Destinations

Top spots in Toronto’s India Bazaar

By on May 17, 2013 in Canada, India, Travel Tips

Little India, Gerrard St Bazaar, Toronto, CanadaA taste of India in Toronto

When I feel the need to experience India, and I’m stuck in Toronto, I head to the India Bazaar on Gerrard Street East. It’s a one-stop shopping destination for “all things Indian” and a visit there can make for a fun afternoon. India Bazaar is lined with Indian stores bursting with colourful finery, restaurants that feature authentic north and south Indian cuisines and stalls offering streetfood favourites like grilled corn, fresh sugar cane juice and golgappa (dumplings with sauce). Here are my favourite stops. Continue Reading →

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Hyper-local photo essay: Cherry Blossoms in High Park, Toronto

By on May 12, 2013 in Canada, Responsible Travel

Cherry trees, High Park, Toronto

When the cherry trees bloom

Each year, those of us who live near High Park in Toronto watch in anticipation for those few short days when the cherry trees burst into glorious bloom. The trees were a gift from the Japanese ambassador to Canada in 1959 and there are two places in the park with a high concentration of them. When cherry trees blossom, they look like fluffy pink clouds. A small miracle that expresses happy truths about the beauty of nature. They are not only delightful to behold, but they carry cultural significance for the many people in Toronto of Asian heritage (especially Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese) and they are an augur of spring. Continue Reading →

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In search of my Ottawa Valley Irish family roots

By on May 9, 2013 in Canada, Travel Tips
log cabin Ottawa

Victoria and Mariellen in front of Victoria’s 100-year-old log cabin home

A meaningful adventure travel experience to connect with my Irish ancestors

This year, I will be Going home to Ireland as part of a massive tourism initiative called The Gathering 2013. Read on to find out about the search for my Irish-Canadian family roots, and the Irish heritage of the Ottawa Valley.

Celtic Cross, OttawaI think it was the mosquito that did it. When I saw that mosquito, etched into the Celtic Cross at the mouth of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, I suddenly gained new insight into the harsh conditions Canada’s early settlers faced. The Celtic Cross stands at Ottawa’s most picturesque spot in honour of the 1,000 Irish workers and their families who died building the Rideau Canal (1826-32). Apparently, a significant percentage of them died from malaria. I had no idea. The other symbols on the cross include an explosion, a wheelbarrow, a pickaxe & shovel and in the centre of them all, a harp — the symbol for Ireland. Approximately one-third of Rideau Canal workers hailed from Ireland.

I recently drove to Ottawa to follow the Irish trail through eastern Ontario, which is where my ancestors settled when they emigrated from Ireland in the early 19th century. In fact, many of Canada’s Irish settlers ended up in the Ottawa Valley, and they have long been known as “Ottawa Valley Irish.” I’m retracing my roots this year, in anticipation of my September visit to Ireland as part of The Gathering 2013 – a tourism initiative to bring home the Irish Diaspora. My first blog in this series, The Journey from Ireland and back recounts the harrowing story of loss that drove my ancestors from Ireland to Canada, more than 200 years ago. Continue Reading →

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Gathering Road Trip:
On the Whelan trail in eastern Ontario

By on April 1, 2013 in Canada, Ireland
Costello Hotel, Brudenell, Ontario. Photo courtesy Paul Politis.

Costello Hotel, Brudenell, Ontario. Photo courtesy Paul Politis.

Visiting the Ottawa Valley to find my Irish roots

This year, 2013, as Ireland celebrates The Gathering (a year of festivities to welcome back the Irish Diaspora), I am retracing my family’s history. I’m starting here in Canada now, and in September I will be visiting Ireland to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors and join the Whelan clan gathering. But my first step is a road trip to the Ottawa Valley, where wave upon wave of Irish immigrants settled in Canada in the 19th century, including my relatives. My first post in this series is The journey from Ireland … and back again.  Continue Reading →

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A year in Japan

By on March 28, 2013 in Japan, JAPAN, News/Events

Travel writer Mariellen Ward in Tokyo Japan

My life in Tokyo, Japan

One night, many years ago, I dreamt I moved to Japan. I had just moved in with my boyfriend in Toronto and we were buying furniture and decorating. After that dream, I bought black lacquer bedroom furniture and Japanese prints for the walls. Then, he was offered a job in Japan.

We flew to Tokyo on Valentine’s Day, on Singapore Airlines, my one and only first class flight so far. When the beautifully attired air hostess offered me Johnnie Walker Blue Label, I thought she was mistaken about the colour of the label.

