The Cheltenham Badlands in Caledon, Ontario

This beautiful geological formation is found along the Niagara Escarpment. It was an accidental find really. We were looking for a restaurant near Bolton and discovered these rusty-coloured rolling hills and gullies of shale.

The badlands are found Northwest of Toronto and is well worth the trip if you're in the area. There is parking along the road leading to the site. It doesn't take long to traverse this barren geologic wonder. that was once covered by a lake which dried up thousands of years ago. The surrounding forest is spectacular in the fall with the changing colours of the leaves.

Humber Shores, Lake Ontario

My favourite place in Ontario is along the Humber Shores area in the west end of Toronto that runs West of Windermere to just east of Royal York. 

To Tip or Not to Tip? Are North American Restauranteurs Stiffing Their Staff?

By Irene Fantopoulos

From the film Reservoir Dogs to ordinary folk like you and me, whether to tip and how much is the question that plagues North Americans. Sure there is the issue of how much do we/should we tip hairstylists, manicurists, cabbies and the mail man, but they aren’t part of this discussion.

I don’t necessarily mind tipping for excellent or fairly good service. But what I do mind is when restaurateurs prescribe that I must tip or be a social pariah. Why do wait staff appear to  have just escaped from the pages of a Dickensian scene – hungry and needy.

Images from The Big Easy (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Here are some memorable moments from Angelo's and my trip to New Orleans (March 29 - April 2).

Watch out for the gators!

Typical latticed balcony.

A wedding...

Top 10 Things to Do in New York City on a Budget

I’m often asked, is New York City expensive?

Well, yes it is, if you go for haute couture or haute cuisine. But it doesn’t have to be. In a recent trip to NYC, I focused on discovering some free or relatively inexpensive things to do.

Here are my recommendations:

Ten Super Foods to Reduce the Risk of Prostate Cancer

There is a lot of information out there saying to “eat this,” or “don’t eat that.”

These foods will help with the common cold. This herb will help with digestion. How can one surf through these competing messages and make the right choice when it comes to combatting the prospect of prostate cancer?

In 2011, Cancer Canada reported 25,500 cases of diagnosed prostate cancer and 4,100 deaths. The probability of developing this insidious cancer, over one’s lifetime, is one in seven.

So what can men of all ages do? Well gentlemen, after reviewing a number of sources, I have distilled the myriad of information into 10 super foods that could potentially reduce your risk of prostate cancer.

The Inner World of Artist Frida Kahlo and the Outer World of Artist Rivera Diego

 by Irene Fantopoulos

Kahlo (1907-1954) and Diego (1886-1957), Mexican artists, husband and wife and major contributors to the art world in the first half of the twentieth century. 

Much of Diego’s work encapsulates the two revolutionary worlds that dominated his life: the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920 and the Russian Revolution of 1917. While he is known mostly as a muralist, his art focused on rural Mexican life and his support of communism. He believed that labourers and peasants should be free from oppression, a nod to Karl Marx. He painted 200 murals for the Ministry of Education, Mexico City.