Blogs

This is a brave new world, the one we're living in. The digital age has arrived, and it is here to stay. New technology is present in almost every aspect of our lives, and it can prove a great help even during your travels. Here are some ways in which you can use technology to make your life a little easier when you're travelling.

1. Scan your documents - You should always have copies of your documents made when you travel. After all, what will you do if the unthinkable happens and your original

You may have heard about the current Thornton Winery Champagne Jazz series in Temecula wine country, and there’s lots of excitement about this year’s lineup.  Kenny G & Earl Klugh perform July 22nd, and such luminaries as Rick Braun & Richard Elliott, Dave Koz, and George Benson are also scheduled for this 24th season.

While these shows are sure to be great, the bar for sheer entertainment value has been set quite high at the sold-out “Dream Tour” show featuring David Sanborn & Brian Culbertson

Staying in
Costa Rica’s 
San Jose metropolitan area
 and looking for a fun, natural activity for the day?
INBioparque is a great half-day trip close by that gives you an enjoyable and educational look at Costa Rica’s incredibly varied biodiversity all in one place.

Located conveniently in Heredia, only 20 minutes from downtown San Jose,
InBioparque
 features a series of trails with representations of different types of
 Costa Rican forest: Rainforest, Pre-Mountainous Forest, Wetlands and Dry For

I went to the Apartheid Museum.  Not today, but today is a good day to write about it.  It is the 18^th of July, Mandela Day.  Madiba is turning 94 today.  Time to celebrate.  And contemplate…

What struck me as I stood outside, was the design of the building, it looked like a prison.  And indeed, as the brochure states as well: Apartheid is exactly where it belongs – in a museum; which looks like a prison.  On the wall outside Mandela’s words: ‘To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, bu

Most of the tourists visiting California are young and enthusiastic youths and they love to hang-out at a peaceful and lovely spots. Here are those secret destinations one can visit in California Tours.

1. Pacific Grove - Near Monterey

Pacific Grove is a coastal city located between Point Pinos and Monterey. It is known as America’s last hometown and is filled with Victorian type homes. Pacific Grove contains several habitat types including marine, littoral, pine forest and mixed oak woodland. The

Named one of the best all-inclusive resorts by Travel + Leisure, the Mohonk Mountain House, a Victorian castle built 1869 on spectacular cliffs above the deep-blue waters of Lake Mohonk, is offering "Raspberry Getaways" in August,  including special weekday rates, Sunday through Thursday during the entire month. Savor summer's sweetest traditions with rates beginning at $232 per person, per night, based on double occupancy - a 20% discount off regular rates and including a welcome gift. 

At ch

The New York Times thinks so.

In a wry and cutting article, “Vacations To Steam All Couch Potatoes", television columnist, Neil Genzlinger throws darts at The Travel Channel for programming that shows elite travelers having the kind of fun in places you and I can only dream going to, if that.

Genzlinger says instead of programs like “Xtreme Waterparks” or “Insane Coaster Wars” that focus on places like Fortaleza, Brazil , or death-defying coaster rides that no sane person would try, why not cr

 Okay let me put this into perspective.

I saw this great movie based on an excellent book "Under the Tuscan Sun". It's been out for quite a while.  Diane Lane plays the part of a recently divorced (husband cheated - nasty stuff) writer who decides to sell all of her material possessions (some of which her X husband receives in a settlement) and take a Gay Tour (yes she is the only woman on this tour - her friend had already purchased the package and could not go so gave her the tickets) of Tusc

In 2012, London is having one of the most exciting years in its history, with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this past June and now the 2012 Olympic Games starting on 27 July. But are Londoners proud? Do they realise how lucky they are? Are they embracing the summer of fun or whinging? Well...

