Hopefully you have all read part one of my tour through the Carmel Valley in California. This second part took place after lunch at a place called Will’s Fargo in Carmel Valley Village – we visited another four tasting rooms but this time we had to do a little driving, as the places we wanted to visit were not all within walking distant.

Every year, just after Winterlude, I start to get irritable — like every Ottawan! I am pretty well fed up with winter and want to go south. We have three teenage children so travel destinations south becomes key. For a stress free vacation the best bet is always an all inclusive resort. You can relax and not worry about things like meals, snacks, planned activities or meeting a timetable for planned excursions.

For those of you who think about touring California (or any other) wine countries, but find the task too daunting, here is some advice: take it slow, you’ll never get all of California done in a week but you can get a good overview of a region or two if you take it in bite-sized chunks.

When one thinks of haute cuisine, the usual countries come to mind: France, Belgium and perhaps Spain. But not for long – affectionados of European cuisine are increasingly turning North for their foodie delights. Far North like Sweden for example.

Walking through the old streets of the Le Vieux-Hull sometimes makes one wonder how life was at the turn of the twentieth century. While those days are long gone, last night these crazy years were relived during the Noble Experiment as the first edition of La Nuit Folle took place in Hull.

Love Home Swap, is the Emerging trend of home exchanges that saves on travel costs during tough economic times.

It is clear that getting your hands on Montreal Canadiens tickets can be a difficult task and an expensive one. However, there is another sports team worth checking out just outside Ottawa, the Montreal Alouettes, winners of the 2009 and 2010 Grey Cups.