Article appeared Sept 2024 on Vacay.ca For many, Port Hope is a day-tripper’s destination, often to see one of the twice-yearly salmon and trout runs on the Ganaraska River. For others, it’s a drive-by sign on the 401 highway enroute to Prince Edward County, Kingston, Montreal or Toronto. For me, it has provided an easy … Read more
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
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
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
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
Diane likes to wander off the path, talk to people and soak up the flavours and colours. She has savoured the wine & culinary offerings of Ontario, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Arizona, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and the U.S.
Along the way, she and her bike made it to Belize, Ireland, Patagonian Argentina & Honduras. With kayak,she floated through Killarney, Algonquin & Temagami National Parks, Baja California & Belize. With backpack - Gros Morne, Newfoundland, the Adirondacks and Montenegro.
Diane contributes regularly to Taste & Travel International and also has written for the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Vacay.ca and others. She holds a Certificate in Wine from W.S.E.T.
