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Detroit: A Surprising Weekend in Motor City

Why Detroit?

After my trip to Belize, I wanted to get a Nexus card. For people who don’t live in Canada or the United States, a Nexus card is something that gets approved by the Canadian and American governments that allows you to cross the border by going into express lanes on the freeway and in the airport and without answering a bunch of questions because they’ve already vetted you as a not a security risk. I thought it would be handy to have because sometimes I’m transiting through airports in the United States and I have gotten ensnared in long immigration queues and almost missed my flights. The problem was that you must get an interview done and I had been trying for close to a year to get an interview at the closest place to where I live in Vancouver, but the interview slots were always full. Apparently, this is a common problem. When I looked for alternative interview spots, one place that always had available times was Detroit. I had been a bit curious about Detroit, so I thought this was a good opportunity to do a weekend trip somewhere new and accomplish something practical at the same time. And that’s how I ended up going to Detroit in April 2025.

Initially I thought I would just go for one night do the interview and come back the next day, but I wanted to be able to bring cigars back into Canada, which requires staying out of the country for at least 48 hours, so it became a two-night weekend trip. Of course, I was going to go solo as I basically always do and is my preference.

Not Solo Travel

But then things changed. One of my cigar buddies from my cigar club (we will call him ‘Mariner’ for the purpose of this post) mentioned that the weekend I was going was the season opener for the Detroit Tigers (a baseball team) and he has a dream of visiting every professional baseball stadium in America and he had not been to the one in Detroit. So, he said, maybe he would go the same weekend as me and we could go to the game together. And this is how I got hoodwinked into going to Detroit for a weekend with a cigar buddy. #notsolotravel.

I agreed to it though; it’s not like he ambushed me, but I was a little bit nervous. What if it spoiled the whole weekend? It didn’t. It was certainly a different experience, and I don’t think I would trade in my solo trips for buddy trips very often, but it was a good time. I think traveling with someone easygoing is probably the key and Mariner is good company and easy going.

We landed in Detroit separately. I arrived first and took a taxi directly to the interview station, which is in no man’s land between the United States and Canada. They did the interview in five minutes and sadly did not ask me to recount my travels to far-flung and dangerous locales, and I took the taxi back to my hotel to begin my short holiday. I was a little bit nervous about applying for the Nexus card because I thought, surely, they will never give it to me after I’ve been to so many countries that the United States warns against, but a few months later I received approval for the card.

Where I stayed in Detroit

I had selected the Siren Hotel. I looked at all the hotels in downtown Detroit and most of them were way too expensive, especially considering the Canadian / U.S. dollar exchange. I wanted to stay somewhere central and there were a couple that were less expensive but did not look very appealing. I picked The Siren because it was just barely in my budget and it was oozing historical charm. It was designed by architect Robert Finn in 1926 as the headquarters for the Wurlitzer organ company, and then it was recently almost torn down but was saved and turned into this hotel. They’ve embraced the historical design of the building, and it is picturesque at every corner. The rooms are a little more basic but still cozy. I absolutely loved it; I think it might have been a step down for Mariner, but he could have stayed somewhere else.

Art and Protest

The first thing I decided to do, because I didn’t think that Mariner would have any interest in it, was I went to the Detroit Institute of the Arts.

I walked there and paid a small fee. The museum is fantastic. Like, it’s New York or London fantastic. It has historical paintings and portraits as well as 20th century works of art that are significant. It’s probably most famous for having the Diego Rivera paintings called The Detroit Industry Murals (1932–1933), which are impressive depictions of early 20^th Century industry, but I liked the most some of the very modern works of art by black artists. It was just excellent and exceeded any expectations that I had.

*one wall of the* *Detroit Industry Murals (1932–1933)*

When I left the building, outside there was a massive protest against Donald Trump. I was in the USA and happy to see that people were exercising their civil liberties. I had been a little bit nervous about going to the States at this point because I had heard so many terrible things about the border and because relations between Canada and the United States had taken a surprising downward turn, but I will say that everyone I interacted with on that weekend, including the border officers, were incredibly friendly. In fact, many people that I talked to, when they found out I was from Canada, actually thanked me for coming down and apologized for their president. Certainly, they didn’t have to do that, but it was nice to feel so welcome.

