With a Local: Edmonton, Alberta

This With a Local supplies insider tips on things to do and see while visiting Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. Disclosure: Some of the links and banners below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Kendall Barber has lived in...

Things to do in Groningen, the Netherlands

Stuart Forster interviews Theo de Haan, a resident of the city, for a local’s perspective and insider tips on Things to do in Groningen, the Netherlands. Disclosure: Some of the links and banners below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make...

Soft bob riding in Sigulda, Latvia

Members of bobsleigh teams in the Winter Olympics tend to be muscular sprinters who push their sled then jump aboard once it’s moving. We, by contrast, get comfy before being given a helping hand by the man who just explained we must keep our hands inside of the soft bob as we travel along the track.

Charming man Jean Til in Antwerp

I travelled to Antwerp for a day out with two friends. We were all within arm’s reach of Jean Til as he began speaking. They confirmed they’d also heard the line. It was genius. Sheer brilliance. We all commented to that effect in the immediate aftermath of our two-minute encounter.

Things to do in Scheveningen

Scheveningen is one of the locations across the Netherlands that mark the onset of the new herring season, each June, with celebratory feasts. Known as flag day — Vlaggetjesdag in Dutch — it sees people donning traditional attire while the country’s red, white and blue horizontal tricolour flaps from flagpoles and pokes in miniature from wooden cocktail sticks stuck into succulent slices of herring.

A weekend break in Dublin, Ireland

Listen into conversations as you take a coffee break and you may well overhear Dubliners joking about their politicians failings, life’s everyday challenges and the differences between their city’s north- and south sides. Just one of the must do activities when on a Dublin weekend break.

Studio Bell, Canada’s National Music Centre

The National Music Centre is home to the world’s only complete Rob Wave electromechanical organ. Dating from 1937, the instrument was at the forefront of electronic sound production — the first to go into commercial production. The depressed economic climate of the 1930s is regarded a factor in why just 16 units were made.

Alberta day trips from Calgary

If you enjoy the dinosaur exhibits at London’s Natural History Museum, you’re likely to love the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller. The palaeontology museum stands in Alberta’s Badlands, a dramatic eroded landscape with exposed rock stratification, coulees and mushroom-like formations known as hoodoos.

An introduction to Calgary, Alberta

Calgarians embrace their Western heritage, which is celebrated each summer during the Calgary Stampede. Rodeos, chuckwagon racing and line dancing are all elements of an event that’s dubbed ‘the greatest outdoor show on earth’. You’re likely to see police officers wearing broadbrimmed hats, reminiscent of sheriffs in Western movies.

Whale watching in New Brunswick, Canada

I lean over the inflated side of the boat, photographing a shearwater taking a rest just out of touching distance from the boat. A cry of excitement causes me to spin around and I catch a glimpse of a humpback whale in mid-air, twisting amid spray before splashing back down into the sea. I know I’ve missed a golden photo opportunity but feel blessed for having seen such a magnificent sight.