Tourism – Slow Lane Musings

A castle without its princess

The Thousand Islands form an archipelago of more than 1,800 islands in the St. Lawrence River, ranging in size from tiny to quite substantial. The islands straddle the Canada-U.S. border, sandwiched between Eastern Ontario and New York State.

There is a fascinating love story associated with a large castle on a heart-shaped island in American waters in the Thousand Islands. The six-storey, 120-room castle, constructed by George C. Boldt, was to be a gift for his dear wife, Louise, whom he adored.

They both loved the Thousand Islands, and like many of their affluent “Gilded Age” contemporaries at the end of the 19^th century, they spent their summers there in grand homes or on expensive yachts on the river.

These millionaires had made their fortunes in the new industries of the time (like railroads, large scale manufacturing, department stores and hotels). Once they discovered the area, they created their own little community in the Thousand Islands, away from the traditional elites of New York and Boston.

The castle was to be completed and ready for moving in before Valentine’s Day in 1904. But those plans were thwarted. Boldt’s princess died the month before they were to move in. The project was promptly abandoned. It is said that George Boldt never returned to live on the island.

Lively Barcelona

Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia in Spain, really came to the world’s attention when it hosted the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. Since then, the city has attracted an ever-increasing number of visitors, especially during the summer months. With a population of just over 1.6 million, Barcelona had a total of 9.7 million visitors in 2022.

With the availability of cheap flights from many other European cities, it has become a favourite destination for a short break. In addition, numerous cruise ships make a stop there. While tourism has brought tangible economic benefits, overtourism has led to some locals feeling crowded-out in their own city.

We had bought a guidebook on Barcelona in 2003, had watched many documentaries and knew that we would like to visit, but never did. We had some unease about the city being thronged with visitors and were reticent to add to the overtourism problem. That is what has kept us from going back to Venice, a city we love, but that also suffers from being too popular.

Our mindset changed this past year. We came to the realization that there is no sense in delaying the good things until it is too late. Knowing that there were fewer visitors in Barcelona during the winter, we bought a new guidebook and booked flights and a hotel.

We soon realized we should not have procrastinated for so long. We had a wonderful time. The sun shone every day and, like so many before us, we fell in love with this wonderful city.

Discovering Tobermory

We first heard of the Bruce Peninsula, the Bruce Trail, the Niagara Escarpment, and Tobermory when we lived in Toronto back in the 1990s. We could see the Escarpment on day trips to the west of the city and it looked very imposing. We learned that the Bruce Trail, which courses along the top of the Escarpment is the oldest and longest hiking trail in Canada, extending (with side trails) approximately 900 kms from Queenston in the Niagara Peninsula to Tobermory, at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.