Italy's Most Famous Export Rome

1. Leather goods

2. Fashion Clothing – Dulce & Gabbana, Versace, etc

3. Fashions for Less – McArthur Glen Designer Outlet is an easy ride from Rome via the Metro and the bus

4. Vintage Clothing and Shoes – Daily morning  market in the Via Sannio neighborhood

5. Gelato

Naples

6. Designer Chocolates – Gay Odin shops featuring spectacular chocolate Mt. Vesuvius

Venice

7. Murano Glass

8. Masks

Messina, Sicily

9. Ceramics – also found in Deruta

Florence

10. Jewelry – goldsmiths and jewelers along the Ponte Vecchio Bridge

**From Carnival Currents

The toboggan at the great wall

Family travel ranges from a trip to grandma’s in the same state or the cabin in Wisconsin or Disney World in Florida to a trip to Europe or an Alaskan cruise.  More and more families are tagging along on business trips with dad and taking advantage of the perks that brings.  I found a list for families who are looking for some exotic ideas.  This is from a travel professional who travels 6-8 weeks a year in Asia, Randy Lynch.  These are some great suggestions that will provide a fun filled vacation for everyone.  Call me if you want to try one, or more!

2009 Top 10 Favorite Asia Family Travel Experiences

1. Kyoto, Japan: Private Geisha dinner and girls’ “dress-up”
2. Chengdu, China: Private panda audience
3. Beijing, China: Toboggan down the Great Wall at Mutianyu
4. Siem Reap, Cambodia: Volunteer at COSO Orphanage & Donation to village water well
5. Mekong River: 2 day/1 night LuangSay Cruise on the Mekong River between Luang Prabang, Laos and Chiang Rai, Thailand
6. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Maesa Private Elephant Camp
7. Halong Bay, Vietnam: 2 day/1 night Junk Cruise
8. Guilin, China: Biking/Trekking/Chill at Hotel of Modern Art (HOMA)
9. Dali & Zhongdian, Yunnan China: The Linden Centre & Banyan Tree Ringha
10. Thailand & Vietnam: Family Beach Fun!

Forra in Chianti - 6 Bedrooms

Italy remains one of the most desirable destinations in Europe.  Villas make vacationing there more economical and allow a true Taste of Italy, living as a local.  Shopping in the markets, eating in local restaurants and meeting the residents of your village will make lasting impressions and perhaps even friends.  Villas are available in all shapes and sizes throughout Italy for parties as small as 1 looking for peace and quiet up to 20+ for a family or friends reunion.

Below is the summer/fall event calendar for Chianti, one of the most requested areas in Italy.  For villa pricing and choices, contact me.  Rates are as much as 25% off for some properties.

Castelnuovo Berardenga

Performance of Bruscello (Villa Chigi Saracini – Castelnuovo Berardengna) – 26/28/29 June. Theatrical performance in eight rhyme, that originates from antique traditions

Cinema and Chianti – (Villa Chigi Saracini, Castelnuovo Berardenga), 18-25 July. Every year this festival is dedicated to a great film director, with large screen projections, meetings with leading film characters, exhibitions…

Calici di Stelle- (Castelnuovo Berardenga) 10 August. Wine tasting and tasting of typical products, craft markets, shows

Passato e Presente (Festival Past and Present) – (Casetta/Montaperti) – the last week of August and the first week of September. Tradition festival, one of the most popular in the Siena territory. The historical battle of Monteaperti (mentioned even on the “Divina Commedia”, Dante Alighieri) is remembered with torchlight procession

Festa del Luca (Festival of Luca) – (San Gusmè) first 2 weeks of September. One of the more interesting and popular festival in the territory. Good quality of food and wine.

Festa dell’Uva (Festival of the Grape) – (Vagliagli) last week of September. Exhibition of carts accompanied by men and women in traditional costumes. Good food and wine.

