Art & Culture Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas Travel: Art & Culture Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas Travel
by maribeth
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Mid-Atlantic Discoveries: Baltimore
Historic Fell’s Point
When my boyfriend, Steve, asked me to accompany him to his brother’s wedding on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I didn’t expect that the trip would grow into such a big travel week (actually more like ten days). But I should have known that that would be the case since the travel writer in me itched for new experiences and, of course, it takes more doing than one flight to reach the Outer Banks from Telluride. It’s rare that I can go to a place and just BE; instead I seek to live it fully, gathering all kinds of information along the way, jotting down notes, doing what I can to find the story.
We flew from Denver to Baltimore and since I had never visited this major hub, I decided it was a must-see. It did not disappoint me in the slightest. We stayed our first night together on the east coast at The Admiral Fell Inn, a historic property on Fell’s Point, Baltimore’s original port and Maryland’s first National Historic District. (The area was spared destruction in the late sixties after a grassroots effort prevented construction of a highway plumb through this now happening neighborhood. Can you imagine?)
Once dominated by ship building and commerce, today Fell’s Point is a charming harbor side district characterized by centuries-old buildings, eclectic shops, lively taverns and cobbled streets made from bricks of granite used for ship ballast. Goods once flowed through the wharves and warehouses of Fell’s Point with as many as eighteen shipyards operating in the area, building hundreds of vessels. Many of these structures have recently been converted into fun spaces for people to live and play; others, such as the taverns, have existed for ages.
Beauty Colorado Mountain Living Spas Telluride: Beauty Colorado Mountain Living Spas Telluride
by maribeth
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Telluride’s Beauty Boutiques
Mountain Therapy at Mountain Lodge Telluride
I love the notion of a beauty boutique. I frequented Beauté Boutique in the seventeenth arrondissement of Paris for many years. It consisted of a sectioned off little space where (mostly) women had a variety of body parts attended to with the efficacy and regularity of a man’s visit to the barber shop. It was a totally no frills operation but women maintained their monthly appointments for a short menu of treatments that included waxings, pedicures and facials. “In France, all this is part of la hygiene personnelle,” la directrice once explained to me.
The approach in Telluride is not too unlike what I encountered in Paris. Here the salons and spas are considerably more inviting than my neighborhood beauty boutique in Paris but these purveyors of poufing and pampering are indeed accustomed to meeting the needs of an equally demanding clientele. In Telluride, many women remain just as committed to maintaining their beauté as the French. This sort of fervent dedication to spas and salons is somewhat unusual in America but in my Rocky Mountain town where the air is often single-digit-humidity dry and the sun beams hard and bright most days of the year, personal upkeep is more of a necessity than a luxury.
French Provinces Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas: French Provinces Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas The Beach
by maribeth
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Sizzling Sensations from Saint-Tropez
Sexy Saint-Tropez
O.K., I mentioned Saint-Tropez a few posts ago and I’m still tapping into a well of exhilarating emotions. What a scintillating town! And all under the guise of an old fishing village that exudes a delicious combination of Provençal charm and Côte d’Azur pizazz. It’s both glitzy and real. To me, it’s one of the most picturesque and authentic tourist destinations in the world. It’s also a great place for shopping and gallery going, so be sure to meander within the maze of old streets to seek out your favorite boutique. K. Jacques, renowned maker of sandals, is most definitely one of mine. You’ll also find lots of great pottery shops, antique dealers and fashion-forward clothing and accessories boutiques tucked within this glamorous enclave.
Hotel Byblos: A Saint-Tropez Classic
The celebrated Hotel Byblos is still the magical place to be for lodging, dining, drinks, spa treatments or lolling on the beach (hiding behind designer sunglasses in a skimpy little number, bien sur). The whole establishment is awash with cheerful, fresh colors characteristic of Provence and the French Riviera. The hotel has clearly not spared a dime in recent refurbishments since most of the rooms have been beautifully decorated in luxurious fabrics from leading French names Canovas, Frey and Lelievre. Here your beach experience is extended in bathrooms beautified with Italian marble, exotic tiles and polished pebbles. For further pampering, visit The Byblos Spa that features a host of treatments created exclusively by Sisley Cosmetics for Byblos. A stay here (and to Saint-Tropez) is not complete without dining at Spoon Byblos where you can enjoy Mediterranean-inspired cuisine along with an international wine selection. An Alain Ducasse restaurant, the first Spoon, opened over ten years ago in Paris, a highly successful concept that has been replicated in several other countries.
