Where in the World

The Day the World Came to Town

Posted on September 11, 2016 by crystalburney

We all remember where we were on September 11th, 2001 when reports came in of planes hitting the Twin Towers in New York City. I was sitting in English class, when my teacher wheeled a t.v. in. We all sat in shocked silence, watching the terror unfold and automatically thinking of those who were on the planes and those who were in the towers and surrounding area.

Immediately, United States airspace was closed and aircraft were ordered to land at the nearest airport. Thirty-eight planes were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland. Right away, the people of Gander started making preparations for the 6,595 passengers and crew that would be landing in their small town of 10,000 over the next couple of hours.

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The Day the World Came to Town – 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede, tells the stories of the “plane people” who found themselves in Gander and the friendly Newfoundlanders who welcomed them with open arms. From the moment the first plane landed, everyone in Gander and surrounding towns stopped what they were doing and did everything they could to help. People began setting up shelters, cooking and supplying meals and snacks, and chauffeuring the people from the planes to anywhere they wanted to go, or just giving them a tour of the town.

There was always someone available at each of the shelters twenty-four hours a day, just in case anyone needed something. They invited people into their homes to use phones, computers and showers and did whatever they could to help the passengers during their stay in Gander, which lasted almost a week.

During this time of devastation, people stripped their houses bare of sheets and towels, and offered the use of their vehicles. Pharmacists filled prescriptions from all over the world at no cost. Local businesses emptied their shelves of food, clothing, toys and toiletries. The Canadian Tire in town was given instructions by its head office to provide whatever was required at no expense.

It was a time of sharing and camaraderie between the locals and those who had been displaced there. Meals and stories were shared and some of the lucky passengers were made honorary Newfoundlanders after being “screeched in” at a local pub. (This involves drinking locally brewed liquor called Screech and kissing a codfish!)

9/11 was a day of terror and loss; but in Gander, Newfoundland, it was also a place of love, compassion and humanity

Categories: North America, Travel Books, Uncategorized, Where in the World | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

In the Heights

Posted on June 7, 2016 by crystalburney

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‘Lights up on Washington Heights,

Up at the break of day’

Since, like thousands of others,  we couldn’t get tickets to see “Hamilton” on a recent trip to NYC, we decided to take the A train to the site of “In the Heights,”  Lin Manuel Miranda’s other show, (which we had no problem finding, thanks to the lyrics).

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‘Well you must take the A Train                                                                                                       Even farther than Harlem
To northern Manhattan and maintain
Get off at 181st, and take the escalator
I hope you’re writing this
Down, I’m gonna test ya later’

Disclaimer: We didn’t fully follow these ‘directions.’ We actually got off at the Washington Heights stop at 168th and walked up to 181st, but we made it regardless.

Washington Heights, Manhattan’s highest ground, was named after George Washington, who led troops into an unsuccessful battle here against the British in 1776. Today, Washington Heights waves a flag of American diversity, with many of its inhabitants hailing from the Caribbean – especially the Dominican Republic.

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Exploring the Vegas of Asia

Posted on May 18, 2016 by crystalburney

A few years ago, my sister moved to Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China near Hong Kong, to teach. Knowing I now had a free place to stay, Macau quickly made its way to the top of my “Must Visit” travel list. I arrived not knowing a whole lot about the country besides that it’s full of casinos and was a Portuguese colony for years.

Wandering around, it was very interesting to see the meeting of Chinese and Portuguese cultures, languages and food, mixed in with big, elaborate casinos. Definitely an interesting place to visit.

Here, I highlight a few of the not- to-be-missed sites found in Macau.

 

 

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Springtime in Central Park

Posted on May 4, 2016 by crystalburney

 

Nestled amongst the concrete and bright lights of Manhattan, Central Park is a wonderful escape from the city’s hustle and bustle.

This sprawling 843-acre masterpiece was designated New York City’s first scenic landmark in 1974 and has become the most famous and beloved urban park in the world.

Central Park has something for everyone. Grab a hotdog and sit by one of the ponds or rent a boat and row around the lake after lunch at the Boathouse. Do a scavenger hunt seeking out the park’s numerous statues. Grab some friends and play a game of baseball or volleyball. Pay tribute to John Lennon in Strawberry Fields, take a ride on the carousel and then head to Central Park Zoo. With all this and so much more, Central Park will keep bringing you back for more!

While I enjoy the park year round, it’s particularly nice on a sunny day in spring as everything is starting to bloom. On a recent trip to the city, I spent a day wandering though the park, stopping for a hotdog, before finding a spot in the sun to sit, read and people watch.

