Paolo's Travel Deal Today

My precious pooch Paolo digs up great air deals each day.

Puerto Vallarta Holiday

$399

Air included from Toronto

Hotel: Holiday Inn

Duration: 7 nights/all inclusive

Airline: Air Transat

Departures: June 2, 9 & 16
Taxes & fees: $343
Call: 1-877-881-5150
Good boy Paolo!

Here's some ideas for the purr-fect African holiday to see some cats

Movies are helping put Africa's big cats in the spotlight.

Two recent Hollywood films, The Last Lions and Disney’s African Cats, have heightened awareness about the Big Cats of Africa and more and more people are heading to the Dark Continent for the purr-fect holiday.

But where in Africa are you assured of seeing cheetahs, lions and leopards?

After all, you don’t want to go all that way and spend all that money and come up empty.

So, I gave some African travel specialists my bucket list of cats I’d like to see before I die in their natural habitat and they put together the following Top 10 list of places I’d be guaranteed to see specific species:

1. Cape Town’s Cheetah Outreach Reserve for cheetahs.

2. Kafue National Park in the Busanga Plains, Zambia for lions.

3. Londolozi, South Africa for leopards.

4. Linyanti, Botswana for lions.

5. Luangwa, Zambia for leopards.

6. Manyara, Tanzania for tree climbing lions).

7. Manyara, Tanzania for leopards.

8. Masai Mara, Kenya for cheetahs.

9. Masai Mara, Kenya for lions.

10- Anywhere in Namibia for cheetahs.

Qantas crew brings 'child' rock star Justin Bieber back 'Down to Earth'

I just found out that Canadian child pop star Justin Bieber was scolded like a child on board a Qantas flight yesterday for leaving his seat while the aircraft was taxing in preparation for takeoff.

According to witnesses, the 17-year-old teen idol and his bodyguard left their business class seats to talk to members of their entourage back in coach as the plane readied for a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, despite the fact the seat belt sign was on.

Bieber is currently touring Down Under.

The cabin crew jumped to their feet and sternly ordered the pair back to their seats.

Witnesses told an Australian newspaper that one flight attendant shouted at Bieber; accusing him of being a “security risk.” She then escorted him back to his seat and told him: “if you want to act like a child, then I’ll treat you like a child.”

Good job Qantas has not introduced mandatory martial arts training for their flight attendants like I reported yesterday Hong Kong Airlines has done for their crews.

It’s nice to see, as one of Bieber’s song titles suggests, that even mega stars can be brought “Down to Earth” by air crews.

Kate, Will heading to Indian Ocean


Everyone has been trying to pin down the honeymoon location Prince William and his new bribe Kate have chosen.

Well, British newspapers are reporting the royal newlyweds are heading to very romantic and very isolated Robinson Crusoe Island in the Indian Ocean, where the stilted villas go for a cool $6,000 a night – but that does include butler service.

When I got wind of their decision, it brought back a flood of wonderful memories that are still vivid years after my visits to two Indian Ocean holiday hot spots, the Seychelles and the Maldives.

The Maldives, where protests against the government in recent days have put that enchanting group of islands off limits to tourists for a while, is one of my favorite islands in the world.

Sadly, most of the islands that make up the Maldives are sinking faster than I can type thanks to global warming. But the two Four Seasons’ hotels on the Maldives where I stayed are two of the most beautiful resorts I have ever checked into.

The Seychelles, where, according to local lore, the original Garden of Eden is located, is a group of islands populated by descendants of slaves brought there from nearby Africa by the French and British before being dispatched

The Seychelles are home to some of the most pristine beaches I have ever walked on and the resorts there are all 5-star.

The Indian Ocean, sandwiched between Africa and Southeast Asia, are often overlooked by North Americans because of the time required to get to them from here. However, it’s time well spent because there is no more romantic place on Earth than the Indian Ocean – especially for honeymooners.

Airline crew taught martial arts

Hong Kong Airlines' crew learn martial arts.

This being the International Day of Laughter, you might think this little tidbit I came across about Hong Kong Airlines a joke. But it’s true.

The Asian carrier has decided to introduce compulsory training for cabin crew in Wing Chun, a form of martial arts perfected by Ip Man, the master who taught the late actor Bruce Lee the ancient Chinese art of defence. Some crew say the training has already helped them take care of unruly passengers – one female flight attendant said her Wing Chun training helped her subdue a drunken passenger on a flight to Beijing recently.

So, if you are ever on a Hong Kong Airlines flight and the flight attendant tells you to buckle up, don’t argue or you may find yourself flying through the cabin.

I get a 'dressing down' from readers



Princess Grace looked angelic.

Oops! For the past 24 hours I’ve been getting a “proper dressing down”, as the British would say, from readers upset over the “Plain Jane” comment I made yesterday about Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.

“Zip it!” is what readers are telling me. Hey, I warned you I was no fashion critic.

So I went back and had another look at the wedding dress designed for the woman who will be queen by Alexander McQueen’s top designer Sarah Burton to see what left me unimpressed yesterday.

On second look, the lace-lined gown with the V-neck meant to accent Kate’s lovely long neck - it looks a lot like the wedding dress Grace Kelly wore when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco so many years ago (I’ve supplied proof with the accompanying photographs) – was indeed a knockout.

But the longer I looked, the less impressed I still was.

Why?

Then it hit me. By comparing Duchess Catherine’s dress – no more Kate for this girl - with Princess Grace’s wedding gown, I was able to pin it down – the veil.

While Grace’s wedding veil flared out to make the gorgeous Grace look angelic, Kate’s just laid on her head like mosquito netting

It’s almost as if Burton forgot to account for the veil in the design and just grabbed something at the last minute.

I challenge you to have another look.

From now on, though, I’m sticking to reviewing Tilley travel gear!

Royal wedding dress disappoints me


 I’m back home after my 26-hour flight from Singapore via New York and through blurry eyes I watched the Royal Wedding this morning – damn jet lag has thrown my clock off again.

I’m no fashion critic but after all the hype of who would and would not design the wedding dress worn by the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly plain old Kate Middleton) and what it would look like, I must admit I was somewhat disappointed – a bit too Plain Jane in its design. Maybe Princess Di’s elaborate wedding dress has ruined me forever.

However, London looked radiant!

No other city in the world looks as good as London when it puts on its regal look.

William and Kate’s wedding will certainly help inject new energy into the Royal Family and the wedding ceremony and the pomp and circumstance surrounding it will no doubt have many tourists booking passage to London.

CBC and other networks offered feeds from St. Andrews, where Prince William met Kate while attending the ancient city’s renowned university.

I was there a few years ago and TV pictures today reminded me how beautiful the campus there is. I soaked up the sun in the very courtyard where crowds gathered today to watch the wedding on giant TV screens.

London, St. Andrews and Kate’s hometown of Bucklebury – located 80 kilkometres west out London – will be overcrowded with tourists in coming weeks and months as the wedding ceremony hysteria continues well into the future.

Reminds me that it’s almost time for me to return to England.

Go to http://www.travelife.ca/ for my stories on St. Andrews.