In just a few days, Alexandra, our oldest child, will be a bride walking down the aisle, thirty-four years to the day that I did. Did I know three and a half decades ago that our daughter would be getting married on the same day as we were? No, of course not.
Is the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival on your entertainment radar? Why did it take us five years to put this event on our travel schedule? It was a dreamy experience where we could celebrate our passion for upscale dining and supporting local restaurants and wineries. What better way to investigate the best of what Orange County has to offer than by nibbling and sipping in the same place? Under vast white tents and flanked by cars from Range Rover and Jaguar, this event was over-the-top fantastic.
Please welcome my newest Guest Adventurer, my friend and travel journalist Stacey Wittig. Here is her quick bio:”I can’t stop exploring the world (I blame it on my father’s Viking blood) and write about my adventures – many as a solo woman traveler. Life isn’t always rosy; I lost my firecracker reasoning skill to head injury in a horrific rollover accident that should have taken my life. Brain injury hasn’t stopped me from traveling, although sometimes it makes for amusing travel anecdotes.” Follow along at www.UnstoppableStacey.com
Someone recently asked me why I thought that multigenerational travel works for some, but not for others. After giving this some thought, I think the magic is in what you do. Is this an activity that is embraced by everyone? Or is this one person’s idea of a good time and everyone else has to go along with it?
The key to successful group travel, especially those with different age groups lies in the willingness of the group to communicate. To ensure that everyone is well represented and that members of the group are not railroaded into doing something that isn’t of interest to them.
There is never enough space in each post to share every favorite moment and travel photo. I try not to bombard you with too much copy or too many photos, therefore lots of photos are left behind! I wish I could include a photo album every time I publish! However the next best thing is to just tell a story with my never been published photos from my recent BIG summer family trip to Italy.
On social media I have actually noticed several bloggers and non-bloggers have taken extensive trips this past summer. When you travel to Europe, so very far away, it is nice to try to squeeze in as much as you can while you are there. Although the argument can be made that you move pretty quickly and don’t get to dive too deep into each city you visit.
We actually did a little bit of both. We stayed in one villa for a week in Italy in order to enjoy the countryside, slow down, relax and spend quality time with the family and then we usually spent several nights in each city after that. Craig and I left Italy and flew to Mallorca and then I flew to Berlin to take a Viking River Cruise from Berlin to Prague and lastly I stayed in Budapest, Hungary for four more nights. A BIG beautiful summer of travel. For today I am just sharing a little more of Italy.
Please welcome back Angela Light, my longtime friend and traveler who spent a great deal of time and energy to write this fantastic post for all of us! Her over-the-top amazing vacation in the Portuguese countryside absolutely captivated me. The dreamy descriptions and elegant accommodations coupled with world class cuisine is my kind of vacation. Take a minute to enjoy this post, it is incredible & I just loved her adventure!
Every Labor Day weekend, The Los Angeles Times holds their annual food and wine festival and it is uniquely Los Angeles. Aptly named The Taste, this fabulous culinary bash at Paramount Studios is the place to nibble and celebrate all of the culinary talent here in Southern California.
For the first time, The Taste food fest will continue for one more weekend in Costa Mesa, CA on October 19-21. Check the highlighted link above for the details.
As a fourth generation Los Angeleno, I am especially proud and excited to indulge and taste the eclectic food possibilities unique to our city. It is our fifth time attending this spectacular event and we mark our calendars way ahead of time to make sure we are available. We chose to attend on Saturday evening, but The Taste LA actually began Friday evening with the Opening Party and there is one more party on Sunday evening.
Ah, life in a luxury hotel! You can’t beat it. Do we always stay in places like this? Not always, but we certainly try!
After our final stop in Prague on our Viking River Cruise, my travel writer friend Tam of Travels with Tam and I determined that we could not be so close to Hungary and not make a stop in this extraordinary country! We have both always wanted to visit, but Hungary is not around the corner, but on this trip we were right next door!
When it was time to plan, I reached out to several luxury hotels and immediately received a welcoming and delightful email from Barbara Bagi, Marketing & Communicaitons Manager from The Ritz Carlton Budapest. How lovely! She and I exchanged several informative emails and we were offered a very reasonable rate even during the busiest season of the year. We were all set!
Since neither Tam nor I had been to Budapest, everything was new and exciting and we could not wait to arrive!
Who knew that a tour food in Berlin would be part of my Viking River Cruise? Bonus! In my opinion, food touring is the perfect companion to every city tour. What better way to understand the city culture than to taste the food that locals love to eat!
Like me, haven’t you always wondered what it was really like to take a Viking River Cruise? I have always been curious and actually never been on any kind of cruise. You may find that surprising, but it has never really been at the top of our travel adventure list. But that list has been re-written!
Recently, I was presented with the opportunity to travel with Viking River Cruises on the Elegant Elbe River Cruise that begins in Berlin, Germany and ends in Prague, Czech Republic. My friend and fellow travel writer Tam Minton of Travels with Tam, took this first (for both of us) river cruise with me as well.
Side note: On the first evening of the cruise, the Cruise Director, the fantastic Benne Bennison, asked for a show of hands who had been on a Viking Cruise before. Every single hand went up except Tam’s and mine. How is that for validation! They keep on coming back for more!