One of the beautiful ponds in Central Park
Strawberry Fields, created in memory of John Lennon
“Imagine”
Bethesda Terrace
The fountain in Bethesda Terrace
Stopping for a Central Park hot dog
Intricate designs on the steps heading to Bethesda Terrace
Trees in bloom around Bethesda Terrace
Rowing around the lake in Central Park
‘Alice in Wonderland’ Statue
Hans Christian Andersen Statue
Central Park Carousel
Taking a ride on the one of the 57 horses
One of the many beautiful bridges in Central Park

 

Good to know-

  • Central Park is free and open to the public from 6 am to 1 am every day.
  • The Dairy, a Victorian Gothic building houses the park’s Visitor Centre. Here, you can buy souvenirs, get maps and sign up for guided walks of the park.
  • Carousel Rides are $3 and can be purchased onsite.
  • There are numerous snack vendors and several restaurants located throughout the park.
  • For more info click here.
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Sleeping on ice at the Hotel de Glace

Posted on March 16, 2016 by crystalburney

Let me start by saying that I’m a beach girl.  I love the sand, the sun and the heat.  Although I grew up in small-town Canada, where as a kid, snow meant days off school, snow forts and tobogganing, I have long since outgrown my love of winter.  Even though I spend my time shivering and wearing multiple layers as soon as the temperature starts to hover around the freezing mark (and trying to stay indoors as much as possible once it goes below -10), this year, I decided that sleeping on a bed of ice sounded like a great idea!

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The magnificent Hotel de Glace in Quebec City, Canada.

I’ve seen photos of the Hotel de Glace in Quebec City for years and always wondered what it would actually be like to stay there.  So this year, I booked a room and set off to find out.

Of course, the day before we arrived, Quebec City had been hit with a major snowstorm and the temperature was sticking between -20 and -23 degrees celsius – perfect weather for sleeping in a room made of snow on a bed made of ice….

Welcome to the Hotel de Glace
The grounds at the Hotel de Glace.

Upon arriving, I almost forgot how cold I was. The Hotel de Glace is incredible. I felt like I had stepped inside the Disney movie Frozen, into a palace created by Elsa herself.  Now in its 16th year, the theme at the hotel this year was “Rivers.”  Here, dozens of artisans work to create a truly magical world of ice and snow.  Each year, the hotel opens in early January and runs until the end of March. The hotel is built in four phases throughout the month of January.

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Map of the Hotel de Glace, stating when each of the four phases were completed.

The Hotel de Glace has 44 rooms, 16 of which are suites, each sculpted with a different River theme: an African river with hippos; an Arctic one filled with polar bears; a whitewater raft where the rafters have been thrown overboard and more. The rest of the rooms feature a bed made of a block of ice and a bedside ice table.

Polar Bear Suite
African River with hippos suite

The hotel also has several ice bars, where you can have a drink served in a glass made of ice.

In the centre of the hotel is an ice slide surrounded by an orchestra of sculpted penguins.

You can even get married in the chapel here, if a frozen tundra theme is what you’re going for. (Personally, once again I’d prefer a sandy beach!)

The chapel
Inside the chapel

After checking in, we set out to explore, humming songs from Frozen along the way.  Before dinner, we had an orientation session. Here, we learned how to properly get into our Arctic sleeping bags and what to do to stay warm. The key lesson here was “If you sweat, you die.”  While layers during the day were a necessity, at night they would most likely leave you shivering.

During the day, the hotel is open to the public, so you can only access your room after 9pm.  This is also the time when the hot tubs and saunas open.  After freezing all day, a nice soak in the hot tub was in order before drying off in the sauna and heading to our room to try and get some sleep, all the while chanting my mantra for the evening: “You will not have to pee. You will not have to pee.” Once I finally got myself situated in my sleeping bag and blew out the candle, I was not getting up for anything.

Our ice bed for the night
All bundled up in my sleeping bag

Sleeping on a block of ice turned out to be exactly how it sounds.  While there was a mattress on top of the ice, some of the coldness still seeped through. Every time you rolled over, you’d have to re-warm the surface under you. I had the hood of my sleeping bag pulled so tight, only my eyes could be seen (and I even had them tucked inside most of the night). Sleeping like a mummy inside my sleeping bag took some getting used to, but eventually I did manage to fall asleep – at least for a little while.

