Explore the World with Simon Sulyma

6/19/2021

6 Best Things To Do In And Around Perth, Ontario

6/19/2021

While at first glance Perth might seem like an ordinary snack and gas stop off the highway, make no mistake: this charming little town of 6,...

While at first glance Perth might seem like an ordinary snack and gas stop off the highway, make no mistake: this charming little town of 6,000 is a full-blown cultural, culinary, and historic destination. Conveniently located just an hour drive from Ottawa, Perth is well-worth a separate day trip. I'm going to tell you what I think the six best things are to do in and around Perth, but you should definitely come visit this town on your own and see why locals and tourists alike fall in love with it.

5/09/2021

Architectural Preferences of the Federal Government in Ottawa

5/09/2021

If you think that downtown Ottawa looks unremarkable and even boring comparing to other big cities in Canada, you are not alone. There are a...

If you think that downtown Ottawa looks unremarkable and even boring comparing to other big cities in Canada, you are not alone. There are a few reasons for that. First, Ottawa still observes the rule that no building in downtown could be higher than the Peace Tower. So you won't find towering skyscrapers that garnish downtowns of Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and even Calgary. And second, Ottawa is a bureaucrat city and, believe it or not, the government set a pretty low bar when it comes to spending taxpayers dollars on fancy real estate. Thus, most of the government buildings are spartan and unfussy. The devil is in the details though, so I urge you to take a closer look at Ottawa's architectural pot and who knows - maybe you will also find it attractive?

3/29/2021

Camping with Alligators, Wild Boars and Bobcats at Myakka River in Florida

3/29/2021

The winter sun was already setting over a grove of lavish sand pines in central Florida. In my mind, I was still debating whether I should h...

The winter sun was already setting over a grove of lavish sand pines in central Florida. In my mind, I was still debating whether I should head to my wilderness camping at Myakka State Forest or spend the night in my rental SUV. “There is only one alligator living in a pond and she rarely makes any appearance”, a lady helping with my camping reservation on the phone cheerfully told me a few weeks prior. On the one hand, I’m going to be alone in this unfamiliar forest with big reptiles and who knows what else roving around my campsite. What’s more, it’s supposed to be pretty chilly at night - Florida too gets a fair share of cold winter weather. And finally, I don’t even know how long it will take to get to my campsite, so the possibility of pitching my new tent in the darkness is real. On the other hand, I brought my backpack with all my gear all the way from Canada, skipped my lunch and sped on the Interstate-75 so I can get here before the sunset. So am I going to pass on this opportunity?

2/02/2021

Casselman - What to Expect from a Franco-Ontarian Town in Winter

2/02/2021

I bet you think the largest francophone community outside of Quebec is located in New Brunswick. The truth is, almost three times more fran...

I bet you think the largest francophone community outside of Quebec is located in New Brunswick. The truth is, almost three times more francophones, over 600,000 people, reside in the province of Ontario. Expectedly, the majority of them live along the Ontario-Quebec border, with the highest concentration - in towns and villages east of Ottawa. I happened to recently visit one of those typical Franco-Ontarians towns, called Casselman, where most people speak French in their daily lives. I hope to give you a sense of it, although you can't expect much from a small town during a province-wide lockdown in the middle of a brutally cold winter. Definitely give it another try in the summer.

1/24/2021

Bavaria Road Trip of a Lifetime: 8 Must-See Places (Part 2 of 2)

1/24/2021

This is the second part of the article about 8 places that you can't miss on your trip to Bavaria. I'll show you Eibsee Lake that s...

This is the second part of the article about 8 places that you can't miss on your trip to Bavaria. I'll show you Eibsee Lake that sits at the foot of Zugspitze - the highest peak in Germany. We will visit some cute little towns where few tourists go, pay tribute to the victims of Holocaust at the Dachau concentration camp, and enjoy the views of the Bavarian Riviera, a medieval city of Lindau. The first part of the article can be found here - Part 1.

1/12/2021

Bavaria Road Trip of a Lifetime: 8 Must-See Places (Part 1 of 2)

1/12/2021

Bavaria is the largest state in Germany and, in my opinion, the most diverse, rich and charming one as well. I feel like the whole world kn...

Bavaria is the largest state in Germany and, in my opinion, the most diverse, rich and charming one as well. I feel like the whole world knows what Bavaria is famous for - the King Ludwig II’s castle of Neuschwanstein, BMW, Oktoberfest, pretzels and of course the best beer in the world! And if you're a soccer fan, FC Bayern Munich definitely tops your list of the best soccer clubs. But Bavaria is also infamous for sheltering the national socialist german workers party led by Hitler that gave birth to nazism and mass killings of millions of innocent people. I purposely added Dachau, the most notorious death camp in the nazi Germany, to my itinerary as I felt the trip would not be complete without visiting this disgraceful place where thousands of victims, mostly Jews, would starve, suffer and eventually die in a gas chamber. We must never forget. Ready to see Bavaria? I hand-picked those 8 not to be missed places that should definitely be on everyone's bucket list.

1/03/2021

Visiting St. Augustine - The Oldest Town in America

1/03/2021

Thrill-seekers swarming the world-famous theme parks in Orlando and beachcombers chilling out at Daytona Beach often miss St. Augustine, a c...

Thrill-seekers swarming the world-famous theme parks in Orlando and beachcombers chilling out at Daytona Beach often miss St. Augustine, a centuries-old little gem located on the Florida's Atlantic Coast. While the Sunshine State offers tons of activities to keep you entertained for weeks, if not months, trust me - St. Augustine definitely deserves a day trip. After all, it's the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America. How cool is that?

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