A horse drawn-carriage in Montreal

Montreal is a city that brims with beauty, history and charm. You can see these elements everywhere you move but there’s no area more quintessential for Montreal history and landmarks than the Old Montreal neighborhood.  Called Vieux Montreal in French, this area displays all the European flavor and old world history that Montreal is noted for. Read More »

Happy  Thanksgiving, America!

You probably already know that the play you did in elementary school depicting a happy meal between people dressed in feathers and people dressed in black and white hats didn’t cover exactly how the meeting between the pilgrims and Indians went down. Hopefully you also know that the people who lived on this land long before the Mayflower docked at Plymouth Rock weren’t actually Indians. Indian, in fact, is an entirely different country on an entirely different continent.

But I digress.

Thanksgiving. Settlers. A meeting (or clashing, you might say) of the old and the new. There’s a few places to go to get a slightly more accurate overview of what was going on in New England in 1620.

• Pilgrim Hall; Plymouth, Massachusetts - find out more about the people who really did come over on the Mayflower, as well as the families and community they built on what would become American soil.
• National Museum of the American Indian; Washington, D.C. - the Smithsonian always does a phenomenal job and they have access to the best stuff. Added bonus – all of their museums, including the NMOAI, are free.
• The Mashantucket Pequot Museum; Mashantucket, CT – Near Mystic, CT, this museum can be challenging to get through because of an overwhelming layout, but it does an impressive job of explaining the conflict between Europeans and native tribes.

Plan a trip to one of these sites in the next 12 months and you can enjoy your turkey guilt free today!

Photo: Britt Reints

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Montreal is an art-loving city. There are few streets in this lovely town that don’t display sculpture, murals or some other form of public art. If you want to get the bigger picture, head to the Montreal Museum of Arts.  The museum is the largest in Montreal and one of the most prominent in Canada. Founded in 1860, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is also Canada’s oldest art institution. Read More »

Drool over the fancy cars at the Arizona International Auto Show.

Stuffed? Looking for something to do to walk off all of that stuffing and mashed potatoes and pie? If you’re in the Phoenix area, here are three great options to get you off of the couch!

Arizona International Auto Show – November 24th through the 27th at the Phoenix Convention Center. Drool over all of the exotic cars that you’ll never be able to afford. Daydream about winning the lottery. Adults: $10, Senior Citizens: $6, Military: $6, Children (7 – 12): $6, Children (6 & under): free.

The Phoenix Zoo is enjoying regular daytime hours on Thanksgiving, plus the start of the annual Zoolights extravaganza (which begins November 24th and has separate pricing) at night. Wandering around the zoo is the perfect way to walk off all of that turkey! And it will either be really quiet because of the holiday, or really packed because of the holiday. Risk is what makes life so exciting, right? Adults: $18, Children (3-12) $9, Children Under 3 free.

Crackerjax in North Scottsdale is open Thanksgiving Day from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. This amusement park features go-carts, a bunjy bounce, bumper boats, a driving range, a miniature golf course, batting cages, and an arcade. After a day of all of THAT activity, you might just be ready for seconds by the time you get home!

Photo by Tiffany Joyce