Seizing the World
Stephen Allen: Riding for a Cause
“It’s possible to accomplish a great deal so long as you have passion, simple tools and a group of close friends with enthusiasm for the project,” says local Tellurider Stephen Allen. Stephen and I met in October when he came on Travel Fun for a last-minute radio interview just before heading out on an around-the-world bicycling tour. Such a journey would seem daunting for just about anybody, but Stephen is not your average guy. He’s incredibly motivated and determined not to let life’s hurdles get in his way. He was thrown a real curve ball almost ten years ago in high school when he learned he had epilepsy; not surprisingly, however, it seems that that has forced him to be even more focused on making a difference in the world.
So far Stephen has logged close to 2,000 miles on his bike as he worked his way down from Colorado to New Mexico, across Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and as I write this, Mississippi. His goal is to promote active living with epilepsy and to raise money for research. He has been accomplishing much of this by giving presentations in bookstores, bike shops and a variety of other venues along the way. He’s headed to Charleston, South Carolina where he’ll fly out for Europe on December 8th to embark upon the international portion of his expedition. His mom, Susan, informed me that he’s pedaled with a number of different people at various intervals along the way. In all, Stephen thinks his grand tour might last two years. You can learn more about living with epilepsy and Stephen’s travels at Seize the World. Take a moment, too, to read my write up on him and my blurbs on other important organizations and causes on my Giving page.
May the wind always be at your back, Stephen, or at least may the headwinds be manageable!
His Round-the-World Rig
Book Pick
“The Monkey Wrench Gang,” by Edward Abbey. “My trip will be much cleaner, much more sober, much more organized, much less violent and (hopefully) more sustainable than Edward Abbey’s case, but the underlying dreams are similar,” Stephen wrote to me just before heading out.
Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel: Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Prague: More Eastern European Splendor
Prague: More Eastern European Splendor
Terrace Dining At Allegro in Prague
Many people do the trifecta in this part of the world: a sybaritic journey that encompasses Budapest, Prague and Vienna. My friends, Denise and Alan, combined their September trip to Budapest with Prague, a sensible decision since prices in Vienna weigh in considerably more.
With only a five-hour drive or a one-hour flight between these two great Eastern European capitals, a visit to both seems like a must, especially if a rich cultural scene and outstanding Old World architecture figure among your requisites of a memorable vacation. Known as the Paris of the north, Prague also begs to be explored by foot, mostly since the majority of the main attractions are located within the city center. With three major opera houses and several other prominent cultural hubs, Prague also boasts a vibrant music scene, although expect to pay a bit more here to attend events than in neighboring Budapest.
According to my extremely well-traveled friend, Denise, this seemed to be the case across the board. She found Prague to be a notch or two up from Budapest—price-wise—although still significantly less than most other major European cities. A dinner for two with wine, for example, rang in about $80. to $100., noticeably more than the same in Budapest.
Czech cuisine, known for its large meat and potatoes emphasis, did not impress Denise nearly as much as the food and wine of Budapest, yet her entire gastronomic experience in Prague was certainly blown off the charts by her meal at Allegro, the only one-star Michelin restaurant in all of Central and Eastern Europe. It came as no surprise that it was housed within the elegant confines of the Four Seasons Hotel Prague, another outstanding property embellished with world-class artwork and situated on the banks of a historic river. As the name indicates, Allegro features an Italian cuisine, one that is especially refined and served in a stunning setting, itself worthy of five stars.
Italian Elegance in the Czech Republic
It seems as though the Four Seasons name is still more accessible in Eastern Europe than in other parts of the world. Eastern Europe has not yet adopted the euro, so one can only imagine how long it will stay that way. It might be a good time to start planning a trip to this part of the world soon. With travel deals the way they are now, you might even be able to swing Vienna.
Four Seasons Hotel Prague, 420-221-427-000; www.fourseasons.com/prague
For more Money Saving Travel Tips, go to my Tips page.
Art & Culture Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas Travel: Art & Culture Budapest Eastern Europe Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Budapest: For Lovers Young and Not-So Young
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.
Beauty Travel: Beauty Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Mariel and Munchies on My Mind
Mariel and Munchies on My Mind
These are indeed challenging times. And to make matters worse, I’m torn between trying to get into good ski shape and satisfying my autumnal urges of snacking on candy and indulging in extra amounts of pasta and bread. It already feels like winter now in Telluride and many of us are fighting the urge to crawl into hibernation like our resident bears.
