A wonderful day exploring : The first half of the day we visited Deia, a scenic hamlet inhabited by writers, artists and the affluent. (Micheal Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones own a summer home here.) We walked 5 minutes out of town to visit poet/author Robert Graves’ home, for a self-guided tour that began with an…
Spend the day: Culture junkies will be happy to know that almost all the important sights spiral out from the center of town and can be covered on foot. Some our our faves were the magnificent Catedral de Palma ( aka La Seu), the charming Convent de Santa Clara, the Can Marques –the tour of…
Good Girlfriend Hotel Choices: Beach Retreat: Hotel Ciutat Jardi This historic four star hotel is listed as a Monument of National Tourist Interest, and rightly so. It’s located about a 40 minute walk from downtown Palma (the hotel offers free beach bikes so you can pedal there in about ten minutes along the newly built…
We’re in the middle of a glorious girlfriend getaway traveling though England when the storms hit. What to do? Easy…Jet. Yup, that’s what these two resourceful sisters did when the British weather simply would not cooperate. We booked the next el-cheapo EasyJet flight to Palma, Mallorca. A measly 2 1/2 hours later, we were on…
The End: Cranley Hotel: 39 charming rooms and suites meticulously restored in 3 combined Victorian townhouses, located on a private tree-lined residential street in South Kensington. Although every room is unique, most offer high ceilings, bay windows and garden Chelsea views. Furnishings lean toward elegant Bennison fabrics, warm brass lamps and antique mahogany furniture against…
Stay-cations are great, in theory, but in actuality, who wants to spend summer in NYC with its relentless heat and humidity? It’s like living in a big armpit. And San Francisco’s summers are really like winter in most other places. When my NYC girlfriend suggested we steal away for a well-deserved getaway, awww, who am…
I recently took my sis for a week in Santa Barbara for a big birthday getaway ( one ending in an “0”.) The grand finale was a few nights stay at the (deservedly ) renown Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. As soon as you drive off the main drag and enter the gorgeously landscaped grounds,…
Ambassadors of the Environment Again, due to multiple daily feedings, I didn’t have time to make a dent in the variety of activities that the Ritz-Carlton offers. Luckily, I had signed up in advance for the magical Kapalua Resort Arboretum hike led by naturalist, Jaclyn Schlindwein, one of the Ambassadors of the Environment “green guides.”…
Kapalua Wine & Food Festival Since we were there during the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival, I didn’t get to try many of the restaurants, since I had my hands (and stomach) full just trying keep up with the many wine and gastronomic events that filled our glutinous weekend. For example, on Sunday we woke…
Normally I love living in San Francisco, even braving our notorious chilly grey summers, but after spending last week in sunny Maui, checking out the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua’s multi-million dollar makeover, I have to say that I’m already down for a repeat visit! (Maybe I can say that the dog ate my camera and I need…
5TH ANNUAL PINOT DAYS GRAND FESTIVAL PUBLIC TASTING is rapidly approaching so hurry and buy your ticket for Sunday’s Grand Tasting which will showcase 200 producers of pinot noir. This is California’s largest single gathering of pinot producers, as well as its most varied. Consumers will be able to sample up to 400 pinots from…
Where to Eat: The grilled seafood platter we shared at the casual outdoor garden of Café Monika was a culinary masterpiece. The platter was about 2 ft. long and arrived overflowing with scampi, mussel, eel, squid, sardine, sea bass, and scorpion fish that tasted like they had been swimming in the pristine Adriatic only minutes…