I’m sure I’ve never been so excited to see daylight creep through the curtain door – I had made it through the night without freezing to death! I had slept on a bed of ice, in a hotel made of ice and actually made it through!

I made it through the night!
Canadian river ice fishing suite

What an incredible experience. I had channeled my inner Elsa (although really the cold DOES bother me…a lot) and checked another item off my travel list. I usually leave a place wanting to go back, and this is one I’d love to see again. Although next time, I’ll opt for the day trip option!

Channelling my inner Elsa
The front foyer of the Hotel de Glace
The snowy corridor of the Hotel de Glace
I always find a mermaid!
The apple tree, with actual apples frozen into the branches.
The Mammoth guards the ice slide
The hotel’s ice slide
Getting ready to go down the slide
The penguin orchestra by the ice slide
Elephants at the bar
Trying to warm up by the fire
“Another round bar keep”
Icy drinks in ice glasses
Beluga whale play area
Fire place in the African suite
Wintery forest
‘Man overboard’…or over bed in this raft suite
Catching a ride on an ice mobile
Under the sea suite
Sleeping with the fishes…
The beaver dam suite
The polar bear suite
Our bed for the night
All bundled up for my icy sleep!
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A Valentine’s Day I’ll NEVER forget

Posted on February 14, 2016 by crystalburney

For many people, Valentine’s Day brings about thoughts of love and chocolate and memories of a special someone. For others, it’s a silly holiday that only reminds them that they’ve yet to find that “special someone.” But for me, each year on Valentine’s Day, my mind heads back to Kenya – to a day I think will be pretty hard to beat! tumblr_lzet7qNluV1qctrdd

Click here for Valentine’s day 2008!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

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Beach Bum Birthday

Posted on January 23, 2016 by crystalburney

Every year on January 12th,  I struggle a little (and sometimes more than a little…) with the fact that I’m getting another year older.  I know the saying goes, “Do not regret growing older, it’s a privilege denied to many.”  This I totally agree with. It’s not the getting older part that bothers me, it’s the fact that with every year that goes by I feel like I’m running out of time to do all the things I want to do.  (This list is massive to begin with and seems to grow by the day….)

Most of the time, I can push this feeling away and just continue to cross things off my life “to-do” list.  But then January comes around again- a new year and only 11 days until I get older. As that feeling becomes more overwhelming, I start looking for ways to slow the rising panic. Travel tends to be my remedy for all life’s stresses and birthday trips definitely ease the panicky state.

While any kind of trip is great, the beach always has a calming effect on me. So, I decided to take a short getaway to Montego Bay, Jamaica to spend my day on the beach with sun, sand and slushy drinks.

This year, I learned that birthdays are definitely better on the beach and when the sky paints you a stunningly colourful sunset, you can almost forget you are now a year older.

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Hocus Pocus Tour of Salem

Posted on October 31, 2015 by crystalburney

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My favourite time of year is upon us. Time for spooky decorations, pumpkin beer, carving pumpkins, gorging on candy and dressing up in fabulous costumes! The time of year when ghost stories come to life and witches take over the silver screen.

Over twenty years have gone by since one of the greatest Halloween movies, and my personal favourite, premiered. My yearly Halloween celebrations aren’t complete without watching Hocus Pocus at least once.  This year, I decided to take this celebration one step further and set out for Salem, where the film is set.

If you haven’t seen this movie starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Nijimy, you should stop what you are doing and go watch it….immediately.

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Hocus Pocus tells the story of the Sanderson sisters, three witches who are hanged during the Salem witch trials. After 300 years, the spell the witches cast the night they were hung resurrects them when Max decides Halloween is all a bunch of hocus pocus, and lights the black flame candle on Halloween night.

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Now it’s up to Max, his sister Dani and his crush Allison, along with an immortal cat named Binx to put an end to the Sanderson sisters once and for all.

While most of the filming took place in Los Angeles, some sites in Salem and neighbouring towns made an appearance.

Being such a huge fan of both Halloween and this movie, there was no way I was leaving Salem without tracking down as many of the film sites as I could.

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1.  Max & Dani Dennison’s House– 8 Ocean Ave.  In the film, the Dennisons recently moved to Salem from L.A. into  this amazing house at the end of Ocean Ave overlooking the water.  Today, it’s a private residence, but still looks exactly as it did in the movie when the witches burst out of the amazing rooftop tower.

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2. Old Town Hall– 32 Derby Square- This is the spot where the Sanderson Sisters ‘put a spell on you’ as the adults spent the night dancing away at the town Halloween party. Today, the Salem Museum is located on the first floor of the building. It also hosts the plays Cry Innocent and History Alive.

