Cleveland, Ohio

After a weekend in Cleveland, I can now say I understand what Drew Carey means when he exclaims, “Cleveland rocks!” For my birthday this year, my dear friend Amanda and her sister Laura surprised me with tickets to Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors exhibition, but with a catch: we’d be taking a little road-trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art! Although we’d already seen Kusama’s installations when the feature came to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the opportunity to experience her works in a foreign gallery of a different city added excitement to an exhibit that is still fun and mesmerizing to experience in person.

Cleveland is only a five-hour drive from Toronto, which takes you through New York and Pennsylvania along Lake Erie. To give you a quick snapshot of the city, Cleveland is the second largest city in Ohio after Columbus, and is widely recognized as a benchmark for successful revitalization of an industrial city. It’s story comes from a history of manufacturing – a once destination for transforming resources such as ore, coal, oil, and steel. With that in mind, it’s no surprise so many of the buildings that comprise Cleveland’s urban-fabric are repurposed warehouses, abandoned buildings, and colossal iron bridges – interestingly enough, it is almost impossible to get from one side of the city to the other without having to cross a bridge.

What I gathered from my brief encounter with Cleveland is that it is a budding city, trying to build an identity of somewhere suitable for young and starting-out adults; they offer a tempting amount of quality craft breweries, colourful murals, as well as many other “Instagrammable” sights and attractions. We stayed in the area known as ‘the Flats’: a redevelopment along the Cuyahoga River, which is known as the nightlife and entertainment hub of Cleveland. However, I would say I was a bit more interested in food; we ate our way through “Cle” with beers and carnitas nachos at the Noble Beast Brewing Co., green juice at Beet Jar Juicery in Ohio City, and meaty appetizers at the Butcher and Brewer on trendy East 4th Street – a pedestrian street in the heart of downtown. We also enjoyed delicious donuts at Brewnuts, a donut-shop-brewery-stop with a kitschy tropical interior in Gordon Square, followed by comic book-themed cocktails at Ninja City. At the Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar, we watched talented piano entertainers duel it out through live requests from the audience, which honestly turned out to be a lot more fun than it sounds!

We managed to do some sightseeing during our short time in Cleveland, with highlights including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Cleveland’s waterfront, the historic West Side Market, and University Circle in Cleveland’s east end, which is home to major cultural institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, and the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is the fourth-wealthiest art museum in the United States and is one of the most visited art galleries in the entire world. The beautiful interior took our breath away: the majestic atrium, which opened in 2012, is enclosed under a spectacular glass canopy and is anchored by beautiful planters on either side. CMA is internationally recognized for its substantial collection of Egyptian and Asian art, and has a permanent collection of over 45,000 different works from around the world. Due to our tight schedule we only had time to visit the Infinity Mirrors exhibition (which was amazing), however, I would love to experience the remainder of the museum one day - in my opinion, that would be worth the drive to Cleveland, alone.

Lake Como, Italy

Lake Como has been a family bucket-list item for quite a while now, partly due to its role in the latest series of James Bond films as Bond’s extravagant villa in Casino Royale. Milan’s close proximity to Como allowed us to plan a day trip along its famous Lake, visiting the towns of Lecco, Menaggio, Bellagio, Tremezzo, and Lugano in Switzerland, among others. My photos barely due the beauty of Lake Como justice; it truly is one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes.

Located an hour north of Milan, the city of Como is nestled between its namesake Lake and the Italian Alps. Although the lakeside communes of Lake Como are widely known as vacation (and residential) destinations for the rich and famous, the quaint and colourful town of Como is a tourist destination in its own right. To our good fortune, our tour guide/driver was a third generation local to Como and knew well where the interesting secrets were amongst the city. However, what was less fortunate was our timing: many of the beautiful villas and properties the guide wanted to give us a peek at had been reserved and closed off for Dolce & Gabbana events! Nonetheless, Como is home to many beautiful churches, villas, culinary destinations, and is the birthplace of some important historical figures – including Alessandro Volta, the inventor of the electrical battery. Just beyond Como, we stopped for lunch at the Hotel Fioroni in the small coastal town of Carate Urio. The hotel’s owner was so excited to share with us his autographed photos of George Clooney, who had frequented the restaurant during his stays in Italy. Among the six of us we shared a memorable meal of Italian staples: homemade gnocci, nut ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, and tiramisu. With a view of Lake Como right outside the window, it was truly a picture-perfect lunch.

The entire drive along the Lake Como is absolutely breathtaking, though narrow – our driver pointed out how easy it is to spot the tourists in traffic, as they were the ones driving uncomfortably, meaning as slowly (and safely) as possible! Lake Como’s coastal towns are all quite similar yet they each have their own unique histories and characteristics. Tremezzo is where Benito Mussolini and his wife were shot and killed as they attempted to escape Italy for Switzerland after the collapse of Fascism. Lenno is home to the Villa del Balbianello, famous for its royal setting in Star Wars: Episode II. Menaggio’s ancient roots can be seen in the medieval architecture throughout the town, particularly in the remnants of the walls that once surrounded the city. Bellagio, which is a across the Lake from Tremezzo, is Lake Como’s most popular tourist destination, and is worth the ferry ride for it’s charming - albeit busy - streets and stunning views of the surrounding landscape. Our road trip culminated in Lugano, Switzerland, our final stop before heading back to Milan. Situated westward of Lake Como, Lugano is home to Lake Lugano, a vast lake of similar beauty. What we immediately clued in on were the stereotypes of how costly Switzerland can be (a simple combo at Burger King was over $20 CAD!) – mind you, the chocolate was well worth the steep price tag. It was also interesting to note just how different Switzerland is from Italy, despite their close proximity and shared language in this particular region.

This tour through Lake Como was the highlight of my vacation. Italy is truly a fantastic destination for all types of travel enthusiasts: photographers, foodies, beach-goers, and adventurers.