AmazoniaBike | TravelBlog

Canada has always remained a mystery to me. It is rarely mentioned in politics, history or just in good old banter. Kind of like the quiet kid who sits in the back of the class that you suddenly find so alluring.

My Aunt invited me to stay with her at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal for a few days while she attended a convention. I figured this was a true opportunity to dig down as deep as I could to answer the question that has been haunting me: What is it with Canada?

I awoke bright and early to meet Claire-Marie Lavoie, a tour guide from the Infotouriste Centre who would be showing me around the best parts of the city via van.

While visiting Port Douglas, Australia, you will realize the true meaning of heaven on earth. You will experience relaxation, like never before with the wonderfully breath taking rainforests and coral seas. Port Douglas is only an hours drive from Cairns airport. It originally came to be as a means to service the goldfields.

Port Douglas was named after the Queensland Premier, John Douglas, in 1877. Originally it was used to transport gold in exchange for supplies. Gold mining was Port Douglas’ sole source of wealth for many years. In later years silver, sugar can and red cedar also made it’s contribution to the Ports wealth. However in 1911 there was a decline in gold and silver mining, and the Port began to fade, until it was hit by a cyclone, which turned Port Douglas in a wonderful fishing village.

There are many ways for you to take a further look into the history of Port Douglas. The Mossman Sugar mill will give you a first hand experience of the sugar milling process, and the Cooktowns Discovery Festival, every June, shows a re-enactment of the settling of Lt. James Cook in 1770. The Cooktown festival is an elaborate celebration with authentic costumes, gala ball, fire works and bull riding.

There are a variety of Port Douglas accommodation, to suit the needs of all travelers. There are five start accommodations for those that are looking for luxurious hotels or private homes. For a modest price accommodation, Port Douglas offers condominiums, villas, motels and apartments. If you are someone looking for adventure you can stay at the rainforest lodges, or caravan parks.

Port Douglas is also an area where there is something for everyone. You can spend the day at Four Mile Beach and enjoying fishing snorkeling and swimming. Head down to Macrossan Street for an afternoon of shopping, dining and an evening of fun in the dark. There are also 12 nearby beaches that you can visit, in local towns.

If you are shopping for a decent palm cove accommodation at a great price, visit tropicalnorthqueensland.com.au. You will find the best palm cove hotels available for your stay.

Ah, autumn is here – which brings to mind changing leaves, back-to-school sales, and…crab races. Yes, crab races.

Every year on Labor Day weekend, the seaside town of Crisfield, Maryland holds its Annual Hard Crab Derby and Fair. This quaint village of 2,800 on the Chesapeake Bay has a long tradition of catching – and racing – its seafood. The festival is a celebration of the town’s fishing heritage, particularly of the abundant (and delicious!) blue crabs that teem in the bay’s waters.

Here, you can watch a parade on Main Street, a boat docking contest, a crab picking contest, and the crowning of the beautiful Miss Crustacean. But the main attraction of the festival is its namesake “crab derby,” in which hundreds of crabs scramble down a chute to the finish line in a knock-down, drag-out race (okay, so the crabs aren’t even aware of the race). The bets – and the crowd’s enthusiasm – get intense. Afterward, nothing beats finishing off a fresh, all-you-can-eat crab platter while taking in views of the bay at the Side Street Seafood Market and Restaurant. If you’re hardy enough, you can top it off with a generous slice of Smith Island cake.

The best way to enjoy the festival is by renting a campsite in nearby Jane’s Island State Park, which boasts 3,100 acres of Eastern Maryland’s prettiest shoreline. When you need a break from the festivities, quiet beach hikes and kayak trails await you in the park. So grab some friends, a tent, and a healthy appetite for crab and you’ve got one shell of a Labor Day weekend.  

Photo: kathyhaduch via Flickr

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we’re letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites.
Each week, we’re putting a new batch of images up on our website.
Here’s today’s pic:

This photo, “She Dreams of Riding Horses,” was submitted by Elizabeth Griffin. The caption reads that the little girl is “riding her grandmother’s pony at Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico.” That’s one massive pony, and we can’t help but think it calls for a caption contest. Ready? Go!

