Veneto – bellisimo! Part 1: Trieste

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Continuing our journey through some of the underrated cities of Europe, our Slovenian friends drove us to Trieste – sort of like driving to, oh, maybe New Haven. After three vineyards and one enormous lunch we arrived to the evening light that has so captivated artists throughout the centuries. We were not immune. Yes, a little gritty around the edges,… Read more »

Along the Dalmatian Coast

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  When our daughter invited us to join her and her family in Croatia we jumped at the chance! Our last trip to the country formerly known as Yugoslavia was in 1972 when we camped along the coast before driving inland and south to Greece and Turkey. At the time, it was not only a barren and rocky landscape, but… Read more »

Seeing the Northeast anew

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I love having guests from faraway places–in this case, our dear friends Laurence and François Roy from Montaigu, France. They love history, adventures and good food and wine as we do, and François is also a bird expert, which added and new and fun aspect to our travels together. We started out in New York and thanks to Marriott Points,… Read more »

Mariage à Marseille

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Can’t believe I never posted our adventures in Marseille–currently our favorite French city! Adrienne has been our friend since before she was born, but when we were first invited to her wedding in Marseille, we decided we really couldn’t afford a long weekend in Marseille. Then one summer evening, a glass of rosé in hand, Ray said “We should go to… Read more »

Cape of Good Hope

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Ever since the fifth grade when we learned about the Explorers, I have been fascinated by both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. They seemed such an intoxicating blend of danger and wild beauty. I never expected to see one of them in person, but when the South Africa trip emerged as a reality, I knew a visit… Read more »

Cape Town

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Dazzled. That’s the word. Also totally smitten. I have run out of words to describe the beauty and wonder of South Africa. Gorgeous, amazing, stunning, awesome, fantastic. I’m sure I’ve used them all and none too sparingly. But I have yet to evoke that amped up state of my emotions, the it’s-so-great-to-be-alive exhilaration that I almost always experience when I… Read more »

Waterkloof: Biodynamic vineyard and world class restaurant

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Waterkloof was our raison d’être–that is, our original idea to come to South Africa was because of Ray’s relationship with the son of the owner. Unlike the grand old vineyard estates closer to Stellenbosch, which closely resembled those in Napa or in France, Waterkloof is at once ultra-modern and really old-fashioned. This biodynamic farm uses horses to plow its fields,… Read more »

Wine Country

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We left Oudtshoorn and headed west on Route 62, and after a couple of hours of driving we crossed into wine country. Suddenly the desert was behind us and the vegetation became more lush. There were also more people in the towns we drove through, and more restaurants. It was lunch time so we consulted with Trip Advisor, which incidentally… Read more »

The Karoo

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I think I had maybe heard the word Karoo somewhere, sometime, but we really didn’t know what it was all about. Probably you don’t either. So this is the region in South Africa on the other side of the mountains that separate it from the lush coast. There is the Karoo, strictly speaking further north, and the little Karoo where… Read more »

The Garden Route and driving on the left!

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We were driven to the airport by Edgar, another vivacious Xhosan, and Ray, of course, got his whole life story. Leaving the reserve we saw the most majestic gathering of animals of the whole trip! We left the tiny Hoedspriut airport (which, btw, was adorable!) and flew to Cape Town and then caught another plane to George, a medium sized… Read more »