Travels in Quebec’s Eastern Townships - Part 4

Strolling along the trails in this expansive wetland (Marais de la Riviere-aux-Cerises) is a treasure for bird watchers and eco-focused visitors alike.

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Adventures on Prince Edward Island - Part 2

A walk along the Greenwich Dunes Trail is a must-do when visiting Prince Edward Island. The setting that includes serpentine boardwalks (including a floating boardwalk) and tall sand dunes couldn’t be more bucolic.

Even in cloudy weather, strolling along the floating boardwalk is an enthralling experience.

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Connecticut Wanderings

 One minute I was in a quiet Connecticut suburb (Trumbull) and the next, I’m on a bucolic trail, wading through fallen leaves and pine needles in the wooded Pequonnock River Valley.

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Irvington, A Scenic Hudson Valley Town

It’s so easy to hop on Metro North from Manhattan and quickly escape to a stellar scenic landscape in Irvington, one of the peaceful villages fronting the Hudson River. This is Matthiessen Park, a bucolic public park with numerous distanced picnic tables and benches where you could sit for hours reading a book or working on your laptop. 

The 26-some-mile Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that meanders from the Bronx up through the river villages of the Hudson Valley (including Irvington) is a leafy gem with its signature stone cylindrical ventilator shafts peppering the route. I’ve walked numerous portions of this trail. 

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New York City’s New Green Space

Derelict Pier 54 in Manhattan has been reimagined as Little Island, a new Hudson River installation that adds an almost three-acre green space to the city.

On my recent visit, I found an abundance of stellar flora, though it seemed everyone else seemed to be captivated by selfies.

Spending just an hour climbing the undulating landscape of Little Island and concentrating my attention on the many-hued blooms is a rejuvenating experience.

I noticed dazzling blooms and creative hardscape structures everywhere, even along the stairs and beside the railings.

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Connecticut’s Woodcock Nature Center

Ridgefield, Connecticut has managed to preserve and maintain so many green spaces that they have an entire book devoted to these. (The Ridgefield Walk Book is sold in town.)

The Woodcock Nature Center is one of these green spaces.

One of the loop trails in the Woodcock Nature Center wanders beside wetlands and across snow-covered pedestrian bridges over the myriad waterways. When I recently hiked there, I was completely alone in the woods that are laden with old oak, maple and hickory trees as well as a network of low stone walls,

Walking the trails here is a year-round delight. But I found trekking along the purple-red loop especially stunning in the winter when ice crystals glow on the many frozen streams and wetlands.

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Necessary Connections With Nature In Connecticut

All through this pandemic, I found that the way to deal with stress is by connecting — and reconnecting — with nature. Since there’s little in the way of broad — or even petite — green spaces where I live, I regularly chose to drive one hour to Ridgefield, Connecticut. The town is surrounded by a wealth of parks, gardens and hiking trails. And the historic town center is delightful year-round, especially when draped with snow and ice crystals. These are some of my observations from one of my recent trips.

Ballard Park is a grand expanse that occupies a central part of Main Street in Historic Ridgefield.

This park is especially atmospheric in the winter when a snowy coat blankets everything, even the gazebo and the impressive columns guarding the entrances.

I find jogging during a snowstorm especially invigorating when I’m in Ridgefield. These are some of the sights I found along my journey.

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Green Spaces and Art in Connecicut

 Just one hour from my home in New York City, Ridgefield, Connecticut is blessed with abundant green spaces.

On my recent visit, every morning I jogged through the historic district populated by grand properties, with some houses dating to the 18th century.

In addition to lush expanses, Ridgefield also is known for its creative institutions. Near the trailhead for the two-some-mile rail-trail — a converted rail corridor— I spotted this photo mural outside the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. This is Miles Davis by Anton Corbijn. 

The Weir Farm National Historic Site and the adjacent nature reserve is a bucolic expanse of emerald fields, rugged stone walls, serene wetlands and shaded trails. Named for Impressionist painter, J. Alden Weir who lived here, this stunning venue has long been and continues to be an inspiration to artists.

