Yula.ca, Author at Alex & Yula's travels

The Cliffs and Caves in Tobermory

by Yula.ca | Jun 1, 2020 | Travel

Date visited: September 2015

We took a short weekend trip to explore The Cliffs and Caves in Tobermory. Tobermory is about a 4 hour drive north of Toronto. It’s a little village on the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula, dividing Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay.

Little Tub Harbour is the focal point of the town. It’s a pretty stroll around the harbour, with a few little shops and cafes closeby.

Just a 5 minute drive from Little Tub Harbour is Big Tub Harbour, and the home of Big Tub Lighthouse. We visited a couple of times – the nighttime visit was very peaceful.

We took a glass-bottom boat cruise on the Tobermory Explorer. We found out that Tobermory is a very popular destination for scuba divers because there are many shipwrecks in the area to explore underwater.

It was cool and windy that day, but the sun was shining brightly. We cruised around the little islands – the most famous one being Flowerpot Island. The rock pillars on the island were something to see! We also took a little ride by the Big Tub Lighthouse.

One of the most popular destinations in the Tobermory area is The Grotto in the Bruce Peninsula National Park. The caves are fun to explore, and we could not get enough of looking at the turquoise water.

The Cliffs and Caves in Tobermory - https://yula.ca

The Cliffs and Caves in Tobermory

Although short, our weekend getaway to Tobermory was memorable. We will definitely go back and explore more in Bruce Peninsula National Park.

Thanks for reading!

Yours Truly …. Yula

Sunday Drive in Halton Ontario

by Yula.ca | May 27, 2020 | Non-Travel

We are aching to travel. Until parks and campgrounds starting opening up, it’s best to just stay home. But when it’s sunny and warm and we can put the top down, going for a Sunday Drive in Halton Ontario is just what the doctor ordered.

So we packed some snacks, put on sun hats and suncreen, put the top down and started up the summertime tunes. We headed north and drove through quiet country roads. Nature was green and healthy and in full spring mode.

Sunday Drive in Halton Ontario - https://yula.ca

We ended up in little Waterside Park in Rockwood, Ontario. A few were fishing in the Emarosa River, and others enjoying the sunshine. Everyone was spread out quite responsibly.

Rockwood Conservation Area was close by so we thought we’d head there for a hike. It was closed through, as we suspected. We walked through a forested area not far from there. The official Ontario flower – The Trullium – was in full bloom all over the forest floor.

Driving with the top down is great for looking up and capturing birds soaring in the sky (great the the passenger, that is!). It’s always fun seeing the farm animals too.

Sunday Drive in Halton Ontario

And that’s a little taste of our sunshine-filled day trip. I hope you too can one day drive through the winding roads of Halton Hills. You won’t regret it.f Thanks for visiting our site 🙂

Yours Truly …. Yula

Plan a Road Trip with Google Maps

by Yula.ca | May 18, 2020 | Non-Travel

The internet makes it SO easy to plan a trip, especially when you Plan a Road Trip with Google Maps. Let me show you how I do it.

First, I identify the main road that I will be travelling on to get to the final destination. In this case, the shortest route is to travel through the USA, but for this particular trip we want to stay in Canada.

I add a couple of stops that I know I want to pass through (Winnipeg, Jasper & Kelowna), and now I have a general route.

Then I take an area at a time and identify the places that I’ve always wanted to visit, as well as places recommended by travel sites. For example, if I’m passing through Edmonton and I would like to visit the West Edmonton Mall, I search for it in Google Maps, click on “Save” and choose the Favorites list.

After I identify all the places I’d like to visit, I can view all my Favourite spots on the map. I simply click on the Google Maps Menu (top left), Select ‘Your places’, then click ‘SAVED’, then click ‘Favorites’.

Now I have a big picture of what my trip will look like. I can adjust the route based on my favourite places that I identified. For example, I would love to visit Whistler, BC. My original road plan didn’t pass by there, so I will adjust the plan to drive a little more north in BC to visit.

Plan a Road Trip with Google Maps

If you have the Google Maps app on your smartphone, you can also view all your favourites there. All phone display the app a little differently, but if you can find ‘Saved’, and ‘Favorites’, you can view them by List, or by Map. This is very helpful when you’re travelling.

And that’s how I do it. As you can see from the screenshots above, I’m currently planning a trip to Western Canada. I’m always looking for secret hidden gems to visit – if you know of any, let me know! Thanks for reading!

