Tag: tips
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 […]
Bargain Airline Tickets From Santa
Airline tickets: if you’re like me, shopping around for the best airfares is not your favorite thing to do. I mean, could it be more confusing? You have to research a zillion carriers, times of day, days of the week, seasons of the year, and – now – even specific seats within the plane. Seriously, […]
Lava Lava Beach Club – Eat, Play, Slumber
Lava Lava Beach Club. Isn’t that a great name? And here’s the best part: unlike many cool monikers that aren’t as great as they sound – this place is even better. Located right on the beach on the Kona side of the Big Island of Hawaii, the Lava Lava Beach club is both a great […]
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. […]
Eat Withlocals in Spain – Olé!
Withlocals….think Airbnb, but instead of authentic places to stay, Withlocals connects travelers with local chefs and authentic food experiences. A major player in the sharing economy, Withlocals was founded in the Netherlands in 2013 and expanded into Asia a year ago with the simple concept of offering an online marketplace where trusted locals can offer […]
Santa Fe, NM – What’s Hot This Summer
Santa Fe, New Mexico is a popular summer destination because this “City Different” offers an abundance of cultural activities. In this guest post, local Santa Fe expert Judith Moir gives us a heads up on what’s on this season. Judith previously shared her thoughts about Christmas in Santa Fe. As a local, I’m always excited […]
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 – […]
Best Time to Visit La Jolla, California
The best time to visit La Jolla – my hometown – will depend on what you want to do when you get here. For classic car enthusiasts, that means early April, when the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance takes place. In fact, the 2016 La Jolla Concours will take place Sunday, April 10. Now in its 12th […]
Vincennes – Live Like a Local in Paris
Vincennes – a community in the eastern suburbs of Paris – is home to Pascale Heuzé. I first introduced you to this lovely lady when I wrote about learning vacations a while back. Now she wants you to know about her hometown: the reasons to visit and why you might like to make Vincennes your base […]
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 […]
Nevis – a Caribbean Island for Savvy Travelers
Nevis wasn’t the first Caribbean island I visited. Like many travelers, I started with bigger, more obvious places. Some of these have international airports and almost all of them are on the cruise ship circuit. But what I wanted was an authentic experience, a chance to meet local people and learn about their culture. So […]
New York City – An Insider’s Guide – Part 1
New York City – The borough of Queens, to be specific – is where Larry Kessler grew up…in “a modest house with yellow shutters on a busy street.” “On winter nights, I’d pull back the heavy, pleated, living room drapes to watch the developing storybook scene. I remember the amber street lights and the pure white […]
