Happy Canada Day

Canada is a young and virile 143 years this July 1st, 2010. Still a work in progress, some imperfections but deserving of a very happy birthday.

At the Opening Ceremonies of Vancouver's recent Olympics, a local slam poet, named Shane Koyczan, told the world a little about this country. He bravely stood alone in front of an overflowing stadium audience and a billion more watching on TV.

In his poem, We are More, he said in part:

"some say what defines us

is something as simple as please and thank you

and as for you're welcome

well we say that too

but we are more

than genteel or civilized

we are an idea in the process

of being realized

we are young

we are cultures strung together

then woven into a tapestry

and the design

is what makes us more

than the sum total of our history  

we are an experiment going right for a change...                        

we are the surprise the world has in store for you

it's true                          

                        

Canada is the "what" in "what's new?"...                              

we are the true north

strong and free

and what's more

is that we didn't just say it

we made it be. "                                                                                                               


    Thank you Shane. Here is the full version of your spoken word.

Vancouver Summer Festivals - a timeline

After my last post on the Jazz Fest, I decided that visitors to Vancouver this summer might appreciate a timeline around which to organize their trip. Both locals and part-time locals like to optimize their time while the sun shines on our beautiful city. Festivals may stretch for weeks but most events are one-offs and a real shame to miss. Then there are the regular concert halls, theatres and club offerings. This summer Cirque du Soleil's "Kooza" and the Queen E's "Lion King" are among those.


So - from Bard on the Beach, to Theatre under the Stars, from the Vancouver Folk Festival to Queer Arts, here is the chockablock summer entertainment and arts schedule and links posted on the Nelson House B & B website.


Have fun!

ALL that jazz!!

Visitors with enough foresight and planning to come to Vancouver between June 25 and July 4th can indulge in all the delights of the
Stylings will range from Alt/Indie through every variation of Avant, Free, Improv & Experimental to Big Band, a dash of Blues, Gospel & Roots, Funk, R n B & Soul, from Chamber and Traditional to Fusion and Modern, from Swing, Gypsy, World & Hip Hop to amazing songwriters and vocalists.

Big names like George Benson, Chick Corea and Strunz & Farah will bless the city's stages. Electro and Ambient sounds will vibrate through after hours clubs to the break of dawn.

Calling all music lovers to Vancouver this month!

The uncommon decency of bed and breakfast guests.

People who choose to stay in bed and breakfasts are a particularly nice kind of human being. After twenty years in this business and many more in this world, I am certain of that fact.

Regrettably, too many people aspire to a five star, gold-plated lifestyle. They spend their lives trying to add more and more material possessions to build a mountain of happiness. Others start off in their egotistical youth to chase merit and too soon, that transforms into more prestige and more power - always the next degree, the next job title, the next spouse. Others just settle for craving attention, never missing an opportunity to oppose, to whine and complain. In all of these lives, a sense of complexity and confusion mounts with every passing year. People know deep down that energy and precious time are being wasted but they just don't stop and smell the roses.

On the other hand, "Bed and Breakfasters' or "B & Bers" are individuals who have learned some very important life lessons, maybe through maturity, perhaps as old souls. B & Bers know that in life - love always trumps ambition. Think about that.

These are folks who have realized that it is the people we meet and how we treat them that counts in the long run. Practicing kindness day by day leads to a satisfying life of compassion and understanding. These are the people who embrace the many small joys of living. Bed and Breakfasters are the people who recognize the charms of a well tended garden, the character of a heritage home, the attention to detail in a home-based business.

These are my guests. People who appreciate a comfortable night's sleep, a fine cup of coffee and meeting new friends round the breakfast table.

A grey whale swims into downtown Vancouver!

A forty-foot grey whale was sighted off of Stanley Park on Wednesday morning. Shortly thereafter, the whale cruised alongside the downtown, West End, swam under the Burrard and Granville Island bridges and astonished thousands of onlookers at Granville Island Market. The mature adult male grey slowly circled the length of the salt-water False Creek estuary as far as the Science Museum and the Olympic Village. Coast Guard and Vancouver Aquarium boats ran defense for the whale and several hours later escorted him back to the deeper waters of English Bay. On Thursday, he was spotted overnight taking one last look at the downtown condos and then wandered off to join the thousands of his mates moving north for summer feeding off the coast of Alaska.

Check out this video for some of Vancouver's downtown whale-watching.

