Tag: advice
Trip Planning Help Just For You
Trip planning making your head spin? I feel your pain. Even though I’ve been planning trips for myself and others for a long time, I still spend hours sorting out the options. It doesn’t help that I’m somewhat obsessive (ok, strike somewhat) about finding the perfect lodging and figuring out ways to avoid crowds of […]
Air New Zealand, Santa & Our Fabulous Trip
Air New Zealand made it possible for my husband Richard and me to enjoy four wonderful weeks of New Zealand summer. We left Los Angeles on December 24, 2015 and came back on January 21, 2016 – and it was all terrific. As I’ve mentioned before , I’ve spent a lot of time Down Under […]
Houston Restaurants – Insider Tips & My Favorite
Houston restaurants have evolved. Once limited to Tex Mex and BBQ, they now offer a wide variety of other cuisines and some very unusual preparations of local ingredients. I learned this during a recent brief visit, during which I managed to try at least a half dozen Houston restaurants. Best Houston restaurants After all the sipping and […]
Amsterdam Hotels – Tips From Travel Journos
Amsterdam hotels? Really? In addition to writing about travel on this site and elsewhere, I help travelers plan their trips. Of course, I can only do this if I am well acquainted with their destination – which explains why, over the years, I’ve planned more trips to New Zealand (my home-away-from-home) than any other country. […]
Seattle – Have Fun Like a Local
Seattle. When you think of The Emerald City what pops into your mind? The Space Needle? Salmon? Bill Gates? Seattle is chockablock with iconic images – each suggesting something to do or something to eat or drink. I’ve lived in Seattle and visit frequently and know that – as in any big city – some […]
My Life in Luggage
Luggage You’ve probably heard the expression “You have to kiss a lot of frogs, before you find your prince.” Well, for me, that quote applies not only to my love life – but also to my search for the perfect suitcase. Before luggage came with wheels – yes, in the Dark Ages of travel – […]
Machu Picchu – How to Avoid the Crowd
Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a long time but, as I said in a post on this site four years ago, I have an usually low tolerance for being herded around like a tourist. “But a visit to Machu Picchu doesn’t have to be like that,” travel expert Nina Fogelman assured […]
Paris Shopping -Finding the Best “Souvenirs”
Paris shopping is a subject near and dear to the heart of Pascale Heuzé, who lives in Vincennes – a community in the eastern suburbs of the city. I first introduced you to this lovely lady when I wrote about learning vacations a while back. More recently, she wrote about Vincennes and why you might want […]
Ancestry Travel – Fixing Your Family Tree
Ancestry travel – think of it as authentic travel on steroids. You wander off the beaten path looking for “missing” family members and, in the process, you make connections with local people and learn about your cultural DNA. It doesn’t get more authentic than that. My trip to Italy to research my roots took me […]
New York City – An Insider’s Guide – Part 2
New York City is Larry Kessler’s old stomping grounds. In Part 1 of this article, he told us about one of his favorite places to eat and reflected on some of NYC’s iconic people and places. Here’s more of his homeboy insight… “For me, if I had to pick the one quintessential New York City food […]
Best Time To Go To New Zealand
The best time to go to New Zealand depends on what you want to do and how fussy you are about the weather. Having said that, there’s really no bad time to visit this beautiful country. Because New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are opposite of those in North America, Asia, and […]
Edinburgh Insider Tips
During festival time in Edinburgh, Scotland, the city is alive with events and bursting at the seams with tourists, but it’s still possible to escape the crowds and enjoy the locals’ favorite places. I asked Ross from The Luxury Editor, the Edinburgh-based independent luxury travel magazine, to give us an insight into best place to go and […]
La Jolla, California – Best Things to Do
La Jolla – San Diego’s favorite coastal community – is known for beautiful beaches and great dining options. I’ve lived in La Jolla most of my life and love walking on the beach and having drinks or a meal with a water view. I also know that our community offers many unique activities that first-time visitors […]
Giverny – Monet’s Garden Travel Tips
Giverny – I’d dreamed about seeing this garden for at least a decade. Actually, maybe longer. I think I was still in high school when I wrote a term paper on the French Impressionist artist Claude Monet. In the process, I fell in love with his garden at Giverny, France. And now I was in […]