Leaving the art gallery, I decided to take public transit back to my hotel. There was a streetcar that was headed in that direction. I sat at the stop and chatted with a couple of older ladies that had just left the protest. And on board, the two ladies and everyone seemed to be chatting with everyone else. Say which will about the US, but I find the people to be extremely friendly. The incredible thing about the streetcar was that it was free. In fact, all public transportation in Detroit is free. If I want to take the bus for two blocks in Vancouver it cost me over $3. This was great. Downtown Detroit also has a monorail (Monorail!) which I rode at one point just for the views of the city and, again, it’s free so why not?

Cathedrals of Industry and Finance

Back at the hotel, I met up with Mariner, and we went out for tacos and strolled around. We had two major objectives, apart from my Nexus interview, on this trip; one was to visit all of the cigar stores and lounges and the other was to go to the baseball game. More on the baseball game later. But we also wanted to check out Detroit, so we walked around the downtown core to take in the vibe and the architecture. It was Saturday, so maybe it was quieter than it would be during a weekday, but the city felt almost deserted. It was a little bit unsettling. Where were all the people? I had heard that Detroit was unsafe and there was no part of it that felt unsafe to me, but it did feel strange that it was so quiet. Maybe it is partly due to people driving their cars and not walking very much so it leads to quieter sidewalks? I never did get the answer, but I didn’t love the vibes of downtown Detroit; that said, there are a lot of beautiful things to look at in downtown Detroit; some interesting sculptures and some murals, but what it really shines for are the buildings.

Detroit was one of the major cities in the United States in about the 1920s as it was the centre of automobile manufacturing, giving it the nickname ‘Motor City’ and it became extremely wealthy. This is obvious as you walk around because there are many tall and beautiful buildings all built in around that period. The terrific thing is their lobbies seem to be open all the time so you can just walk in and appreciate the architecture, which we did. Some of them are truly extraordinary, incorporating with elaborate church-like arches, painted ceilings, and glittering mosaics. Really inspiring stuff. The best downtown one was definitely the Guardian (500 Griswold Street), built in 1928-1929 it has an art deco style with Aztec Designs. It is amazing.

We hit up a cigar lounge, again more on that in the next post, and went to the baseball game.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I am not a sports person. I enjoy a bit of boxing and American football at my cigar club because it is on a lot, but I don’t follow any sports and I think it’s all a bit silly, but I am always up for new experiences, so I agreed to go to the baseball game. Mariner is a baseball fanatic. Like a savant. He knows every statistic, every player, every mote of history and trivia. He was excited to be at the game, but maybe not as excited as I was once I walked into the arena and saw how much of a spectacle it was. All around the stadium there were festivities. Buskers playing music. Vendors selling disgusting foods. People dressed up in jerseys and costumes. Inside, there were even games and best of all, a Ferris wheel where each of the little compartments was shaped like a baseball. Of course, I insisted that we ride on it and we were the only adults on board without any children to accompany us. It was excellent. But then came the time to watch the actual baseball. I have watched baseball on TV and it is extremely boring. Watching baseball at the stadium though was pretty good. It was a sunny day, and we had excellent seats and it wasn’t loud and obnoxious like a hockey game. Everybody was chill and no one tried to high-five me. I liked reading about the players on the big screen and analyzing the walkout songs that they played for each hitter. Did I really pay attention to the game? No, not really, but I had popcorn and I was enjoying being there. I don’t remember who they were playing and I don’t remember who won. We left after the 8th inning. I’m not entirely sure why, but Mariner just said he had seen enough so we left and we went for more cigars and dinner.

*Comerica Park-Home of the Detroit Tigers*

We went for dinner at the London Chop House. We picked it because it was a fancy steakhouse, and Mariner likes fancy steaks, but also because it is one of those classic old school steak houses where everything is rich brown woods and leathers with dim lighting and live jazz. It was actually a person I met at a cigar lounge in San Pedro Belize who recommended this cigar spot in Detroit. Anyway, it was a perfect place. The average age of the band members must have been about 75 and they were terrific. It was just the right atmosphere. I had salad and a martini. We then went upstairs to enjoy cigars in the lounge, which lacked a bit in atmosphere, but a leather sofa, a cigar, and a cocktail was enough to bring me happiness.

After that it was late and Mariner tapped out and went back to the hotel to sleep. I carried onto the third cigar lounge of the trip.

