Nothing wrong with joining the crowds at Maho Bay to stand about five feet under jumbo jets coming in for a landing (what could possibly go wrong?), but I have a new pet attraction in Dutch Sint Maarten: Parotte Ville. It's really three attractions, because it includes an immense walk-in aviary for parrots, a heritage museum, and a medicinal herb garden.
I was amused to learn that the visionary behind Parotte Ville is a man named George Parotte, but this shouldn't have surprised me. After all,
While the Mexican Riviera boasts many stellar lodging options, over on the Pacific coast near Puerto Vallarta, Velas Vallarta Resort has the distinct advantage of offering you an intriguing balance of sybaritic retreat conveniences with plenty of opportunities for genuine cultural immersion.
With Playa El Salado right out front, downtown only a ten-minute ride away, 18-hole Marina Vallarta Golf Course within walking distance, and the airport literally five minutes away, Velas Vallarta is in quite
Savvy travelers know that the best restaurants are the ones where the locals eat. So when the fam and I took an off-season trip to Ocean City, MD, the good folks at the Dunes Manor Hotel & Suites had two very appealing recommendations for us: Embers Buffet and 28th Street Pit-n-Pub BBQ.
The extensive coastline of Morocco offers a great variety of options along their 3,500 kilometers. It’s hard to choose among its many beaches, because you’ll always have to leave out something. It has beaches washed by the waters of the Atlantic and many others facing the Mediterranean, beaches suited for families and modern ones with a chill out atmosphere, some right below a cliff and others directly off the desert sands. You’ll probably agree that it’s a tough decision. Here is a review from
On a recent visit to Mérida, the capital city of Yucatan State, we opted for a side trip to the Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Celestun (Celestun Biosphere Reserve).
This protected, coastal wetland reserve and wildlife refuge encompasses over 147,000 acres and showcases their hugh flocks of vibrant pink Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber). The flamingo nesting area was one thing, but pink was not the only spectacular color on parade.
We were pleasantly surprised by the wide spectrum of other c
As I meandered along the tree-covered hills and winding roads leading to Rancho Valencia Resort in Rancho Sante Fe, California (U.S. News and World Report’s number-one resort in California,) my anticipation grew. I was not disappointed to see this lavish resort, set on 45 acres of gardens and olive groves. Not only did I get to enjoy this beautiful resort and experience a glorious outdoor terrace breakfast, because on the agenda was a seminar with wine tasting about Washington State wines. How
Rio de Janeiro famously boasts one of the most spectacular natural settings of any major world city, a charismatic interplay of ocean with dramatic plunging hills (the most dramatic and reknowned, of course, being Sugarloaf and Corcovado). And though much of Rio has a prosperous enough air, there has always been much poverty here, too, and since the late 19th century, many of those dramatic hills also became home to sprawling, unofficial slums – originally built by decommissioned soldiers and
by Maria José Cortes Lamas
Before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Bulgaria for Westerners was tucked even farther than most behind the old Iron Curtain. Today the differences are truly astonishing to see: a country vibrant with energy – though obviously not without its problems. And its capital Sofia – with a population of 1.2 million, yet fairly accessible (and bargain priced!) for the visitor – is the place where this energy is especially showcased (though it’s often bypassed by
In the middle of the 19th century, Dickens wrote his famous Tale of Two Cities about life in Paris during the French Revolution. Dickens contrasts the life of les misérables”(the poor) with the life of ceux de bonheur (those living happy lives). In 2017, Paris once again presents to those who come to it a tale of two cities.
In February 2017, I was the guest of the CNI-SYNHORCAT, the largest French tourism trade association. The CNI-SYNHORCAT invited me to address an elite group of concerne
What’s it like to visit the world’s largest city proper (as opposed to greater metropolitan area, which is Tokyo)? A city on the mouths of the Yangtze and Huangpo River roughly midway along the South China Sea coast where the numbers boggle – 24 million spread across 6,340 square kilometres (2,450 sq. miles), now with a highrise skyline and megadeveloment that has transformed Shanghai a prime symbol of the thrusting 21st-century power of China while still preserving in parts a fair amount of t
Remember the old saying about "building castles in Spain"?
