I’m lucky to live in California’s Sonoma Valley wine country, where we have a large Mexican population and many authentic Mexican restaurants and food trucks. I don’t need to cook Mexican cuisine, but I want to! Your “Foodies’ Pilgrimage in Mexico” starts here with guided and self-guided expeditions to San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City. One of my fav places to take a cooking class is the UNESCO World Heritage city of San Miguel de Allende. The good news is that this town is a foodie’s dream, with more than 350 restaurants and cafes; big, beautiful marketplaces, and several…
Author: Deep Culture Travel
A summer or fall bike trip in the Mosel Valley of Germany could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for your family. And it’s hard to beat Austin Adventures as your tour company—Travel + Leisure has named it “Top Tour Operator for Families” and one of the world’s “Top Tour Operators.” On the Germany Family Mosel Valley bike tour this July or August kids will love the castles and palaces; Pop Art at the Ludwig Museum; biking on gentle, mostly flat paths; Roman ruins, marketplaces, and curio shops, and the fun of cruising along the banks of the Sûre and Mosel rivers.…
The luxurious and historic Hacienda Petac in Mexico’s Yucatan offers a unique culture-focused vacation that keeps youngsters entertained and learning about the Mayan world while parents and grandparents enjoy the estate and go daytripping nearby. Near the city of Merida, on a 250-acre, 17th century estate, Hacienda Petac offers a children’s activity program that includes: Scavenger hunt in the Mérida food market where the family is introduced by the hacienda chef to the fruits, vegetables and spices of the area. Ingredients are gathered for an iconic Yucatécan dish (pah-ch’uhuk? ibes? espalone?) Sightseeing excursion around Mérida’s central square, with a stop…
Bringing children along to the California Wine Country can be tricky if winery visits are the main focus. Nonetheless, a couple of days of family fun can be found in the Anderson Valley, which is a couple of hours north of San Francisco (on the way to or from the coast). Kids seem to love the old-timey farms, the rustic eateries, a vintage general store, and the chance to run around under the redwoods. On an early-morning drive from Cloverdale, northwest on Highway 128, fog drifitng in from the nearby Mendocino Coast creates a magical scene of mossy oak forests…
In 1775, Spanish naval lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala sailed through the mouth of a vast bay in the New World, and cruised into a sheltered cove on his ship, the San Carlos, to be greeted by a few resident Miwok Indians. Soon after, the Spanish set up camp across the bay on the mainland, the Mexican army followed in 1821, and settlers began to arrive from across the country. In 1846, the flag of the United States was raised over the hardscrabble port town of Yerba Buena, soon to be renamed San Francisco. When gold was discovered in 1849,…
A snowy winter weekend in Québec that I’m hoping will inspire you to plan a winter holiday in Canada’s second oldest city—founded in 1608, and still a charmer after all these years! (An easy way to get there is to fly into Montreal and take the train—a very comfortable and scenic 3-hour ride.) Heading for a Christmas shopping trip in Québec City, my daughter and I gazed out of the train windows at the winter-gray St. Lawrence River sliding past, while a steady snowfall turned the dense woods and a procession of little villages into winter-white postcards. Three hours later,…
From Jenner north to Fort Bragg, the wintertime drama along the California North Coast can make for romantic weekends to remember. November through March, low-pressure systems roll in off the Pacific, one after another, and the tumultuous surf is thrilling to watch. Because this is California, it’s also common for blue skies to break through between tempests, and that is a magical time, when the sun glints on dripping evergreen branches and the beaches are treasure chests of driftwood, shells, and discoveries washed up by the pounding waves. Some travelers toast their tootsies and sip hot toddies by roaring fireplaces in snug bed-and-breakfast inns, while…
Exploring Yosemite in Winter Wandering the crystalline kingdom that is Yosemite National Park in the deep winter, I came across historical sites, wildlife, and cozy spots to warm my toes and sip a toddy while watching the silent snowfall. Shallow snow crunched under my boots as I walked the path along the Merced River, a few hundred yards from Yosemite Valley Lodge. I was alone amid ice-glazed cottonwoods and tall, frosted grasses reflected in the dark mirror of the river. Although a rushing torrent filled with snowmelt in the spring, in mid-winter, the river barely sighs as it moves between…
When the weather outside is frightful at Lake Tahoe, skiers and snow bunnies head for the fireplaces and the fire pits, the hot springs and all those other tootsie-toasting spots around the lake. Even if you can’t imagine plunging down an icy slope in the freezing cold, don’t hesitate to plan a winter weekend at Tahoe, where you can while away a frosty day or two with a book, a few hot toddies and your feet up by a roaring fire. North Shore Lake Tahoe As the sun sets over the largest alpine lake in North America, there is no…
Did you know that the Northern California Wine Country has enchanting small towns and villages hidden away in idyllic, lesser-known valleys? Far from the maddening crowds of wine tasters and merrymakers who flood Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties, here are some of my recent stories of great daytrips and weekend getaways in California Wine Country villages—waiting your discovery! Redwoods and Ravioli in Occidental In the late 19th century, the last stop west on the narrow-gauge North Pacific Coast Railroad was the village of Occidental, isolated high in dense redwood forests. An 1890’s account described a “well-built” town with “a…