Gaiole in Chianti

Mercatino medioevale dei SS. Pietro e Paolo (Gaiole in Chianti) 29 of June. Medieval market

Assalto al Castello di Meleto – (castello di meleto, Gaiole in Chianti) 29 of June. Medieval festival with music, exhibitions, gastronomy

Cicloraduno di biciclette d’epoca 01 October (Gaiole in Chianti)

Chianti Festival – (Gaiole in C. Radda in C. Castellina in C. Castelnuovo Berardenga) – 03-26 July. Performances.

Radda in Chianti

Festa del Perdono – (Radda in Chianti) – 29, 30, 31 August, 01 September. Music, gastronomy, wine

Greve in Chianti

Chianti in Rock – (Campo sportivo, Panzano in Chianti) 27 of June. Music and fun

AVIS in Piazza – (Piazza Landi, Strada in Chianti) 03, 04 05 July. Music, dancing, performances

Festa di Sant’Anna – (Sant’Anna, Greve in Chianti) – 25 July. Music and dancing

Rioni in Piazza – (Greve in Chianti) – 06 September. Handicraft’s market, parade, music, performances.

Vino al Vino – (Panzano in Chianti) – 11, 12, 13 September. Wine tasting

Stradainfiera – (Strada in Chianti) – 19, 20, 21 September. Music, gastronomy, markets

Festa delle Castagne (Festival of chestnuts)– (Lucolena in Chianti) – 17 and 18 October

Siena

Concerto della Banda “Città del Palio” – 30 June. Performance of the band with pop-modern and symphonic music 22h.

Palio , 2nd of July and 16th of August

Calici di Stelle – (Siena) – 10 August. Music, wine-tasting and typical products

Mercatino dell’antiquariato (Piazza del Mercato) – every 3rd Sunday. Antique dealing

Other areas

Chiusdino (SI) – Sagra del Ciaccino 01-03 August. Music and gastronomy

Radicofani (SI) - Festa del Raviolo di Contignano: 16-20 August. Music and gastronomy

Vivo d’Orcia (SI) - Sagra della Polenta August 2009. Music and gastronomy

Lion Kill

I’m at Thakadu Tent Lodge this evening after driving 2 hours from Sun City.  We are on the river and I am currently in my bed surrounded by mosquito netting.  My bed is turned down and the bug spray is sitting on the night stand, just in case.

We arrived this afternoon, had a lovely lunch and went and went on a game drive with local guide, Kaiser.  The hit of the game drive was finding a small lion pride that just made a zebra kill. 

 

Wildebeest at Thakadu Lodge

 

 

We saw blood on the road and downtrodden grass so we knew they were close.  Sure enough, a short distance off the road a young male lion was sitting there licking his chops.  You could see in the immediate distance the larger male picking up the remainder of the carcass and high-tailing off with it to safer ground.

We watched for many minutes while the young males strode around and then walked off to a take a nap, most likely.  It made for some good photos.  The video shows one of the young ones hauling a leg off to finish but you have to look closely.  It was quite exciting being in the midst of dinner, even if we were uninvited guests.

My Bedroom at Thakadu

Thakadu Young Male

Wildebeest at Thakadu Lodge

Kwazulu-Natal is the province of the Zulus and Shaka Khan and the Boer War.  It is a fascinating and lovely province offering both beach and game reserves.  It is not the quickest place to get to but I am finding that traveling in Africa takes time and patience.  I flew from Jo’burg to Richard’s Bay at 605am and then had a transfer of about an hour up to Stewart’s Farm where you can stay in an authentic Zulu boma overnight or just visit for the day and learn about Zulu life.  Sonya Newland, one of the owners, made all my all my arrangements for this portion of the trip through her company, Africa tours.  I visited the village and had breakfast with my traveling companion for this portion of the trip, Monika.

We met Douglas, our Zulu driver, and off we went north to Thonga Beach Lodge on the Indian Ocean.  That took another hour and a half to get to Coastal Cashew Factory, where the lodge vehicle picked us up.  The factory shop had empty shelves because they haven’t had production since December due to machinery breakdowns!   Another hour and a half and one flat tire later we arrived at Thonga Beach at 3pm. 

