Category: Travel

Apr

4

Kailua: One of Hawaii’s Best Beaches

Posted by Pepper Schwartz

There is a lot of competition for getting on “the best beach” lists. I have my own list, but if you want to mix a perfect beach, and nearby amenities, it’s hard to beat Kailua on Oahu, in Hawaii.

Even in season, Kailua is pretty deserted during the week. During the weekends locals descend on it, but otherwise, the long crescent beach is almost empty. It has astounding views at every step; there are ancient craters and an endless horizon to watch, with an occasional whale pod to discover if you stare long enough during the winter season.

What I like about Kailua is the absence of high-rises. This ultra exclusive beach area has no resorts or monolithic condominiums — just houses, some of which are mind-bogglingly expensive, others, more modest — but still more expensive than most of us can even imagine affording. Still, the whole feel of the place is casual. This is not a particularly showy stretch of houses and most are not hidden behind forbidding walls. Continue reading »

1 Comment | Filed Under Hawaii, North America, Romance, Travel, United States

Apr

1

Culinary Adventures in Crete

Posted by Larry Habegger

I had coffee this morning with Nikki Rose, old friend and fellow San Francisco transplant who’s spent most of the last decade in Crete, her ancestors’ land. Her specialty? Cooking!

Since 1997 she’s worked to conserve Crete’s cultural and natural heritage through her own version of a slow food movement, engaging more than 40 small business and individuals in “Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries” to offer visitors a taste of traditional Cretan cuisine. Ingredients come from local organic farms, and chefs put a modern twist on the old cuisine so there’s always a tasty surprise.

Her programs have received sustainable development awards from the likes of National Geographic, and she’s booking tours for the summer. Visit artisan food producers, organic farmers, rural communities that have been inhabited for 4,000 years, and take botanical hikes in the land of the Minoans. Explore ancient sites, too.

And of course, eat well.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Crete, Culture, Europe, Food, Greece, Travel

Feb

23

Santa Fe Sojourn

Posted by Pepper Schwartz

Santa Fe is romantic. Even when it’s so cold you wonder whatever possessed you to go in the winter.

A friend and I went to scout it out for a winter romantic getaway, and even though we worried about hypothermia a few times, my guy will benefit from this reconnaissance.

If you go to Santa Fe in winter, you own it. Imagine being alone in the picturesque square, alone chatting up the salespeople, and able to drop into even the most popular restaurants on a whim. With the touristy crowds gone, we could enjoy a spontaneous day — and get the best of everything. Continue reading »

2 Comments | Filed Under New Mexico, Romance, Santa Fe, Travel, United States

Feb

16

Combining Romance and Family in Cancun

Posted by Pepper Schwartz

It’s fashionable to grunt disapprovingly when people say Cancun. Fair enough. It is a jumble of development — and if you are looking for  romantic isolation — this might not be your first choice. But I was providing some romance for my family: my daughter and her boyfriend and my step daughter and her husband and child. My son and I completed the party but we were without our significant others.

The Westin Lagunamar in Cancun was actually a wonderful answer to the “how do you combine romance and family” question. The Westin Villa formula on this site provides a good answer. The twenty-thirty-something contingent had studios with Jacuzzis — just about big enough for two (rather small) people — really good views of the pool, and beyond that, the ocean and beach. Critically, they also had kitchens — so everyone could have their leisurely morning alone time — and at night, we piled into my one bedroom that had a dining room that seated all seven of us. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Cancun, Family Travel, Mexico, North America, Romance, Travel, Yucatan

Feb

8

New Old Arty Neighborhood in Delhi

Posted by Larry Habegger

A Delhi neighborhood that became popular in the 1980s but fell out of favor has been reborn as a vibrant setting for cafes, art studios, bookshops, and other enterprises.

Brendan Spiegel reported on the Hauz Khas Village district, hidden among narrow lanes behind the ruins of a 13th-century mosque and royal tomb, in the New York Times.