Sziasztok, City Lovers!

The city that stole our heart today is Budapest, Hungary, shared with us by Carolyn Bánfalvi, a travel writer and award-winning culinary guidebook author (Food Wine Budapest and The Food and Wine Lover’s Guide to Hungary are her titles), who writes about the city at Chew.hu, a Hungarian food blog. And remarkably, when she’s not doing all that, she’s giving culinary tours of the city with her husband.

Want to see your city on IT? Copy and paste our list of fill-in-the-blank questions
into an e-mail, fill in your answers, and send your responses to
IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. And if you’re still waiting for us to
feature yours, fear not! We’re going to keep posting as long as we keep getting them (please include photos and links!). You can find the entire collection of city-lovers here.

Budapest is My City

When I crave Chinese food I always go Wang Mester Konyhája.

To escape the summer heat I head to Margit Island to swim or picnic in the shade.

If I want to find hidden treasure I go to the Ecseri flea market and browse the antiques/junk/kitsch.

For complete quiet, I can hide away at the beautiful Ervin Szabó Public Library in the eighth district.

If you have to order one thing off the menu from Horgásztanya it has to be Halászlé (a fisherman’s soup).

Bortársaság is my one-stop shop for great wine.
Locals know to skip the touristy Váci utca shopping street and check
the monthly WAMP market (which features local designers) instead.

When I’m feeling cash-strapped I go for lunch at an étkezde (Hungarian diner).

For a huge splurge I go Bock Bisztró.

Photo ops in my city include the Danube panorama and the best vantage points are from up high, like Castle Hill or the Citadel.

If my city were a celebrity it’d be Elizabeth Taylor .

The most random thing about my city is that the mummified hand of Saint
István (an important relic of Hungarian Christianity) is paraded around
the basilica every year on August 20th to celebrate his feast day, a
national holiday.

In my city, an active day outdoors involves hiking, swimming, or kayaking.

My city’s best museum is The Museum of Fine Arts at Heroes Square.

My favorite jogging/walking route is around Margit Island.

For a night of folk dancing, go to Fonó. Or, for live music, check out A38 or Gödör.

To find out what’s going on at night and on the weekends, read Time Out, Funzine, or www.caboodle.hu.

You can tell a lot about my city from hanging out at the food markets.

You can tell if someone is from my city if they scowl at you on the street, but then open up when you attempt to talk to them in Hungarian.

In the spring you should stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables at the market.

In the summer you should ride the BKV boat along the Danube and get off at Romaifürdo to have dinner before heading back to town.

In the fall you should take the chairlift (libego) up and explore the Buda hills.

In the winter you should soak in the hot outdoor pool at the Szécheny thermal bath house, preferably when the snow is falling.

A hidden gem in my city is the Kerepesi cemetery.

For a great breakfast joint try the strudel, still warm from the over, at the Central Market (along with a strong presszó coffee) .

Don’t miss the wine festival in the Castle in September.

Just outside my city, you can visit vineyards in Etyek.  

The best way to see my city is on foot.

If my city were a pet it would be a Hungarian Vizsla: an excellent companion who is lively and fearless, yet affectionate and gentle mannered.

If I didn’t live in a city, I’d live in a restored old peasant house in the Tokaj wine region.

The best book about my city is The Paul Street Boys by Ferenc Molnár.

When I think about my city, the song that comes to mind is anything by Zoltan Kodály and Béla Bartók.

If you have kids, you won’t want to miss the puppet theater or the Palace of Miracles at Millenáris.

Airplanes flying under the Danube bridges at the Red Bull Air Race could only happen in my city.

My city should be featured on your cover or website because there is no other riverfront view like it in the world. Combine the green hills in Buda with the gritty downtown neighborhoods, throw in some elegant Parisian-style architecture and some big city buzz, and you’ve got Budapest.

Photos: Catherine Karnow for National Geographic Traveler. To see more images from this Budapest gallery, click here.