I feel guilty trampling up the snowy ski run outside my place, forever mindful of the need for the mountain to build up its base. So in between ski conditioning classes, I’ve mostly taken to doing exercises in my living room, in the morning in front of the Today show, before the rush of the day begins. And I’ve been thinking of Mariel every day. Mariel Hemingway that is.
Mariel Hemingway
I interviewed this world-renowned celebrity and leading voice for holistic and balanced living on Travel Fun last spring. We chatted a lot about her book, “Mariel Hemingway’s Healthy Living from the Inside Out.” In the introduction to this work she explains how she set about undoing the extremism she’d inherited from her family—the running-with-the-bulls approach to life encoded deeply in the Hemingway DNA. Much of what she talked about resonated greatly with me, particularly her approach to exercise and preparing healthy snacks for travel.
Mariel believes that if you exercise with intention, you can cut the amount of time you do it in half. Mindset and intention seem to be the foundation of much of Mariel’s beliefs. So I pull in my abs and tighten my butt—engaging my thoughts and core as much as I can—as I work through my little morning routine. My desk is just a few steps away, luring me in with an inbox full of e-mails that need to be answered—so my need to cut my exercise time in half swells with each passing minute. Thank you, Mariel, for making it perfectly O.K. for me to do a mini workout.
Miss Hemingway pops into my mind yet again when I think of how she talked about minimizing your intake of “noisy” food such as sweets, caffeine, and alcohol. “These noisy foods disable you to listen to the signals of your own body,” Mariel says. I do half regular/half decaf with my coffee and snack on fruit and nuts (sometimes!) instead of leftover Halloween candy.
Still, I’m conflicted. Thoughts of cognac-infused chocolate truffles, butter ladened with granules of sea salt, creamy pâtés, slabs of smoked bacon, nutty-flavored cheeses, ruby-red wines and many more sweet and savory comestibles occupy my mind, stimulating my taste buds, leaving me yearning for the holiday season when over indulgence is an inevitable part of our lives. (Thank goodness I can attempt to counter its effects with a long string of days on the slopes.) Glorious treats have become more of an obsession of late since I’m working on preparing my annual Holiday Online Shopping Recommendation Mailing. This year will be better than ever for both food and nonfood items, so you must check it out. If you don’t already receive my mailings, you can sign up here.
I have to wrap this up now to run off to do a few errands. Thankfully I’m pondering what healthy munchies I can bring along à la Mariel Hemingway.
Travel Tips from Mariel Hemingway
(Note that most of these apply to your life at home as well.)
-Take the time to prepare foods that will nurture you on your travels. “The food in first class isn’t even that good,” Mariel says. So she delights in bringing her own containers of favorite foods such as salads, fruits, nuts, and her own sugar-free cookies that will soon be available as part of Mariel’s Kitchen.
-Always work in some form of exercise while traveling. “I think walking and travel make the perfect mariage,” Mariel says. And if the weather is inclement, Mariel recommends yoga. Practicing yoga taught Mariel to slow down.
-Silence will help you to better tune into yourself and to achieve calm, even if you’re racing around in a foreign megalopolis. Mariel feels there are many ways to softly fall into your own silence including a short meditation or a long, luxurious bath.
-“I make home when I travel,” Mariel says. So do I, and I hope you do as well. Mariel creates a homey environment by bringing along candles and her yoga mat. “It’s important to have a sacred space that will help you to connect with your inner self,” she adds.
“I find travel to be a booster to health and well-being,” Mariel says.
Mariel’s Basic Tenets
-Find your own balance with food, exercise, silence and home.
-Slow down.
-Breathe.
-Throw out perfectionism.
Be sure to check out Mariel’s Web site and blog at www.marielhemingway.com.
Book Pick
“Healthy Living from the Inside Out: Every Woman’s Guide to Real Beauty, Renewed Energy, and a Radiant Life,” by Mariel Hemingway. It’s excellent for men, too!
Art & Culture Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel: Art & Culture Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Spas The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
5 comments
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.
Tim Cahill: The Godfather of Travel Writing
Tim Cahill Canyoning in New Zealand
When I asked renowned travel writer Tim Cahill how he came to be a writer specializing in travel during a recent Travel Fun interview, he answered with all the modesty of a hippo in the bush. “I invented the job,” he said with a glint in his eye. And indeed he did. As one of the founders of Outside magazine, Tim Cahill changed the way a person could read about the great outdoors and adventure travel.