Deflating Vancouver's Domed Stadium

Vancouver has deflated the world's largest, air-supported dome. Home to the BC Lions football franchise, numerous trade shows and mega-concert events, since it opened in 1982, this 60,000 seat stadium recently hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. But this Tuesday, May 4th, the 16 giant fans were turned off and the 10 acre teflon-coated fibreglass roof sagged like a spent balloon. In only 48 minutes, the city skyline was changed forever.

Check out the time-lapsed video to see the changes.


And check back in the fall of 2011 for the new $458 million dollar "crown" - a steel and cable retractable roof. Here is the vision.

10 Reasons to Choose a B & B Over a Hotel

The internet is always entertaining. I recently came across an article that badmouthed bed and breakfasts. Essentially, the author contended that on a rainy day, you might have to stay in and be bored because your room didn't have a TV - whereas every Motel 6 room out there had it's very own television set. So there!

When on a tight budget, I have stayed in some Motel 6s and they do have their place in the marketplace - near the bottom and beside the interstate. I also enjoyed a long career that involved a lot of business travel and being put up in luxury hotels around the world. One thing both motels and hotels had in common, was that TV as your only company.

Here are 10 reasons to pick a B & B over a hotel anyday, anywhere and on on any budget:

1. Money. B & Bs, like motels and hotels, come in a wide price range. B & Bs may not always be cheaper but they always give you better bang for the buck. No add on fees for parking or internet use or outrageous charges for telephone calls or room service breakfast. At a hotel, you may be charged a dozen different rates for the same kind of room depending on who, how or when you call. Not so at a bed and breakfast. B & B rates are honest, straightforward and since they include the amenities, facilities and services for a comfortable stay, they are even better value.


2. Personal Attention. B & B owners are self-employed. It's their own livelihood that is on the line. As a guest, isn't it really nice to know you are talking to the Boss? You can be sure that the boss realizes the importance of your satisfaction, your repeat business and your positive opinion. With only a handful of guests, you are bound to have more individual attention and a much higher level of service. You are not just Room # 1604.


3. The Personal Touch. When you stay in a B & B, you are a house guest and honoured as such. The house, the garden, the decor, the books in the bookcase, everything reflects the style, life and history of your host. The innkeeper is not just a concierge but someone with whom you can swap stories. Your fellow guests are not strangers on the elevator but potential new friends over coffee.


4. Personal Security. How many guests are victims of crime in hotels very year? Terrible to think about but there are good reasons that you might need to double-lock yourself into your hotel room and stare sleeplessly at CNN. At a B & B, with just a small number of guests to look after, owners are much more aware of what's going on in their property. Criminal issues that cause big headaches for hotels are almost non-existent in B &Bs. For single travellers, especially women, that one reason might be enough to choose a B & B.


5. Ubiquity. That's a big word that tells you that B & Bs can be found everywhere. Anywhere that people live, even places where no hotel could survive, you will find friendly people willing to open their homes to visitors.


6. Living like a local. Staying in a bed and breakfast gives you the oppportunity to actually get to know a local. Instead of following the beaten tourist track to the one big star attraction, you can learn an insider's secrets, all the sights, sounds, customs, tastes and colour that make every corner of this world such an interesting place.


7. Relaxation, rest and respect. B & B innkeepers develop a sixth sense when to check on your well-being and when to leave you to do your own thing. Whether you need to catch up on sleep or catch up on romance, your host will always respect your alone time. No hotel maids will demand entry for an unwanted turndown service or to restock your mini-bar. No drunken parties will crowd the hall outside your door. Rowdyism is hardly ever heard or seen at a B & B. Indeed, a B & B will encourage you to relax and unwind with comfy chairs by the fireplace or a sunny garden nook.


8. Real Exclusivity. Sometimes exclusivity is the opposite of expensive pretensions, snob appeal or separation. At a B & B, with only a few rooms, it may be your chance to include everyone in a group get together. You can book the entire property for a family reunion, an intimate wedding, an anniversary, the sewing club or Jane Austen Society. Imagine your own holiday home where someone else cooks breakfast and does the dishes.


9. Breakfast with a capital B. The morning meal is an innkeeper's chance to show you down-home hospitality with grandma's best recipes, fresh baking, local, healthy and organic ingredients. Unlike a hotel dining room or buffet, your innkeeper is your personal chef and with a little forewarning can usually cope with almost any dietary restriction. The happy result when people share a good breakfast together is that they chat about the day to come and share something of themselves too.