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Photos: Brittany, France

Walking even a portion of France's 216-mile Nantes-Brest Canal in inland Brittany -- I walked  a 60+ mile section over the course of six days -- is a placid adventure through a bucolic landscape. It’s one full of discoveries, as the colors of the sky, foliage, and reflections in the water continually change. The bed and breakfasts vary from chateaus reminiscent of Downton Abbey to country houses in centuries-old slate hamlets.

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Photos: Fiji

Fiji is almost solely known for its stunning white sandy beaches, perfect for sunning, swimming, diving and snorkeling. But on my recent trip, I found numerous other sights and activities, including hiking trails coursing through the Colo-i-Suva Forest Park. One trail allows access to numerous swimmable pools with waterfalls and also provides bird watching opportunities. I also found an eco ethic at many of the resorts, including Castaway Island, Fiji, a resort on a private island. Given that this and other waterfront resorts depend on healthy coral reefs that are home to a variety of different fish and shellfish species, it’s no wonder that conservation efforts are underway to restore coral that have died as a result of climbing water temperatures. These photos show some of the numerous sights and vistas I discovered in Fiji, including Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, Nanuku Auberge Resort, and Castaway Island’s North Beach that’s the focus of the myriad water-based and many other activities, including a massage table set up on the golden sands at the end of this beach where, at low-tide, you can walk around the rocky point to yet another and more desolate beach. (You can also kayak there.)

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How to Choose a Biking/Hiking/Walking Tour

Who wants an unexpected and unpleasant surprise on a biking, hiking or walking tour? I’ve signed up on numerous active adventures, some solo, others with a friend, and sometimes with a group and a guide. But, on any of these, untoward things can occur, including finding out that the roads are in poor conditions, the bikes don’t have low enough gears, the terrain is more mountainous than you imagined, wildlife roams free on the roads, the list can go on. A romantic hiking tour in Italy may leave little time for stress-free romps through wildflower-laden meadows or espresso breaks with the locals because of the hair-raising and heart-pounding treks up precipitous paths in the Dolomite Mountains. How do you assure that the tour you signed up with is what suits your needs and interests? Check out this article I wrote for Berkeley Wellness so that you’re not unpleasantly surprised on your next adventure.

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Spa Hiking in Vermont

Many of us associate the word "spa" with pampering in the form of water treatments, facials, body wraps, hot stone massages and other pleasant, but sedentary, activities. What I love about the New Life Hiking Spa in Vermont -- and there's much to love -- is that its got my idea of pampering via fitness. Sure, they've got those typical spa treatments we've all come to expect. But I don't go to New Life for a body exfoliation -- though they offered a relaxing one using Chinese herbs, creams and oils. I went to indulge my joy in being fit. And New Life is the right place for fitness. Every day after breakfast they offer hikes for all levels: nature walks, intermediate treks from low-grade to more strenuous, and advanced hikes where you'll be scaling peaks. But the fitness starts before breakfast with a stretch class.

The hikes couldn't have been more idyllic. My friend and I chose an advanced intermediate hike every morning, not because we weren't fit enough for the advanced jaunt but because I don't like precipices nor navigating over scree or boulder fields, something that's always a possibility when summiting. On the intermediate journeys we tackled, we hiked through dense pine forests with the most energizing aromas, strolled beside crystal clear ponds and lakes, and enjoyed numerous scenic panoramas over the state's generous green spaces.

