“Travelling in its Essence Forces you to be Patient, Curious and Open-Minded”
~ Words by Vickie Sam Paget, Sky Blue Content ~
As the bubbly host of Canada’s longest-running lifestyle TV show, she may seem right at home in the Cityline studio in Toronto, but when it comes to travel, Tracy Moore likes to spread her wings…
If you could go wandering anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?
Definitely Africa. I would love the opportunity to live the culture, experience safari and take in the history of my people. Being of African descent definitely gives the prospect of a trip like that an ethereal tone. It would be other-worldly for me to be able to touch African soil. There is something larger than life about having the opportunity to go there. It will be a lifelong dream when I finally get there.
What’s your earliest travel memory?
Montebello, Quebec. I have an uncle who bought a property there and our family would take turns using this cottage, which my uncle called ‘The Chalet’. It’s really in the bush on this tiny patch of land and my parents would take my sister and I pretty much every summer. Our life there was about catching frogs, playing Monopoly and running around outside. We absolutely loved it and now I take my kids to the same ‘chalet’.
What’s your favourite destination in Canada in the summer?
Quebec. Any province that takes a winter beating like Quebec knows how to live it up in the summer! I was a student in Montreal for about four years and after the first year I never wanted to go home to Toronto in the summer. I used to beg my parents to let me stay in Montreal because there’s a festival there every week. They are great, huge, inclusive festivals that are absolutely free and I think that when you go through a winter like they do, you should stick around to see the good times in the summer!
What’s your favourite international destination in the summer?
I would say Paris or Rome, but sadly my husband disagrees because he doesn’t want to be in a hot city in the thick of the summer. In the end we both end up agreeing on a more resort-like vacation, which could be anywhere in the Caribbean or anywhere in Mexico. As long as he can find some shade under a tree!
Your best travel experience?
My honeymoon in 2006. We decided to do a Mediterranean cruise, so we went to Rhodes, Kusadasi, Rome, Venice, Dubrovnik—it was phenomenal. It’s basically just eating and drinking your way through different ports and cities, and what could possibly be bad about that? There was no eco-adventure tourism or anything like that; we would literally just go into port, have a look around, see what looked interesting and then we’d sit down and order fresh fish amazing wine and beer and that was our vacation. That was our life for 14 days!
Your funniest travel experience?
My girlfriends and I have travelled a lot and there was one time we went to Miami and we rented a car. We were going out one night and we just burst out laughing because there was this huge swash of yellow paint on the side of our candy red rental car. We couldn’t stop laughing, to the point where we were crying. We drove to the nearest police station and said, “Hey we crashed our rental car,” and they said, “Well, come on in girls!” And it was all very jovial and fun. They were sweet and we were giggling. The cops were so nice to us! So we signed the papers—thank goodness we’d bought the insurance—and that was that. It was fun!
Your most surprising travel experience?
Going to California when I was pregnant with my first child. I was shocked that I loved Los Angeles. I had been told that everyone was fake with perfect hair and perfect teeth and I had zero interest in it, but I completely and totally fell head over heels in love with LA. I loved the fact that people are very friendly, I loved the west coast food and I loved the addiction to the outdoors. I thought it was amazing, I fell in love and I thought to myself: I could live here.
Your most enlightening travel experience?
Switzerland for sure because there was a very minimalist vibe. There is a real emphasis on quality over quantity there—with their design ethic, with their food and with their stuff. Everything is good quality, but there’s not a tonne of it—there’s just enough. And there is an emphasis on good food and good conversation too and I still carry a little bit of that with me. I’m okay with just having enough and I learned that in Switzerland.
Why do you travel?
Exploring and learning about different cultures is the best education you can give yourself. It expands your options. Travelling in its essence forces you to be patient, curious and open-minded if you allow it to. There’s a real learning experience to be gained from getting out of your habitat and doing something new. It changes your perspective and your world view.
What destinations do you still lust for?
Africa for sure, and I would love to see Lisbon and Barcelona. We might do those last two this summer because it’s our 10th wedding anniversary. So Portugal and Spain are high up on the list. And I love to do anywhere in South America. I want to do Peru, I want to do Argentina and I want to do Chile! I want to go to all of these places!
Image: Tracy Moore/Cityline
This interview first appeared in Canadian Traveller magazine.
