Bonjour Colorado

Tour Mania Versus Zee Segway

The Segway Peloton of Paris

I’ve been thinking about whizzing around Paris these days.

It’s July and I’m consumed with The Tour. I’m referring to the Tour de France, as I’m sure you might have guessed.

I love watching the undulating ribbon of the peloton weave its way through France, but it’s in Paris on the last day of this epic bike race that this colorful procession mystifies me the most. I think it’s because Paris is so familiar to me: I’ve walked the great length of the Champs-Elysées countless times, wended my way around the expansive place de la Concorde, strolled beneath the arcades of the rue de Rivoli from Concorde to Palais Royal. Seeing the Tour de France posse (caravan, cyclists, team cars, press and officials) dominate this familiar terrain mesmerizes me the most. How incredibly fitting it is to have some of the world’s finest athletes power over the same routes reserved for royalty and heads of state.

If you’re not able to be in the City of Light on the final day of this great race, I encourage you to at least catch part of the last stage on T.V. Even the lively commentary of the sportscasters can’t drone out the pack’s thunderous rumble over the cobbles, the resounding swoosh and whir as they travel along Paris’s centuries-old streets.

If you’re at all like me, you’ll also be envious of the racers having the streets of Paris to themselves. Quel bonheur! Can you imagine how great that feels, pedaling through these historic streets at lightening speed?

There’s nothing like experiencing a place from a bicycle or I suppose, even a Segway. I’m reminded of this every time I hop on a bike but it really hit home recently when a friend told me about how he breezed around Paris standing head and shoulders above the masses. He had taken a Segway tour and visited a good number of Paris’s best-loved sites and monuments in a flash, without the inconveniences of sore feet or having to get on and off a bus a ton of times.

“You mean one of those goofy looking motorized vehicles that has you riding around town perfectly upright?” I asked.

“You betcha,” my friend replied. “They’re really cool. And comfortable, too.”

In my mind I had a hard time getting past the Sci Fi look of these two-wheeled vehicles. My otherworldly impressions of these personal transporters were further reinforced when my friend told me that you lean forward to go forward, backward to go backward.

Hmmmm. I instantly visualized my friend to-ing and fro-ing through the streets of Paris. This image was juxtaposed with a flash of the peloton rounding the top of the Champs-Elysées in a sort of hairpin turn fashion requiring the riders to lean into the turn in order to maintain balance on the bike.

“Sounds revolutionary,” I remarked, half jokingly. Yet I became truly intrigued when I learned that these Segways are driven by electric motors, a greener alternative to other personal transportation devices such as mopeds and motorcycles, both of which occupy a good amount of Paris road space along with its usual clog of motorized vehicles.

Cycling around Paris has become increasingly alluring to me, especially with the city emerging as a more biker friendly metropolis. But now I have Segways to consider. I suddenly feel intrigued, especially by the contrast of this Modern World transportation in Old World Paris.

I can’t help wondering what the Tour de France riders might think of the Segways. Cancel that thought. Fun is fun.

I made a mental note to check out these zippy personal transporters next time I’m in the French capital. For now though I’m really looking forward to cruising around Paris with the guys from the Tour on Sunday, July 25th. What a beautiful sight indeed!

Fat Tire Bike Tours Paris, FatTireBikeTours.com/Paris

City Segway Tours Paris, CitySegwayTours.com/Paris

Note that these above companies operate bike, Segway and walking tours in other major cities and tourist destinations around the world.  Do check them out!

If you’re a Tour de France fan, be sure to listen to my interview with Graham Watson, renowned photographer of the Tour.  You can also read about it and see some of his stunning images here.

Ready, Get Set, Go!

Come to Colorado for Cowboys and Way More

T-ride's Town Park: the Quintessential Summer Festival Setting

Summer has popped here in Colorado propelling the season into a solid start. I wrote over a month ago in a previous post about how I attended two major tourism industry events last fall: one for France, one for Colorado. The mood at both gatherings was one of cautious optimism, although I’m sure the French nervosité about their tourism outlook was partly masked by the generous amounts of wine served throughout their program. It seems as though travel to these two fabulous destinations is shaping up nicely, perhaps even better than the travel industry experts might have hoped last fall.

