Hi! I'm Elena! Welcome to my travel blog Creativelena.com.
For me, it is all about “life-seeing instead of sightseeing”: Join me as I create, eat & live my way around the world. Curious?
*Check out my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook”, for learning more about what we mean by creative travel. Travelling means the world to me, makes me fit for everday life and sometimes, I trust, also calmer on the inside. Read this blog with a smile, share what you love and remember to check back regularly: After all, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
Sometimes in life, you just know. Know that “the craziest thing you may ever have done”, is also the right thing to do. Such as being true to yourself. Such as following your heart’s teachings. And honouring the presence of some of the most beautiful people on Earth, by organising one hell of a surprise for them […]
My last post here on the blog has been quite emotional. “People love it when you open up”, my dear friend Angelika muses. “It is a feeling we can all connect to.” I guess she is right. Back to Banff, then. #myBanff … Oh Bill. Fern. And Adam … You know it is the beautiful, […]
It is Thursday, the 20th of October 2016. City sounds of busy Montréal pass me by, as I sit by the window of my room at night. Exactly eight weeks into travelling in Canada, I realize I have a good two weeks left before I fly back home to Europe. Nervously, my fingers type across […]
Montréal. “Bienvenue au Québec!” Here I am, having finally gone all the way East on my trans-Canada journey. As my #VIARail train pulls into Montréal station from Ottawa, leaving the province of Ontario for Québec, I readily unpack my French language skills .. only to find that I first understand next to nothing. What an accent here! Brace, brace, […]
Moving across Canada, I have always challenged people to think differently. Canadians about their own country. Fellow travellers about their options. “So why not take the train for travelling further East?” – “The train .. You mean #VIARail?” – “Yes! I have taken ‘The Canadian‘ all the way across Western Canada, from Vancouver to Winnipeg via the Rocky Mountains, and […]
Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, is buzzing with anticipation. In 2017, Canada will be celebrating its 150th anniversary of Confederation, a proud date of remembrance for most Canadians. “So what will you do, Kirk?”, I ask our guide Kirk Brant, of Indigenous Walks, at the start of our educational walk around downtown Ottawa. He smiles, then answers: […]
“Let me make a few phone calls and connections for you, and we’ll set you up for travelling to Prince Edward County“, my fellow foodie friend Rebecca McKenzie, of the Ontario Culinary Tourism Association says. I marvel at the speed with which she helps guide Marc & me around a visit to what is a popular (weekend) […]
“And on the weekend, also because it’s Thanksgiving, we’ll take you up to the cottage … You’ve been to a typical Canadian cottage? No!? Oh, you’ll just love it up there. The Georgian Bay area is very beautiful … Sean’s mum will be delighted to meet you!” You know you are in the luck when a Canadian suggests […]
Toronto. My arrival in the “big city” marked a transition. All those past weeks, I have been travelling in Western Canada, essentially going from small town to small town (except Vancouver and perhaps Winnipeg). The transitions from one place to another have always been fairly slow given my #VIARail train journey across Canada, where I could spend […]
“We could go to St. Lawrence Market .. But Kensington, I hear, is worth checking out as well .. And have you heard of a place called Evergreen Brickworks?! No? Oh, I insist you go there Elena … Especially as the #foodlover traveller you are!” Numerous were the pieces of advice my Toronto friends had for me […]