CELEBRATING SPRING AT A GOLF/SPA RESORT

What better way to celebrate spring than at an idyllic spa resort? A year ago I was fortunate to win a door prize at the BC Travel Writer’s Assoc. annual symposium. The prize was a two-day stay at the Westin Bear Mountain spa/golf course part of a resort community on Vancouver Island.

The community of Bear Mountain, located just 20 kms north of Victoria, began as golf resort but has developed into a multi dimensional urban resort community for people who desire a quiet and healthy lifestyle. Built on the slopes of a rugged yet pristine mountain area the resort not only includes the two par Nicklaus Design golf course, but also offers other amenities to the visitor.

The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort Spa is a luxury five-star hotel set in the midst of the urban resort development of Langford. It features spacious newly renovated rooms with expansive views of the golf course fairways and the surrounding mountains. The hotel has a private wine cellar, unique outdoor recreation areas including tennis courts, a Fire Lounge and free access to the North Langford Recreation Centre which is located between the two hotel buildings.

 Besides the hotel amenities and spa there are biking/walking trails and a golf practice facility. The golf courses features 36 holes providing a perfect experience for year round golfing with panoramic mountain and ocean views. I’m not a golfer but I was excited about going to visit Westin Bear Mountain to enjoy a Spring break. I arranged for a friend to come along, and then much to my delight I found out that the rooms accommodated four people. So I invited two other friends to join us. Because the invitation had to be used by the end of March 2018, I arranged for us to visit mid-March, a perfect Spring get-away after our long wet, west-coast winter.

We packed into one car and got the ferry to Swartz Bay and from there it was an easy drive up Island north-west through Langford to Bear Mountain. When we arrived and were given the room keys, imagine our delight when we found out that our “room” was actually a condo sized suite with a full kitchen, living room with a fireplace and balcony view of the golf greens, a large bedroom with a king-sized bed, and two bathrooms. The couch in the living room pulled out to make a double bed and the hotel provided us with an extra twin-sized cot for the fourth visitor.

The Bear Mountain village is a family friendly location with a Mountain Market nearby for shopping needs and Jack’s Place, a restaurant where we enjoyed several meals and entertainment.

 The Langford Recreation centre located between the two Westin hotel buildings, has a heated outdoor pool and offers year-round aqua-fit classes. The hotel’s award-winning spa services offer massages, body treatments and facials drawing from elements of nature to enhance your well-being, offering a full array of spa treatments, relaxation and renewal. While one of my friend indulged in a full spa treatment at the hotel, we others swam in the warm pool at the Rec Centre, enjoying the lush ambience surrounding the outdoors, and a soak in the hot tub.

The area surrounding the resort is popular for bikers and hikers and the Rec centre provides bike rentals. We walked around the quiet trails that overlook the lush greens of the golf course, enjoying the quiet solitude of the woodland. One afternoon two of us decided to drive to Victoria to visit the museum, a quick and easy jaunt from the resort.

We couldn’t have enjoyed our weekend stay more. The Westin Bear Mountain Resort is an excellent get-away for all the family whether you’re a golfer or just want to relax and enjoy nature.

IF YOU GO 

The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria\1999 Country Club Way, Victoria BC V9B6R3 Toll-Free: 1 -800-WESTIN-1 Victoria: (250) 391-7160 www.westin.com/bearmountain

 North Langford Recreation Centre Tel: 250-391-3758 Rec@bearmountain.ca www.bearmountain.ca

On special holidays there is entertainment such as Bear Mountain Music, Halloween Festivals, Canada Day BBQ and the Bear Mountain Run, held for times a year.

A YEAR'S TRAVEL RECAP 2017

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do much traveling this year because of a move mid-year to a new, more comfortable lodging. For most of the year I was working on a travel ebook of the Greek Islands for an American publisher (under contract), the same one who published my ebook ATHENS AND BEYOND. Because of the unpleasant situation in my apartment I couldn't do much other writing though I did accomplish publishing a couple of travel articles on EuropeUpClose.com Just when I was nearly finished the Greek Islands book the publisher suddenly disappeared and refused to respond to any of my emails. Consequently I have shelved the project and will consider doing it as an ebook myself some time in the future.