He had worked two years at Rolling Stone in the mid Seventies when the editor approached him with the idea of creating a literate outdoor magazine. “It was a simple concept,” Tim said. But in those days outdoor magazines were more about hunting and fishing, slaying a ferocious wildebeest or how to prime your canoe for the upcoming season. It was generally believed that avid readers of fine prose did not spend much time outdoors.
“We were made fun of by the journalism pundits,” Tim said. “But we did the magazine that we wanted to read.” And not long after their launch, the founders of Outside were proven right, especially after having received top awards in the publishing world many years in a row.
“Outside really gave me my start,” Tim explained. The folks at the magazine realized early on that getting the best ice climber to write a story didn’t produce the results they wanted. Instead it was much better to have someone who could write well team up with the best ice climber and that person became Tim Cahill. (Prior to Outside, Tim was one of those guys that would head out for a weekend of backpacking, but he was no big adventurer.) “I was the inept rookie in the wilderness the first ten years,” Tim chuckled.
Tim’s spiral notebooks grew and it soon became clear that many of his magazine stories were destined to become books. He told me he has written nine in all (but I found way more on Amazon and hence listed ten below). And on their pages you can read some of the most descriptive and poignant tales of adventure travel ever written. “An adventure story does not have to be a lot of gratuitous chest pounding,” Tim said. “If you’re diving and you see a shark, there’s some wonder behind it.” Tim wouldn’t conclude that story with a wielding pen knife and spewing blood and guts. His work is much more refined; he’s in the business of telling compelling stories with finesse.
Tim and I traded tales about the writer’s life and the publishing world as we shared the microphone. We were experiencing a classic KOTO happening, yet another improvisational moment in community radio since all of the extra mikes in the studio had been removed for a special event. We had to get so close that we sidled up to each other like two lovers on a park bench. That definitely helped to break the ice! Tim Cahill no longer seemed like the untouchable travel writer God I had met several years ago at the Travel Writer’s Conference at Book Passage in California. (He was surrounded by so many people that I was barely able to say hello to him then!)
Funnily enough when I asked Tim about his beginnings he told me that when he was young he thought “writers were somehow unattainable Gods”. We both joked about how we found out that that was far from the truth.
He was one of those kids that stayed up reading by flashlight late into the night. Reading is always the best primer for a writer. Tim graciously shared many other tips with me and I’m sure that as I attempt to implement them, I’ll be thinking about him and his dedication to the written word. He did after all invent the travel writer job, you know.
Tim Surveying the External Landscape
Travel Writer Tips from Tim Cahill
-Take contemporaneous notes.
-Write about the external landscape (what you see) and the internal landscape (what’s happening to you when you see it).
-Bring home your notes and then try to write out complete sentences.
-Try to grab the reader around the first paragraph. “I then give the best descriptions about why I was there and I tell stories that I hope will lead the reader to the same conclusion I came to when I was there,” Tim explained.
Tim regularly conducts writer’s workshops for the Yellowstone Association, 307-344-2293, www.yellowstoneassociation.org.
The Book Passage Travel Writer’s Conference takes place annually mid August at the main Book Passage Bookstore in Corte Madera, California; 800-999-7909, ext. 233, www.bookpassage.com.
Book Picks: Tim Cahill’s books, some of which are listed below.
“Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer”
“Jaguars Ripped My Flesh”
“A Wolverine Is Eating My Leg”
“Road Fever”
“Pecked to Death by Ducks”
“Pass the Butterworms: Remote Journeys Oddly Remembered”
“Dolphins”
“Hold the Enlightenment”
“Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone National Park”
“The Best American Travel Writing”
Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride Travel: Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Telluride Ski Resort is Tantamount to Fun
Telluride Ski Resort is Tantamount to Fun
Lowering the Goods
Not long after I returned home from my month of travels back east, I tuned in to the constant comings and goings of a helicopter whirring in the skies near my little slopeside apartment. There was so much activity, in fact, that I said a prayer for the people involved since choppers in the mountains typically mean a search and rescue mission. My concern swelled until someone enlightened me, informing me that the copter operation concerned the ski area; these workhorses of the sky had been engaged to deliver lift shacks, towers and other materials to an elevation of over 12,000 feet for the installation of the new Revelation Lift. Oh, of course, I thought to myself and my mood quickly changed from one of dread to elation.
