I've Bean Travelling

Hello, folks! It sure has been awhile since I’ve updated this blog, but things are looking brighter for 2022 in terms of travel. Since our last international trip to Cambodia and Vietnam shortly before the pandemic, we have not ventured outside of the province, let alone the country. We went on one short trip to Niagara Falls in September 2020, but in 2021 our travel was restricted to the confines of our home city of Toronto. It has been over two years since we last really travelled!

Now that Covid testing requirements for reentry to Canada have been lifted for fully vaccinated travellers, I feel comfortable to resume travel planning and we have a few trips tentatively scheduled for later this year.

Vancouver and Tofino, British Columbia in June

In June, we will stay domestic and are planning a one-week trip to British Columbia, Canada. We’ll base ourselves in Vancouver and include a couple nights in Tofino as well. I lived in Vancouver for four years and had the chance to see several parts of the province, including spending a month in the north part of Vancouver Island, but never made it over to the island’s west coast so have always wanted to return for a trip there.

A few items on my British Columbia itinerary:

• Hike the Grouse Grind
• Visit Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
• Lounge on Kitsilano and Spanish Banks beaches
• Explore Granville Island
• Eat lots of sushi and seafood
• Hike to Hot Springs Cove in Tofino
• Whale and wildlife watching tour in Tofino

Iceland in September

In September, we are spending 4-5 days in Iceland for the trip that we had planned back in 2020, but which obviously never happened. There are no longer any Covid testing requirements for entry to Iceland, so that makes logistics much easier to coordinate. And now that we are planning for a September visit, we can potentially try to work in an attempt at seeing the northern lights.

A few items on my Iceland bucket list:

• Northern lights tour
• Spa day at Blue Lagoon
• See Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach
• Hike to Fagradalsfjall volcano
• Golden Circle tour

London, England in September

I had originally hoped to combine Iceland and Scotland in one trip, but I think we will save Scotland for its own visit in the future. This time around in September, we will follow Iceland with a week in and around London. I visited London back in 2017 but have several more things I’d like to see and do on a return trip:

• Buckingham Palace tour
• Visit the Royal Botanic Gardens
• Emirates Stadium tour (or if we can figure out the logistics, see an Arsenal game?)
• See a show in the West End
• Stroll around Notting Hill
• Eat at Borough Market
• Day trip to Bath, Cambridge, or Oxford

Caribbean in December

Once we get into the dead of winter here in Canada, I’d like to spend a few days somewhere in the Caribbean. We have yet to decide where we’d like to take this sun vacation, but a few islands are under consideration:

• Cuba
• Curaçao
• Aruba
• Turks and Caicos

Out of these, Cuba is probably the most culturally interesting to us, but sadly I’ve been reading that conditions in Cuba are still not great for reopening. I’d love to get your suggestions for any other Caribbean destinations to consider for a short trip, likely under five days.

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Of course, these plans are all contingent on us not entering into yet another wave of Covid variant or subvariant that will lead to resumption of lockdown measures. Fingers crossed that we will finally be able to get back out in the world.