Once I got moved I was able to focus on travel and managed a three week trip direct to Athens. I spent three days on Naxos at the Maragas camping where I love to stay in the bed-tents. Then I took the fast ferry to Iraklion, Crete where I met with a writer/mentor friend who is an expert on the Minoans. Dr Jack Dempsey and I have been communicating since the 1990's but this was our first in-person meeting. This made my visit in Iraklion special. I also enjoyed a return to Knosses where I'd been a couple of times in the 1980's. Jack and I met at the famous Lion Fountain and then went to the Venetian Harbor for a seafood lunch and a wonderful long chat.

I went out to Knossos on the hop-on-hop off bus. It had started to rain but as we arrived the rain stopped so I had a pleasant afternoon wandering the archaeological site. It's expanded a lot since my last visit and I enjoy seeing everything but it would be so much fun to visit again with Jack!

Most of the wall paintings and artifacts are now safely protected and stored in the Archaeological Museum which is definitely worth a visit. I went there the next day, again on the bus, and also stopped by to pay my respects at the grave of writer Nikos Kazanzakis which is up on the city wall. Back in Athens I visited the lovely new Niarchos Centre where there is an opera house, theatre, library, computer room, vast gardens and green spaces all for the pleasure of the Athenians.

I also took several days to visit my friend on Salamina where we always enjoy exploring archaeological sites. My favorite is the monument to the soldiers of the Greek/Persian sea war which is located on the tumulus of the dead soldiers.

I spent most of time in Athens doing readings from my historical novels at the Canadian Institute, Athens Centre and Athens Community School. I always love visiting Athens and look forward to returning in 2018 for a longer time.

So the year has drawn to a close. I'm looking forward to more travels in 2018. Some of them may be local jaunts as there's lots of interesting things to see around the Province where I live on the West Coast of Canada. But my main focus will be returning to Greece via England, Wales and a visit to Germany to see family and friends. Safe and happy travels to everyone in this coming year!

DISHING THE DIRT AT KENSINGTON PALACE

Kensington Palace and the Golden Gate

Everyone enjoys a bit of gossip, especially when it concerns famous people. I was surprised to learn, on my recent visit to Kensington Palace in London, that there is no end of gossip associated with the British royal family. And I don't mean recent 'gossip' as reported in newspapers and magazine after such tragic events as the untimely death of Princess Diana or the antics of Prince Harry and Sarah Ferguson. The gossip heard at Kensington goes way back to the first royal inhabitants.

The palace gardens

Kensington Palace has been a royal resident since the late 1600's when it was purchased by King William II and Queen Mary II after they assumed the throne as joint monarchs in 1689. Before that it was known as Nottingham House, originally a Jacobean mansion built in 1605.

There's a lot of tragedy in the stories of Kensington Palace too. Sadly, Queen Mary II died of smallpox in the palace in 1694 and just a few years later, King William III suffered a fall from a horse and died shortly after. Then the palace became the residence of Queen Anne whose life was fraught with health issue and unhappy relationships. By the age of 30 she was lame and corpulent. She had 18 children but only two survived past the age of three and many were stillborn. One room in the palace shows all the little chairs representing "Queen Anne's Hopes"

 

In 1710, in the Queen's State Apartments (also known as the Queen's Closet), Queen Anne and her best friend Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough had a huge argument. The Duchess was jealous of the attention the queen had shown to another woman and actually accused them of having a lesbian relationship. After that gossip circulated the Duchess was stripped of her official duties and the two women never spoke to each other again.

There is a "Whispering Room" in the palace where you can actually 'hear' the whispered gossip of all the royal goings-on.  Lean your ear close to the horns of the Victrola and you'll hear it: "Psssss pssss...did you hear...?"  Quite amusing!

 

Queen Victoria was born in the palace in 1819 and lived there much of her life. At the entrance is a beautiful statue of her on a pedestal. 

 

And you can visit several of the rooms she occupied from the nursery to the Privy Council room where she signed her official documents upon become Queenon June 20, 1837.

You will see the piano that her beloved consort Prince Albert used to play music he had composed for her. There is also a display of her clothing, including the formal mourning clothes she and her children wore after dear "Bertie" died.

 

Death and tragedy are as much part of the palace as the titillating gossip.  We all remember that sad day on August 31, 1997 when "the People's Princess", Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Within hours of the news the golden gates at the south side of the palace were covered in floral tributes and in the following days ever bit of railing around the palace was covered with flowers.

 

As you enter the Vestibule of the palace there is a beautiful photo of Diana and embroidered pillows of her as well as William and Kate who will reside there once the new renovations are completed.

