[ROME, ITALY] — Here’s a post all about my favorite things to do in Rome after studying there for a year and over a half-dozen other trips. Here are the best things to do in Rome. What to do in Rome and the Top sites in Rome. It’s not everything, other guides do that throughly, just my favorite sites. I studied in Rome my junior year of college way back in 1981. Those were different days then, Italy had yet to join the EU, the city was falling apart, everything was broken, trash was everywhere, communist street protests every week, the lira was 1000 to the dollar and everything was cheap. The city was a mess back then, but it was Our Mess to explore
Continue reading…
[DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL] — After a harrowing Google Maps-led hair-brained shortcut through curvy mountains roads (umm guess who was Navigator ), we arrived with our seasick passengers… ready for a drink. We drove through a gated entrance to a wine estate, wound up the road straight into the vines. A teeny sign on the right said “Reception ↘︎”. We slammed on the brakes. (Groans from the back) “That can’t be it…”. What we couldn’t see was the building built into the side of the cliff below us. Unlike Google Maps, we trusted this little sign. We fell out of the rental van, stumbled down the flinty steps and KABOOM. The view we were looking for. Just as Ana has prescribed. We walk into the Reception
[DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL] — I see all these Instagram peeps hitting Porto taking pictures of the big bridge, climbing up its steep hills, drinking some port and then bolting. But really what they’re missing is a day trip (or longer) up the Douro River to visit the incredible, hilly stair-step vineyards of the Douro Valley, one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. I dunno, I’m over wine tours, once you see a few, they’re all the same to me — “Is that French oak or American? How long in stainless??” — poke me in the eye with a stick…but that’s just me… But the Douro Valley is different. Hilly. Steep. Flinty mounds of luscious green heaven pouring down to a mellow meandering river. Each
[LONDON] — A review of The Ned boutique hotel in London. The Ned is my vote for the best boutique hotel in London. And it has a collection of the best restaurants in London. You may never want to leave. ________________________________ You could feel the early Christmas season in the electric air. It was 4:30 on a Friday and the place was packed in every direction you turned, shoulder to shoulder in most places, everyone dressed up a little more festive than other weeks of the year, smiling, toasting success. It was dark in center of the great grand lobby, ninety four green marble columns rising thirty feet into the air, each with a top hat of shiny acanthus leaves, in a Corinthian way. The
[PIEMONTE, ITALY] — Two hours off my overnight flight, I was still goating and my Terrier hair was going in every direction. My GPS had inexplicably sent me through a frantic detour through the Centro of the Turin on my way to the land of Barolo and I was running late. Pulling down the gravel road and into the parking, my friend and host Jon and his 8 year old son greeted me as he sprinted down the steps of his house, La Casa Gialla. I was here for the wine harvest in Barolo, one of the best wine regions in the world. “Oh man, glad you’re here. I was just heading to a wine tasting, want to come along?” “Certo.” We raced across the
[PYLA-SUR-MER, FRANCE] — A review of Philippe Starck’s amazing design hotel La Co(o)rniche. One of France’s top design hotels, perched overlooking Europe’s largest sand dune, the Dune du Pilat in Pyla-sur-Mer France. Setting The Stage — The Amazing Dune du Pilat I didn’t even know this beast was here. Never heard a squeak of this giant dune before. I actually came here in search of a beautiful hotel which mentioned its prime location next to the Dune du Pilat, about an hour south of Bordeaux. But when I pulled up, holy cow! My dumb fortunate luck led me to yet another amazing natural phenomenon — the largest sand dune in Europe. Almost 3km long and about 110m (300 ft) high, this giant Gibraltar of sand stands between
[BERLIN] — I’d been working like crazy for the last several months of last year and was itchin’ to go somewhere, like rightnow, over the American Thanksgiving holiday, a perfect time to slip away. Found a cheap flight on Lufthansa five days before leaving and scrambled to find a hotel. I hadn’t had much time to investigate where to stay and scouring Tablet Hotels nearly everything was completely booked by smarter, more forward-thinking people. I’d been seeing great posts from my Instagram peeps about a cool boutique hotel called Das Stue — it claims to be Berlin’s first boutique hotel. At first, there were no avails. But then I checked back again and rooms had suddenly opened up. I booked it on the spot, no time to think.