10. Every B & B is unique. No matter how many stars awarded to a hotel, to wake up in one hotel room is very much like waking up in any other hotel room. They will never feel like home. Only the owners of a house, cottage, chalet or castle can make it a home. To me, the sense of waking up in someone's home - a place that is loved and cared for - is one of the great joys of travel.

My thanks to an article on www.bedandbreakfastworld.com that inspired this list.

Springtime

On days like this, it's good to be alive in Vancouver, BC.

Fine Dining in Vancouver, BC

Calling all foodies! This week the Golden Plates Awards 2010 were announced in the Georgia Straight. The hip, formerly hippie weekly, is one the most objective viewers of Vancouver's amazing, multicultural dining scene.

At the B & B, I have had guests from Tokyo rave about the freshness of our city's Japanese food and guests from Taiwan exult over the vast variety of Vancouver's Chinese cuisine. Literally thousands of new immigrants from over a hundred countries are bringing their Mama's homestyle cooking to a corner cafe somewhere around town. Then there is Pacific ocean seafood purchased on the wharf this morning, top-quality BC and Alberta beef, local native influences, wild game, organic supplies and sophisticated food fusion experiments. On and on it goes and it's hard to keep up with the ever-changing deliciousness of this city's 4500 restaurants.

What I like about the Straight's annual review is it's comprehensiveness. It acknowledges restaurants that are popular and perennial favourites as well as those that peers in the food industry think are outstanding.

If you are coming to Vancouver, follow the link, plan ahead and prepare your taste buds for some of the best and most adventurous dining in the world.

What does being "gay friendly" mean?

Recently, two news reports of gay travellers being refused accommodation by bed and breakfast owners, got me thinking about the subject of gay friendliness in the hospitality industry.

Years ago, a new B & B owner in Vancouver contacted me in order to introduce herself and her business and ask me for some tips on successful innkeeping. Over coffee and reciprocal visits to each other's guesthouses, she told me that she did not understand why I mentioned the word "gay" in describing Nelson House B & B. She said that Canadian society was moving beyond such labels. Surely no one had to worry over outright prejudice and wasn't one's sexual orientation just a private thing?

I hesitated as I didn't know her very well but I figured an honest question deserved an honest answer. First, I said that like most people(meaning the majority of heterosexuals) in the world, I would prefer that my sexual orientation remained a private and personal matter. However, now that I had opened my home to the public as a hospitality and accommodation business, I saw the need to flag sexual orientation to potential customers who might, for their own reasons, prefer to stay elsewhere. And also, I wanted to indicate to gay(and read lesbian too) travellers that no one at Nelson House B & B would blink an eye at an adult, same-sex couple wishing to share a bed.

My new innkeeper friend was too new in the business then to realize that gays form a loyal and highly desirable portion of the travel industry's client base. Even though she was a Jewish woman and probably knew something about prejudice and discrimination, she still found it very difficult to put herself in the shoes of someone suffering discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

All of this came to mind this week when the UK press gave national prominence on the BBC, newspapers and the internet to the denial of accommodation to a gay male couple once the innkeeper realized that the guests were actually a same sex couple. Simultaneously, here in Canada, an almost identical denial of service occurred in Kelowna, BC. The difference in the Canadian case is that the innkeepers defended their actions based on their evangelical Christian beliefs. In both England and Canada(and 50 other countries), national laws are in place to protect all citizens against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Incidentally, the United States is NOT one of those countries. Police in England decided not to press criminal charges and it is up to the English gay couple to pursue possible civil damages. According to media reports of the Canadian case, the couple chose to file a complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. This interesting clash of rights will be decided by early next month.

Now lawsuits and heavily reported civil rights cases are not the reason anyone goes into the bed and breakfast business. In the ten years since I advised my new innkeeper friend, much of the mainstream hotel industry has discovered the reportedly lucrative "pink dollar" and most now trumpet their gay friendliness. Tourism Vancouver and many other cities, states and provinces now dedicate portions of their websites and other marketing campaigns to bragging on their non-discriminatory practices. A go-getter, gay-owned marketing company out of San Francisco has made a bundle by certifying the gay friendliness of corporate hotel chains with little icons of gay approval in the form of luggage tags. Many other PR executives have cleverly inserted a rainbow flag somewhere on their website to reassure and attract gay customers.

I now look back on twenty years of successful innkeeping and look forward to many more ahead. To me, even though times have changed, I know not everyone has changed with the times. As the gay owner of Nelson House B & B, of course I understand and genuinely welcome gay and lesbian travellers. As a man who believes in treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, I have long since dubbed our brand of hospitality as people-friendly!