When I was a 9-5er in SF ad agencies, I worked near Levi Square, the Financial District and North Beach. One of my favorite haunts has always been the Fog City Diner at the corner of The Embarcadero, Lombard and Battery. Plus, last time I was here, Danielle Steel was at the next table. (How’s…
Seven seconds. That’s all the time you have to see the riders cycle past you at 20-30 mph in a time trials or a stage. But that seven-second rule is not hampering the thousands of bystanders that line the scenic backroads during the first annual Amgen Tour of California Bicycle Race. Bringing the drama and…
In the world of retail shopping, nothing, but nothing, epitomized fashion, style and first-class service over the past 154 years like Marshall Field’s in Chicago. With a 13-story atrium, a 7-ton clock at State & Washington street on the Loops, this mammoth flagship “Cathedral of All Stores” will become a Macy’s on July 30, thanks…
Now, even if you’re not flying, you can have a room with a view — from 30,000 feet — with a FREE download of the cinematic Mac or Windows Holding Pattern Screensaver. This download is da bomb, turning your computer screen into an airplane window. And get this, it’s not a static page. It’s a…
I love watching surfing on flat screen TVs. I love rock ‘n’ rock music. I love relaxed family-style restaurants. At Wipeout Bar & Grill on San Francisco’s popular Pier 39, you can get a heaping helping of it all. I’ve been to thousands of eateries worldwide, but as a California-themed surfing restaurant, this one is…
My friend Monique chimes in from Budapest on one of her favorite restaurants: La Fontaine. “It is not very well known,” she says, “but it’s a neat, very romantic bistro where you get personalized attention, delicious food and fresh fish sometimes flown in from France. My Dad and his wife went there as well as…
I’ve chewed on sports bars for running. I’ve wolfed down sports bars for hiking. But I’ve never thought of a chocolate sports bar to ward off seasickness after scuba diving or when riding in a boat on open rough seas. Fortunately, Dive Bar is a convenient, high energy snack bar that’s delicious, nutritous and created…
Art Walk nights on St. Croix, USVI are quite an event. Enjoy warm Caribbean breezes, friendly people, free wine, cheese, and lovely displays of local artists’ work as you wander from gallery to gallery in downtown Christiansted. St. Croix is an off-beat tourist destination. Don’t be surprised if you find more locals than tourists on…
Definition Bag-a-holic: “one afflicted with the compulsive desire to acquire new bags (purses, briefcases, backpacks, etc). Symptoms: caches of little-used luggage paraphernalia; subconscious gravitation to travel-related stores. Treatment: sfbags.com.” I for one have long suffered from this condition. What friends and family don’t understand though, is that this obsession is not pathological. What underlies every…
We love all types of boutique hotels. Some are perfect for architecture aficionados. Some are great art lovers. But the Kube Hotel in Paris blends the best of all worlds. Utilizing a cube-shaped theme in its rooms, halls, elevators, and everywhere else, it’s a cool blend of old and new, future and retro, square and…
If you think of Mary Tyler Moore when you think of Minneapolis, you’d smile if you saw the tribute statue of her downtown throwing her beret into the air. But this Twin City is a surprisingly hip place that Travel & Leisure recently called one of its five “up and coming destinations in 2006.” The…
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts builds high-end properties around the world, from Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico to the Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo. But their new property that opens in March between the fashionable South Beach and Bal Harbour areas is being promoted as an ultra luxury, family-friendly boutique resort that’s an…