 

Flat Tire, repaired by a scuba tank

 

They held lunch for us on the deck and helped scare away the monkeys so we could eat.  The 12 huts are charming with a lovely bathroom and a huge bed.  Each one is separate and set into the hillside, some have a view of the beach but all are very romantic.  I headed out almost immediately for my first sundowner, which is a game drive and cocktails out in the bush or in our case by the lake watching the hippos. 

Thonga Beach

 

 

It was a couple that were scuba divers and myself and it was fun to talk to them about the country.  We were back by 630pm and headed to the bar for socializing before dinner on the deck.  What a civilized way to live.

Zulu Hut

Thanda Lodge

This place is over the top.  My room is a building!  It goes on forever and I am here as a single.  The Lodge has 9 buildings (rooms) and I was in #8.  You cannot walk alone between the lodge and your room in the evening because the resort is not fenced.  Thanda is a private fenced reserve of about 7ooo hectares.  This is a small reserve at the moment but they have plans to add more land over the ext few years.  Compare this to Kruger Park, the most well known park, which is bigger than Switzerland.   9 rooms, 3 vehicles and the park all to ourselves, it doesn’t get better than that.    No crowds at the sightings and plenty of opportunities for photos and just staring at the animals

As usual it took hours of driving and another flat tire before Monika and I arrived but we make it for tea prior to the game drive.  Game drives depart at 430pm and you are out for between 3-4 hours,

Thanda Lodge Bedroom Section

 depending on your luck.  I discovered I brought all the wrong clothes.  I could have left most of the shorts and short-sleeved shirts at home and substituted another pair of long pants and a few more long sleeve shirts plus a heavier windbreaker.  It is cold at 7pm and at 530am!

 

Ben was our guide and Nbeki was our tracker.  We got off to a good start with impala, zebras, white rhinos, giraffe, birds, warthog, wildebeest and even a leopard turtle (one of the Small five).  The experience of actually tracking lions and then driving through the bush to get next to a Cape buffalo or a rhino is breathtaking. 

Once you do a game drive I can see that the local zoo will have less appeal.  Ben and his wife are both guides at the resort and he was very knowledgeable about the area and the animals and photography.  We were 4 in the land rover and our companion had a camera with a huge lens that was new.  Ben was great about giving him tips on ISO and F stops so I poached some information to use on my new video/still shot camera.  It is my belated Christmas that Michael does not know he is buying me yet.  Made it much easier to get photos in low light at the end of the drive.

Dinner was in the boma with the staff providing the entertainment, Zulu singing and dancing.   A boma is an outdoor location where people gather to eat and socialize.  The food is what is served at a traditional South African braii or barbeque.  We had impala, crocodile brochettes and warthog sausages plus vegetable sides.  I ate it all.

 

Open to All

We were only at Thonga Beach for one night so I had to make sure I got to the beach before I left in the morning.  The beach is incredible.  Thonga is the only resort on it and it goes for miles, actually all the way up to Madagascar.  The photos do not do it justice.  The sand is white powder and the Indian Ocean water is warm.  There is good surf and you do have to be careful about the current but it is a perfect to end a trip to South Africa for a honeymoon or just to be able to relax after all the early morning 530am game drives.

 

Kevin and Bev, who operate the resort, are a delightful couple ready to make your stay there delightful.  They have a small curio shop with locally made Zulu handicrafts and a spa with the most reasonable treatment prices I have seen at any resort.  There is a small pool set in the lush gardens and there is that BEACH.

 

Cape of Good Hope

Today I am in Cape Town, South Africa.  After traveling what seemed like forever with crying babies I arrived last night to a beautiful boutique hotel called Dock House.  The bed is wider than my cabin on the ship, I think.  My room opens out on to the only piece of lawn in the waterfront area with a lovely pool and spa area.

