Too Square to be Hip
A narcissist's guide to travel and culture
Renfrew and its Country Fair Like many teens/young adults in the Ottawa area, I filled my summers up by hitting concerts at the never ending series of concerts taking place at the Ottawa Valley country fairs. My first visit to the town was to see Kim Mitchel, where he was drunkenly heckled to play their …
Located on the west bank of the Nile River, the city of Giza is best known for its world famous necropolis complex, considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and one of the most monumental structures ever put into being. It is also in some ways the first tourist site …
Geography Located on a hilltop in north-western Jordan Aljoun possesses a commanding view of the countryside. Nearby you will find the Aljoun Forest Reserve, once one of the largest forests in the middle-east before much of it was burned by the Ottoman Turks for fuel for their railway to Mecca. The castle prompted the building …
Foley Mountain Conservation Area Overlooking the town of Westport is the Foley Mountain Conservation Area. This fantastic park can be driven in and parked at for a small fee, or walked to from the town. During your walk you have the potion to visit Spy Rock overlooking the town or beaver lake, inland. A third …
Once one of the most resplendishing cities in the Mediterranean, home to two of the seven wonders and a a jewel of Hellenic culture, Alexandria, city of the Conqueror, is but a beaten down shadow of its former self. It is clear from the decaying concrete buildings and the crumbling Napoleonic era architecture that the …
Once the Danish fortified trading town of Reval, the Estonian capital is a stunning city that is beautiful at just about anytime of year. Whether the city is covered in snow or in the middle of the summer heat, it manages to look just as pretty! Geography Tallinn is located on the Bay of Tallinn, …
Located inland, in the heart of old Livonia, Tartu is a university town like no other. The oldest city in the Baltics, it has lost much of its historic core to the ravages of war and Soviet town planning, yet what remains is surely impressive. The city was better known as its German name of …
Ordensburg may seem like a foreign name to most, but back in the medieval ages, you couldn’t make your way though old Livonia without running into one. Viljandi was one of these Ordensburgs, a German name for crusader’s castles that were constructed in the Baltic Region by monastic orders such as the Teutonic Knights and …
Crossing Over Crossing the border at Valka/Valga is as easy as 1,2,3. Since integration into the EU, the old border posts have been shuttered and only a roadsign indicates that you have left the country. In Town There is little really to see in town. Since the object of my visit was the military museum, …
Auld Kirk Cemetery While exiting Almonte to the west to turn onto the roadway north towards the Mill of Kintail, you will come an well manicured cemetery at the intersection. This is the Auld Kirk, an ancient Scottish burial ground dates back from 1834. When inside the beautiful black painted gates you will see that …