[BARCELONA] — I know I’m in the minority in being a steadfast fan of boutique hotels these days, whilst the rest of you are Airbnb’n, but I still am bullish on the whole hotel experience. In fact, I usually book my vacations around the hotel, often traveling far and wide just to visit a special place. Barcelona has been almost overrun by Airbnbs, so much so that whole apartment buildings are being converted by investors into full-on apartment rentals — much to the scorn of local residents, pushed out by reasonable growing rents. But just before the HomeAway trend hit BCN, a flurry of boutique hotels were built, high on style, funky design and cool restaurants, dramatically increasing this great city’s inventory of cool places
[PRAGUE] — This is going to be a pretty easy post for you, more of a postcard travelogue. I think I am the last guy to visit Prague, but I slapped it on to an over-Christmas trip to Brussels just to see what it’s like and have some beer. Pretty city. Too many tourists for me. Granted, it was a holiday, but I feel sorry that it was so overrun. But it definitely is a beautiful city. These are the best things I’ve found to do over a winter weekend in Prague. Especially during a Christmas holiday weekend in Prague. Click to open the slideshow and follow along. There are other, better, already-done guides to Prague, a million of them. Just think of this post
[BRUSSELS] — Trying to do a Mileage Run at the end of the year to top off the tanks, I found a cheap flight to Brussels, perfectly timed between Christmas and New Years, back by the end of the year. Just a couple of days before flying on to Prague. These are the best things I found over a Christmas weekend in Brussels. It was Christmas in 2015. The sad massive terrorist attacks in Paris had just occurred the month before and I wanted to show my support but not letting those acts change our world. Plus, my hunch was right that the airfares and upgrades would be cheap with a lot of cancellations. I left on Christmas Day, went to Brussels, a day trip
[BRUSSELS, BELGIUM] — This was the third Rocco Forte Hotel I’ve stayed in (and 7th time overall). I think it is just an exceptional little boutique hotel brand. They each have their own personality, don’t feel like a chain at all and totally cool design. I absolutely loved the Hotel Amigo in Brussels, the best boutique hotel in Brussels. I was in Brussels just for a two nights over Christmas before heading off to Prague. Here’s another post I made about Brussels. Just like the Hotel Savoy in Florence and the Hotel de Russie in Roma (my fave), the Hotel Amigo in Brussels is right where you want to be, but just enough away from The Crazy that you’re in your own little cocoon. Just a
[MILANO, ITALY] — I was sitting in a farmhouse in Provence reading Maisons Cote Sud thinking about where I wanted to go next. There was an article about this restored abandoned farmstead in the middle of Milan. I thought “wow, this is so cool.” I tore it out and added it to my Milan list. You’d never think there’d still be an old farmstead smack in the middle of Milano, but there is. Cascina Cuccagna is an old abandoned 18th Century agricultural complex that a group of local food lovers got together, hauled away the junk and turned the place into a cool food-centric hangout. It’s a culinary cultural center: a bar/cafe, a bookstore, a nice restaurant, an event space and an educational garden, all in
[CHICAGO]– I’ve stayed now a half-dozen times at this hotel, originally designed by famous hotelier Ian Schrager and opened as the PUBLIC hotel, it’s now called The Ambassador “Chicago’s original boutique hotel”. It still ranks as one of my favorite places to stay in Chicago and certainly my favorite Ian Schrager hotel. It’s now run This is one of my favorite lobby designs I’ve seen — that great combination of classic architecture and modern design — and everything was white-on-white, with good looking people dressed in black as props. It still feels as fresh as when it opened more than a decade ago. It’s now a Hyatt boutique brand and they’ve added a little more color, but still retained a lot of the same core
[BARCELONA, SPAIN] — There are lots and lots of Barcelona guides, so I won’t go into much detail here, just think of this post like an old postcard rack at the train station, look for places that look good, then go find them. These are all my favorite places in Barcelona. The Best Things to Do in Barcelona, at least the best things to do over a winter weekend in Barcelona. I won’t go into much detail here, others have already done it. Just think of this post like a cluttered old postcard rack at the train station. Look for places that look good to you, then go find them. I’ve been in and out of Barcelona a half dozen times. Sometimes just as an
[ROMA] — Here’s my review of Albergo del Senato boutique hotel overlooking The Pantheon in Rome. Photos of views, rooms and rooftop bar. With one of the best hotel room views in Rome. _____________________________ There are fancier places to stay in Rome, but one of my favorites is the Albergo del Senato, directly across from my favorite building in the world, The Pantheon. It is small, Old School, but delightful. You can’t beat the location, smack in the heart of everything good. And right around the corner from the best gelato in Rome, Giolitti. If you can’t get a guarantee from the hotel for a Pantheon view or don’t want to by extra, then there are other hotels I’d choose. (I once had a broom closet