In My Camera Bag – Packing Photo Equipment for Travel
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Paul
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I have a problem – my camera gear, when packing for travel, takes priority over everything else. I LOVE my camera gear. I only like my clothes…
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Paul
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Paris in Photos
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Paul
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2021 Update! This post was originally published in 2018, leaving out a more recent trip to the City of Light. I also hadn’t processed all…
Paul’s Top 15 Travel Movies
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Paul
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Note: This post was originally published on Aug.15, 2017 but was updated on Oct. 25, 2020 with some new info and ideas. Thanks for reading!…
48 Hours in Saint-Malo, France
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Paul
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Inside the walls of the old city of Saint-Malo, you feel a bit like you’ve been taken back in time. The cobblestone streets, ramparts, and…
24 Hours in Mont Saint-Michel, France
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Paul
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We stood out in the cold, a light drizzle falling in the early Spring air, waiting for the sun to set on Mont Saint-Michel. I…
Visiting Notre Dame – Days Before the Flames
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Paul
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Less than two weeks ago I stood in front of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (from here on in referred to as Notre Dame), enjoying the…
10 Days in Chiang Mai, Thailand – Trip Report
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Paul
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Chiang Mai has become one of my favourite cities to visit in Southeast Asia…but I didn’t always feel that way. The last time I was…
Siem Reap, Cambodia – The Many Faces of Bayon
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Paul
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The skies opened, thunder cracked, and the many faces of Bayon watched as we scurried into an alcove to avoid getting soaked to the skin.…
Siem Reap, Cambodia – Exploring Ta Promh and Ta Nei Temples
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Paul
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“Bloody hell, that tree is massive,” she said as we turned the corner and got our first look at the hulking silk cotton tree enveloping the ruins…
Missing the Sunrise at Angkor Wat
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Paul
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Who goes to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise and then misses the sunrise? Well, that would be me, but despite my poor sense of…
Reflections on Anthony Bourdain
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Paul
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Photo credit (above): CN Traveler Anthony Bourdain, host of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, died today. He was someone I admired, someone I enjoyed learning from,…
Paul’s Top 10 Travel Shows
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Paul
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I love both travel and good television. Put them together and it’s a feast for those afflicted with the wanderlust gene. Last year I wrote about…
Phuket: Part 2 – Sharks, Sea Gypsies and Songkran
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Paul
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This is Part 2 of a two-part post on Phuket and Songkran. It’s a throwback post to the first time I visited Thailand, a trip…
Phuket: Part 1 – Exploring Phuket, Phang Nga, and James Bond Island
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Paul
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As Songkran 2018 approaches, it seems an appropriate time to unleash my somewhat unexpected Phuket and Songkran posts. This is a throwback couple of posts…
About the Blog – The Intro Post
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Paul
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Welcome to Voyages & Vistas Thanks for dropping by! This is a travel blog that focuses on trip reports, travel photography, adventure, hotel experiences, and…
Thailand Travel – Trip Planning and Basics Explained
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Paul
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I’m off to Thailand again – this will be my 7th trip to the Land of Smiles (LoS), a country I adore, and a place…
Loving the Island Life in Victoria, British Columbia
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Paul
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Walking along Victoria’s Dallas Road, the memories flooded over me. I grew up on Vancouver Island, and although I left when I was fifteen, I’ve…
France – Guédelon Castle and 2 Days in Burgundy
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Paul
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Landing in Paris after four killer days in Iceland, we needed to switch our mindset. Gone were thoughts of icebergs, waterfalls, and overpriced bowls of…
Iceland – Skálafell & Jökulsárlón to Reykjavik
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Paul
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ICELAND – PART 3 After five short hours of sleep we rolled out of bed and got up, ready to take on the glacial lagoon…
Iceland – South Coast and Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon
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Paul
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ICELAND – PART 2 Our first day in Iceland had been fairly epic, so when we awoke on day two we were fired up to…