I chatted about Revelation Lift and more with Dave Riley, CEO of Telluride Ski and Golf, during a recent Travel Fun interview. Entering his second year on the job, Dave has a lot to be proud of at Telluride Ski Resort. He has been instrumental in opening up a bunch of new terrain including Palmyra Peak, Black Iron Bowl, Gold Hill Chutes 6-10 and now Revelation Bowl which will be ready to go with the start of this new ski season.
Veteran Ski Patrolman Surveys the Terrain
“I have to give the ski patrol a lot of credit for most of these openings,” Dave said during our interview. Much avalanche control work was required to pave the way for the public and ski patrol did double time with this last winter, particularly since it was a banner snow year. It seems that almost as a reward to them, Dave went ahead and leased some fancy Howitzers from the U.S. Army; these 105 mm artillery weapons certainly pack enough punch to trigger slides far out on the peaks and couloirs. New snowcats have also been acquired, high-performing mountain monsters that will be winched up on at least a couple of the trails off of the Revelation Lift to guarantee some nice corduroy for those of us looking to take a break from the bumps.
I was thrilled to learn that most of the runs off of Revelation—the highest lift on the mountain which also happens to be above tree line—are single black diamonds. (Oh, what did you think I was hardcore?) “It’s like a high alpine, European bowl,” Dave says. “It’s a great snow catcher and the views are extraordinary.”
Virgin Revelation Bowl
The scenery here is probably what best sets Telluride apart from most other mountain resorts in the country. “We have the largest concentration of 13,000 to 14,000-foot peaks here,” Dave points out. “It’s like the Swiss Alps of America.” We both agree, too, that the combination of the old mining town of Telluride (a National Historic District) with Mountain Village, a more recent European-styled assortment of buildings and homes works well together to suit the needs of both residents and visitors. Both are connected by a gondola, providing free transportation and outstanding views to all that ride it from the wee hours of the morning until midnight.
Dave Riley Atop Palmyra Peak
Dave, an incredibly passionate skier that has worked in many top destinations throughout the West, travels to four to six different ski areas a season. Sure, he’s a little biased but I can tell he’s sincere when he talks about how Telluride offers an unparalleled ski experience in North America. “Telluride is consistently good,” he emphasizes. “There are no lift lines here, there’s good sunny weather and the snow is great.”
At this point, I tap into the ski instructor within me and mention that we enjoy great teaching terrain in Telluride as well. “There’s a good balance for beginner, intermediate, expert and even extreme skiers and boarders,” I add.
“Our Ski and Snowboard School is unmatched,” Dave volleys back. “The instructors provide great instruction with a real personalized touch.”
Fabuleux! I scored one for the home team. I almost added that we all try really hard as well but I didn’t want to blur the line too much between radio interviewer/travel writer and ski instructor, especially with my boss. One thing’s for sure: We all share an immense enthusiasm for the mountain and that passion is conveyed to every person we encounter. Dave exudes it as well which is probably partly why he’s been able to improve so much on an already darn good thing.
Telluride Ski Resort, 970-728-6900, www.tellurideskiresort.com; be sure to check out Dave’s blog at that site.
Dave’s Book Pick
“Ski the 14ers: A Visual Tribute to Colorado’s 14,000-foot Peaks from the Eyes of a Ski Mountaineer,” by Chris Davenport. Ski mountaineering is one of Dave Riley’s personal passions.
Now Warm Up that Baby---Ski Season is Almost Here!
Being Green Shopping Telluride Travel: Being Green Shopping Telluride Travel
by maribeth
1 comment
Daryl Hannah on Green Living
Daryl on the Mesa Outside of T-ride
The breakdown of Daryl’s biodiesel car left her nearly stranded in Montrose, the largest city in the region situated about an hour and a half from Telluride. Clearly she was not going to make it to the KOTO studios in time to do a Travel Fun interview with me, so we chatted on the phone together instead. (Daryl was actually holed up inside one of the teepees at the Ute Indian Museum, an interesting place that I have yet to visit.)
A few technical difficulties challenged me back at the studio. I was pulling together a live program—a rarity in the almost five years I’ve been doing radio—and my button pushing faltered somewhat, particularly at one point when I forgot to turn off the DJ mike during the musical break. Half of my phone conversation with another caller was broadcasted on the airwaves. Fortunately I wasn’t chatting about anything too private! I continued with more music from the “Kill Bill,” soundtrack for the second musical break, overlooking a cut that requires keen censorship. A few F-words later, I said a big “ooops” and hoped that the FCC wasn’t tuned in. Daryl was more than gracious throughout the whole interview, particularly during my assorted goof ups. Thankfully, she clearly has a tender attachment to KOTO, Telluride’s own community radio station.
