Helen Hatzis, is the Chief Exploration Office and Co-Founder of Trip Jaunt.
Helen is a recipient of the Governor-General Award, has been honoured as one of Canada's Nicest People! A true xenophile at heart, she finds joy in traveling and delights in sharing her experiences through Trip Jaunt (formerly Weekend Jaunt), an online travel community and hub she established in 2010. Her aspiration is to inspire others to explore the world as she does!
Helen is an esteemed advisory member of the North American Travel Journalists Association.
This Amsterdam vega restaurant called Mediamatic Eten nails social distancing. They made small greenhouses so diners can enjoy a meal while social distancing. Cosy and quaint. This forward-thinking concept that is in testing mode and has yet to be approved by the necessary governing bodies, is a good start. As diners enter the establishment, they […]
Mauritius underwater waterfall illusion defies reason. Mauritius’s underwater waterfall illusion is located at the Southwestern tip of the island in the Indian Ocean. What causes it? The trails of sand on the seafloor are dragged away by water going between the opening in the reefs. When you view it from above, the runoff of sand […]
While most facilities and events are closed or cancelled, outdoor spaces in some parks remain accessible to the public via a virtual tour. The National Parks Service (NPS) has many virtual experiences of some of their greatest parks to help people escape (digitally) while in lockdown due to COVID-19. One of the exciting explorations to experience […]
During the mandated lockdown, many have resorted to online virtual tours to satisfy their need to explore with a first-class ticket to anywhere. If you had a passport for virtual travel, what stamps would you have and would the pages be filled with them? And who would be travelling with you? Friends, family? Perhaps you’re […]
In eight months, Candida Louis embarked on an epic solo motorcycle ride from India to Australia. She passed through nine countries, covering over 27,500 kilometres on a Bajaj Dominar motorcycle she named ‘Skye.’ She captured her journey using a tripod, a digital camera, three GoPro cameras and a drone. “I also met several bikers, clubs, […]
The animal kingdom is reclaiming the land they once roamed before humans took over. We have read about the lions in South Africa lounging on the roads and the turtles in Florida taking over a beach. One of our favourite stories is of the flamingos in Mumbai, India. Record Number Flamingos Flamingos migrating to Mumbai […]
First off, I hope you are faring well during this time in our collective history. Could you ever imagine something like this happening in our lifetime? I did not. It feels like fiction. Nevertheless, my family and I are adapting as well as possible to this new normal. Now that we have put a pause on life (as […]
Illusions in architecture is a beautiful expression of creativity. Moving into a more technological era, buildings are also reflecting this global shift. The focus of facade design is now on function and visual stimulation. More and more, exterior aesthetic aims to challenge perception and evoke responses from its onlookers. Of the modern architectural trends worldwide, […]
Stargazing in Quebec is an extraordinary experience. It’s easy to find a spot to watch clouds go by, pointing at all the different shapes that form in the light skies. But when the blue turns to black, the light pollution of our cities makes it difficult to view the wonder’s that night has to offer: […]
We often take our world for granted, wishing instead for something more fantastical, like the magical world of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, or C.S Lewis’s Narnia. But what we don’t realize is that we have our fairytale-like places right here, within grasp in the real world. Through these eight sites, let go of the imaginary and […]
Tackling the Camino de Santiago is one of the best physical and social distancing travel idea! Do you find that wandering around old city centres snapping photos of monuments has lost some of its charms? Maybe you long for the days when travelling meant truly going on a journey, enduring hardships along the way, meeting […]
It can be difficult to plan a trip when you or a family member lives with a disability. And since not all major tourist attractions are made accessible, looking for places that have wheelchair access, or assistive hearing can be challenging. Philadelphia is one state in the U.S that boasts citywide accommodation for over 30 […]