Part of my room, Dock House

I will be heading up to Johannesburg later this week on the Blue Train and then to the game areas and a conference in Sun City.  Meanwhile, today we headed down to the Cape of Good Hope, the end of Africa.  We stopped to see the small African penguins making their nests and guarding their eggs.  One little man was so diligent carrying back one stick at a time to his mate’s nest.  He was working so hard!

African Penguins

 

Tomorrow I am headed out the winelands for some tastings.  I will update as much as possible since in the bush I may not have the chance.

 

Aruba Office

I am currently posting from Aruba from my office on the balcony of Dunkin Donuts.  I have a lovely view of the main shopping street directly across from the pink Royal Plaza and Iguana Joe’s.  Our cruise ship, the ms Zuiderdam, is here for the day and we are on our way to Curacao and the Panama Canal.  

 

The Iguana Bus just drove past with a giant iguana on top.  As a tour participant you would never lose that bus in the parking lot!  The weather is delightful at 84 and sunny and the jewelry shopping possibilities are endless!

 

View from My Aruba Office #1

 

View #2 from Aruba Office

If you are thinking about a vacation in the Caribbean, consider Aruba with it’s beautiful beaches and great weather.  Or consider a cruise that stops here so you can at least get a flavor of the island.  Too fun!

I spent the last 6 days in Mexico vacationing and inspecting some hotels.  My husband were there together but he opts out of the hotel inspections.  I , on the other hand, actually enjoy them.  I think that is an ocupational illness that affects we travel travel agents.

The week was cool and cloudy for Mexico but it was certainly better weather than in home town Chicago so we were good.  We spent the first 3 days at El Dorado Maroma, a small boutique hotel on Maroma, one of the Travel Channel’s top beaches.  This is an adult only property that encompasses an older eco-hotel called Mi Hotelito and a brand new section that includes swim up junior suites on the first floor and infinity pool junior  suites on the upper two floors.  The highlights of the place are the beach beds and the gourmet cuisine, both extremely romantic.   We had wonderful meals, beautifully presented and interesting mix of ingredients.  There is a small wedding chapel at the resort for destination weddings, which works perfectly for Catholic weddings.

Next to the hotel is the Maroma Beach activity area (not attached to the hotel) where you can sign up for horseback rides in the ocean or trail rides, all kinds of water sports, a catamaran sail ending with a obster dinner on the beach, ATV rides and much, much more, as they say on TV.  Buses bring guests from al the area hotels to participate in these experiences.  It is a great combination – the tranquility of the El Dorado Maroma and the available activities.

Our next 3 days were spent at the new Eden nh Riviera Maya, further north toward Cancun.  This is a much larger hotel at just under 500 rooms and a completely different experience.  It was opened on November 20 and it has great potential as a 5 star resort.  The rooms are all junior suites with either a tropical , ocean view or ocean front view.  Muted beige marble is throughout the hotel and the corridors are wide as are all of the public rooms.  The bathrooms have a huge walk in shower plus the large jacuzzi tub and a nice balcony. 

The pool area covers acres in the center of the buildings where there are pool beds, bridges, a swim up bar and lots of lounge chairs.  On the beach there are a good number of thatched umbrellas that provide shade.  There is a children’s pool in the center where the wee ones can be introduced to the water.  

On the far side of the hotel is Club Paradise where it is adults only.  The only difference in the room is that the jacuzzi is outside on the terraces.  They have their own pool, private restaurant, lounge with snacks and wireless internet connections.  They also have their own check in area and concierge.  The property is working to please all market segments.  The gym has all new equipment and the spa area is lovely with some interesting treatments at reasonable prices.

Everything is brand new and they have some service issues to work out.  Things need to move a bit faster, the food needs to be brought out warmer and the dinner reservation system needs to be streamlined.  The staff is very friendly and accommodating, though, and I think things will improve shortly.  They have to if the resort really wants to be 5 star.

I will write more on the other resorts I visited but did not stay at in the next post – Azul Beach, Azul Sensatori, Azul Five, El Dorado Royale and El Dorado Seaside Suites.  Viva Mexico.  It continues to provide a great vacation.