(The palace is divided into two parts - the historic state apartments which you can tour, and the private living quarters of the royal family.) There is a Diana Memorial Playground in memory of the late Princess located next to the palace.

I really enjoyed the brief visit I made this summer. I didn't have as much time as is needed to see everything because I had a plane to catch.  But I'd definitely recommend this as an interesting destination if you happen to be visiting London.

Check out details for opening times etc at www.hrp.org.uk

EXPERIENCING SEATTLE

This is the last part of my Seattle Adventure with a few more photos and stories about what I saw and did on my two-day visit there.

Seattle Washington is a neighbour city of Vancouver but although I've often passed through, sometimes spent a few hours browsing or shopping, I've never actually stayed any length of time. I went down on a Friday evening on the Greyhound and returned on the Sunday evening so it gave me a fair amount of time to sight-see.  My main purpose had been to see the King Tut Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center and also to browse around the Pike's Market.  It turned out my lovely five star hotel was centrally located so I could walk to many of the places I'd come to see and a short cab ride to others.

Mural honoring the First Nations people of Seattle

Seattle is a major coastal seaport located on Puget Sound. The name, "Seattle" comes from an Indian chief whose people once occupied that territory.  The city has around 620,778 residents (as of 2011) and is the largest city on the West Coast north of San Francisco.  Metropolitan Seattle has over 3.5 million population.  Back in the early days it was a logging town but by the late 19th century it was a commercial and shipbuilding center and a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush.

By the early 1900's the city was booming and it was one of the largest cities in the country. In 1913 firearm and typewriter magnate Lyman Cornelius Smith built a 489 ft. tower, at the time the tallest building west of the Mississippi. The thirty-eight storey building remained the tallest building on the West Coast until the Space Needle was built in 1962.

Smith Tower

I enjoyed a tour through the Seattle Underground and the historic area around Pioneer Square where there's many heritage buildings. You'll see the old along with the new in Seattle making it an interesting city-scape.

Buildings near Pioneer Square with modern sky-scraper

 

Seattle has an interesting musical history too. From 1918 to 1951 there were nearly two dozen jazz clubs. The early careers of jazz greats like Ray Charles and Quincy Jones were developed here. Rock legend Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle. "Grunge" music was made famous there by groups like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. In recent years it's known for indie rock. 

 

I found a cozy jazz/blues bar walking distance from my hotel.  The New Orleans Restaurant at Pioneer Square had a friendly atmosphere and I didn't mind going in for the evening though I was alone. I enjoyed the ambiance and felt right at home.

That night there was a Blues band, Gin Creek, playing — four guys and a woman vocalist.  I took in a couple of sets then meandered back to my hotel.  There'd be lots more adventures the next day.

Gin Creek

 

My friend Taryn came to meet me the next morning and we set off on another adventure. First we walking through town and took in some of the street sights.

Interesting shops around Pike's Market

 

Street Mime

 

Then we flagged a cab and set off for Seattle Center. There's lots to see and do a Seattle Centre - 74 acres of events, plaza, parks and museum. We headed first to the Pacific Science Center to see the King Tut Exhibit.  After that we walked over to the Space Needle, intending to take the elevator to the restaurant at the top. Alas! We needed reservations so had to pass up the opportunity.

 

Space Needle

 

I hadn't seen the Space Needle since 1962 when it was first built for an Expo. We had stopped by with the kids on our way to California for vacation. It would have been fun to ride to the top but that will be on the list for my next visit.

 

Right next to the Space Needle is the unique Chihuly Garden and Glass museum exhibit. I took some photos of the unusual trees all made of glass that were visible above the fence. If we'd had more time we would have gone in for a closer look. But, it will be on my next visitor's list too.

Chihuly Garden and Glass

 

 

You can read about my luxury hotel stay, Pikes Market, Miner's Wharf, Pioneer Square and the Seattle Underground  and the King Tut Exhibit at Pacific Science Centre in my separate blogs.

 

IF YOU GO: Here's some links to help you plan your weekend trip to Seattle.



 



Best of Seattle (in 2 days) http://2daysinseattle.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=seattle&utm_campaign=attractions

https://www.seattle.gov/visiting/

Seattle Centre  https://www.seattle.gov/TOUR/center.htm

Space Needle  http://www.spaceneedle.com/

Chihuly Garden and Glass  http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/plan-your-visit?gclid=CJWNxeL4ibQCFQuCQgodr3wAQA