(More on these and the other cigar lounges we visited in this post: Where to Smoke Cigars in Detroit.)

Street Walking in Nostalgic Detroit

The good thing about traveling with Mariner was that he was not keen to get up and do anything right away in the morning, while I was. So I left him to read the newspaper and sleep in and eat eggs or whatever people do, and I went off exploring. I walked countless blocks in a different direction with the goal of seeing a particular building that I was interested in seeing and a mural that I had heard about that had both Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop and Tom Selleck from Magnum PI painted on it, as well as RoboCop.

While Detroit might be famous for its baseball team or its car manufacturing history or its tradition of gun violence, to me Detroit will forever be the city that Axel Foley was from in the movie Beverly Hills Cop. My favourite comedy of all time. That opening scene in Beverly Hills Cop where it shows the people of Detroit as Glenn Frey’s “The Heat is On” plays is burned in my brain forever, and as I walked around on that morning I listened to that song on my headphones and the city really came alive. Especially as I walked around the more economically depressed areas. Why not create my own soundtrack for movies for cities that I’m visiting? You can’t do that when you’re walking around with someone else. I found the mural and took some pictures of it. I know that RoboCop was set in Detroit and I’ve seen it but I’m not a big RoboCop person but I was excited to see Axel Foley and also Tom Selleck dressed as Magnum Pi, another of my favourite TV shows. Tom Selleck is a native of Detroit which is why he wore a Detroit Tiger baseball cap in the show.

Anyone who’s reading this and is under the age of 40 probably has no idea what I’m talking about and that’s fine. This part isn’t for you.

In that area were other impressive murals and appealing old houses.

I walked over to the Fisher Building and admired its stunning lobbies. There’s a theatre there as well, which I couldn’t get into, but I bet it’s stunning. I went for coffee at a charming little spot called Café Sous Terre and then I caught an Uber over to a different neighbourhood to visit a couple of businesses.

I kept reading about how Shinola was this famous Detroit store and that it was a must see kind of thing and so I decided to go to that store and I guess it is historic and everything they make in there is from Detroit and all the leather goods and watches seem nice but it really was of no interest to me; however, next door was Third Man Records. A record shop owned by Jack White of the White Stripes who is also from Detroit. It’s super cool and I thought it was worth the visit, unfortunately on the weekends the record manufacturing part of it wasn’t in operation but you could see it through a window. If you go at the right times during the week, you could take a little tour and watch them making records. I would have loved to have seen that. But in the record shop itself it was neat there was lots of music memorabilia and vinyl for sale and books and it just had a really cool vibe. Sometimes they have concerts. I left there and meandered my way back to the hotel to meet up with Mariner.

After that, we went for a cigar at a lounge and just sort of ambled about the city. Had a tasty dinner at Standby, where I had a cocktail made with roasted leeks (interesting but not amazing), followed by more cigars and then sleep.

The next morning, we flew home separately via Toronto.

It was a delightful trip to Detroit. I think if you are in North America and want an unusual city break weekend, it is a good choice, but if you are into cigars I would definitely recommend it.

I go into more detail about the cigar lounges in this post.

And I write about my brief layover visit to Toronto in this post.

Africa Zimbabwe Zimbabwe-Zambia 2023

Victoria Falls, the Town

I flew from Harare, Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls (the town), Zimbabwe. The reason for my trip to Zimbabwe was to visit Victoria Falls, the falls. Not surprisingly Victoria Falls the falls is in Victoria Falls the town. I didn’t have much in the way of expectations about the town, but I did want to leave myself a little bit of time to explore it, so I had set aside enough time to visit the falls, explore the town, and do a day trip into Botswana to go on a safari drive. All of this was accomplished, and two of the three things were wonderful. Victoria falls the town… It was OK.

There are a lot of land transportation options between Harare and Victoria Falls, and if I had a little bit more time, I would have done that, but I was on a ten day holiday from work, so I took a flight a direct flight to Victoria Falls the town on an airline called Fast Jet, which lived up to its name. Upon arrival at the airport, I took a taxi to my accommodations the Victoria Falls Backpacker Lodge.

The accommodations were fine. This place had dorms, private cabins, spaces where you could park your van if you were doing a road trip, it had an outdoor kitchen under a little hut, and a small swimming pool, and areas for hanging out. It was actually quite pleasant to look at.

