Quad Cities, United States

Quad Cities, United States

The Quad Cities, Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa as well as Moline and Rock Island Illinois in the United States, have a combined population of around 379,000. The area is considered one of the top four viewing locations for the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a bird of prey found in North America and the symbol of the United States as well as its national bird. We traveled there to see bald eagles. We met many friendly and interesting people while in the Quad Cities and saw over 200 wild bald eagles. During our stay, we visited several excellent restaurants, historic sites, shopping areas and an art museum.

Club de Golf de l’Ile de Montréal

Club de Golf de l’Ile de Montréal

The Île de Montréal Golf Course is located 20 minutes from downtown Montreal, Canada at the eastern tip of the island. Two 18 hole golf courses make up this public golf club with a membership base established in 2003. Both courses were part of the Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary and promote nature conservation and the use of local plants that are native to the area.

Atlantide Golf Club Montréal

Atlantide Golf Club Montréal

The Atlantide Golf Club, a private and public golf course (private members have priority on the reservations schedule), is located just off the Island of Montreal on the island of Ile Perrot, about 30 minutes from downtown Montreal. Located on the shores of Lake Saint Louis, the setting is bucolic and several holes play near the waterfront. Even on hot summer days a refreshing breeze comes off the water. Two 18 hole golf courses are part of this golf club, the Atlantide Course and the Don Quichotte Course. We have played both courses several times and find each one quite challenging.

L’Escalier

L’Escalier

L’Escalier, the flagship restaurant of the Breakers Palm Beach resort, offered a well prepared, well served, molecular gastronomy meal in an elegant, intimate and contemporary setting. Our midweek end of season visit was rewarding. We especially enjoyed the luxury of dining in a quiet dining room with attentive and guest centered service. Dinner at L’Escalier was the culinary highlight of our three night stay at the Palm Beach resort.

The Breakers Palm Beach

The Breakers Palm Beach

In the early part of the last century the Palm Beach Inn, a winter resort for America’s elite originally built by oil magnate Henry Morrison Flagler in 1896, was destroyed by fire, twice. Eventually it was renamed and rebuilt a third time. The Breakers, as it is known today, opened its doors December 29, 1926 and remains to this day one of the best known resort properties in the Sunshine State.

The Spa at The Breakers

The Spa at The Breakers

Our visit to The Spa at The Breakers during a recent stay at the well known resort was a pleasure. Just before the middle of the day on a Tuesday we set out from our rooms in the main building of the hotel, reaching the spa courtyard in minutes. After showing our electronic room keys to the security personnel in the area just before the spa entrance we were allowed through. Double glass doors led to the spa reception where we saw several busy looking young ladies standing. After greeting us and finding our names in their schedule book one of them requested I follow her. She accompanied me to the ladies’ locker room located to the left of the reception. Another staff person accompanied my travel partner to the men’s lockers to the right of the reception.