffee. But would fate keep me away from the decadent delights in Victoria-By-The-Sea? Have you ever had one of those travel moments when you really, really want to visit a place but it seems that fate is determined to keep you away?
That's how I've felt about Island Chocolates in the small Prince Edward Island village of Victoria-By-The-Sea for YEARS now! I had the shop (and, specifically, their chocolate-infused "factory coffee") since 2021. That autumn, Ryan and I rolled into town in the middle of a brutal rainstorm and we couldn't find the shop. This is clearly a reflection on how road-weary we were, as the shop is on MAIN STREET. We must have been a bit loopy in order to miss it. As such, our only moment of triumph from that visit was finding public washrooms. No chocolate for us. I had a second chance in 2022 when I was visiting PEI with friends. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in Victoria-By-The-Sea before taking a leisurely walk up to Island Chocolates... except that it was closed! Once again, it was our fault. We didn't look up the hours and it's not surprising that they'd be closed after supper time. Would my luck change in 2023? Well.... What happens when you combine a hotel cat and cheap wine? Bed bugs, that's what. Here's what happened to me. Venice in August is not the best time or place to get a great meal.
During this traditional month of Italian family vacations, many a restaurant shuts down for a week – or more. Despite my advanced planning, I still ended up at a tourist trap during our 2016 trip. The dour staff refused to serve free tap water. Only pricey bottled water was available, chafing against my frugal principles. Given the dire circumstances, I opted for a more economical choice: a bottle of cheap rosé. And thus my bed bug saga began. Skipping merrily home to my clean but threadbare hotel, I encountered the property’s resident cat, Pierre, on the steps. I should pause and say I assumed it was the property’s cat, based on his cat-like claim of the courtyard space, but, as Ryan points out, it really could have belonged to anyone – or no one at all. But with the demon liquor in my veins, I considered it prudent to scoop Pierre up and bring him to my room in a brazen hope of enjoying a genuine cat nap with him. Intoxicated with the love of a temporary pet (and bargain-basement wine) I didn’t perform my customary bed bug sheet check... Some people explore via food tours or shoe shopping. It seems my destiny is to discover the world one optometrist at a time. What do Paris (France), Portland (Maine), and Yarmouth (Nova Scotia) have in common? Not much, to be honest. But I’ve come to see them through a new lens – if you’ll pardon the pun – thanks to local optometrists.
Some people see the world through – here’s that pun again – a specific lens. They explore destinations via a particular filter or set of experiences, discovering cities via food tours or shoe stores. I hadn’t thought that approach applied to me until I realized I was getting to know the globe via eye health facilities, one city at a time. Sometimes the best travel guides aren't guidebooks at all. These ten books will help you see travel, food, wine, life, and culture in a new way. Do you remember the first book that inspired you to travel?
I have several. I vividly remember the details of Anne's voyage from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia to attend college in Anne Of The Island, the third instalment in Lucy Maud Montgomery's Green Gables series. I was enthralled by the packing scenes in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. What does one bring when you embark on a long carriage ride to see Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins? Early biographies of The Beatles made Liverpool's gritty streets and warm culture feel not that far away. I bet you have some memorable novels and memoirs that helped inform your travels, too. And now I have some more to add to your list. I'm confident there's something among my list of ten non-travel travel books that will appeal to every reader. These texts will change the way you look at food, drink, towns, cities, forests, fears, and friendships forever. Tuck one into your suitcase for your next trip. How hard could it be to find a tree-loving rodent in a city filled with parks? The gardens of Paris' Rodin Museum are a fine setting for many a good thing. You can enjoy a tranquil oasis in the middle of the city. Great works of art are resplendent in a natural setting. Rodin's masterpiece, The Thinker, awaits your admiring gaze. What you can't do, however, is see a squirrel.
I wish I could tell you that "squirrel" is code for a kind of art or maybe even a pastry, but no. I'm talking about your everyday prosaic squirrel. Red, grey, black, flying, I was open to them all but in Paris, they eluded me. I don't normally look for vermin when I travel and, if I did, I don't know if squirrels would top my agenda. As a dog owner, squirrels have long been on Oliver's list of enemies (along with the mop, highway rumble strips, and the doorbell). As such, while I have no personal animosity with squirrels, familial loyalty dictates that I hate them. But my hand was forced when I shared the story of seeing sheep grazing on public lands not far from my Paris apartment. My tale of discovering the Eco-Mouton came in the middle of an online networking event with colleagues. My reference to actual animals somehow had its wagon hitched to a separate reference about animal-like energy (aka "feeling squirrel-y") and a comment was made that I should be on the lookout for squirrels as well as sheep. Challenge accepted! I'd find an adorable squirrel, take a quick snapshot as it delicately nibbled away on a gourmet nut like the true discerning Parisian it was, and gain the accolades of my friends. There was just one problem.... There are no squirrels in Paris. After more than twenty years of value-focused travel, I'm finally saying a fond farewell to hostels - for the most part. Here's why. Even before I had my final hostel stay, I knew it would be my last.
The previous couple of hostels I stayed at brought roller coasters of emotion. One, set in a gorgeous historic location, was clean and friendly but offered bare-bones dorms with whisper-thin mattresses, a single stingy pillow, and squeaky wooden bunk beds. My bunk was positioned in the centre of the room, without a single wall at my disposal for leaning or privacy. The muggy, warm room and back-aching bed made sleep impossible and I cringed every time I moved, fearful my squeaky bed was keeping everyone awake. It was a rough night – and a rough morning as I tried to be as quiet as a mouse, packing up my computer to escape to a nearby cafe for a bleary and bright conference call. While I was waiting for my call to connect, I found clarity in my exhaustion. For the first time ever, I sacrificed my two remaining nights of prepaid bunk accommodations in favour of relocating to a private bed and breakfast room. I spent an extra $300 I wasn’t expecting but when I finally got to my snug room and sunk into the plush, squeak-free mattress, I nearly wept with relief – and guilt. Who was I, giving up an otherwise great-on-paper hostel just because my bedding wasn’t as sumptuous as I would like? |
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