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Category: Travel inspirations

GREAT MOMENTS WITH MY BROTHER ON THE BIG ISLAND, SUPERB DINNERS WITH CHEF MARLA AND GARY, AND TIME WITH FAMILY

It was great seeing Gary again! He came over from the Hilo side to spend a little time with us. Gary began making Garlic bread with a super sour dough. I bought raviolis from Genova Delicatessen in Walnut Creek, then froze and packed them before leaving for Hawaii. This has…

BALI’S ANCIENT VILLAGE OF TENGANAN. EXOTIC WEAVINGS AND A ROOSTER NAMED…LADY GAGA.

Many years ago Marla and I visited an amazing village while touring in East Bali. The village is called Tenganan. The villagers are known as the “Bali Aga people” and are the original aboriginal inhabitants of Bali. They were living in Bali long before the ancestors…

FASHION & TRAGEDY, DRAMA & CONFLICT, …CHRISTIAN DIOR & HIS COURAGEOUS SISTER CATHERINE…COCO CHANEL’S DARK SIDE EXPOSED…REMEMBRANCES OF TEXTILE FASHION AND HEROIC RESISTANCE IN PARIS.

Watching “The New Look” on Disney+ was very entertaining, with superb direction and great actors! The fascinating story sent me down a rabbit hole wanting to learn more about the history of the characters and the times. France during the Nazi occupation, the fashion industry, and decorative textiles…

SPAIN’S FASCINATING ANDALUSIA REGION. We’ll visit unique “white villages”, unusual Sentenil de las Bodegas, and beautiful Marbella.

I have fallen in love with Spain’s Andalusia region. The history and diversity of the area is breathtaking! I’ll take you on a visual tour of the “white villages”, amazing Sentil de las Bodegas, fabulous Ronda, and finish with beautiful Marbella. On a future…

WONDERFUL ANTHONY BOURDAIN QUOTES ON TRAVEL, FOOD,…AND LIFE.

“Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.” The writings of Anthony Bourdain have stayed with me over the years. I’ve included some of my favorites with images from my archives. I know the feeling of his quote above very well and have…

JOIN ME FOR A TOUR OF BEAUTIFUL FLORENCE

Florence is one of those totally unique cities which beckons one to return again and again. Like with most beautiful cities in Europe, early visits are like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw. I was fortunate to return and spend a…

EXPLORING BEAUTIFUL TEMPLES ON DOI SUTHEP MOUNTAIN IN CHIANG MAI INCLUDING A SECRET JUNGLE TEMPLE.

We planned a big exploration day for the grandsons in Chiang Mai with fabulous temple visits followed by an amazing immersion with elephants. AP Good Travel was our guide for this trip and we can’t recommend them highly enough!. We used them previously in 2019. Our first stop…

WONDROUS CHIANG MAI…MY FAVORITE CITY IN THAILAND…GRANDSON VAUGHAN PLAYS CHESS WITH THE 9 YEAR-OLD CHIANG MAI CHESS CHAMPION!

Chiang Mai was one our our prime furniture/accessory/antique sourcing areas for many years when Marla and I had our business. Only an hour flight north of hyperactive Bangkok, it has an unique old city charm with walls and moats and hundreds of beautiful and often elaborate Buddhist temples…

A BIG ADVENTURE WITH OUR GRANDSONS VAUGHAN AND OWEN TO SOUTHEAST ASIA. FIRST DESTINATION WAS THAILAND AND AMAZING BANGKOK

Marla and I took our grandsons Vaughan (18) and Owen (15) to Southeast Asia for a fabulous adventure last July. We took our oldest grandsons on a similar trip in 2019. Thailand was our first destination, an area we new well from both business and personal trips beginning in 1995…

MY ATTITUDE TRANSFORMATION

I’m back in the house after 1 and a half hours plowing and shoveling from a huge snowstorm. I was cold, and it was a little difficult, but I was actually pretty happy with a song in my head I couldn’t get rid of. For some…