Most of the accommodations in Victoria Falls are set quite far from the town. This was no exception. This turned out to be one of the things they didn’t like about Victoria Falls – the lack of walk-ability. Every time I wanted to go to or from my accommodations and the town, I either had to walk or arrange a driver. I don’t like arranging a driver because it’s expensive (not really expensive; it’s just that I’m cheap) and I had to wait around for one to show up. The walk wasn’t really that far (about 40 minutes), but in the daytime it was blisteringly hot and at night it was pitch black and wasn’t particularly safe due to…animals. I’ll come back to that.

I stayed in one of the little huts at the lodge; a self-contained unit with a thatched roof and two beds with mosquito nets. No AC, no fan, shared bathroom, very dark. It was OK. A fan would have been great, as it was so hot and mosquito-y. I didn’t love my accommodations also because there often was no one at the front desk so if I did want things like, say, a fan or a bottle of water or a driver into the city, there was just no one to ask. And although there were people staying there, I didn’t see any of them, so there was no fun backpacker vibe. I probably wouldn’t stay there again, but if you’re a little more self-sufficient and driving I think it would be a decent spot. Or if you are willing to spend more money, there are really nice-looking lodges a little farther away on the river where hippos will practically serve you dinner.

Shortly after my arrival, I did go into the city and had the driver deliver me to the entrance to Victoria Falls. (I will write about that in another post.) After the falls, I browsed around various craft markets. There’s one right at the entrance to the falls and there’s another one called the Elephant’s Walk. This one I enjoyed quite a lot, as there are lots of crafts, little shops, and a café. It’s a nice place to take a rest. Other than that, there’s really nothing in Victoria Falls. It’s not an attractive town, it doesn’t have much in the way of interesting areas to look at, and it is entirely built for tourists.

At Elephant’s Walk

It just doesn’t feel like a real place it just feels like a bunch of tourist amenities. Most of the restaurants are very much geared towards tourists: brew pubs and pizza restaurants and that sort of thing. Also, and this is kind of a niche complaint, there is absolutely no place that I could find to buy matches or a lighter. They took my lighter away from me at the airport in Harare, so I needed to buy some way to light my cigars. I asked everyone I could find and no one had any idea. I went to a supermarket, a gas station, a convenience store, a liquor store, and a hardware-type store, and none of them had matches or lighters. Not even the places that were selling barbecues and firewood. I eventually was gifted a box of matches from waiter at a restaurant. That half full box of matches became precious.

On my last night I went to a restaurant called Mama Africa’s, which I really enjoyed and would recommend. I met a nice couple there from South Africa, who were planning to drive the length of the continent. They were nice and we had a good chat. This restaurant and its atmosphere, felt more authentic, but the rest of it wasn’t for me.

dinner at Mama Africa

I had another nice evening though where I met up for dinner at a restaurant called the 3 Monkeys with an American fellow that I knew of through Instagram and Twitter, who happened to be there at the same time as me. Another crazy world traveler person. That was fun. It’s always interesting to meet up with real life people that you met on social media. That night, after dinner, I caught a ride with his driver who agreed to drop me off at my accommodations. As we were driving, on the side of the road in the darkness, were two elephants. It was incredible. I could barely even see them. I could just make out their black silhouettes against the black sky with just a hint of moonlight, and I could certainly hear them stomping and crunching through the brush period. My first wildlife sighting on this trip. Being just a few meters away from elephants out having a nighttime walk was amazing. No pictures. Too rapt in awe.

I did see other animals while I was in Victoria Falls. Walking between my accommodations on the town I saw big warthogs, which was pretty neat. I found out from locals that not only are there elephants and warthogs at night, but also potentially hippos, which are the most dangerous animal in the world. So that is why it’s not safe to walk around late at night in Victoria Falls.

My visit to the falls was excellent, my day trip into Botswana was very good, and I had a couple of decent meals out, but otherwise I did not like Victoria Falls the city and I was content to leave. It’s not a place you visit for the city; it’s just a base from which to do excursions and activities, like visiting Chobe National Park or Victoria Falls, the falls, both of which were great.

Onward to Zambia.