Aspen Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas The Rockies: Aspen Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Shopping Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
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Aspen Highlights
Best Summer Program in Aspen: Hike First Then Leave Lots of Time to Shop, Spa Go and Wine and Dine in the Chi-Chi Capital of The Rockies
Going to Aspen for a Tellurider is like going to the big city. Actually the level of sophistication one can experience in Aspen is more than what most cosmopolitan cities offer. I love checking out the shops, spas, restaurants and hotels and prefer to chince on my outdoor activities here in order to take in all the happening spots in this chic Rocky Mountain resort town.
Limelight’s New Look
I was holed up in Aspen for nearly six weeks this past off-season, ample time to return to some of my favorite haunts and discover new ones. I walked the streets some with my dad which is how I came to discover Limelight Lodge. He had stayed at this family-owned long-established hotel eons ago but now it touts an entirely new look. The original lodge was actually torn down and replaced by a sleek, new building that houses an expansive modern lobby/lounge area and style-y rooms outfitted with mini kitchenettes (fridge, microwave, coffee maker, silverware and plates). Aspen has never looked so cool, comfy and contemporary. I’m sure it’s quickly becoming the hotspot to stay in town.
Aspen Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies: Aspen Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
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Skiing and Spa Going: Part Two in Aspen
Pond Skimming at Aspen Highlands
Some nights ago I tuned into some pond skimming from Mammoth. I took a double take since we are almost in summer. Then I remembered that Mammoth Mountain doesn’t typically close until mid June; I also realized that I had switched on to RSN, or Resort Sports Network, a local’s favorite here in T-ride, a cable station that can satisfy a sports enthusiast’s hankering for outdoor adventure with the push of a button. The show that followed tracked some of the world’s most harrowing expeditions at both the North and South Poles. The channel was all about snow, risk taking and fun. And here it is mid June. Boy, do I love living in a ski town.
Pond skimming. The words themselves conjure up a variety of curious images. But I’m talking about some of the best end-of-season fun that can be had on skis and boards. I witnessed some impressive pond skimming late April of this year, the last weekend at Aspen Highlands. Crazy kids young and old challenged themselves and wooed the crowd by plunging from atop the hill onto a manmade pond hoping they had gauged their speed and balance enough to carry them across the water. Plouf! Inevitably a few unlucky souls didn’t quite make it. The audience howled.
I’ve since carefully stowed my skis away but thoughts of skiing and the upcoming ski season aren’t too far out of mind. The season ended on a particularly sweet note, so I can’t help looking forward to what next season will bring.
It has become a tradition of mine to ski Aspen once Telluride closes and I willingly obliged to this rite of spring again this year. I actually had been staying in Aspen a good part of off-season with my dad, so it was a given that I’d close the season much as I had in the past, especially since the Highlands opened for an additional two weekends. (Let’s hope they’ll do it again next year.) This year though I was going to be with Steve, my sweetie, and I knew that our last day would mark the end of a very full ski season spent as much happily together as apart. My brother, David, and his wife, Geri, also planned to join us, so it seemed we’d all strike a celebratory chord together throughout our last turns.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Music & Dance Restaurants Skiing & Snowboarding Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
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Skiing and Spa Going: Part One in Vail, Colorado
Après Ski Necessities at Vail Plaza Hotel & Club
What? Don’t tell me you’re tired of hearing about skiing. While most die-hard skiers are still plowing through mashed potatoes and corn snow at ski areas such as A-Basin in Colorado and Mammoth Mountain in California, most of us ardent ski buffs have finally resigned ourselves to hanging up our skis for the season. But smart travelers should begin contemplating next season.
If any of you out there (devoted readers, for example) have been waiting with bated breath to read about my weekend with Steve (see Weekend Expectations blog below), I can tell you our time together scored exceedingly high marks. We, in fact, spent two weekends in a row together in April experiencing end-of-ski-season bliss. Plus we learned that spring is a great time to ski and spa go without dealing with the crowds. Bargains are excellent during this time as well. (The same, of course, holds true for early season in November and the first half of December.)