I had a chance to schmooze with many of the movers and shakers from the Colorado travel world at the annual conference of the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association (CHLA) last November which took place at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, our Rocky Mountain state’s premiere property. As with French Affairs ’09, I only attended the social events of this meeting, get-togethers—both casual and high-brow (yes, even in Colorado)—that allowed many opportunities for networking and idea sharing among some of the top hoteliers in the state. I had just returned from the French travel industry event in New York City, so my desire to draw comparisons was sharper than ever. (If you’ve read this blog some, you know that France and Colorado are often my two frames of references, odd as that may seem!) Resulting verdict: the Coloradans’ professionalism—along with the food and wine they serve at their travel industry events—rivals the level of excellence associated with French hospitality.

Better yet, the notion of friendly service seemed to be emphasized even more at the CHLA event. Perhaps that was largely due to the fact that Karyn Ruth White, motivational comedian/author, kicked off the conference with a stand up routine, entitled Laughing in the Face of Stress for Service Professionals. She delivered a very funny, very real look at the pressures, demands and frustrations that come with working in the customer service field. Karyn Ruth emphasizes the importance of “humortunities,” opportunities for injecting humor into stressful and unpleasant situations. We shuffled off to the Wild, Wild West reception, chuckling about the often craziness of travel and how we—as both travelers and travel professionals—would fare better if we approached certain happenings and encounters with more levity.

I think I’ll try some of Karyn Ruth’s recommendations on the French next time I travel to Paris or the provinces. There must be a clever way of laughing off “Ce n’est pas possible, madame.” Listen to the podcast of an interview I did with Karyn Ruth for lots of laughs.

Here in Telluride, we’re in full festival mode. Like most of the other Rocky Mountain towns, festivals dominate our summer scene. But in T-ride, we’re king of the festivals, many of which have been taking place for well over three decades. The Telluride Bluegrass Festival drew near record-breaking numbers last weekend, ringing in the beginning of summer with four days of extraordinary music, good fun and irrepressible sunshine. This weekend it’s Telluride Wine Festival’s turn, then the Plein Air Festivals in Telluride and Aspen are up.  And the happy beat goes on—as throughout most of Colorado—all the way until the end of September.

No wonder so many people come here to vacation in the summer. And you might have thought we’re just all about cowboys, hikers and hippies. Thankfully we have them, too, but we also have a culture and sophistication that rivals most European destinations.

This is actually a good part of the reason I live here.

Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association, ColoradoLodging.com; contact them to receive your complimentary copy of the Summer Vacation Planner.

Thank you to Merrick Chase, from Telluride Photography, for the photos that accompany this story.  You can purchase images of Colorado and more from Merrick’s site, TelluridePhotography.net.

A Sultry Summer Scene in Colorado

Sleek and Sustainable: Two Stellar Colorado Properties

Style-y Dining at Eight K at the Viceroy Snowmass

What does it mean to stay in a green hotel? In the case of The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at the base of Beaver Creek Mountain and the Viceroy Snowmass, it means stepping into a swanky world where sustainable luxury reigns supreme. I stayed at these two stunning resorts this past off-season and was highly impressed by their look and commitment to preserving the environment.

While on the premises I observed a certain amount of sustainable practices on my own, but I yearned to find out more. I posed the question “What makes a hotel green?” to Jeffery Burrel, Director of Operations of The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, and to Jeff David, General Manager of the Viceroy Snowmass, in a recent Travel Fun interview and was interested to hear about what goes into the development and operations of a sustainable property.  And I bet you will, too.  Here’s a short list of the environmentally-conscious building strategies and operational practices implemented in these and most other LEED-certified properties:

-Many of the building materials are sourced locally.  Expect lots of rich stonework and other natural elements.

-Some of the building materials come from post consumer/industrial recycled content.  The roof of The Westin Riverfront, for example, is made of recycled automobile tires.

-Lots of glass, made up of high-performance windows, assure sweeping views.

-Low and non-emitting paints, adhesives and carpets are utilized throughout to ensure healthy indoor air quality.

-Much of the resort’s electricity comes from renewable sources.

-Low-flow fixtures help to conserve water.

-High efficiency appliances are used in the kitchens.

-Housekeeping products tend to be non-toxic and non-allergenic.

