Chris Around The World: Your Guide to Value Luxury Vacations
Unique, chic, boutique: Vacations for Sophisticated Travelers
As we sat on our ship’s outside veranda, passing the wooden homes and onion-domed churches of the Russian countryside along the Volga River, my husband let out a happy sigh. “I LIKE cruising,” he declared, taking another sip from his wine. Well, that’s a good thing. Because I’m thrilled to announce that as of July [...]
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Frequent readers of this blog know that visiting wineries is one of my favorite Value Luxury activities. The types of wine that a region serves give insight into the topography and geology of an area, in a more enticing way than than lecture. Plus on site visits allow you to pick up a few bottles [...]
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If you’ve taken a look at this blog before, you’ve seen that I’ve done more than my share of small ship cruising in the past few years. My voyages have ranged from sailing adventures in the Grenadines and the Spanish Virgin Islands to a nature- and kayaking-intensive trip to Alaska’s Inside Passage to a luxury [...]
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A fabulous weekend getaway to Napa could have turned sour when Hurricane Sandy forced most of our party’s outgoing flights back to the East Coast to be canceled. Nothing is a bigger buzzkill than airline problems. But the Philly women on the trip – my sister and several of her friends who work for Fortune [...]
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On my most recent assignment, I took a river cruise down the Danube on the River Adagio, a ship run by Grand Circle Travel. Founded by the same woman who created the AARP, the line caters to retirees and mature travelers. My husband Don and I were the youngest passengers on board, by several decades [...]
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This is the latest in a series of travel photos inspired by #FriFotos on Twitter. The theme of this week’s Photo Friday is TWO (in honor of the hashtag’s second anniversary). At the beginning of this month, I spent 12 days on the River Adagio, a river ship operated by Grand Circle Travel that plies the Lower [...]
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For aviation and travel geeks alike, one of the biggest travel stories over the past year has been the roll out of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The plane has been celebrated for its environmental advancements and innovative design. Boeing says that the 787 uses up to 20% less CO2 than similar aircraft, and has [...]
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The craft beer brewed at the end of the world comes to the table in an official-looking bottle, emblazoned with the logo of The Singular hotel, where its Chilean creator, 27-year-old Dario Matus, works. Matus serves as the sommelier at the hotel outside Puerto Natales in Chilean Patagonia, making sure that the boutique property’s wine list [...]
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Earlier this year, I wrote a story for USA TODAY’s Green Living Guide about LEED-certified hotels. As I did my research, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one national park property, the Cavallo Point Lodge in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, had reached Gold certification. I resolved to check it out in person as [...]
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With a flourish, Chef Ken Frank set the serving spoons in front of us during a press dinner at his restaurant, the Michelin-starred La Toque in the Westin Verasa Resort in Napa Valley. “This is my favorite preparation of foie gras,” he said, pointing out the fresh corn polenta and the chanterelle mushrooms. Hey, wait [...]
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