VIP Cottages.com - Vacation Rentals by Owner

The Toronto Zoo - Always great fun!

2010-10-14T21:40:00.000-04:00

This summer I had the chance to visit the Toronto Zoo. Being from Montreal, I was used to Granby Zoo and Parc Safari, both great attractions close to Montreal, but was unfamilar with it's Toronto competitor.

First impression was not so good as you were required to pay for parking. When you bought your tickets at the ticket booth at the entrance of the park, you had to tack on extra for the parking. We went on a rainy day and the parking was more than ample, quite large as a matter of fact.

Upon entering the park, I was thrown a little off by the area directly in front of us. It housed the Carrousel and the tram station. You could also start your way on the trail if the tram or Carrousel did not interest you.

The animal viewing areas were quite well laid out, providing a good viewing perspective regardless of where you were located. Pavilions were very nicely setup, although one was a little too humid and has an unpleasent odor when we walked through. The butterfly pavilion provided us with the unique opportunity to see the birth of a butterfly!

The overall area is huge and I suggest looking aat the website and planning your visit along the recommended trails. The only complaint we had was that the signs were not plentiful or clear enough to indicate the proper direction to follow. Other than that, we had a great day!

To find cottages around Toronto, visit http://www.vipcottages.com/.

Hemmingford in the Fall - Apple Picking

2010-10-13T21:48:00.000-04:00

Apple picking is a great family activity in Hemmingford around this time of year. I recently had the chance to visit Petch Orchards located on route 202, about 45 mins from Montreal in mid September.

Upon arrival, you will notice parking is available in the grassy area to the right of the barn. I had no issues finding a spot even in the middle of the day.

Going inside the barn you will encounter some of the friendliest people who are more than willing to help you get on your way to picking. For a reasonable price, you purchase your bags for apple picking in the quantity desired, 5 lbs, and 10 lbs. Then you start out in the orchard of your choice, preferable in teh orchard that is in season at that time.

The apples are not all that high off the ground, which scores well for my daughter who is 4 yrs old. It also scores well for my wife who is a little height challenged. The trees yield very good amounts of fruit and the abundance of trees is not lacking.

For those who need assistance with the little one or with the amount of apples you are picking, wagons are made available for no charge. There is also a tractor ride around the grounds provided for free. There are also some farm animals, namely 2 donkeys and a few goats and chickens that will entertain the children.

Going back inside the barn, which doubles as the store, you will find many products available, namely their famous apple juice and apple donuts. Well worth the price, trust me. Pop the donuts into he microwave and enjoy a nice warm treat on a cool September day.

Overall, I found the drive to Hemmingford through Mercier was quite scenic and worth the extra time it took, instead of using the highway. Highly recommended.

The availability of different varieties of apples, along with recipes and other local information can be found on their website (http://www.vergerspetchorchards.com).

Contact info:

Petch Orchards
431 Rt. 202 Hemmingford, Québec
(450) 247-3414
Tim Petch : timpetch@sympatico.ca

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VIP Cottages.com site outage

2010-10-13T15:15:00.000-04:00

We recently experienced a web outage due to a change implemented by our server provider. With the help of Cristian Radu of Vacationrentalscript.com, we are now back up and running! A big thanks to Christian and team for the quick response and support.

VIP Cottages Blog on the Web!

2010-10-13T11:40:00.000-04:00

We have decided to continue our Blog on Google to compliment and enhance our vacation rental website http://www.vipcottages.com/. We will be posting articles about local activities and spotlighting various properties in the next coming weeks, as well as publishing some of our older content that was not published previously.