Iceland – Driving The Golden Circle
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Paul
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ICELAND – PART 1 Our plane touched down in Reykjavik on time, 6:40 am, bouncing along the runway. A smooth landing in Reykjavik, I’m told,…
Giverny, France – Exploring Monet’s Gardens
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Paul
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“Do you want to head out to Giverny? See Monet’s Gardens?” my friend Brendan asked. “It’s a great day trip from Paris.” We were sitting…
5 Reasons Nova Scotia Should Be On Your Travel List
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Paul
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Note: Throughout 2017 I will feature different Canadian locations to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday! This is the second post in my Canada 150 series –…
Why I Travel
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Paul
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A friend recently said to me, “Why do you travel so much? Isn’t Toronto good enough for you?” Toronto is a phenomenal city, one with…
Skating in Canada’s Great Outdoors – Canada 150 Series
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Paul
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Canada is 150 years old this year, and celebrations are happening all over the country. On my own birthday this month I decided to kick…
2017 – A Year of Travel Possibilities
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Paul
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I love it when the calendar turns over, despite the fact that I’ll continue to write “2016” down for the next 2-19 weeks until “2017”…
Philadelphia – Part 2: Cracked Bells, History, and Killer Food
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Paul
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We got up early on our third day in Philadelphia so we would have time to check out the Reading Terminal Market before the day’s…
Paris – Waiting for the Sun at Père Lachaise
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Paul
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She was in her late twenties, American, attractive, but sad. I could see she had been crying, looking up at the sky, her eye liner…
Philadelphia – Part 1: Art, Cheesesteaks, and Rocky
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Paul
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Before this trip I had never been to Philadelphia. It’s a city I had heard about, read about, and seen in popular culture. I knew…
The Louvre & Musée d’Orsay – Paris Museums
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Paul
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I like museums. I have a degree in history, and love art and photography, so museums are a good fit for me. Angela feels the…
Paris – Sacre Coeur and the Allure of Montmartre
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Paul
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We almost didn’t get to Montmartre. With eleven days in France, and a scheduled three day trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, it looked –…
Versailles in Photos – A Regal Experience
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Paul
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My expectations for the Palace of Versailles were high – I’d heard the palace and the surrounding gardens were ridiculously ornate, full of interesting history, and…
Bell City Extravaganza! Hops, Hockey, and Homesteads – Day Trip from Toronto
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Paul
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When I told someone we were going to explore Brantford for a day trip out of the Toronto area last week, their response was a single…
Waterfalls, Castles, and Ontario’s Finest Barbecue at Memphis Fire
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Paul
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The song says “don’t go chasing waterfalls” and in a drought, this is particularly good advice; advice I failed to heed, and as such we…
8 Travel Photography Tips
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Paul
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Ever gotten home from a trip and find you have 75 pictures of buildings and no people? Or every pic is too dark? Or maybe you…
5 Things to Love About Niagara Falls
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Paul
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I visited Niagara Falls again this weekend, a spot I have been to many times but still marvel at. If you’ve never been there, seeing…
Photo Roundup – Las Vegas Strip, Fremont Street, and Southern Nevada
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Paul
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Welcome to the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada photo round-up! I’ll do a round-up like this every couple of months or whenever I wrap up an…
Neon Boneyard – What Happens In Vegas Is Written in Neon
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Paul
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When you fly into Las Vegas the “oohs” and “ahhs” can be heard as soon as the plane banks towards MacCarran, providing eager partiers and…
Hunting for Aliens at Area 51 – The Perfect Las Vegas Day Trip
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Paul
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I’m always looking for fresh ways to explore places, especially those I’ve been to before. This week I was visiting Las Vegas for the fourth…
Exploring Red Rock Canyon – When Hiking Up and Down the Las Vegas Strip Just Isn’t Enough
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Paul
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Many people never leave the Strip when visiting Las Vegas, and who can blame them? Incredible food, world class entertainment, people dressed like pirates. Or…