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Toronto is a city built out of neighborhoods, food, and constant surprises. We sit down with Ashley Rochefort, Media Relations Manager at Destination Toronto, to unpack what makes Canada’s largest city feel so alive, from its long history to its modern identity as “the world in a city,” where roughly half of residents are born outside Canada and cultures show up block by block.

We get specific about things to do in Toronto, starting with the CN Tower for panoramic views, the glass floor, and the EdgeWalk, plus the waterfront cluster nearby with Ripley’s Aquarium and the Rogers Centre. From there we hit iconic stops like Casa Loma with its seasonal programming. Museum favorites including the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the unexpectedly fascinating Bata Shoe Museum.

We talk Toronto’s legendary diversity of authentic eats, and the fusion that comes with it, including the Toronto-invented sushi pizza, peameal bacon sandwiches at St. Lawrence Market, and the city’s serious love for Jamaican patties. We also map out walkable neighborhoods like the Distillery District and Kensington Market. Toronto's natural beauty includes beaches, parks, High Park cherry blossoms, and a quick ferry ride to the Toronto Islands. Finally, we connect the dots to a Niagara Falls day trip and the Niagara wine region, plus summer festivals, the CNE, and nightlife hotspots.

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Ashley Rochefort isMedia Relations Manager at Destination Toronto. She loves her city and has done the Edge Walk on CN Tower.

Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to dozens of guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles. Read her weekly essays on Substack.
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Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has produced over 130 travel episodes! New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts. All episodes are also on the website: placesirememberlealane.com
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Travel vlogs of featured podcasts-- with video and graphics -- now also drop on YouTube.

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We sit down with travel expert Angie Orth, host of Traveling with AAA and founder of AngieAway.com, to talk about the kind of travel that feels vivid and real: big bucket list wins, smart planning, and what to do when the “easy route” disappears overnight.

Angie takes us from a Maldives liveaboard dive retreat with whale sharks and tiger sharks to the moment war-related airspace closures strand travelers and force a costly, creative path home. Along the way, we dig into practical travel advice that actually matters, like staying flexible, knowing alternate flight routes, and budgeting for disruption so you can make decisions fast instead of panicking.

We also swap destination stories and grounded tips: Bahamas island hopping in Exuma with wildlife you would not expect, Egypt travel and why a guide can make culture shock feel like discovery, and a quick-hit Las Vegas trip built around the Sphere and great food. Plus, there is Costa Rica dental tourism, a brutal bullet ant bite, a Natchez Trace Parkway road trip warning about national park speeding tickets, Finger Lakes wine on a budget, Kauai hiking reality checks, and an Alaska finale featuring northern lights and grizzlies.

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Angie Orth describes herself as a tour guide for global shenanigans, worldwide wanderlust, and misadventures near and far.

Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to dozens of guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles. Read her weekly essays on Substack.
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Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has produced over 130 travel episodes! New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts. All episodes are also on her website: placesirememberlealane.com
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Travel vlogs of featured podcasts-- with video and graphics -- now also drop on YouTube.

Send us Fan Mail

The Florida Keys Overseas Highway is a living corridor of reefs, bridges, history, and local tradition. We sit down with journalist and photographer Andy Newman, who spent 44 years with the Florida Keys Tourism Council, to build a true start-to-finish Florida Keys road trip.

We talk logistics: how long the drive takes, why the mile markers function like addresses, and when you can get away without hotel reservations. From there, we trace the story behind the islands themselves: Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, and how the modern highway opened the Keys to a different kind of traveler.

Then we start the itinerary. Key Largo brings John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the Christ of the Deep, plus smart reminders about the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and boating responsibly around shallow, sensitive habitat.

Islamorada delivers sport fishing culture, the History of Diving Museum, and the simple joy of hand-feeding tarpon. Marathon adds the Dolphin Research Center, Aquarium Encounters, the Turtle Hospital, and a walk into history on Pigeon Key. The Lower Keys bring Bahia Honda beaches, key deer, and even an Underwater Music Festival.

Key West rounds it out with the Conch Republic story, Hemingway Days, six-toed cats, sunset celebration at Mallory Square, and the option to reach Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson.

If you love travel stories with practical tips, local food, and real history, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share it with your favorite road trip partner, leave a review.

Andy Newman is currently an avid fisherman and photographer, and lives in the Florida Keys.

Podcast host Lea Lane has traveled to over 100 countries, and has written nine books, including the award-winning Places I Remember (Kirkus Reviews star rating, and 'one of the top 100 Indie books of the year'). She has contributed to dozens of guidebooks and has written thousands of travel articles. Read her weekly essays on Substack.
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Our award-winning travel podcast, Places I Remember with Lea Lane, has produced over 130 travel episodes! New episodes drop on the first Tuesday of the month, on Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts. All episodes are also on her website: placesirememberlealane.com
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Travel vlogs of featured podcasts-- with video and graphics -- now also drop on YouTube.