It looks like a great place to spend a day or two on your next visit to Delhi. I want to go to the bookshop, Yodakin.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Asia, Delhi, India, Travel

Feb

7

Zipline Commute in Colombia

Posted by Larry Habegger

Ziplines are all the rage at adventure resorts and ski areas, but sometimes we forget that they originally served a practical purpose to move people and materials across impassable chasms. And sometimes we need to be reminded that they still do.

In a report on Slate from Colombia, Joshua Foer takes a ride on a cable that’s been getting daily use for 60 years. Do you want to hitch a ride?

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Colombia, South America, Travel

Jan

21

New Yorker Looking for Owners of Lost Photos

Posted by Larry Habegger

Part treasure hunt, part spy novel, a New Yorker who went for a cross-country ski in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park after the recent snowfall is trying to find the owners of a roll of film he found lying in the snow. Developed, the black and white film shows young men evidently on vacation in New York taking arty photographs, not just snapshots, of Central Park, street scenes, Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge.

Todd Bieber, the man who found the film, tells a story in his YouTube video of a woman who pushed $26 into his hand that she’d found on the street, saying she felt awkward keeping it and insisted he do something nice for himself with it. He said he’d do something good rather than spend it on himself, and now it’s gone to the film processing and his online efforts to find the owners.

Who knows, as he says on YouTube, maybe they’ll see his video and they’ll become friends. Or not. But the story is going viral and it’s only a matter of time before the men who lost the pictures see themselves caught in black and white in frozen New York in their own film on Todd Bieber’s video. And then maybe the mystery will be solved.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Brooklyn, Manhattan, New York, Travel, United States

Nov

24

More Snow!

Posted by Larry Habegger

Ski season in the West is really cranking up with another big storm that dumped eight feet of snow on Lake Tahoe and other parts of the Sierra Nevada. Turns out it’s the snowiest November in a decade, with all the major resorts opening for Thanksgiving with top-to-bottom runs operating.

Big Sky in Montana has twice its usual snowpack for Thanksgiving’s opening day and is launching a twin zipline as well so you can zoom 1500 feet alongside your sweetheart or best buddy.

And if you’ve made your way to Yosemite National Park, the Curry Village Ice Rink opens on Thanksgiving as well.

There are so many choices but one thing’s for sure: winter is here.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under California, Lake Tahoe, Montana, Northern California, Skiing, Travel, United States, Winter Fun

Nov

12

It Must Be Ski Season

Posted by Larry Habegger

Lake Tahoe reported a foot of snow the other day. Two weeks ago I got word that almost four feet had dropped on Jackson Hole. A few days ago a little farther north, Big Sky Montana got a foot, with more falling and a lot more on the way.

It must be ski season.

A few years ago I went to Yellowstone in winter to see wildlife, cross-country ski to Old Faithful, ride the snow coach, and tool around on a snowmobile in the national forests outside the national park. On the way down from Bozeman we drove right past Big Sky and I made a mental note to come back and check it out. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Jackson Hole, Montana, North America, Skiing, Travel, United States, Winter Fun, Yellowstone National Park, wildlife

Nov

2

A Return to St. Louis

Posted by Pepper Schwartz

I was recently in St. Louis and was pleasantly surprised about how spiffed up it has become. I attended Washington University there in the ’60s, and pretty much confined myself to its lovely campus. St. Louis itself was considered unwelcoming to us undergraduates.

No longer. Forest Park, the green spine that connects Washington University and the suburbs to the downtown area, has been beautifully reclaimed and in a space 60 percent bigger than New York’s Central Park, visitors and citizens can jog and bike along groomed trails and boat in large waterways.

One excellent excursion is to bike up to the famous Gateway Arch that was built to celebrate St. Louis’s colorful past as the provisioning place for western expansion. The arch, designed by renowned architect Enno Saarinen, is awesome. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Missouri, North America, Restaurants, Romance, St. Louis, Travel

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