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Wine Tour & Tasting in Chianti

Wine Tour & Tasting in Chianti

    Wine tasting in the Tuscan hills is a “must” while visiting Italy. Three other students and I rented a car in Florence and took off for a 12- hour tour of the Chianti Region, home of the famous Chianti Classico wine. We began with a three-hour hike through the vineyards. The vines were [...]

Weekend in the Tuscan hills

Weekend in the Tuscan hills

  By: Annalyse, College Correspondent in Italy Studying (Sometimes) For my second weekend in Firenze, my friends and I decided we wanted to have a truly Italian experience, so we rented a car. We rented a mini compact car from Eurocar, for 70 Euro for a day full of adventures. When split between five people, it [...]

Chef’s Holidays at Yosemite

Chef’s Holidays at Yosemite

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul – John Muir Hike through Yosemite Valley surrounded by waterfalls, or cross-country ski along the Merced River beneath granite walls, then return to the giant fireplaces and soaring ceilings at [...]

An unmarked red door in Little Itlay leads you to speak-easy style lounge

New York City Speak-Easy for Cocktails and Food

Little Italy in New York offers much more than red sauce dining and the Feast of San Gennaro. Read more from New York City Contributing Writer, Meryl Pearlstein who shares the inside scoop with us. Perhaps you know a bit of the rich and tenacious history of the area, first populated by Germans, then by [...]

The French Coast in Normandy as painted by the Impressionists

The French Coast in Normandy as painted by the Impressionists

Like a beret perched askew on a Frenchman’s head, the 360-mile Normand coast curls along the north and northwest of France. After visiting Rouen, I headed for the coast to soak in the beaches and soft-green landscapes bathed in shifting light. Etretat “I count on doing a large canvas of the cliffs of Etretat, although [...]

Rouen. The Street of the Large Clock leading to the Gothic Cathedral Monet painted from 20 views

France. Impressionist Painters in Normandy.

What exactly is a Francophile? Someone who appreciates French history, culture, fashion, art and cuisine, and that describes me.  Ever since I lived in Paris, for four years when I was in my 20′s, I jump at every opportunity to go to France. Last month  I jumped at a chance to go to Normandy to follow [...]

Napa, Sonoma and Surviving Wine Festivals. P.S. Buy a wine bra.

Napa, Sonoma and Surviving Wine Festivals. P.S. Buy a wine bra.

Spice up a quiet wine country visit; plan ahead and take part in a local festival. Check the “Events Calendar” in area websites for the latest offerings: Healdsburg, Sonoma County, Napa. Everyone has heard of Napa, but there are other, not-so-well-known, scenic areas worth a visit. I recommend the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, [...]

Exploring the neighborhoods of New York from Tribeca to Soho

New York’s Neighborhoods: Soho, Noho and Tribeca

In late March my daughter JC and I escaped to New York for five days together. You know how much I love to travel with my daughters (and husband too), and so I kept my business meetings to a minimum and we had lots of free time to explore a new area of the Big [...]

Where’s the Largest Irish Event West of the Mississippi?

Where’s the Largest Irish Event West of the Mississippi?

Irish Eyes Are Smiling in San Francisco San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival is the largest Irish event west of the Mississippi, which certainly merits a sip of Irish coffee or a romp through the Oxalis (which is a fancy word for shamrocks). “Giving Back” is the theme for the 160th annual St. [...]

Ford Francis Copola Winery in Alexander Valley, Calif.

Celebrate Wine, Food, Love of Life in the Heart of Alexander Valley

There is still room at the table on the terrace overlooking the vineyards of Alexander Valley at the newly opened   Francis Ford Coppola Winery restaurant near Geyserville. The 88-acre property of rolling land includes sustainably farmed vineyards and embraces bucolic views from the terraces, tasting rooms, movie gallery, pools and bocce ball courts. Recently on [...]