Dining
Burgundy by bike, boat or car
Paris may be crawling with tourists scurrying to monuments and museums, but in Burgundy, a mere 90 minutes south on the TGV train, sightseeing is never an object. The pace is slow, the countryside bucolic and the pleasures of gastronomy rule supreme. The chandeliers in the Michelin-starred restaurants are eternally glittering and the puffy […]
Award-winning Orgeon: Shakespeare to Pinots
Ashland, Oregon may be a small town but it can rival big cities with theater, outdoor activities, wine and farm-to-table food. Photo: Queen Elizabeth in the performance of Shakespeare in Love. Photo Credit: Jenny Graham Recently my husband and I drove 6 hours from San Francisco to indulge our passion for theater. We bought tickets […]
Normandy as painted by the Impressionists
Normandy is 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. Claude Monet’s Etretat “I count on doing a large canvas of the […]
Unforgettable Cape Town. Exclusive, Discrete Luxury at the Ellerman House
Are we having a “deja vu” of the Amalfi Coast or the Cote d’Azur , my husband and I asked ourselves as we walked into the Ellerman House, a Cape Town luxury hotel. Our arrival was discrete. There are no signs outside Edwardian-era mansion in a “billionaire’s residential neighborhood of Bantry Bay (home to some of […]
Marin County. Easy getaway near San Francisco.
When the frigid fog rolls into San Francisco, locals head across the Golden Gate Bridge to hike, bike or drive to Marin County where the wether is sunnier and the temperatures are warmer. Although Marin was the birthplace of George Lucas’ Obi Wan Kenobi and home to the Grateful Dead, it is the […]
Gourmet Barging in Burgundy, France
The mere name Burgundy evokes splendid wines, fine cellars, history and epicurean feasts. The secret is out among wine and food connoisseurs — the best way to sample it all is aboard a luxury barge cruising along the Burgundy canals. Barging is not a river […]
Culinary adventures and travel tips to avoid the worst.
Many of us travel, among other reasons, for the love of food. These travel tips to help you survive your culinary adventures worldwide. My culinary adventures include eating yak eyeballs in Tibet, bamboo grubs in Thailand, fried crickets in Myanmar and Rocky Mountain oysters (cow balls) in Wyoming. […]
Where the Pacific meets the rainforest. The Wickaninnish Inn
You can tell a lot about a luxury hotel by the way it greets its guests. You might expect a formal doorman to meet you at the curb. That’s not the case at The Wickannish Inn, located on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, amidst towering cedar and spruce trees. A smiling, wholesome […]
Food Down Under: The Best Restaurants in Sydney
I learned on my recent trip that Sydney is a treat for the committed gourmand. Fresh local produce, seafood and delightful ambiances got these hot spots at the top of my list for the best restaurants in Sydney. I highly recommend Nomad, a new and glamorous food, wine and “cellardoor”, (tasting room) restaurant that makes it’s […]
Ditch the diet and follow the foodies along Napa Valley’s Gourmet Mile”
Now is not the time to start a diet: ditch your guilt and follow the foodies along Napa Valley’s Gourmet Mile! In the land of culinary riches that is Napa Valley, Yountville, a small town has big reputation for exceptional cuisine and extraordinary wine. Located in the heart of Napa, about an hour drive from San Francisco, […]