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Travelling Blog

The Global eSIM That Wasn’t Quite Global

Posted on by Roberta Hill

I have become very fond of eSIMs. After years of hunting for SIM kiosks in airports, squinting at tiny plastic cards, and wondering if the plan I just bought would last three days or three minutes, eSIMs feel like a small miracle. Install it once, travel anywhere, and your phone simply works. That’s the promise anyway. And most of the time it does. For the past couple of years, I’ve been using the Discover Global plan from Airalo. It currently advertises coverage in 130+ countries, which is extremely appealing if you bounce between continents as much as I do. But…

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Caribbean Cruise Confessions: Yes, I’m a Tourist. Pass the Rum

Posted on by Roberta Hill

Let’s clear this up before anyone writes me a stern comment. If I take a Caribbean cruise, am I a tourist? Yes. Fully. Cheerfully. Sunscreen-slathered and holding a day pass. These islands live on tourism. The ships glide in like floating cities. The shops open. The taxis line up. The beach chairs snap to attention. If you’re cruising here, you are not undercover. You are the economy. Do I feel guilty? Not remotely. When you’ve spent most of the winter in Montreal, and this year winter felt particularly committed, a week of blue water and air that doesn’t hurt your…

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You Can’t Go Back. And Sometimes, You Shouldn’t.

Posted on by Roberta Hill

I have always believed in returning. Not in the sentimental, “let’s recreate that perfect sunset from 1987” kind of way. That’s a fool’s errand. I mean returning with curiosity. Returning knowing the café has changed hands, the museum has added a wing, and the once-empty square now has a gelato line that rivals airport security. Returning not to duplicate, but to discover what time has done. If you go back looking for the same experience, you will be disappointed. If you go back looking for something different, the possibilities are endless. And yet. There are places you cannot return to….

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Am I a Travel Snob… or Just a Montreal Snob?

Posted on by Roberta Hill

I’ve been asking myself an uncomfortable question lately. Am I one of those travellers who quietly rolls her eyes at the obvious? The ones who say, “Oh yes, the main square is fine… but have you seen the real neighbourhood?” Or am I simply defensive about my own city? Here’s the thing. The first time I visit any city, I am unapologetically a tourist. I want the postcard. I want the view. I want the thing I’ve seen in movies. And yes, it is 100% touristy. I say that without judgment. Touristy places are touristy for a reason. They’re beautiful….

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The Long Game: Money, Priorities, and the Luxury of Time

Posted on by Roberta Hill

There’s a peculiar thing that happens somewhere in your early seventies. You begin to realize that money is no longer about accumulation. It’s about allocation. I used to think longevity was about green smoothies and 10,000 steps. Now I think it’s about optionality. The ability to choose. Where to go. How long to stay? Whether to upgrade the seat or take the train and watch the countryside unroll like a favourite novel you’ve read twice before. As a senior traveller, I’ve stopped asking, “Can I afford this?” and started asking, “What does this cost me in time?” Because time is…

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Chasing Penguins (Apparently This Is Who I Am Now)

Posted on by Roberta Hill

I have always loved penguins. Who doesn’t? They wobble, they look perpetually overdressed, and they manage to be dignified and ridiculous at the same time. Even television can’t resist them. A certain British spy series, Slow Horses, built an entire subplot around zoo penguins and social media disruption, which tells you something about their star power. But here’s the confession: for most of my life, my affection was theoretical. It wasn’t until about ten years ago that I saw my first wild penguin. Not behind glass. Not in a zoo. Not narrated by David Attenborough. The First Time You don’t…

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Quebec City Knows How to Do Winter

Posted on by Roberta Hill

The Largest Winter Carnival in the World (And It Knows It) The carnival itself has been part of Quebec City’s story since 1894, though the modern version took shape in 1955 as a way to brighten the long, dark season and attract visitors brave enough to visit in February. It is, quite frankly, a brilliant act of defiance. If winter insists on staying, Quebec throws it a party. There are ice canoe races across the St. Lawrence — a tradition rooted in how early settlers and Indigenous communities crossed the frozen river. There are night parades with glowing floats. There…

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The Sneaky Hotel Fees That Can Tank Your Travel Budget

Posted on by Roberta Hill

You know this one. You book a hotel that looks perfectly reasonable — maybe even a bargain — and then the final bill lands like an unexpected plot twist. Resort fees. Parking fees. Wi-Fi fees. Charges for arriving when your flight actually lands. This isn’t bad luck. It’s how hotel pricing now works, and multiple consumer and travel experts have been warning about it for years — most recently in Newsweek, which called these add-ons “fees you may not even know exist until checkout.” You may think it is worse than ever. I share that opinion. As costs rise, it…

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✈️ Confused About Europe Travel Rules for 2026?

Posted on by Roberta Hill

I finally reached the point where I couldn’t remember whether the confusion was mine or Europe’s. Was it six months’ validity from the date of entry or the date of exit? Did one country care about blank pages while another cared about onward travel? And why did every answer I found come with a caveat, a footnote, or a cheerful “check with your local embassy,” which is the bureaucratic equivalent of shrugging. After the third evening of reopening the same tabs, France, Switzerland, the UK, then back again, I stopped trying to memorize the rules and did something more honest….

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The Quiet Case for Rolling Up Your Sleeve

Posted on by Roberta Hill

I’ve never thought of myself as particularly obedient, especially when it comes to health advice delivered in bullet points and cheerful fonts. But when it comes to vaccines, I don’t hesitate. I get every single one I can. Flu. Shingles. Covid. RSV. If there’s a sleeve to roll up, mine is already halfway there. Part of that is practical. I travel not aspirationally, not someday, but actually. Airports, trains, long days on my feet, recycled air, unfamiliar bugs. Travel exposes you to the world in all its beauty and all its bacteria, and I’m not interested in sacrificing weeks or…

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