Napa Valley is filled to the brim with wineries, over 400, and selecting just a handful to visit in one day can be challenging. We visited three high quality wineries and one restaurant in a perfect day of wine tasting.
The last time I was in Italy I was 14 years old, my mother and I having just been evacuated with the last of the women and children of Western nations from East Pakistan, leaving my father behind. East Pakistan was undergoing a bloody metamorphosis into Bangladesh in a bitter civil war, and we had … Continue reading
We had just spent two and half weeks tracing the Klondike gold rush trail from Alaska to the Yukon, testing ourselves against the elements and spending 14 nights in a micro-mini tent.
Villa Vera Puerto Mio, the Raintree interval ownership (and RCI, a large worldwide vacation exchange compary) offering in Zihuatanejo, is located in the Puerto Mio area. Zihuatanejo, positioned on the West coast of Mexico roughly between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, is perhaps not as well known as Puerto Vallarta, but offers many similar charms, especially … Continue reading
Zihuatanejo, located on the Pacific side of Mexico roughly between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, is a charming fishing village that has grown beyond its roots but still manages to retain its original character, despite a huge surge in visits when its nearby neighbor, Ixtapa was built in the 1970s. With perpetually sunny weather in the … Continue reading
Gazing at the riot of designs and colors my eyes darted around wildly, unable to focus on any one motif. I shuffled around the showroom trying to organize the patterns into a coherent sense, without success. With some relief we were ushered into a workroom to begin our education of Umbrian ceramics, after which I … Continue reading
A highlight of a recent trip to Umbria, a hilly, rural region of Italy located between Rome and Tuscany, was the sampling of many fine wines and comestibles. Six friends gathered to experiment with the many superior house wines (and remarkably few duds) typically available in the in the small cafes and dining establishments of … Continue reading
“Hong Kong: An Extended Layover” published in International Travel News, October 2009, Vol 34, No 8, pp 36-42 (http://www.intltravelnews.com/) Many travelers to Asia find themselves with a layover in Hong Kong, a thriving metropolis of 7 million people where East collides with West. Reclaimed by China in 1997 but still a melting pot of … Continue reading
No stay in O’ahu, Hawaii is complete for us without at least one day at the North Shore, and sometimes we rent a house and stay there the whole time. There are no high rise buildings and no shopping malls, just miles of gorgeous beaches, laid back people and small town charm. To get there, … Continue reading
The myriad activities in Waikiki are obvious, from people watching to surfing on perfect waves, outrigger canoeing in the surf, catamaran rides, and world-class shopping on Kalakaua Ave. After a couple of days unwinding on the beach you might be ready to avail yourself of the many other charms the island of O’ahu in Hawaii … Continue reading