No, I didn't build one but I did live in one for a week. My castle in Spain went by the grandiose name of El Castillo de Alarcón.
El Castillo is 200 kilometers from the capital, Madrid, and is set on a rocky promontory surrounded by a deep gorge through which the River Júcar flows.
It looks across the gorge to the rolling green, yellow and red countryside which characterizes so much of inland Spain. The various greens of cultivated areas, f
It all started in Belgium when culinary communications agency Hakuna Matata partnered with The Fun Group, an amusement park ride installer, to offer the first Dinner in the Sky in 2006. Right now you can experience elevated dining in sunny Puerto Vallarta on the lush grounds of Casa Velas Resort. You get a highly choreographed culinary extravaganza incorporating a music soundtrack and various announcements over an on board sound system as you're lifted 150 wow-inducing feet into the air with 22
photo: Freeimages
As the world's fourth largest island, widely considered to be an eighth continent of its own, Madagascar is a jewel in Africa. Its isolation is mesmerizing, with a variety of activities contained within this one space. From stately baobab trees, some of which are over 800 years old, to the cheeky, bright-eyed lemurs, to flora and fauna that is native to the island, there is no shortage of sights. If you are planning a trip here, then you need to first see how much time y
Ilha dos Frades is an island named after a pair Franciscan friars, the sole survivors of a nearby shipwreck. A mere six kilometers long, this island shaped like a star with fifteen tips has all the ingredients of a perfect tropical paradise. Ilha dos Frades (Island of the Friars) is a compound of beaches with white sand, fresh water lakes, small waterfalls of surprising beauty, hills providing a spectacular view of the bay and a lush forest combining the palm trees you would normally find at t
Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto is the most popular itinerary for first-time travelers to Japan. As such, it is often called the “Golden Route” It covers the modern vibrancy of Tokyo, the historic serenity of Kyoto, and the relaxing hot-spring resorts (onsen) with views of Mt. Fuji, (top, in January), south of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture’s Hakone. However, there is a more interesting, affordable, less crowded and still easily accessible alternative to Hakone – the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture
The state of Washington consists of many diverse microclimates--from the rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula to the eastern portion of the state averaging around eight inches of rain. The craggy Cascade Range separates the western and damper portion of the state from the eastern and drier side. All of these microclimates provide the 900 wineries unique areas to grow more than 40 different varietals of wine, making Washington State the second-largest premium grape-growing region in the nation.
Highly coveted as far back as ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the mushrooms known as black truffles remain a major object of desire of foodies and gourmets across the globe. But while many think of them as typical of Italy and France, most of the world’s supply of the delicacy dubbed “the black diamond” these days actually comes from Spain – and in particular, regions of the country’s northeast with just the right growing conditions: parts of Aragón, Castile-León, and Navarre.
The round, rou
photo | Lionsgate
by Ignacio Darnaude
Just when you thought that Hollywood’s musicals from its golden era were deep-sixed and buried six feet under, here comes La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, which recently swept the Golden Globes (with a record seven wins) as well as the Academy Awards, with 14 nominations. It doesn’t hurt that the film is an ode to artists and dreamers, as well as the importance of perseverance and creativity when all hope is lost - a message that res
Would you sedate your child on a flight?
Are parents who do so wrong?
Not long ago, a Wall Street Journal article reported that many parents "drug" or sedate their kids on planes so they'll be less bothersome for the parents, flight attendants and fellow passengers.
The drug of choice seems to be Benadryl, and while it does calm kids, often putting them out for hours, it has awakened others to what might be an abusive practice.
The testy responses to an About.com (and other) postings on t
If anyone tells me they’re ‘going to see the Northern Lights’, I always counsel them to plan on other activities too, so they aren’t too disappointed if they don’t show. They’re always there … although if the weather conditions are wrong, they can’t be seen. All of our time in Alta, Norway, there was almost complete cloud cover, and occasional flurries of snow, which precluded any sight of the lights.
But, there are many other things to do in Alta, and one of them is to travel across the snow in