Yours Truly …. Yula

Spending a Day in London

by Yula.ca | May 17, 2020 | Europe2017

Date visited: October 2017

Pictures by: Effie Edits Inc.

On our way home from Greece, we thought that a good way to break up the long flight would be stopping in the UK and Spending a Day in London. I am so glad we did! I absolutely loved London. It’s colourful and lively and their accents are the best! We bought tickets to a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus to see some of the most popular attractions.

We stayed in Soho, in the west end of London. It’s a very energentic and lively part of town. There were street musicians on many squares and corners and they were all amazing musicians.

Here we are standing in front of Buckingham Palace – home of the Queen. It’s a very popular and busy spot. Good for a picture or two. Not much else.

Big Ben – the most famous clock tower in London is one of the most recognizable landmarks in England. We snapped a quick pic as our bus went by.

The Sky Garden is London’s highest garden with 360-degree views of skylines. There’s a cafe, a restaurant and an outdoor terrace. It’s absoltely beautiful, and admission is free! You just have to book your tickets in advance. It’s defintely a must-see.

Leadenhall Market is the most beautiful Victorian market I’ve ever seen. It was quite expensive but the pictures are free!

Neal’s Yard is one of the most colourful hidden gems in London. It’s full of independant cafes, restaurants and shops. Click here to read about how it all started.

All Eurpean cities have stunning architechture and London is no exception. We would snap many pictures of majestic looking building while not knowing exactly what they were. This one is Admiralty Arch and was easy to locate on the internet based on the Latin inscription at the top.

A perfect view of the London Eye from across the River Thames. Walks along the river were a big part of our sightseeing.

London Bridge crossing the River Thames at night. An iconic structure famous throughout the world.

Spending a Day in London

One day is nowhere near enough to see this vibrant city. I would love to come back and spend more time here.

This was the 3rd stop in our European vacation. Click here to read about our 1st stop in Paris; Click here to read about our 2nd stop in Ioannina, Greece. Thanks for visiting our site!

Yours Truly …. Yula

Ioannina and Surrounding Area

by Yula.ca | May 17, 2020 | Europe2017

Date visited: September 2017

Photos taken by: Effie Edits Inc.

Our home base in Greece was in a small town just outside of Ioannina called Katsikas. This is where Alex is from and a perfect place to be for day trips to Ioannina and Surrounding Area.

The city of Ioannina is so pretty. The focal point of the city is Ioannina Lake, also known as Lake Pamvotida. There is a walkway around much of the lake with cafes, restaurants and many tourists shops. This picture below is the view from town, across the lake at a small town called Lingiades, halfway up the hill.

In this next picture, we took a little drive up to the town of Lingiades and took a photo looking back down at the town of Ioannina. As you can see it’s an amazing view!

Ioannina is a great city to walk around in. It’s quite small, with a population of 65,000. Most shops in town are small, family owned shops. Lots of restaurants, cafes, and silversmiths are big here.

If you head southwest from Ioannina, you end up in Parga. Parga is my favourite little seaside town in Greece. It take an hour and a half to drive from Ioannina to Parga. The water here is crystal clear, the hills are green, and the homes absolutely charming.

A short drive from Parga is Sarakiniko Beach (about a 20 minute drive). It feels like paradise!

If you head north from Ioaninna, you end up in Vikos National Park. One of the deepest gorges in the world is here at Vikos Gorge. The views in this park are breathtaking. It’s the perfect park for hiking.

After hiking uphill for about 2 hours, we reached the Monastary of Stomio. It’s open to the public for viewing, lighting a candle and having a moment of peace. Also, absolutely incredible views from this point.

Last but not least, here are a few images from the small farming town of Katsikas. It’s only a 10 minute drive from the city of Ioannina. Most of the town’s older population are chicken farmers or sheep herders. Or both! Life is wonderfully simple here. The air is clean, the landscape is stunning and the people pretty wonderful.

Ioannina and Surrounding Area

Ioannina was the second stop in our European vacation. Paris was the first stop, and London was the third stop. Take a look if you’re interested. Thanks for reading!

Yours Truly …. Yula

The Cliffs and Caves in Tobermory

The Cliffs and Caves in Tobermory

Sunday Drive in Halton Ontario

Sunday Drive in Halton Ontario

Plan a Road Trip with Google Maps

Plan a Road Trip with Google Maps

Spending a Day in London

Spending a Day in London

Ioannina and Surrounding Area

Ioannina and Surrounding Area

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