On Valentine’s Day, I landed at Narita International Airport to begin my new life. My life in Japan. I had never been to Japan before, never been to Asia before, when I agreed to move there. Tokyo was my first Asian megalopolis. The population of the greater Tokyo area including Yokohama equals Canada. Continue Reading →

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Travelling down memory lane to London and England

By on March 14, 2013 in ENGLAND, Travel Tips
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England

Me, at Stonehenge, during my first trip to England in 1987

Memories of London town and the English countryside in spring

It’s about this time of year, early spring, that I always think of travel to England. I haven’t been there in years, but I travelled several times to England at about this time of year in the past. The first time I stepped foot in London, on a balmy, overcast day in the spring of 1987, I felt at home. Though I had never been to Europe before, there was something familiar about London. Maybe it was all those English movies and books I’ve consumed, or perhaps something in the blood, the collective memory of my family. Whatever the reason, I am writing this post as a love letter to England in the spring. Continue Reading →

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The journey from Ireland … and back

By on February 14, 2013 in Ireland, News/Events
The coast of Cork, Ireland: The home of my ancestors The Gathering 2013

The coast of Cork, Ireland: The home of my ancestors. Photo courtesy Ireland Tourism.

Where it all began: A harrowing story of loss in Ireland

This year, I will be Going home to Ireland as part of a massive tourism initiative called The Gathering 2013. Read on to find out why I am so drawn to returning to the homeland, and why this is the perfect year to go.

In the late 1790s, rebellion against British occupation was in the air in Ireland, inspired by the new democracy of the United States. But though many pitched battles were fought and up to 25,000 died, the 1798 Rebellion did not gain enough momentum to succeed. In the end, Ireland lost more than it gained and the reprisals were swift and brutal. Cork was one of the counties that suffered suppression, and my ancestors were among the victims. They lost their land, their linen business and much more. Continue Reading →

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The joy of coming home to Canada!

By on February 10, 2013 in Canada, Travel Tips
Canada snow High Park Toronto

Winter in the Japanese Garden, High Park. My favourite place in Toronto.

Top 10 things to experience in Canada

I recently travelled in India for three months, and as usual I had an amazing time. Anyone who reads Breathedreamgo for more than 20 seconds will know that I am passionate about travelling in India. And it’s true — travel in India restored my enthusiasm for life when I needed it most; and there is a magic in India that just can’t be found anywhere else.

But then one day — December 14, 2012, to be exact — I was in Goa and I suddenly got homesick. Homesick like I have never been before. I wrote about it in There’s no place like home. As exciting as India is, I just wanted to get back to Canada. Continue Reading →

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Top 5 Photographs

By on January 23, 2013 in Destinations, Photos

Old DelhiTop 5 people and top 5 landscape photos

Travel is so inspiring. It inspires me to write and take photos. As an exercise, I’ve pulled together what I think are my top 5 photographs of people and my top 5 photos of landscapes or places. For the people it was easy: I picked the faces I most remembered. For the landscapes, I used the word “emblematic” as my guide. What photos were most emblematic of a well-known tourist destination. First up, above, a photo from my recent walk around Old Delhi with Delhi Magic.  A chaos of electrical wires, bicycle rickshaws and men in hot pursuit of a sale — that’s Old Delhi to me. To see the rest of my Top 5 Photos, Continue Reading →

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48 hours in Dubai: Gleaming oasis in the desert

By on January 18, 2013 in Destinations
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai: world's tallest building.

The Burj Khalifa gleaming in the distance, like the Emerald City

Two days in Dubai on an Emirates Stopover

As I was touring Dubai on a bus, I kept seeing the Burj Khalifa — the world’s tallest building — from different angles. It stands in the centre of the emirate (Dubai is one of the seven United Arab Emirates) like a beacon, and I couldn’t shake the idea that I was witnessing an ultra-modern version of the Emerald City. And then I got this shot, above, which is remarkably Wizard-of-Oz-like and basically says everything there is to say about Dubai’s ambitions.

I was in Dubai for two days, on the Emirates Stopover program, on my way back to Toronto from India. Seeing the Burj Khalifa, and the way it dominates the skyline like a blast from the future, put Dubai in perspective for me. It is a place that I could never imagine before visiting, partly because of its startlingly fast transformation from a traditional desert country to a cornucopia of ambition (Dubai is home to the world’s tallest structure, biggest mall, first seven-star hotel, largest man-made island etc., etc.) and partly because I couldn’t imagine the cultural mashup. I toured it a little awe-struck, with my camera clicking away. Continue Reading →

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