Travel

Travel guide: Sweet, romantic escapes

Canadian celebs dish on the most romantic destinations for a couple's retreat.

by : Kate Matthews- Jan 10th, 2013

Photography by: Serge Detalle

HEATHER OGDEN: DANCER

This March, Ogden reprises the role of Juliet in the National Ballet of Canada’s production of
Romeo and Juliet. (Ogden’s husband, fellow dancer Guillaume Côté, plays the part of Romeo.)

COME AWAY WITH ME: “Guillaume took me on a winter
weekend getaway to Muskoka [Ont.]. We sat in front of the fire, drinking wine and taking in the beautiful view of the frozen lake.”

ROMCOM MOMENT: “Dancing together can be very romantic—it’s how we fell in love. The best part is I get to take my Romeo home at the end of the day.”

DREAMY DESTINATION: “Santorini—I have a feeling it would be the perfect romantic spot.”

MIXTAPE: “Anything by Elvis Presley, Nina Simone or Édith Piaf.”

MUST-PACK: “Wine!”

Photography by: Branimir Gjetvaj

HOLLY COLE: SINGER
Cole’s latest jazz album,
Night, is “a love letter to the night” and “an invitation to intimacy.”

COME AWAY WITH ME: “Noel Shore, in Nova Scotia, has the highest tides in the world. In the middle of the night, the tide goes out and you can walk on the ocean floor.”

MY VALENTINE: “My worst Valentine’s Day was when my boyfriend and I ate an awful lot of oysters on the half shell and drank two bottles of champagne. I would not recommend this for those with a weak stomach.”

ROMCOM MOMENT: “One of my most
romantic nights was during the 2003 Toronto blackout. We lit candles and danced all night to old seventy-eights on my grandparents’ hand-cranked record player.”

MIXTAPE: “Sade has a beautiful, breathy alto.”

MUST-PACK: “I love to shop for clothes that I won’t wear until I’m on a trip, and I get my boyfriend to do the same. I’m always excited to see what he has picked."

Read on to discover more enchanting Canadian travel destinations …

DAVID DIXON: DESIGNER
Dixon’s spring/summer 2013 collection is a chic mix of corseted and lace dresses done in his trademark feminine silhouette.

COME AWAY WITH ME “I love Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa in Cambridge, Ont. It’s so quaint, and the bedding is beautiful.”

MY VALENTINE “One of my favourite Valentine’s Day memories is the time I saved up to buy a simple bottle of Charlie perfume for my mom. I was so proud.”

ROMCOM MOMENT “After an overnight boat trip to Santorini, my partner and I were left alone on the shore. We ate pizza and drank Diet Coke as the sun rose, revelling in the breathtaking view. It was so worth the wait.”

MIXTAPE “My all-time favourite romantic song is ‘If It Wasn’t for Your Love’ by Heather Headley.”

MUST-PACK “Leave behind anything that requires food, water and supervision.”

KAREN CONNELLY: WRITER
Connelly often writes about her three passions: “love, sex and politics.” Her last book, Burmese Lessons, is a memoir about her love affair with the leader of a revolutionary army.

COME AWAY WITH ME: “The Greek island of Lesbos is the most romantic, sexy place in the world to me. Nude beach, great food, kind people. It helps that Sappho, the great lyric poetess, was born and lived there.”

ROMCOM MOMENT: “One night, near the Thai-Burmese border, my revolutionary guy and I got very drunk with a bunch of guerrilla soldiers and then stumbled down to the moonlit river to, well, you know. But between the giggling bodyguards, the alcohol and the leeches, our lust didn’t have a chance. I cried bitter tears then, but I laugh about it now.”

MIXTAPE “Anything that involves Indian tabla music. Or the sound of the night outside my little house on Lesbos: sheep bells, crickets, wind and, in the distance, Aegean waves.”

MUST-PACK “Sex toys. The camera. There are no no-nos for me.”