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Ski Jay, Vermont

When it’s balmy in Boston in winter, you can still expect a blizzard at Vermont’s northernmost ski resort, Jay Peak. Bordering Quebec, Jay gets more snow than any other ski area in New England (about 350 inches of powder). Being this far north, Jay also accommodates far more Quebecois than New Yorkers. The ski area is cherished for its glade skiing. Black diamond lovers will enjoy the steeper tree runs off the tram while novices will find the trails in Bonaventure Basin to their liking. New this year is 57 luxury suites in the Tram Haus Lodge, opened last December. Also making its debut this past May is the 700-seat Ice Haus Arena, featuring an NHL-sized rink that offers skating lessons, hockey games, and curling tournaments. Phase two of the $120 million revitalization includes the unveiling of 170-room Hotel Jay and an indoor water park, expected some time in 2012.
 

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Ski Quebec on a Budget

If you’re looking for a Northeastern ski area with a dose of affordable French flavor, then a visit to Quebec’s Eastern Townships is in order. With a lift ticket at Stowe reaching $99 this winter, you can head another hour north and be skiing at half the price. This is especially true with the current rate of exchange at US$1 to CAN$1.27. On the shores of Lake Memphremagog, Owl’s Head offers the best of Vermont skiing, but at Quebec’s prices. For a measly US$78, you get one night lodging, supper, breakfast, and a lift ticket! And this being Quebec, that breakfast will include freshly baked croissants, patisserie, and café au lait. 

 

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Biking Along the Charles in Boston

At least one Sunday every summer, we park our car at the large parking lot near the Artesani Playground Wading Pool (1255 Soldiers Field Road, Brighton) and bike along the Charles River into Cambridge. Near Mount Auburn Hospital, Memorial Drive is closed to cars for a good mile or so on Sundays, before you hit the sidewalk and pedal along the water. The river is full of activity, with scullers and crew teams sharing the water with sailboats and motor boats making their way out to Boston Harbor. On the Cambridge side, we pass Harvard and MIT while peering across the Charles at the Prudential Center, Citgo sign, and the distinctive gold dome of the Old State House. At the Museum of Science, we head across the street to North Point Park, a new gem of a park that looks up at the Zakim Bridge. A bike trail zips up past a skateboard park just under the bridge and over to Charlestown. Look down and you can see the boats waiting for the waters of the locks to rise. A mandatory stop to see the USS Constitution before crossing the Charlestown Bridge into Boston and heading to the Boston Public Market for tasty chicken shawarma in a pita at Inna’s. Then we head along the Charles on the Boston side through the Esplanade all the way back to our car. Give yourself a good 4 hours if you want to stop for lunch and take photos. 
 
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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Niagara-on-the-Lake

There’s nothing quite like the combination of biking through wine country. It’s not merely the lonely backcountry roads that lead to the wineries, but the chance to dine on a sublime meal at a winery after a day of biking. This week I plan to focus on some of my favorite regions to bike and visit wineries. Yes, I’ll include the obvious choices like Napa and Sonoma, along with the Stellenbosch region in South Africa, the Bordeaux Valley of France, and the exceptional pinot noirs of Oregon wine country, But I’ll start with a destination that may come as a bit of a surprise, Canada. 

 
Only a half-hour drive from the thunderous roar of Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake is the antithesis of its commercialized neighbor. This charming Victorian town rests in the heart of Ontario wine country, where close to 100 vineyards produce the sweet icewine, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. At night, rest your weary legs while watching a play at the renowned Shaw Festival, specializing in the works of Bernard Shaw. I was fortunate to tour the region with the highly reputable outfitter, Butterfield and Robinson, and it resulted in this story for The Boston Globe. 
 
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An Important New Book for Bird Lovers

85 years young, Theodore Cross has had more than his fair share of success. He’s worked in the White House, helping to spur on African-American economic development, served as governor of the American Stock Exchange, worked as a real estate lawyer, and twice bought and sold publishing houses geared to Wall Street investors, bankers, and accountants, earning many millions of dollars. Now, with the release last October of his large coffee table photo book, “Waterbirds,” he’s been referred to as John James Audubon with a camera. Harvard University’s great naturalist, E.O. Wilson described the book as “a masterpiece.” For the past 40 years, Cross has been obsessed with photographing birds around the globe, from spotting a Ross’s gull in Siberia to snapping a red-tailed tropicbird in Christmas Island. The 344-page epic published by W.W. Norton & Company is also heavy on egrets, herons, and another Cross favorite, the roseate spoonbill. It’s requisite viewing for both the casual backyard bird lover and the avid bird watcher. 

(Photo of the masked booby by Theodore Cross)
 

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Travels to Iran

Talk to any travel writer or avid traveler and they’ll no doubt tell you that Iran is one of the most beautiful and fascinating countries in the world. Americans, of course, have had a painful recent relationship with the country, fed a steady diet of anti-American flag burning. But don’t confuse politics with the people. The current population in Iran is over 77 million and if you talk to any traveler who has recently visited the country, they’ll tell you that the Iranian people are incredibly welcoming. Plus the best form of education is to go to a country and get behind the wall of fear-inducing media to actually see for yourself. After all, Americans who travel overseas are the best diplomats for America.  
 
So I was delighted to hear last week that British nationals were told by their Foreign Office that they were no longer being advised to avoid all but essential travel to Iran. I’m hoping Americans will soon follow suit. I’m already working with a highly reputable ground operator in Iran, Darwan Shiraz, whose founder, Abolfazl Moghadam, has been designing tours around his country the past 16 years. On his 2-week Persian Nightingale Tour, you’ll visit the ancient city of Yazd, which UNESCO has declared to be the 2nd most important historic city in the world after Jerusalem. Winding narrow streets lead to exquisite mosques. Tabriz is home to the largest covered bazaar in the world. From a distance, the Kandovan rocky village looks like a termite colony built in the volcanic ash of Mount Sahand. You’ll also spend 3 nights in Tehran to check out Niyavaran and Saad Abad Palaces and to visit the contemporary art museum. The trip is guided and includes all transfers, hotels, and most meals.
 
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Top Dream Days of 2017, E-Biking Emmental Valley, Switzerland

We spent a glorious week in Switzerland in July before the start of our Backroads hiking and biking trip in the Swiss Alps. We loved our stay in Bern to see the inner workings of the famous Medieval Clock Tower, visiting the apartment Albert Einstein lived when he proved his Theory of Relativity, and stopping at the wave-like building Renzo Piano built to house the works of local talent Paul Klee. But my favorite day was getting on electric bikes to roam the narrow and mountainous country roads of neighboring Emmental Valley. Our guide, who looked like Roger Federer, led us through the farmland and small villages to a restaurant known for creating fondue from the local emmental cheese. We returned to Bern on the train with more than enough time to swim in the Aare River. An easy walk down the hillside from our wonderful hotel, the Bellevue Palace, led to a park where hundreds of people lined the river catching rays. We strolled down a path with a long line of folks who dragged their tubes, rafts, and dry bags. Then jump in the cool water anywhere and off you go with the strong current. The hardest part was finding a place on the shores to stop and pull yourself out. 

 

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