Author Archives: Diane Penwill

Ten things to do in Belize without a Beach Towel

Article appeared in November 2023 on Vacay Network https://www.vacaynetwork.com/10-things-to-do-in-belize-without-a-beach-towel/ Most tourists go to Belize for the coral reefs, diving, snorkelling and for the beaches. These are great reasons to visit, but there is much more to Belize. The true heart and soul of the country can be found inland and the southernmost districts in particular … Read more

Top 10 Rooftop Bars in Panama City

Article appeared in Winter 2022 issue of Taste & Travel Magazine Panama City boasts an abundance of rooftops, reflections, angles and curves. The sheer scale of the buildings in the “Dubai of the Americas”, many over 60 stories high, make for dazzling, if dizzying, panoramic views. The skyscrapers of downtown confuse the mind with their … Read more

Panama’s Pantry

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Article published in the Winter 2020 issue of Taste & Travel Magazine I’m driving through the deepening dusk into the town of Boquete. Just as the last glimmer of light is fading, a mountain rises spectacularly out of its shroud of mist, revealing a ghostly pointed peak for an instant, only to disappear into darkness. … Read more

Article appeared in the Winter 2018 Issue of Taste & Travel International Magazine A Culinary and Artisanal Oasis in the Sonoran desert Phoenix, Arizona As twilight deepens into dusk, I follow the Phoenicians into the desert. Music in the distance beckons us and thousands of tiny, twinkling lights illuminate a ghostly panorama of saguaro and … Read more

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/why-you-have-to-check-out-phoenixs-urbanrevival/article34909115/ Article appeared in the Globe and Mail Phoenix is Rising From the Ashes Phoenix, Arizona Metropolitan Phoenix, aptly nicknamed “The Valley of the Sun,” has been experiencing an urban revival. The moniker was coined in the 1930’s to boost the first wave of tourism and the name stuck. A building boom in the 1990’s … Read more

Article published on Vacay.ca Montreal’s Culinary Festival turns Five MTL à TABLE 2016 – Nov 3rd to 13th Montreal, Quebec   By Diane Penwill   MTL à TABLE, Montreal’s annual culinary festival, has 150 restaurants participating this year (22 new ones) and crosses 12 neighbourhoods. Districts that have become recognized for food in recent years, … Read more

Former TO dive bar overhauled..restores its roots from the Tavern Era Maple Leaf Tavern, Gerrard Street East, Toronto Taste & Travel Magazine caught up with Todd Morgan, Owner and Operations Director of the Maple Leaf Tavern in Toronto, as well as the PORT Restaurant in Port Hope. Article by Diane Penwill   Q Maple Leaf … Read more

Montreal’s new place to chill   Our cab pulls up in front of a decaying industrial building, our driver as confused as we are. Taxis still get lost in the South-West Borough, or Le Sud-Ouest, in spite of the area’s reputation as the new go-to part of the city. I spot a bright lime-green truck … Read more

Belcampo Lodge Belize – Rainforest Luxe

  Think staying at a jungle lodge in Belize means roughing it? Think again. This boutique lodge, perched on 12,000 acres of pristine Maya rainforest, with 3,000 acres of its own coffee, sugarcane and cacao plantations, organic farm and rum distillery, redefines the meaning of luxury. At Belcampo Lodge, in southern Belize’s Toledo District, breathtaking … Read more

Movable Feast East of the Adriatic – eating and drinking in Croatia’s next hot spot

Article appeared in Taste & Travel International Spring 2013 Edition  – We nervously keep our distance as the cellar master at Stari Puntijar Restaurant in Zagreb demonstrates how to open a champagne bottle using an antique sabre – a preprandial flourish I’ll likely not pull out at my next dinner party. He removes the foil, … Read more