For years, Los Angelinos have lined up for vegan and raw food brunch at the romantic The Inn of the Seventh Ray, which is part bookstore, part restaurant and all atmosphere. Its somewhat secluded location in woodsy Topanga Canyon is above the famous and expensive beaches of Malibu. You enter the restaurant after winding down…
How many billionaires do you know who fall out of palm trees in Fiji? We know just one… Keith Richards, Rolling Stones guitarist. He was first hospitalized for a mild concussion, then flown to an Auckland, New Zealand hospital for observation as a precautionary measure. The accident was believed to have happened at Fiji’s exclusive…
Less than an hour from Guatemala City but 10 minutes by foot from La Antigua Guatemala is the bucolic Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. The majority of its 125 rooms feature private bathrooms, mini-bars, fireplaces, TV, phones, hair dryers and safe deposit boxes, plus you can enjoy its cozy dining room for fine local cuisine and…
The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. While there, I’ve seen them sticking their tongues out and yelling as a form of self expression. But they also express themselves with a wonderful food company known as Kono New Zealand that features Wine, Seafood and Spring Water. One of my favorites is the 2004…
What is the life of luxury? Could it be owning your own private jet with a pilot ready at a moment’s notice to whisk you away to your favorite Caribbean Island? Or, could it be spending $37,200 a night for a room? That’s right. $37,200 per night. According to Forbes, the most expensive hotel room…
What are you doing this Saturday and Sunday? If you want to see some of the best bets in sustainable products — like cork stools or miniature trees in gift tins — produced by local and international designers, visit Branch during its two-day “flash store” launch event. After the success of its Web site, this…
Chocolate with pink peppercorns. Chocolate infused with chili powder. Chocolate from Spain, Belgium, even Chicago’s Vosges Chocolate. If you love the brown stuff — and I do — a visit to Chocolate Covered in San Francisco’s hip Noe Valley is well worth the trip. It features shelves of uber exotic chocolates, including those with 100%…
In an effort to make economy airline seats even more uncomfortable, Airbus is talking about adding standing room only seating to Asian carriers. Yep, you read that right. Luckily, none of them have yet agreed. The very unlucky passengers would “sit” in standing section seats propped against a back panel that’s padded and held in…
I’ve been flying Southwest for over 20 years. When I lived in Dallas, many of my friends and neighbors worked for this small regional carrier that became one of the country’s leading budget airlines. Here’s an interesting twist on a company’s blogosphere: Nuts About Southwest is written by the employees and the customers of this…
My uncle took a few bike trips to Europe on the cheap. He would be envious of these offered by DuVine Adventures, a leader in specialized luxury bike trips throughout Europe. By day, you can experience stunning landscapes and unspoiled villages. By night, you can feast on gourmet cuisine, sip the best wines, and stay…
As a scuba diver, I often daydream by taking a five-minute trip to my favorite dive sites on the Web. I enjoy seeing what the water temperature is today on Aruba, the visibility on Maui, how a storm damaged a reef on Grand Cayman, or a new wreck being sunk. This new site at BigBluePlanet.com…
Conde Nast Traveler asked a top chef if he could make the perfect in-flight meal. It had to be shelf-stable for three hours or more, leak-proof and not smelly. Gene Kato’s solution was Miso-Glazed Fried Chicken with Japanese Truffled Soybean Salad. He said, “When I was a kid and we went on trips, my mom…