In addition to her memorable performances in the original “Blade Runner,” “Splash,” “Wall Street,” and more recently the “Kill Bill” series, Daryl has been busy championing causes and spreading the word about green living. She is a keen environmentalist. And this is not so new because Daryl has been a vegetarian since the age of eleven.
Actually Daryl is turned off by the green word. Just like with organic and sustainable, she thinks those words are overused. “They really don’t take into account the social connectedness of things,” Daryl emphasizes. “You need to consider the social aspect of everything.”
Daryl practices what she preaches when she can. “I’m trying to get off of fossil fuels and the grid as much as possible,” she says. In addition to zipping around the mountains in her not-so new—but souped up—biodiesel car, Daryl lives in a one-bedroom home out here on a mesa, a simple house built from an old barn that was going to be torn down. “It’s solar powered, nontoxic and as sustainable as possible,” she says. Many organic elements have been incorporated into the interior and exterior design including a “couch” made from locally gathered, moss-covered rocks. “I just pull off the cushions and spray wash it down every once in a while,” Daryl chuckles.
Blonde Beauty Modeling a Chain Mail Purse Made from Soda Pop Pull Tab Tops by a Womens' Artisan Co-Op in Brazil
I imagine Daryl’s Telluride home to be fairly minimalist. “I subscribe to the church of stop shopping,” she revealed. She thinks people are better off wearing old clothes and making them cool by stenciling them. She’s also an advocate of consignment stores. “Growing cotton for one T-shirt requires much too much water for that to be a sustainable product,” she explains. I unfortunately didn’t have a chance to tell her that I believe in buying quality products that you treasure forever. That’s the French way. Buying in quantity is more of an American addiction.
Daryl Chillin' with DHLoveLife.com
Daryl’s Web site is a good place to go to inform yourself about living less conspicuously on this planet. It’s also fun and the best way to get to know the real Daryl Hannah. You can shop there for some of her hand-chosen products such as an aluminum water bottle and a travel essential bag filled with most of her favorite travel must-haves including a safe sunscreen (most are carcinogenic), arnica (good for sore muscles), Super Salve, an ultra-rich balm that’s great for lubricating nostrils and such before, during and after airplane travel and more along with other terrific products. (Daryl also likes to bring sage from the mesa with her on her travels, but you’ll have to round up some of that on your own.)
Ecotourism is a term that Daryl feels is getting overused as well. She encourages people to look closely at places that promise to be green. For her, it’s important that ecoresorts exhibit a real connectedness with the local community. Hotelito Desconocido in Mexico and Al Karm and Babata, two ecolodges in Egypt, all destinations that Daryl features on her video blogs, are resorts committed to fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with their environs.
Daryl also encourages people to go to our National Parks more “cause nobody uses them.” She cited the Channel Islands, off the coast of California, as an example of a rare site little known to people. Her “Natural Wonder” video blog on her Web site documents this unique place and its habitat.
She’s also done a number of video blogs on people that have inspired her, people that she considers to be her heroes. In one of the video blogs, Daryl visits with Richard Branson, a well-known English business magnate, but also one of the world’s leading investors in renewable energy and resource efficiency technology.
At this year’s Telluride Film Festival, Daryl met Paul Watson, a tireless environmentalist dedicated to the protection of animal rights. He was here showing his film, “Pirates of the Sea.” Daryl plans to join up with Paul soon on his ship, and from the way she talked, I suspect he’ll soon be featured as one of her “heroes,” too.
For now, however, Daryl is in London filming “Blind Man’s Bluff” with the English actor Tom Conti.
Ute Indian Museum, Montrose, Colorado, 970-249-3098, www.coloradohistory.org/hist_sites/UteIndian/Ute_indian
Daryl’s Web site is www.dhlovelife.com
Al Karm Ecolodge, Mount Sinai, Egypt, www.awayaway-sinai.net/main/st.%20katherine_sub/al_karm
Babata Ecolodge; I’m working on finding a link!
Hotelito Desconocido, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 800-013-1313, www.hotelito.com
National Park Service, Channel Islands, www.nps.gov/chis
Daryl’s Book Picks
Anything by Michael Pollan. “I think they should be mandatory reading for everyone,” Daryl says. She particularly recommends “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” and his recent book, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.”
Daryl also enjoys reading books that tell the story of the people and the place she’s visiting. “Love in the Time of Cholera,” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, for example, is her suggestion for travels to South America.