Vail and Its Fairytale-Like Village
We zipped off to Vail after Telluride officially closed to experience the fun and fanfare of their closing weekend. A spring storm dumped impressive amounts of snow on the mountain beginning the Thursday before. Had it not been for Steve nursing an extremely sore back (from apparently having skied too hard the previous weekend in T-ride which had also benefited from an outstanding snowfall at its closing), I would have feared more powder day problems. Instead we carried on like two lovers on a weekend getaway where skiing and mountain fun entered into only part of the equation (wink, wink).
I had only been to Vail once before many years ago for my PSIA (Professional Ski Instructor of America) certification, so this time I was eager to discover it for real. Steve gladly toured me around Vail’s renowned back bowls and I was thrilled to find myself cruising on black terrain considerably softer than what we have in T-ride. (Of course I love our steeps but they do require more effort.) After just a few hours of skiing, however, Steve declared that his back had had enough. That was fine with me since by then I felt as though I had a good grasp of the mountain and looked forward to the day when I could return and really wear myself out at this world renowned resort.
This left us with time to explore Vail Village, a pedestrian-friendly assemblage of shops, restaurants, bars and places of lodging that truly made us feel like we were on vacation. One might look at this Bavarian-inspired hamlet as hokey (I have in the past), but it really does transport you to a faraway land and we jumped on for the ride. Steve, with his family ties to the Italian Alps, pointed out how authentic these alpine chalets really were in their construction and interpretation. This enchanted me even more, so I suggested we stop for a coffee and a strudel at Hotel-Gastof Gramshammer, one of the more charming wooden establishments in the area, founded in 1965 by Austrians Sheika and Pepi Gramshammer.
It was a good choice. We sat at their German beer garden terrace and then later discovered that this classic alpine establishment also housed two other restaurants, a particularly animated bar and hotel rooms above. I wasn’t sure whether I was more wooed by its charm or Steve’s attentiveness.
Art & Culture Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas Travel: Art & Culture Budapest Eastern Europe Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas Travel
by maribeth
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Budapest: For Lovers Young and Not-So Young
A Glittering City
People often tell me they live vicariously through me. Generally they’re referring to my travel adventures and stories rather than the more tedious aspects of my single woman’s life, I imagine. (Although my romantic encounters can, I suppose, be sometimes viewed as out of the ordinary!) I rarely envy other peoples’ travels, mostly because I often see them as uniquely their own. But recently I arranged for my friend, Denise, and her husband, Alan, to go on a trip where I imagined myself every step of the way. It turned out to be a most romantic journey and I’m sure part of me not only coveted her travels but I also imagined myself experiencing this magical city—that always intrigued me—with my own special someone. Oh well, thankfully my life isn’t over yet!
Folk Dancers at the Wine Festival
The Hungarian capital of Budapest was her chosen destination, a selection made partly because of her husband’s Hungarian ancestry. Denise and Alan divided one week between Budapest and Prague; the another was passed in the Hungarian countryside where they found it to be quite easy to explore by car. As in France and other European countries, good signage in Hungary is more the norm than the exception.
Largely considered one of the most beautiful cities of Europe, Budapest is most typified by the Danube, the river made known probably first as a frontier of the Roman Empire and more recently (in 1867!) by a Viennese waltz that will forever evoke merriment and optimism. Classified as World Heritage sites, the two banks of the Danube, Buda and Pest, are punctuated by many great buildings and monuments, some of which house hotels that overlook the legendary blue swath of the Danube.
Art & Culture Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel: Art & Culture Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
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Going to Gateway
Red Rock Grandeur
“Now why did you say you wanted to come here again?” I asked my friend, Paula, as we stopped in this middle-of-nowhere place called Paradox, squinting beneath the beating sun in search of a gas station, a store or some other significant sign of life. My head pounded fiercely by now and both our car and I were positively parched.
“I wanted to take some pictures of Paradox Valley, you know for that contest I told you about, the one to raise awareness about possible uranium mining in the area,” Paula replied as she drove across verdant plains framed by cliffs the color of buff, sandstone and ochre. This contrasting display of nature must be the paradox, I blithely thought to myself as my head throbbed and we rolled through this shadow of a town, Paula clicking her camera like a sniper in a passing S.U.V.
We realized by now that there was no easy way to cleave our way through these rocky walls to Gateway, our ultimate destination, normally just a two-hour plus drive northwest of Telluride. Our detour to Paradox had proved scenic enough, but now we needed to speed up our travels. We had no choice than to turn around and drive back to Bedrock, the little speck we passed through on our way to Paradox Valley.