In addition to the above, each resort implements a variety of other green-oriented practices.  At The Westin Riverfront I particularly appreciated the recycling bins in the kitchen and their huge emphasis on fitness.  ”We have more health and wellness space than banquet space,” says Jeffery Burrell.  Indeed I was totally won over by their outdoor saline lap pool which to me, is better than swimming in the ocean. (There’s no black line in the ocean.  And if you’re a serious swimmer, you want the black line.)  You can bet, too, that their saline natatorium is far better for your health and wellness than swimming in most chlorine-saturated pools.

The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa

At the Viceroy Snowmass, I noticed that the kitchen appliances were unplugged on a daily basis, a smart practice that I’ve since adopted at home.  This was also the first hotel where I found 16-ounce bottles of amenities in the bathroom.  What a great idea! (See below for more of my thoughts on hotel amenities.)

Don’t for a moment think that cutting-edge and down-to-earth are mutually exclusive in either of these resorts.  At both The Westin Riverfront and the Viceroy Snowmass, I was especially impressed by their friendly and efficient service.  I also liked their many little touches such as the aluminum water bottle presented to you upon arrival at the Viceroy and the employee name tags stating each person’s passion at The Westin. Both of these features—especially the name tags—provide nice opportunities to engage warmly with the hotel staff.

And best of all, each of these resorts boast outstanding spas and restaurants that you can enjoy even if you’re not a guest of the hotel.  In fact both the Restaurant Avondale at The Westin Riverfront and Eight K Restaurant at the Viceroy Snowmass are immensely popular with the locals.  As for their spas, zen and nature have never come together in such a sensuous manner in both of these healing spaces.

The Plunge Pool at the Viceroy Snowmass

Click on the play button below to hear more about these great properties and green hotels in general.

Friday Afternoon Summer Scene at the Avondale Deck

Summer Highlights

Definitely take in the FAC (Friday Afternoon Club) at Avondale at The Westin Riverfront.  It’s the happening place in Beaver Creek and the whole Vail Valley where people come to enjoy the restaurant’s expansive, south-facing deck, the beautiful mountain views and the sizzling vibe.

This is the first summer that the Elk Camp Gondola in Snowmass is running.  What a great way to be whisked from base camp to tons of hiking, biking, wildflower viewing, free concerts and more.

Summer Sailing in Snowmass

Breaking My Addiction to Mini Potions and Lotions

If you read some of my recent posts, you’ll learn that I’m swearing myself off of plastic.  (Or at least greatly minimizing it in my life.)  Shortly after this declaration, I realized that that meant I’d have to give up on amassing most of the in-room hotel amenities that came to be a treasured part of many of my hotel stays. Yes, I admit I was one of those persons that would hoard shampoos, conditioners, bath gels, cotton swabs, shower caps, shoe cleaners, you name it.  I would piggishly stash them in my suitcase on a daily basis so that housekeeping would leave behind a fresh supply.  I have a collection of minis that take up a huge storage bin beneath my bathroom sink. My hunny, Steve Togni, G.M. of the Mountain Lodge in Telluride, swears that all these hotel amenities are of inferior quality in any event.  I ignore him and relish my supply of goods, many of which bear the name of renowned brands of beauty products such as Floris or of hotels such as La Mamounia in Marocco.  Sometimes as in the case of many fine French hotels, I’ve been lucky enough to collect miniatures that boast both a big name brand and a big name hotel.

These little take-aways have been my precious souvenirs for decades to be used parsimoniously at home (or even gifted to others!) like treasured tchotchkes from a faraway land.  But from now on they will no longer be a part of my travel experience.  I will no longer perpetuate this addiction to plastic.  (Worst of all, many of these products are not packaged in recyclable containers.)  Ugh, such is the price of consciousness.

And then just two weeks after having sworn myself off of hotel amenities don’t I find an assortment of BeeKind products, a collection of Gilchrist & Soames environmentally-friendly in-room amenities, gracing the edge of the vanity at the Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs, a down-home styled hotel in nearby Ouray, Colorado where Steve and I experienced a little getaway.  We read the labels on these paper bottles, looked at each other approvingly, smiled, grabbed a couple each and tucked them into our bags.

I think we’ll do just fine with this shift to green travel after all.

Thank you to Jeremy Swanson for the photo of the Aspen/Snowmass gondola.

Brand New Me

Plastic Mania at MountainFilm

My life is forever changed. From now on I will live every day in a more conscious manner in an effort to break myself of the plastic addiction that I have clearly been suffering from for the better part of my life. I will approach every aspect of my life—from a beauty product purchase to how I deal with recyclables—with a new awareness about how my actions effect the world, my health and the health and well being of those around me. I embrace this brand new me and hope you’ll come along with me on this journey.

