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Ira v et eople are rediscovering Hamilton and finding out it has a lot to offer visitors. The Bell Canadian Open at historic Hamilton Golf and Country Club was just a beginning. On Sept. 25, Shania Twain launches her North American tour at Copps Colliseum And next month -- Oct. fe l l -- the city will host the 2003 Road World Cycling cham pi onships. Eight hundred athletes from 50 coun tries are coming to compete before an esti mated 250.000 specta tors. If you're planning to join the crowd, you're Sam Ion in for a treat. Hamilton has lots to offer and it's not too late to book accommodations. There are hotels in the core --like the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel -- and my advice is to book a clubroom. That gives you access to the lounge, with a great view, a light breakfast, and hors d'euvres at the daily cocktail hour. The hotel also has a pool, sundeck, whirlpool and sauna. Or perhaps a B&B might suit you better. Hamilton has a wide selection. There's Rutherford House right downtown (905-525-2422) a stunning Victorian home, with very interesting owners. Janis Topp is an interior design er and it shows. If you're like me, you The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 6, 2003 - 23 Hamilton has lots of sidhts and sounds to offer visitors P won't be able to resist asking a little advice. If you want a country experience, Weekswood Farm (519-647-3343) offers bicycles, trails, canoes, a stream and waterfall, and you can visit the farm next door for eggs. Just up the road is Pottery by Donn Zver (519-647-3545) and his restaurant. The Potter's Cafe, is a great place to linger over dinner and wine. Aside from watch ing the bike race, there's enough to see and do, at surprisingly low prices to keep you amused for days. Fancy a spa experi ence? Bet you've never had one in a bank. LubaMera Spa (905521 -9010) has turned a former bank into a great one, with amazingly low prices. The daylong ultimate escape offers a sea-salt scrub and then a Byzantine Mud body wrap, followed by a hydrotherapy tub. You'll have a LaStone body mas sage using hot and cold stones. The facial includes a back and neck mas sage, and then you'll finish with a man icure and pedicure. Part of the spa pack age involves choosing lunch from a local restaurant. Speaking of food, there are restau rants to suit any taste. Barangas's, a renovated schoolhouse on the beach, has been attracting diners from all over. Some drive there, some boat and tie up at the handy dock, some even come by helicopter. In summer and fall their patio is as close to the Caribbean as you can get; maybe that 's why a lot of the tour oper ators hold product launches there. The Tsangarakis family produces great Greek food and entertainment, not to mention a super Sunday brunch (www.barangas.com or 905544-7122). That's just one of Hamilton's many attractions that now include the newly arrived HMCS Haida. In fact you might want to bring your own bike. The water front's 3.4-kilometre trail travels along the shore o f Hamilton Harbour, from Princess Point to Bayfront Park, and just a bit far ther along the bay you can visit the Haida in her new home. The ship won't be open until next year, but already she's had many visitors just to see her from on shore. Antique collectors will want to head off to Locke Street, right in the heart of the city. There are blocks o f great shops selling antiques and collectibles and plenty of places to stop for cof fee. Susan Scott, an expert on col lectibles and a regular on TVO's More to Life, was visiting for the first time and said "Oh this reminds me of the Beach in Toronto in the old days, and there are some great finds to be found here." If you haven't been to Ottawa Street, Hamilton's textile capital, you obviously don't sew. This is the street for upholstery fabric, curtain fabric, and anything else you might need, at amazing prices. Gardeners will love the Royal Botanical Gardens. History and aviation buffs will get a kick out of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. Sports fans will enjoy the nostalgia o f the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. On the cultural side, the Art Gallery of Hamilton is worth a visit and the Hamilton Opera is performing The Barber o f Seville on Oct. 4,9, and 11 at Hamilton Place. You're into soap operas, walk to Whitehem Historic House and Garden. Owned by one family since it was built in Victorian times, it offers a complete look at the family and how they lived. They didn't throw anything out, so you can explore it just as it was, and read the letters of their life to get a glimpse of their feel ings. It isn't an epic yet, but it should be. Hamilton even has a castle. Dundum Castle was built in 1855 by Sir Alan MacNab and in case you didn't know it, Prince C harles' companion, Camilla Parker Bowles, is M cNab's great, great, great granddaughter. And there's royalty of a dif ferent kind at the nearby African Lion Safari, where you can see the `king of beasts' in a truly nat ural setting. You can reach Sam by e-mail at sionl0@cogeco.ca. FREE CORN ROAST - W ith great surprises* DDDD · Aruba · Mexico · Cuba · Jamaica · Barbados and more... A v e ry sp e cial in v ita tio n fro m SEPTEMBER 12 Sobeys 511 M aple Grove D r O akville ________ SEPTEMBRE 13________ Sobeys 2241 Lakeshore Rd W Oakville ____________ SEPTEMBRE 14 Sobeys 1500 Upper Middle Rd Oakville Plus, e n te r our contest "Butter. It's a G oldm in e." O ver s 500,000 in gold to be won" Rules and regulations at www.purelydairy.org ·W ith th e purchase o f o ne pound of butter. Q uantities limited, minimum o f 5.000 surprises available for aO com roasts throughout C anada. **No purchase required. C ontest open to C anadian residents of m ajority ag e. C ontest runs from A ugust 4 to O ctober 10. 2003, or while in-store g am e pock supplies last, whichever com es first. The num ber of p ru e s will diminish as they are won. O dds of winning: 1 chance in S00.000 to win a pound o f gold. 11 chances in 500.000 to win a 1/2 pound o f gold. 101 chances in 500.000 to win one ounce o f gold. HTRAVEL CUTS See the world your way 166 South Service Road East Inside Hiker's Haven 905.849.9767 Travel CUTS is ow ned and operated by th e C anadian Federation of S tudents.