The afternoon was also fitness oriented, with different classes offered every hour, from 2PM through 5PM. Qi Gong, different sorts of yoga practices, outdoor fitness, and circuit training are just a few of the many offerings that change daily and are taught by a cadre of professional, personable and skilled trainers. (Characteristics of the hiking guides as well.) My favorite activities included the latter two classes. Rather than relying on machines (not fun for me), circuit training used Bosu balls for balance, mats to do a plank, sit ups or other exercises, and exercise bands of all sorts for strength training. In the outdoor fitness, we took advantage of the pleasant weather, heading to a spacious lawn for a fun boot camp of sorts. It included high-kneed skipping, tossing medicine-type balls, negotiating an agility ladder and engaging in some of the side-to-side motion typically used to train football players. We felt like children and that is what fitness should all be about.

The New Life Hiking Spa is only open part of the year, using the spaces at Killington's Cortina Inn and Resort. Expect an informal, a bit rustic and completely unpretentious environment. In other words, leave the glittery evening clothes and pearls at home. In speaking with the array of guests who have a wide range of ages, many have returned time and again sometimes for 11+ years, for many reasons, including the camaraderie and the hiking.  New Life has been around for almost 40 years. They obviously have the recipe for success. After all, one of the best ways to help people lose the weight they desire is to just get them moving in fun activities. I can't think of anything more fun than hiking in forest land.

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Nevis In The Caribbean - In Pictures

Have you ever heard of Nevis? If you asked "what's that," you're not alone. When I recently told all my travel savvy friends I was heading to Nevis for a few days, that was their response. But, when I said it was near St. Kitts, then everyone responded with recognition, not of Nevis but of its sister island It's too bad because what they're missing is a lush, volcanic island where the picturesque views of the probably extinct volcanic cone, Mt. Nevis -- it rises more than 3,000 feet smack in the center of the island -- are ever present. Most visitors come to this wee island to climb this majestic peak, an almost all-day challenging activity, or settle into one of many villas in the interior where privacy is respected. So much so that this island is quite attractive to the celebrity set. But my interests were altogether different. I stayed at a boutique inn, Golden Rock, where one of the guest accommodations is a converted old sugar mill and where the surrounding gardens are designed by renowned landscape designer Raymond Jungles; trekked along placid nature paths and rain forest trails where I didn't run into anyone else; explored the Botanical Garden that offers a high antioxidant purple-hued icy beverage in a scenic veranda; and visited the various old sugar plantations that are now home to expansive, upscale but low-key resorts. My YouTube video slideshow provides a window into my journey.

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Gallery Hopping in New York City

Walking tours are hit or miss for me, mostly miss. It’s a  hit if I come away more educated than if I walked to the venues on my own and, if not educated, then at least highly entertained. Because of either (or both), many are a miss. I recently signed up for a gallery tour of Chelsea -- the neighborhood with the greatest concentration of galleries in New York City -- with New York Gallery Tours that’s run by Rafael Risemberg.

On the plus side: this tour is unpretentious and informal, visiting a medley of different galleries with shows that just opened all within a several block radius. On the negative side, our group was more than 30 strong. (Way too crwded for me.) And, if I simply read each artist’s statement, I believe I would’ve come away with the same amount of information dispensed by Mr. Risemberg. Once he lead our group around to several works within each gallery -- the itinerary included 7 galleries -- we had all of two minutes to browse the rest on our own. (I bailed after gallery #6.)

Nonetheless, the works were impressive, some eccentric and avant garde, others sensual and curious. By far, the most noteworthy was the Brazilian art duo, OS GEMEOS, with their vibrant, boldly-hued paintings, sculptures, collage and drawings exhibited in five rooms of the Lehmann Maupin gallery. Another artist that fascinated me was Sarah Cain who showed her paintings in the Lelong Gallery -- her floor painting is on linoleum and is an expansive 2,500 square feet. Some artists either used unusual media or traditional media in an unusual way: Xu Zhen at the James Cohan Gallery created a 3D painting that looks like it’s a collage of sea shells. In reality he used a pastry bag to squeeze out the paint. Mark Wagner (at the Pavel Zoubok Gallery) is noted for making paintings out of slivers of paper currency. While Francesca Pasquali often relied on clusters of plastic straws to create her scultural pieces. 

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