In the rugged Sierra Nevada range, at altitudes from about 4,000 feet on the valley floor to 7,000+ feet at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park in the fall means rapidly changing weather, spectacular skies and cloud formations, and a pageant of shifting light against the soaring, silvery granite cliffs and the bouncing Merced River. It’s no wonder that some photographers fall so deeply in love with Yosemite in the fall that they never recover. After school starts, when most campers and day-trippers in the park are long gone, fall days are gloriously sparkling clear, with September temperatures in the 80s,…
Kicking off our new series, The 21st Century Pilgrim: Travel With a Purpose, here are three voyages for history buffs in Europe, the United States, and Greece, Egypt and India. London to Lisbon with Smithsonian Journeys and Dwight David Eisenhower II Tracing the American Revolution on Chesapeake Bay A Passage to Ancient Greece, Egypt and India London to Lisbon with Smithsonian Journeys and Dwight David Eisenhower II A rare opportunity to visit the WWII Normandy beaches with Dwight David Eisenhower II; immerse in Medieval history at Mont St. Michel; and stop at daily cultural attractions along the coastlines of Portugal,…
River cruises are wildly popular now, so popular that you must book now for a cruise in 2019, and even into 2020. Many 2019 cruises are booked solid, except for some late Fall and Winter departures. The explosion of river cruising is due to new ships with larger cabins and luxury amenities; unique and exotic destinations, and incentives for younger passengers, solo travelers, and multi-generational families (boomers do remain the main demographic). The newer ships are spacious, with tall windows, balconies, some fitness centers and even walking tracks. If you wonder if a river cruise will interrupt your daily workout…
Beyond the swimming pools, the palm trees and 200+ golf courses, the surprises of the sprawling, adjacent cities of Phoenix and Scottsdale are the abundant and rather flamboyant expressions of art and culture, from literally hundreds of outdoor art installations to truly unique museums and historic sites. When I arrive in Arizona’s “Valley of the Sun,” I first settle into a lounge chair with an umbrella-topped libation in hand, and wonder how I’ll manage to get around to all the cultural attractions. Museums in Phoenix and Scottsdale In twelve expansive galleries, the Heard Museum displays more than 40,000 pieces of fine American…
Can you imagine visitors spending just one day in San Francisco? (or in Yosemite or in L.A. ?). Well, in fact, many people do exactly that . . . it’s a bucket list thing. Nonetheless, even if you have only 24 hours in San Francisco, you and/or your visiting friends can enjoy a rewarding long day in the City by the Bay! One perfect day of sightseeing, noshing, shopping and art-viewing is easy to do on foot and by cable car, streetcar, or Uber, from Fisherman’s Wharf to Union Square and the museum mecca South of Market, topped off by…
A quiet hideaway within the Healdsburg Regional Library, the Sonoma County Wine Library is filled with natural light, comfortable seating, and a vast archive of treasures sure to delight even the most jaded oenophile. Library Curator, Megan Jones, welcomes wine industry researchers; students from the Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University wine studies programs; and food and wine journalists and authors, along with passionate wine lovers seeking to expand their knowledge of the grape. Jones grew up in a wine industry-related family in the Napa Valley and worked in wine libraries there until taking the reins in Healdsburg.…
As we watched deckside, our small Katrina Line cruise ship anchored alongside the Dalmatian coast shoreline of Brač Island and its Golden Horn Beach. Holding just 38 passengers, the Futura’s compact size fits into ports large ships can’t handle. Our eager group of sunbathers disembarked and clambered aboard small boats for the short ride to the golden sands. Once ashore, my husband and I decided to meander —— sunbathing could come later. Wandering Brač Island A short walk from the white pebble beach, signs along a tree-shaded promenade pointed the way to the village of Bol. Through the greenery, an impossibly blue bay glistened…
Can you imagine walking from Bodega Bay to Healdsburg? No? How about strolling just a few miles a day on quiet country roads, stopping for private winery tours, and arriving at a five-star B&B where your luggage is already in your room! Sounds like a natural idea for the Sonoma Wine Country, doesn’t it? In fact, Wine Country Trekking (WCT) is the only company based in this county that offers inn-to-inn, customized, self-guided walks. They do all the heavy lifting for their guests, from providing individualized, daily itineraries and topo maps to making the arrangements for VIP winery experiences, luxury…
As specialists in featuring the top cultural travel companies in the world, we know that their guided and self-guided tours often sell out early in the year. Not a moment to lose! Here you are – the latest Cultural Travel News and Tours (with more to come . . . ) ! PAINT IN FRANCE Specializing in cultural, cooking, and art workshops, French Escape will guide you to painting expeditions in the hilltop villages of the French Riviera from your base in the medieval town of Vence. You will sketch and paint ancient towns, castles and wild scenery, and spend…
As a frequent traveler, you may have experienced, as I have, that trips designed around a cultural theme or an intense personal interest can be the most rewarding. I am drawn to educational and transformational travel experiences that align with my passions and my specific interests. In this new series, The 21st Century Pilgrim: Travel with a Purpose, I’ll describe for you a variety of themed tours that are sure to enrich your life and make a pilgrim of you. You can take a trip, or you can make a pilgrimage, be a tourist, or a seeker of life-long learning…