Greetings from Romania, Travellers!

Navigator Fran and I may be a week early for Vlad's annual outing, but our brief foray across Transylvania has proven that there are plenty of reasons to hang around, even when the strings of garlic are optional.

The most obvious one, in my eyes, has to be the fiery Carpathian forests. We've spent a lot of time on trains and buses this week, but with these views, even 8+ hours on a Flixbus seems kinda reasonable.

The city of Brașov was our home last night. It's the typical base for exploring Transylvania's castles and palaces, as well as a lovely spot in its own right — think medieval town walls, colourful lanes with cosy coffee shops, and a mountain viewpoint furnished with a Hollywood-style sign.

Our tracks took us onwards to Bucharest today, where we boarded the Prietania to Chișinău, Moldova. But rest assured, I'm already planning a proper return. Give me a hand by dropping your Transylvanian tips in the comments. 

Happy travels and safe landings,

Grab a double-double, pack your toque and get psyched for some frolicking in Canada's crunchy maple goodness. 

When you think "Montreal," do you imagine strolling through cobblestone streets scattered with blossoms, the sound of jazz floating in the air? Are you drawn to cozy plaid-bedecked hiking under fiery fall foliage? Or do you believe that Canada is a winter wonderland meant to be experienced as you lazily snowshoe through a blanket of glittering white snow?

A good portion of our team is either Canadian, has lived here, or has traveled to Canada. We’ve crowdsourced the best travel tips and wrapped them up in a neat little package for your upcoming trip.

Plateau Mont-Royal (the Plateau)

Located to the northeast of downtown Montreal, the neighborhood is renowned for its distinctive Victorian architecture, packed with colorful, narrow, two or three-story buildings with wrought-iron staircases and balconies. Head to Square Saint-Louis to see some of the oldest and prettiest examples of this style.

The two main boulevards are Saint-Laurent Street and Saint-Denis Street:

• Saint-Laurent (or “The Main”)—a major commercial artery filled with shops, restaurants, and nightlife spots. It is also known for its street art and murals.

• Saint-Denis Street—famous for its European ambiance, featuring a wide variety of boutiques, bistros, and theaters.

Accommodation: In the Plateau, you can expect a mix of low-key hotels, a couple of hostels, and plenty of unique Airbnbs.

Mile End

Right next to the Plateau, this historical working-class neighborhood has transformed over the decades into a bohemian hub for artists, musicians, and young families. The area is well-known for its café culture, with numerous literary cafés and bakeries. Here are the three most important streets in the area:

• Laurier West Street—connects the neighborhoods of Outremont and the Mile End. It’s the place to be if you’re interested in shopping from local designers and small boutiques, or if you’re looking for a trendy restaurant for brunch.

• Fairmount Avenue & Saint-Viateur Street—aka Bagel-land. Besides the puffy, sesame-y deliciousness of their famous bagels, both streets are well known for a variety of cafés, bakeries, and second-hand/boutique shops.

Accommodation: Around Mile End, you’ll mostly find artsy design hotels and lots of Airbnbs.

Downtown

The neighborhood revolves around the Place des Arts cultural complex, home to the Montreal Opera and Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Grands Ballets Canadiens. Plenty of festivals are also held in the area, such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and Just For Laughs comedy fest.

You’ll see all the city’s biggest cultural institutions here: Montreal’s central library, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the National Theatre School of Canada, right next to the main commercial area on Saint Catherine Street.

Accommodation: Downtown features a solid mix of high-end, business-type hotels, basic Airbnbs, and some hostels.

Vieux Port/Old Montreal

This historic neighborhood located along the St. Lawrence River is one of the city's most popular destinations, thanks to the historic buildings, waterfront views, cobblestone alleys, and sites like the Notre-Dame Basilica. It’s a little bit touristy, and it can get crowded, but the streets are gorgeous, and there are a bunch of top-notch art museums there. Plus, you can pop in and out of all the cute shops selling Québec-made products. We recommend leaving your car at the hotel for this one, though, since parking is impossible and the area is well-connected to the metro.

Accommodation: The Vieux Port mostly has luxury boutique hotels.

Food in Montreal

Traditional Food

Central Canada’s cuisine (Quebec and Ontario) has a unique mix of First Nations traditions, as well as French and British colonial influences. And, like any major city, Montreal is chock-full of great restaurants from all over the world, especially Lebanese, Vietnamese, and Italian food.

Québec cuisine is known for French dishes like tourtière (meat pie), ragout de pattes (pork stew), and pea soup.

But ask a Québécois about the most iconic Québec dish, and they will tell you: poutine. Made of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, you’ll find variations with additional toppings like pulled pork, bacon, or foie gras. You can get poutine just about anywhere in the city, but our favorite spot is Patati Patata. 

Speaking of sweets, get ready for plenty of maple syrup—a quintessential Canadian (and Québécoise) staple—in desserts like tarte au sucre (maple pie) and pouding chômeur, but also in candies and as a topping for pancakes and waffles. It’s a key ingredient in savory foods as well, such as caramelized onions, bacon, or even beans (it’s called fèves au lard—look it up!).

Montreal Smoked Meat

A culinary tradition with roots in the city's Jewish immigrant community, Montreal’s answer to pastrami features cured and smoked brisket that's thinly sliced and piled high on rye bread and topped with yellow mustard. 

One of the most famous places is Schwartz's Deli, founded in 1928 and located on Saint-Laurent Street, but there are also some great options all around the Mile End neighborhood (the city’s Jewish quarter).

Read more about Montreal...

Recently, we asked you well-traveled folks for tips on making Jack's Flight Club Traveler Liz’s 50th birthday South America tour unforgettable. And thanks to everyone who contributed, because our community Facebook group and inbox lit up!

Liz is planning to cover an unbelievable (some might say a CRAZY) amount of ground over the space of one month. She’ll be tracing family roots across the continent, from landing in Lima and doing Machu Picchu, to celebrating her birthday in Montevideo, where her grandmother Gladys was born.

But like any curious traveler on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, Liz was keen to make sure she didn’t miss out on anything along the way.

Here are your top tips:

Uruguay

Tip: Just north of Montevideo sits Canelones, Uruguay’s wine region. It’s especially well-known for Tannat. Bodega Bouza is one of many family-run wineries offering guided tours and tastings. 

Argentina

Tip: In the neighborhood of San Telmo, check out Casa Ezeiza. Its antique shops, art galleries, and vintage stalls are housed in a 19th-century mansion. The home was built in about 1876 for the aristocratic Ezeiza family, a prominent Buenos Aires lineage descended from Basque immigrants.

Keep reading...

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.

• With new competition on the horizon in the Channel Tunnel, Eurostar is planning to up its game by adding double-decker trains to its fleet by 2031.
  
  
• This week, we learned that even bears just want to make friends.
  
  
• Beware the cheap cocktails on your next trip — methanol poisoning is on the rise around the globe.
  
  
• And finally, there's officially no escape from mosquitoes. The nibbly little beasts have just been found in Iceland for the first time, where residents were long protected by the bracing climate.