Canada North America

Long weekend in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

It was September 2020, still in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, and I had been holding on to my vacation days, hoping that Canada would lift the travel restrictions and the quarantine rules so I could make up for lost time and take one of my cancelled international trips. I realized that things weren’t likely to change before the end of the year, so I may as well travel domestically. That is why I ended up in Saskatoon.

To clarify: I live in Vancouver, so I’ve seen BC. I’ve seen much of Alberta. I’ve been to Montreal. I had recently been to the Yukon. The Maritimes and NWT had quarantine rules. The flights to Ottawa and Quebec City were high. So I looked at Saskatchewan.

There is really no reason to visit Saskatchewan without a purpose, like family or work. It’s rural and flat and without much of note. (I’m sorry, but it’s true.) But doing a bit of googling (after finding a round trip flight for $119), I decided that Saskatoon looked pretty cute in parts and that it would make a good long weekend trip. And after all, I was dying to get away.

A small rant: When I told people I was going to Saskatoon, many of my friends mocked the choice, saying it was lame or boring. This irked me because people always seem to have something negative to say about anywhere I travel. I’m frequently told my destinations are too dangerous or misogynistic, that my holidays are too short, that I should visit more beaches, that I shouldn’t stay in hostels, etc. I suppose it should have come as no surprise that people would criticize even this choice, which was one of few open to me in a pandemic. Maybe they mean well, but it is annoying.

Anyway…

Saskatoon is a small city of about 250,000, next to a river and surrounded by miles of flat, prairie land. It’s not really known for anything, though locally it is known for having a good arts scene. I was determined to see what there was for myself.

I spent 4 days there, which was too long, but it was relaxing and I stayed at the excellent Alt Hotel. A bit splurgy, but it had a pretty view of the river and an excellent location. It was wonderful.

What I found, through a lot of walking, is that Saskatoon has a fairly nice, if a bit unremarkable downtown, but the area along the river is lovely. Lots of green space, walking and biking trails for miles, and pretty bridges. At the time I was there the weather was beautiful and the leaves were beginning to change, making for picturesque strolls. At night, even when it was chilly, people flocked to the river where buskers played music, people congregated, and people boated and water-skied up and down the river, blasting (mostly country) music. Maybe some of this was due to being unable to meet indoors, due to covid, but regardless, it felt festive and I had my evening cigars there, taking it all in.

Right across the street from my hotel was the Remai Modern art gallery, which is not very large but has an impressive collection – especially for a small city. Picasso lithographs, notably, and both Canadian and international artists. There is a theatre right next to that but it was closed due to the pandemic. There are lots of other museums there that are specific to local history and immigration, but this was the only one I visited. I tried to visit the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, but its hours had been reduced due to covid and I missed my opportunity.

Saskatoon has a cool neighbourhood called Riversdale with lots of great cafes, and restaurants (I’m not a foodie, but the Odd Couple was excellent), cool shops by local makers of things, and vintage shops. It was a great place for an afternoon.

Across the bridge was another cool neighbourhood along Broadway. More cafes and restaurants (Calories is great), shops, and pretty, leafy residential streets.

Broadway Theatre & Calories outdoor seating / me with a cupcake in front of a mural.

These neighbourhoods had a Portland vibe and were super pleasant to stroll through and stop for leisurely reading at cafes and maybe a cupcake.

Saskatoon also has a pretty robust street art scene, mostly downtown and around Broadway, which was a nice reward for all of my walking.

There are some other things outside of Saskatoon that would be worth visiting if one has a car (I do not), like Wanuskewin Heritage Park or this area with spooky, crooked trees and there are lots of outdoorsy areas for biking, canoeing, and whatnot. Lots to do for a few days.

So it was a pleasant, relaxing 4 days. Due to the pandemic, there wasn’t much opportunity for being social. Everything was distanced, many things were closed, and capacities reduced. Masks were worn indoors everywhere, though, thankfully, not outdoors. It didn’t hamper my experience too much, but it did keep the trip on the quieter side.

So, would I recommend Saskatoon for a holiday? Probably not. There are lots of places to go and I wouldn’t say that this tops any lists, but if you are on a road trip or going there for a purpose, it does have things to offer. Or, if you live in Canada and you are looking for an inexpensive weekend away or have vowed to travel domestically, I think it is a fine weekend away and far far better than my naysaying friends would have led me to believe.

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