A Warm Welcome

Signature cocktails are a bit of a thing these days and so when I visit an amazing hotel, I always ask the bartender for their signature drink.  On my first night in Budapest, I think I experienced my favorite of all time….or at least in the last year I am sure. 

Four Seasons Budapest Martini combines some lovely fruit extracts with vodka and a mulled paprika pepper….spicy, smooth, delicious.  I did manage to finesse the recipe out of the bartender only by promising not to repeat it, so to experience this yum, either dinner at my house or a visit to Budapest are your choices.  Either works for me!   

Le Prieure’

At just the right time of year, the scent of wisteria greets you as you make your way through the garden of Le Prieure’ in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon.   While the village of Avignon is fun for a while, staying in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is really the better home base for the region and you just can’t beat Le Prieure’. 

In 1322 Cardinal Arnaud de Via, nephew of Pope Jean XXII,  built himself a palatial residence in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon - right across the river from the Pope's palace in Avignon.  Just before his death, he gave his residence to Chanoine monks to create a priory and it served this purpose until just after the French Revolution.  In 1943, the building was bought and converted into a hotel. 

While the rooms are spacious…the bathrooms are enormous!  Unusually large for Europe.  The rooms are each uniquely decorated by the owner and showcases her unique style and collections.  I had a nice deluxe room with 2 French balconies that opened up on the garden.  This was our first night in France and it was the perfect welcome to Provence…the room, the garden, the sunshine, the wisteria…just could not have asked for a more perfect welcome to the countryside. 

Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is just across the Rhone River from Avignon - the epicenter of Provence.  It is a quiet village that is very accessible and a much better choice than Avignon if you are driving yourself….but be sure you have a GPS!  Avignon is super congested and very difficult to manage with a car.

Alexandre, the GM of the hotel, knows everyone in town and has a good relationship with several restaurants.  We walked to a square, had an aperitif then onward to our dinner at le Bistrot du Moulin.  The setting was charming, the food perfect, the service attentive and the dessert….divine!  At the end of our trip as we reflected, I asked Keith what his favorite memory in France was….‘that dessert at le Bistrot du Moulin’.  Of all the things in France, one single dessert stood out.  I guess I need to find the recipe!

Each night with turndown, the hotel puts information on your pillow regarding things you could do the following day including which towns are having their markets.  Market day is a fun way to experience authentic Provence.  We went to Gorde for our first day...wow oh wow.  The drive was short…30 minutes or so…and gorgeous.  Gorde forms the top of a hill and the buildings cascade down the sides creating a breathtaking approach.  I bought olives, sausages, wine, bread and some fruit then we sat on the wall of the city and enjoyed a nice picnic. 

For day 2, a drive to Chatteauneuf de Pape for wine, wine and more wine.  Overwhelming if you don’t have a plan, so it is best to get Alexandre (again) to help you sort out a plan or private vineyard visits.  My favorite part of this day was meeting Christine Esteolle whose father gave her 5 hectares of vineyards to produce her own wine.  She is in her 3^rd year of production and seems to be doing really well.  There are over 300 wines in the area, so again…best to have a plan.

The drive through Provence in Spring....pictured left.

Pont du Gard is another great day trip from Le Prieure’...or an add on to another market day.  http://www.pontdugard.fr/en  Pond du Gard is a World Heritage site and you could spend a whole day or just a few hours exploring the area around the Roman aqueduct.  A private guide of course makes the visit more interesting.  You can also take a picnic, go swimming, hike, etc. 

When staying at Le Prieure’, it is best to allow 3-4 days to take in all that is close.  Longer would be good, but the 3-4 days should do you well. 

VIVID!

What an amazing surprise to arrive in Sydney with a city-wide display of light! 

The administrators of Sydney dreamt up a brilliant way to draw people into the city during its ‘low’ season…winter.  The weather is still perfectly delightful – average in the 70’s – but still they wanted to see what they could do to bring people in.  This intense 2-week festival launched 5 years ago and has grown exponentially each year.   I can’t even imagine what it will be like in years to come. 

This year’s festival is May 24 to June 10 and commences each evening at 6PM concluding at midnight.  People are out, street vendor food, music, INCREDIBLE light shows all over the city…small and large!  I tried to take pictures, but all lights are moving, so it was impossible to truly capture the essence of the art with still photography.  I did take some short videos with my camera (inferior quality at best), but really and truly…you need to go to experience it for yourself!

The video is of the display on the Contemporary Art Museum.

Whitehaven

Last night was a champagne sunset cruise in the Whitsundays…Australia…pretty spectacular!!

This morning was a sunrise seaplane outing to the most beautiful beach in the world - Whitehaven beach.  The Whitsundays is a series of islands in Northern Australia with various resort and yachting options.  I stayed at Qualia and Hayman.  Both fantastic in their own way, but distinctly different. 

Either resort offers a seaplane excursion to Whitehaven beach – a beach on an island in the Whitsundays that is not inhabited…it is not a national park, but it is protected and owned by the country.  STUNNING!!  You can take breakfast or lunch outings to the beach and stay for as long as you like.  It stretches for 4 miles and so if other people show up, you can still have your privacy.  We went at 8:00 AM because that’s how our schedule roles….fill every moment possible! 

An Intriguing City

Melbourne has taken me a bit by surprise.  Having visited numerous cities around the world, I wasn't expecting much out of this bustling Australia city, but have been quite surprised.  In short (because I am exhausted and have a super early morning tomorrow...) sport, art, shopping, cafes, parks, food and I am sure a host of other things that I didn't have time to experience.  Well worth several days on any Australia itinerary!!

Realizing now that I did not take enough pictures of the public art installations or the amazing architecture, so will do better tomorrow!

New Zealand

It’s on everyone’s list – right?  Well, once you have done it, you will see that it is a destination to visit more than once.  This post is the first in a series on New Zealand where I hope to entice you to move the destination to the top of your list!

The flight from LAX to Auckland is 13 hours.  While that may seem daunting, it is quite easy.  Air New Zealand really really does a fantastic job of making the time fly (no pun intended…)  Gorgeous planes with fantastic service and a plethora of movies to engage (or dull) the mind.  They offer 4 classes of service to suite every level of comfort and budget.

The country itself is beautiful!  A paradise offering a breadth of cultural and natural experiences to engage the mind, body and spirit!  No wonder Peter Jackson uses the country as the stage for his blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy.  While the dramatic beauty is captivating, there are very (VERY) few people and very few mosquitoes!  AND NO snakes!  All good things in my book.

New Zealand offers a broad range of accommodation from some of the top lodges in the world to hostels and backpacker type accommodations.  Obviously am more familiar with the former over the later and will describe some of my favorites in a later post.   

Things to do…..golf, wine, surfing, hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, diving, art, history, food, kayaking, whale watching, BUNGY, geo-thermal, heli-anything, hunting….and probably tons more! 

More to come!

 

To Mexico or Not to Mexico.....Part DOS....

As the reports roll in from all the Spring Breakers, I must say that the happiest people are those that went to....drumroll....MEXICO! Over the top, hands down, most awesome, most excited people that I have talked to went to Mexico.

AND, of those....Capella tops the list of awesome resorts. I had people at Capella Pedregal and Capella Ixtapa....

"Thank you for assuring me that this was exactly what I was looking for! Capella was amazing!"

"OMGoodness!! LOVED my stay. THANK YOU. The staff was so wonderful. They all took very good care of me. Just as you'd promised. The week was relaxing and peaceful. The view was gorgeous and oh, how I miss that ocean...Thanks again, Denise. Spot on!!!

Just sayin.....