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3.  Allison’s Mansion – 318 Essex St – The gorgeous house where Max’s crush, Allison, lives is the historic Ropes Mansion, which was built in the 1720s. Today, the mansion is operated by the Peabody Essex Museum and is open to the public. (The film only used the exterior of the house.)

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4.  Sanderson Sister’s Cottage/ Thackery Binx’s home – Salem Pioneer Village/ Salem Forest River Park- The pioneer village is the first living history museum. The “1630 Pioneer Village’ is open to the public from from mid-April to  September 30th – just watch out for black flame candles!

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5. Jacob Bailey High School – Salem Commons- The school Max Dennison attends with Allison.  The exterior of the former Phillips Elementary School made an appearance in the movie when Max, Dani and Allison trick the witches into the furnace to burn them.

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6.  Park outside the school – Salem Common- the scene where Max tries to trick Allison into taking his phone number after school takes place here. Like most New England settlements, Salem had a plot of land where residents could graze their livestock. In 1850, the city enclosed the Common with the wrought iron fence and renovated its structures.

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7. The Graveyard-Old Burial Hill, Marblehead– The daytime shots of the graveyard, where Max is bullied by Jay and Ernie and where Max, Dani, Allison and Binx, hide from the Sanderson Sisters, is located in neighbouring Marblehead. The Old Burial Hill cemetery was established in 1638 and is one of the oldest cemeteries in New England. (Night filming took place in Los Angeles.)  Sadly, we didn’t make it out to this one…guess I’ll just have to make another trip!

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So next Halloween season, if you’re looking to chase down some fun and celebrate one of the greatest Halloween films ever, sail into the Sanderson Sisters’ witching ground and take your own walking tour of these Hocus Pocus filming locations!

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Scootering around Cozumel

Posted on October 22, 2015 by crystalburney

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Beautiful Cozumel is the largest island in Mexico and a major cruise port. While it’s easy to explore the only town on the island, San Miguel de Cozumel on foot, to get around the rest of the island, measuring 53km by 14km, you’re going to require some wheels.

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Taxis here can be expensive, but jeeps, cars, golf carts and scooters are available to rent all over the island for reasonable daily rates.

For larger groups, you’re going to need a car, but for one or two people a scooter is the easiest (and most fun!) way to get around. Here, scooters cost around 250 Mexican pesos to rent for the day.

The western shoreline, where most of the rental places are located, has the ferry dock and the cruise ship ports as well as most of the island’s hotels and dive sites. This side of the island is a bustling port town, filled with souvenir and duty-free shops, traffic and tourists everywhere you look. To escape the crowds and constant  requests to visit each shop, drive your scooter across the island to the eastern shoreline.

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Here, you’ll find beautiful seascapes and nature reserves, broken up periodically by a beach bar.

With a day to use your scooter, a drive around the entire island is possible. It also gives you the freedom to check out some tourist spots along the way, like the Mayan Ruins of San Gervasio. You can park your scooter and hop in for a refreshing swim along the rocky western shore with the locals, or stop for lunch on the Eastern side at one of the funky beach bars – like “Coconuts.”

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Just keep in mind that while scooters are a great way to get around the island, they can also be dangerous. With lots of traffic, tourists and huge speed bumps to dodge, be sure to don a helmet for your adventure. Make sure the scooter is in good condition before setting out, and obey all traffic signs and keep your eyes open while on the road.

Next time you’re in Cozumel, grab a scooter, put your helmet on, and head out to explore all the island has to offer.

Colourful Graffiti Around Cozumel.
Beautiful Sunsets
Mayan Statue
Planes at the Cozumel Airport
Palm Trees at Sunset
Clock Tower in the Town Sqaure
Swallow Statue
Rocky Swimming Hole on the Western Shore
Sea Life Water Fountain
Beach on the Eastern Shore
“Coconuts” Beach Bar
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Snorkeling the Reefs in Cozumel, Mexico

Posted on October 15, 2015 by crystalburney

If you’re only going to do one thing while in Cozumel, Mexico, let it be snorkeling.  This island, a short ferry ride from Playa del Carmen, has some incredible reefs to get out and explore.  On a recent visit, I set out hoping to find some sea turtles on the famous Palancar and Colombia reefs.

Check out the video to see all the incredible creatures I found in the warm waters off the coast of Cozumel.

http://https://youtu.be/kMDxgtDQKNc

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