The Royal Wedding in 2011 was a good 'excitement barometer' to test the public's ability to embrace a national celebration. Yes, we whinged really impressively leading up to the big day last April, but when

Es la firma que todos los meses presenta La Bodega Business Plus en Ronda Iberia: con gafas pero con un olfato envidiado por muchos, o más bien todos. De haber sido contemporáneo de Patrick Süskind, sin duda hubiera protagonizado “El perfume”, su libro de cabecera. Un nombre imprescindible si de lo que hablamos es de vinos y que suena en el entorno gastronómico de nuestro país desde hace más de treinta años. Como presidente de la Asociación de Sumilleres de Madrid no hay que pasar por alto que s

The Thornton Winery Champagne Jazz Series in the formerly “undiscovered” Temecula, CA wine country has set a standard for big names and great performances in an intimate venue, but this 24^th season just might boast their best lineup ever.  It’s more than remarkable that a venue seating less than 600 can bring in the likes of Chris Botti, Bobby Caldwell & David Benoit, Dave Koz, George Benson, Boney James, and Peter White, just to name a few.  And a beautiful venue it is, with a Mediterranean ter

I still remember vividly the first time a local gave me directions in Costa Rica:

Go north 700 meters. At the “pulperia” turn left, and go west 300 meters. At the corner where the old fig tree used to be, turn right. Go 175 meters and it’s the papaya-colored house on the left with the black gate.

Sure. So … how do I count meters? Which way is north from here? And how in heaven am I supposed to know where the old fig tree used to be?

Or, how about the directions to my old apartment in Rohrmoser, whe

Sometimes taking the more difficult route or the road less traveled is simply part of a grand adventure. This would be the case when I made my annual Christmas migration from my native San Francisco to what I call “my adopted country” of Mexico. For the past 12 years, I have been having a not so secret love affair with the country “south of the border.”

Having a deep affinity for “winging it” without much thought I started the journey with a drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles, then a $179.00

by Nellie Huang

She’s hot, sassy and sultry. In the sizzling Mediterranean heat, her shapely curves and sculpted body give her an even bigger sex appeal. Lively and spontaneous – she’s every man’s dream. While not many get the chance to truly understand her, those who do always end up falling for her charms.

I’m talking about the island of Sardinia (what were you thinking?): the second largest isle in the Mediterranean Sea and a jewel in the Italian seas. Located closer to the French island of Cor

For pictures, see author's blog here

(part 1)  We Americans have our Wild West just like Mexico has its “norte bárbaro,” and they’re the same place of course, that vast expanse of land bounded by two mountain ranges and stretching from Utah to Jalisco, Mexico.  It’s home to cowboys and Indians ranging from Utes to Aztecs, vaqueros to buckaroos.  Where I’m going is right in the center of it.  I’ll start in my former home state of Arizona and cross the border into Mexico from there.  Mexico was th

Americans who have watched food and travel shows featuring a plethora of strange, bizarre, and weird food items such as deep-fried bugs, beating frog’s heart, and coconut grubs may be apprehensive about what they will find to eat when traveling, especially in Asia. The truth is that one would have to go out of the way to get most of the items featured in such shows.  As strange as it may seem it is often easier for Americans to dine internationally than it is for foreigners to dine in America. A

Summertime and the living may be easy, but summertime is also prime time for identity theft, says security expert, Alan Wlasuk. He’s managing partner of 403 Web Security  a company committed to evaluating and eliminating website security risks.

Likely 140 million Americans will travel this summer, and Wlasuk’s company says while you’re away, thieves are on the prowl for personal information on unsecured wireless networks, at the gas pump, at hotels or in your mailbox.

Can’t happen to you? Thi

Who doesn’t love an airline lounge when you have time on your hands and you need space from the swarms of people flocking around those tiny connected chairs in an airless waiting area of a gate?

Corporate road warriors - Let us Unite and pay tribute to the holy "lounge."

Those relaxing open spaces with giant TVs, cocktails (virgin and otherwise) and that great “hotel lobby” smell.

Sidebar - reading - optional - Hotel Lobby Smell Defined: You know when you stay in a really nice hotel and you wa

Scuba diving: one of my greatest dreams. Unfortunately, my inner ear won’t let me. But over the years I’ve talked to plenty of serious divers, and they’ve told me that the Canary Islands are most definitely a scuba do, boasting some of Europe’s best diving at all skill levels (and snorkeling, too, for that matter – now that I can do). The water’s usually warm all year round, there’s good visibility, and both the marine scenery and fauna (including the gorgeous lobster above, and 11 species fou

Any restaurant that plans on thriving in Manhattan better not even think about resting on their laurels for a second. But with Empire Steakhouse, this goes without saying. A venerable shrine to not only prime steak cuts charred to perfection but the whole dining experience sprung from the desire of Jack Sinanaj and his family to elevate the classic steakhouse ambiance to a highly personalized indulgence. Working as a waiter and then as manager at the legendary Peter Luger’s, Jack spent hours in