‘'Here are the rules: No groping, kissing, or screaming. We ask that you don't bring drinks in, and you absolutely must keep your bathing suits on at all times.” We are at a hot spring in New Mexico, and Patty is laying down the law even before we get our toes wet. We have stumbled across the tiny town of X, a place of dust, bleached bones, wi-fi organic cafes, and gun stores (because it's your God-given right). The water starts out like a tepid bath until we demand 104 degrees. It's n...

La Petite France Restaurant 3317 Bloor St. W, 416-234-8783 www.lapetitefrance.ca patrick@lapetitefrance.ca The ubiquitous yellow walls and mud-brown trim could belong to any bistro in my adopted Mediterranean village of Antibes. New owner Patrick Kleinmann promises "wonderful authentic French dishes", and he is almost able to deliver. Escargots au Pastis ($8) transport me to a market-street brasserie, the snails sizzling and tender in their lovely puddle of anise-flavoured sauce...

The last time I wrote about Beaujolais, I received a fair bit of flack. I was told that I came down far too hard on these thin-skinned wines and that I really shouldn't have mentioned that fact that my sister once drank too much of the stuff (oops, there I go again). I did apologize to my sister, but I will make no excuses for the wine. I believe that really good bottles of Beaujolais are few and far between. But don't get me wrong, they are out there. The Beaujolais wine region is the so...

Perusing the French section of great wine lists can be daunting and confusing, but I enjoy taking a look at the incredible prices in the Bordeaux and Burgundy sections. Bordeaux is known primarily for its big Cabernet and Merlot-based reds. Burgundy is famous for its light to medium-bodied Pinot-based reds as well as its dry Chardonnays (although you will not find the grape name on most labels). As anyone who browses through French wines will know, classification and labeling offer a cha...

I am perched on the edge of a marble pedestal, and six hands are applying hair balsam to my scalp. Do not mock the Royal Sultan's Six Hands Massage until you have experienced the heaven of being tugged and caressed by the sinewy hands of three overweight Turkish women. The Cagaloglu Hammam in Istanbul, a 270-year-old bath that was the last one built during the Ottoman Empire, is a spa version of the Hagia Sophia. In fact, it might be better than the Hagia Sophia. Perhaps the dome is not as self-...

The two best bottles of wine that I have tasted both came from Bordeaux: Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Latour. They had both aged over 40 years and, unfortunately, they were by far the most expensive wines I have had. That is the story of Bordeaux wines in a nutshell. If you can afford both the cost and the wait, the best Bordeaux wines will provide an experience matched by very few others in the world. What is it that makes these wines superb? The "secret" is really no secret, it is j...

The man I love does not understand my love of butterflies. He half-listens when I prattle on about how Ontario monarchs fly hundreds of miles a day to get to their winter eucalyptus groves and tropical milkweeds in California and Mexico. "Hmmm" is pretty much the only reaction ever elicited. "But they fly higher than 10,000 feet into the air", I insist, "and did you know that many believe that they usher in the dead souls during the Day of the Dead in Mexico? And did you know that male monarchs ...

Lord preserve me from a too-successful garden next year. It's buried now under a layer of composted manure and leaves, and it's quiet, but this past summer, it nearly buried me. July and August were perfect here for gardens. We had weeks of hot and humid weather, with daily thunderstorms that drenched the sandy soil. We gardeners were miserable working in tropical hothouse conditions, but our gardens loved it. They flourished. In fact, mine began to climb the hill towards the house. Come t...

Who hasn't plucked a peach and pondered its mysterious fuzz? Who hasn't dreamt of being in the green gold dappled light of a peach orchard, and finding that one and only peach that is meant for you? It's a Red Haven, clingstone, hanging soft and sweet on the bough, and its flesh is perfectly ripe and gives to your touch. Enough fantasizing: go to Niagara. There are peach festivals, wineries both big and small, bed and breakfasts that ooze with Dixie cups and lace and enough ice wine and retir...

My only trip to Portugal was over 15 years ago and it left me with just two images burned into my mind. In Lisbon I was sick as a dog and spent a day and a half in bed, staring out a window. All I could see of the town was endless rooftops adorned with many different types of unattractive antennae. My other vivid memory of the country is much nicer. After Lisbon, my friends somehow transported me to the small town of Sagres at the south-westernmost tip of the European mainland. Here I spent...