tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1747590821166826412024-03-01T23:50:31.772-08:00Fluent In FabulousIn search of <i>fabulous</i> everywhere I go.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-66482798638051518162013-02-25T13:28:00.003-08:002013-02-25T16:46:16.234-08:00Old Site, New Eyes
I've been doing a lot of traveling lately and am always excited to discover a new place, be it Vancouver, Canada, where I just spent a few days, or Tucson, AZ for a girls getaway. Yet, when I arrive back to San Francisco, I am always giddy about calling this great city home.
On approach to the airport I looked out the window of the plane and caught this fabulous perspective of the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-44076627547288095192013-02-20T12:35:00.002-08:002013-02-25T13:40:22.290-08:00
Whistler, Canada at the top of the appropriately named "Seventh Heaven" lift. Fabulous!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-69656134004325215982013-02-12T13:31:00.003-08:002013-02-25T16:42:09.484-08:00Single On Valentine's Day? San Francisco Hearts You!
Photos courtesy of Legion of Honor and Yoshi's
With all the hype and hoopla surrounding Valentine’s Day, happy singles might feel they’re being chased out of town by chubby, arrow-wielding angels. But stand your ground! There’s more to February 14 than canoodling couples and tables for two. Here in the Bay Area, these fabulous and fun-for-one activities celebrate your first love — you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-38779274574590580642013-01-30T07:59:00.001-08:002013-02-25T13:39:01.665-08:00Spotted By Locals Has Arrived (and is coming to a city near you)!
Bart and Sanne van Poll of Spotted By Locals
It's the dream of most of the wanderlust-afflicted folks I know to journey the world, meet local people in far-flung locations, and maybe earn a few bucks while doing it.
This was also the dream of these fabulous Amsterdam-based travelers and married couple Bart and Sanne van Poll, a dream born over a beer in Brussels in 2007. The dream Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-81176083001030610932013-01-14T11:20:00.000-08:002013-02-25T16:43:37.803-08:00Beginnings
Fishermen's Bastion Budapest
I love Europe in winter. Maybe it's because the first time I ever set foot on the continent was in the early '90s when I landed in Paris on a fabulous icy and snowy December day. There were no café terraces spilling onto the frosty streets, elbow-to-elbow with tourists. There were no love birds lounging on the metal chairs and grassy patches of the Tuileries Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-14081845467356427792012-12-22T07:38:00.001-08:002013-02-26T07:58:57.462-08:00A Christmas Story
Skating in Brussels. (Photo by Eric Danhier)
A fabulous trip to Brussels' Christmas market reminds me of the meaning of the holiday.
The smell of warm sugar stopped us before we even made it to the Grand Place, Brussels’ gilded and glorious main square, the epicenter of the city’s annual Christmas Market. My nose twitched as I sniffed the air until the sweet Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-10072412994479651082012-11-09T15:56:00.003-08:002012-11-19T07:14:43.901-08:00Good Laughs, Good Travels, Hot Mamalah---Oh My!!It's getting to be that time again. The halloween decorations are barely off the houses and the holidays are breathing down our necks, which can only mean one thing---SHOPPING! ---and maybe a little vacation. Naturally, you're going to want to give the gift of a good read, and maybe pack a few too. Whether you're on the beach, the ski slopes, or curled in your favorite armchair by the fire, theseAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-84072287220817522352012-10-31T15:00:00.000-07:002012-10-31T15:00:19.698-07:00A Taste of Tampa
A little something I wrote for National Geographic Traveler magazine's November issue. I've been craving a good Cuban ever since. Anyone have any tips where I can find one outside of Tampa?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-46847472645182376652012-10-29T16:18:00.003-07:002012-10-29T16:18:57.324-07:00Rooms With A Boo!I have a secret to tell---I do not like Halloween (Gasp!) Maybe it's the whole don't talk to strangers, but dress up and knock on stragers' doors one day a year and ask for candy hypocrisy. Maybe I'm just over thinking it. Whatever the case, it's no treat for me. I do, however, like a good trick, or better yet, a ghost story! Add some travel to the mix and i'm game!
Check Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-34013782353761989942012-10-09T08:10:00.002-07:002012-10-09T08:50:09.701-07:00Facing Fears
Anyone who knows me knows this---I hate to fly. I love to travel and would never let my fear stop me from taking a trip, but the sweaty palms, restless sleep, and thoughts of doom cripple me, and that's before I even step on the plane. But I get on anyway. The idea of seeing new place, meeting new people, tasting new food the only antidote for my anxiety. Well that and a Xanax. Of course I getAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-65182867645281516562012-10-01T08:46:00.000-07:002012-10-01T10:27:20.481-07:00Good Times In The Badlands
Mention Alberta and the first thing that comes to mind is ....Banff. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Banff and the Canadian Rockies are up there on most bucket lists, and if they're not, they should be. But for something a little different, I decided to head east from Calgary (a fantastic City FYI) to the Badlands of Alberta. What I found was an authentic taste of the region'sAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-36581611861934796632012-09-13T16:57:00.004-07:002012-09-13T17:37:25.429-07:001001 Thanks Is Not EnoughI am honored and humbled to be a recipient of not one but TWO Lowell Thomas Awards. I'm especially proud to say that my book, Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves, received the TOP award for best travel book. Anyone who knows me knows that France long ago seduced my traveler's spirit. But the Dordogne region, the setting of my book, captured my true heart and soul. I'll avoid the labor of love Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-47387552463111940982012-09-09T09:13:00.011-07:002012-09-10T08:00:25.638-07:00International Waters
The Golden Gate Bridge will be the backdrop of the 2013 America's Cup next summer
I love sport of all kind, especially events that combine best in class competition with great spectacle for fans. And that's exactly what happened a couple weeks ago when the America's Cup World Series jibed into town----the first time this internationally ranked event has taken place in the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-27371037148771989712012-08-12T15:36:00.002-07:002012-08-12T15:41:53.488-07:00Basque-ing On The Edge of France
Atlantic sunset from La Reserve in St. Jean de Luz
I’ve been to many places in France, from north to south, mountains, beaches, rivers, and most places in between, but the southwestern corner of the country, the Basque country as it called, in the western Pyrenees bordering Spain, has eluded me until this summer. It was worth the wait.
