Toronto, Canada, hotel features a new kind of art using sexy male athletes

by Jessica Festa on

While you can usually expect a nice landscape painting or maybe even a piece from a well-known abstract artist on your hotel room walls, the Hôtel Le Germaine Maple Leaf Square in Toronto, Canada, puts a new spin on hotel art by featuring sexy portraits of athletic male bodies in the rooms.

Because the hotel is part of the Air Canada Centre, Canada’s premier sports and entertainment venue, the company knew it wanted to have sports images in the rooms of players doing the things they usually do. The trick was combining the elegant and refined ambiance of the hotel with the rougher side of sports.

Matthew Plexman, the photographer behind the project, explains, “The idea was, because it’s a sports complex, to bring some sports figures into this, and not necessarily showing faces but to focus on their bodies. Kind of the engine under the hood, so to speak.”

That’s great for the ladies, but what about for the men? Apparently, the blinds on the shower open from the outside of the bathroom.

For a look at how the photo shoot went, check out this video:


Photo of the day – Toronto turkey

by Meg Nesterov on


It’s Thanksgiving today in America, and thus time for the obligatory turkey-related photo. Our friends over at Matador called our attention to this turkey-shaped building in Canada, of all places. The University of Toronto‘s John P. Robarts research library was designed to look like a peacock, but bears more of a resemblance to tonight’s main course. The concrete and vaguely Soviet structure was taken by Flickr user Jiang Long and is also known as “Fort Book.”

Found any other animal-shaped buildings? We’d be most thankful if you could upload your pix to the Gadling Flickr pool for a future Photo of the Day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Serial public art around the world

by Libby Zay on

Public art exhibitions featuring a common sculpture that is multiplied and then embellished by various artists have been popping up in cities worldwide since 1998. Artistic director Walter Knapp first came up with the idea and convinced artists to dot Zurich, Switzerland with a collection of artfully-decorated lions. Within a year, Chicago businessman Peter Hanig had taken the idea and ran with it, using life-sized cows for an exhibition titled CowParade that is still circling the world today.

This idea of serial public art spread like wildfire into over 70 cities across the United States and many other locations worldwide. Tourism administrations seem to think the installations draw a crowd, while the exhibitions typically end in pieces being auctioned off to charity. It’s a win-win for all–unless, of course, you think the artworks are an eyesore.

From mermaids to gorillas, click through the gallery below to see a sampling of serial public art from around the world.

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Most popular cities for celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving

by McLean Robbins on

Monday, known in the United States as the Columbus Day holiday, holds another name in Canada – Canadian Thanksgiving, which means that this is a three-day weekend throughout much of North America.

Thus, Hotwire has compiled the most popular cities for celebrating, based on both room nights booked and total price.

“While Thanksgiving means family time to many, others see this three day weekend as an opportunity to pack a few overnighters and take a short leisure trip to a big city,” said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. “With popular Canadian cities seeing a dip in business travel over the holiday and the Canadian dollar nearly on par with the US dollar, there are deals abound in both Canada and the US. Travelers should take advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend discounts, and it looks like many of them already are.”

Destination

Average Price on Hotwire

1.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

$86

2.

New York City, New York

$231

3.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

$103

4.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

$99

5.

Chicago, Illinois

$117

6.

Boston, Massachusetts

$166

7.

Las Vegas, Nevada

$106

8.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

$64

9.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

$93

10.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

$79

Sadly, these trends don’t extend to airfare – flying this weekend appears to be expensive!

VIA Rail Canada brings back bike trains for summer season

by Laurel Miller on

Traveling with your two-wheeled best friend just got a whole lot easier. Since 2007, VIA Rail Canada has provided seasonal bike racks on select VIA Rail departures, as part of its mandate to provide more environmentally sustainable, affordable passenger transit. Now, the racks will be available yearound, and increased baggage cars mean that cyclists can connect to even more cycling destinations.

By taking VIA (Canada’s national rail service), you can access thousands of miles of cycling paths running from Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Quebec City, London, Windsor, Jonquière, and Senneterre. Popular cycling trips include Quebec’s La Route Verte (2,671 miles), the Greater Niagara Circle Route (86 miles), Ottawa’s Capital Parkway Network (136 miles) and Ontario’s Waterfront Trails (559 miles).

Using the bike trains is easy. Check your buddy at the counter for a small fee; VIA staff do the rest, reuniting you on the platform at your destination. For a full listing of VIA’s Bike Train schedules click here.

[Photo credit: Flickr user cycle.nut66]