Category Archives: Holiday Travel

Eating Montreal

Montreal’s burgeoning food scene rivals any “best of” city, even my tasty little hometown of Portland, Maine. Glowing fruit and vegetables in mysterious heirloom varieties, divine buffalo mozzarella, robust cider vinegar, flinty wines, and oh, the duck! Pillowy gnocchi and … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, East Coast Travel, Farm-to-Table, Festivals, Food and Wine, Holiday Travel, International, Jazz Festival, Maine, Maine Travel, Montreal, Music, Off-the-beaten-track, Quebec | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Take A Bow

It’s a long and winding road to Montreal. Hours of rural Maine, New Hampshire and a tiny slice of Vermont zip by before we cross into the rolling hills of Canada. We pause at leafy Café Ailleurs for our annual bonjour … Continue reading

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Goodnight You Moonlight Ladies

James Taylor, dreamy 1970s pop/folk icon, returned to Tanglewood last night with his all-star band (including my jazz-crush, Steve Gadd) for a wondrous July 4 of song and sentiment. Taylor is a fixture here in the Berkshires, and this performance … Continue reading

Posted in East Coast Travel, Holiday Travel, Music, New England Travel | 1 Comment

Festa!

Here in Sicily, whatever the season and no matter where you are, there is a festival gearing up somewhere. Lucky for us, our little city of Noto is no exception. Every town has a patron saint — Palermo has Santa Rosalia, … Continue reading

Posted in Art and Culture, Festivals, Holiday Travel, International, Italian Travel, Off-the-beaten-track, Sicily, Travel | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ChoccOfficina Noto

This sun-drenched sleepy corner of Sicily is our home for a month. When we’re not pinching ourselves, we walk the ancient streets at a leisurely pace. We live here and are not in a hurry. We have coffee, dawdle over books, … Continue reading

Posted in Art and Culture, Chocolate, Farm-to-Table, Food and Wine, Holiday Travel, International, Italian Travel, Off-the-beaten-track, Sicily, Travel | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Dreaming of a Red Christmas

I arrive to a grim, gray and blizzardy Manhattan. I am longing to see RED. I trot to Museum of American Folk Art‘s exhibition of bright geometric quilts created by recuperating soldiers from wool uniforms — cleverly named, “War and … Continue reading

Posted in Art and Culture, East Coast Travel, Food and Wine, Holiday Travel, New York City, Theater, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Royal Pop-Up at Tempo Dulu

Lucky me – I’m invited to an eight-course Royal Thai dinner designed and prepared by Chef Goy Siwaporn, left, who hides a prodigious talent in her tiny frame. Best of all, the sparkling eight-course dinner is held at The Danforth … Continue reading

Posted in East Coast Travel, Food and Wine, Holiday Travel, Lobster, Magic, Maine, Maine Travel, New England Travel, Off-the-beaten-track, The Other Portland, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Manhattan Magic 2016

Lovely. Magical. The city-that-never-sleeps is aglow in twinkling lights, draped in mistletoe, holly and pine boughs. We haven’t slept much, and after bumpy flights and confusing arrival, my friend The Magician and I are starving. First things first. We head for Eataly’s … Continue reading

Posted in Art and Culture, Documentary Film, East Coast Travel, Food and Wine, Holiday Travel, Magic, New York City, Off-the-beaten-track, Theater, Travel | Leave a comment