I’ve considered myself a green person for quite some time. I think I first began to recycle when I moved to Paris in 1984. There was a glass recycling receptacle on every street corner which made it easy to adopt good practices of sorting garbage. When I moved back to the States over ten years later, recycling was in full swing yet I still had to make the effort to load up my car to drop off my recyclables at a recycling center a few miles away. In the beginning I thought my other environmentally aware efforts bordered on compulsive or at the very least quirky: rinsing Saran wrap, Ziploc bags and foil and then hanging them out to dry a gazillion times over, cutting open tubes of cream and the like to scrape out the last remaining bit of product, you get the idea. Other habits such as covering a dish with a plate in the fridge (instead of plastic wrap) just seemed to implement a dose of common sense. And in the past couple of years in addition to living a very simple life that involves limited travel (yes, it’s true, especially in cars) and minimal waste of any kind, I’ve been careful to cart my own water bottle along with my personal supply of shopping bags whenever I leave my home. At least most of the time.

After having seen the movie “Bag It” this past weekend at MountainFilm here in Telluride, I realized that none of the above has been nearly good enough. It answered the question that most of us dare not think about: Where does all this plastic go anyway? It does not just go away. It is polluting ourselves and our world in more ways than you could imagine. Filmmaker and Telluride local Suzan Beraza takes us on a marvelous journey from our pristine mountain town to the floating “island” of plastic and other debris swirling around in the north Pacific gyre, estimated to be more than twice the size of Texas. The story is told through another Tellurider, Jeb Berrier, our resident thespian and funnyman, who relates this grim tale with well-proportioned doses of humor, wit and intelligence. The human factor rises exponentially when a major event in Jeb’s personal life forces him to look even more closely at the effects of plastic in our world. “Bag It” is indisputably the most entertaining and moving documentary I’ve ever seen. It has informed and motivated me enough to want to really make a difference in my life and hopefully to spread that message to others through this blog, my own example and my Travel Fun radio show. (I’ll be having Suzan on as a guest sometime soon—she has some great green travel tips as well!)

This is the kind of information, inspiration and yes, hope you get at MountainFilm. It’s more than a film festival. It’s an extraordinary four-day happening also filled with art exhibits, book signings, student workshops, social gatherings and presentations by outstanding adventurers, leaders and keen observers from a variety of realms. It’s about celebrating the indomitable spirit of all while calling attention to what is possible in the world. I was blown away by the opening day symposium that tackled extinction, a problem we now face at an alarming rate. The biosphere is hanging in a delicate balance and only we can bring about that change.  (Consuming less energy would certainly help to create that shift for example. Did you know that plastic bags and bottles are made of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas?)

Stimulating Conversations Galore at MountainFilm

Since it’s MountainFilm, I was also awed by movies of great mountain adventure such as “The Wildest Dream,” the tale of George Mallory’s obsession with Mt. Everest and Conrad Anker’s obsession with Mallory. Another outdoor exploit took me to the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East in the film “Eastern Rises,” an entertaining documentary about the fly fishing trip-of-a-lifetime for a group of funny dudes.

Conrad Anker (rt) and His Climbing Partner, Leo, on the Summit of Everest

“I am,” the film by Hollywood heavyweight Tom Shadyac, also greatly moved me. As with many of the other films in the festival it provided insight into how one can truly achieve happiness in our culture of consumption and how we can be more connected to the world we live in. Both “I am” and “Bag It” received the Audience Choice Award for Favorite Film at MountainFilm 2010. Click on the above links to see trailers of these memorable films, many of which may be purchased on DVD and/or viewed in a theater near you in the upcoming months.  Note that “I am” is so hot-off-the-press that there’s not yet a Web site for it.

There's Something for Everyone at MountainFilm

I must wrap this up now since I have much work to do. In addition to the usual, I now have to do things such as figure out how I can dispose of my garbage without using plastic bags and yes, even whip up a batch of yogurt since none of the ones available to me are sold in recyclable containers. (Apparently making yogurt at home is super easy.) Plus it appears that not everything is being recycled the way it should be, so it’s just better to try to wean myself off of plastic as much as possible. I have renewed hope though. I perused the What You Can Do list at the “Bag It” Web site which provides many answers and resources for creating a life less plastic. Most of all I’m buoyed up by the great wave of energy that rolled through this past weekend’s MountainFilm. Suddenly I don’t feel quite so ill about the oil spill in the Gulf. Maybe it’s a huge wake up call for us all. No one need feel totally disempowered, we can each begin to turn things around in our own way.