St Jean de Luz and portSt Jean de Luz itself is a pretty Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-14599214024643270882012-07-17T10:11:00.007-07:002012-07-17T13:34:24.146-07:00Monaco = Summer Family Fun!
Summer Sporting Festival Monte Carlo
It's probably the French Riviera's most extravagant playground. Cruise ship sized yachts float in the harbor as Gucci clad first mates pop champagne off the bow. Ferrari, Lamborghini, and cars-so-rare-and-exotic-I-don't-know-their-names purr around the Casino. The famed Cipriani just opened last month, and Billionaire is not just the moniker of the city's Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-70237607222070237902012-07-08T01:30:00.003-07:002012-07-08T01:56:24.525-07:00The Legendary Le Negresco---100 Years!
When I was in high school and taking the only French class offered, my teacher Madame Danne asked the students what we'd like to be when we grew up. After the would-be doctors, lawyers, vets, and teachers, declared their goals, I said, "I'd like to be the U.S. ambassador to France." While I never pursued a career in government, I feel that as a traveler, writer, and homeowner in France, I am Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-3411347266251316852012-06-24T01:21:00.010-07:002012-06-25T09:33:38.401-07:00La Fete de la St.-Jean
The flower cross of St. Jean
In the Dordogne a few summers ago, on June 24th, for the occasion of La Fete de La St. Jean, a friend of mine invited me to his house. When I arrived, I noticed a cross of wildflowers hung where the peephole would be on any city dweller’s front door. I asked him about it and he told me it was a tradition on this day to gather wild flowers and fashion Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-21018579180405611452012-06-20T21:36:00.004-07:002012-06-20T21:49:49.017-07:00Fête de La MusiqueSummer Solstice has arrived and in France it means longer days and music in a nationwide (maybe even worldwide) celebration known as Fete de la Musique.
This idea was first hatched in 1976 by American musician Joel Cohen, then working for the national French radio station "France Musique." Cohen proposed an all-night music festival on summer solstice, inviting amateurs and professionals to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-84999077275531906112012-06-19T03:04:00.001-07:002012-06-19T03:35:20.934-07:00The French Riviera: Through My Eyes
Every village has its fountain.
Its very name is synonymous with glitz, glamour, and super sized bank accounts, but the Cote d'Azur is more than just mega yachts and mega tans. Tucked between the Mediterranean and the Alps on one of the most famous stretches of coastline in the world are real villages and people who know it only as "home." I am also fortunate enough to call this Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-75355337917049497772012-06-07T15:30:00.001-07:002012-06-07T15:32:25.974-07:00
www.hotel-souleias.com
Say “French Riviera” and visions of glamorous parties, movie stars, and dollar signs dance in your head. But don’t think for a minute you can’t enjoy a holiday along one of the most famous coastlines in the world without sacrificing your kids’ college fund. Click here and discover 10 petit pied-a-terres that make it easy to say “oui” to a French Riviera Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-21525704235772132802012-05-28T08:28:00.000-07:002012-05-28T08:28:48.186-07:00Golden Gate 75th AnniversaryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-62453314512971133472012-05-25T09:44:00.000-07:002012-05-25T09:44:30.753-07:00Summer Read For Travel LoversCheck it out! Inspirational stories from Bay Area travel writers, including yours truly. If you're looking for that great summer read, here it is.
Click Here!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-57951373634742463742012-05-25T07:38:00.002-07:002012-05-25T07:40:18.497-07:00Throw Of The Bowlines!I don't know why, but I find quotes from famous (or infamous) people fascinating and often uplifting. Maybe because they say it better than I ever could. I especially love travel related quotes because, well duh, I am a wanderer. I am often checked back into center by this Mark Twain quote:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than byAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-83485934255202407732012-05-24T07:42:00.001-07:002012-05-25T06:43:36.330-07:00I Left My Heart In.... Biron
Front entrance to Le Prieuré of Chateau Biron
At least once in her young life, a girl has imagined herself as a princess in a fairy tale—we have Cinderella to thank for that. But what the bedtime tales of our youth neglected to tell us was just where Cinderella was going in her horse-drawn carriage when she took off with her prince for happily ever after? It could very well be she was Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174759082116682641.post-57788280158609580652012-05-14T07:33:00.001-07:002012-05-14T07:34:17.197-07:00Morsels of Memory
My beautiful grandma and her tasty cookies
My grandma isn’t your typical floral housecoat-wearing, quilt-sewing, rolling-pin waving sort of grandma. When she’s not driving herself to Monday morning Tai Chi class, she’s lunching with friends while wearing hip-skimming jeans most likely purchased at Target and, if she’s feeling really spry, red cowboy boots. Even after 89 years, my Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16335907977144239539noreply@blogger.com0