Check out more of what I’ve written on MountainFilm here and in my Ken Burns posting.

Know that MountainFilm goes on tour, so keep your eye out for it in case it comes to a city or town near you.

Thank you to MountainFilm and Melissa Plantz, Merrick Chase and Jennifer Koskinen for the above images.

The French Will Always Have Monet and Much More

One of Monet's Views of Rouen

I’ve been thinking lately about a couple of major gatherings I attended for the tourism industry last fall.  Both of my beloved lands were covered:  France and Colorado.  The French event, entitled French Affairs ’09, put on by Atout France (also known as the French Government Tourist Office and Maison de la France), took place in New York City.  I attended one full day and evening of this grand gathering of largely travel suppliers and tourism representatives, many of whom had traveled from as far away as France and Tahiti to promote their products and destinations to some of the most attentive travel experts in the U.S.  It was a whirlwind day, marked by fine wine and cuisine, tons of networking and colorful multi-media presentations of some of the most alluring regions of France and many other exotic French-y locales, such as Guadeloupe and Saint Bart’s.  (Some of our favorite island get-ways also fall beneath the umbrella of the French Tourism Office, hence the name Atout France, which I interpreted as a play on words of sorts meaning all of France although the exact translation of atout is asset.  Are you confused yet? )

Now that this year’s tourism season is well underway in France, I’m thinking about how it seems to be shaping up, especially in view of the somewhat jittery feelings that were echoed last fall as the French travel experts touted their products and services.  The elephant in the room—the world’s bad economy—was not dwelled upon too much and instead most everyone projected a wistful c’est la vie attitude.  Perhaps it was the copious amounts of French wine served at the luncheon, the farewell cocktail and the closing dinner, that contributed to such elevated spirits amid so much recessionary doom and gloom.  But I think it had more to do with the fact that the French have seen hard times before and with such extraordinary tourism destinations as Paris, Burgundy, the Côte d’Azur, Saint-Martin and much more, worrying doesn’t make much sense anyway.

So here we are with the euro at a four-year low against the dollar.  Who could think of a better time to visit France?  Sure, there might be a few concerns about flight cancellations due to ongoing eruptions from Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland’s troublesome volcano.  But at least lately glittering images from Cannes have overshadowed that news.  No, it seems as though there are more reasons for going to France in these upcoming months than what we’ve registered in a while.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Paris

Don’t miss the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at the Petit Palais, the first-ever retrospective of this revolutionary French fashion designer.  You have until 29 August to view this much-talked-about show.

Antibes Juan les Pins

The celebrated Jazz à Juan festival marks its 50th anniversary this July.  As the longest running jazz festival in Europe, it promises to be steamy hot with a lineup that includes George Benson, Diana Krall and Maceo Parker.  There’s nothing like being serenaded by world-class jazz as a cool breeze blows through the nearby palm trees.

Normandy

The Impressionists drew inspiration from the many varied subjects of this beloved region of France, including its verdant countryside, its ports and its major sites.  (Claude Monet captured the many different allures of the Rouen Cathedral in more than thirty paintings.)  This year the region of Normandy pays homage to the indelible mark left by the Impressionists by launching the Normandy Impressionist Festival that runs through September.  Expect lots of culture, fun events and great restaurant and lodging packages both in Rouen and throughout the region.

These happenings and more were highlighted at this French travel industry event.  Find out about others—islands included—at FranceGuide.com, the French Government Tourist Office’s official site.  There you’ll also find links to some attractive travel deals.

We’re ramping up for the summer season in Colorado now.  It’s still pretty bleak here in the mountains but that should all change by mid June.  I’ll report on the Colorado tourism industry event and how the season is shaping up in an upcoming posting.  As you know, spring is the time to be in France.  Here, it’s still mud season and snow remains in the forecast for the mountains the next couple of days. Tant pis, c’est la vie.

Thank you to Catherine Lancien et Carole Loisel, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Rouen and Rouen Tourisme for the use of the above image.