Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel Utah: Four Corners Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel Utah
by maribeth
Comments Off on Sweet Sorrel: A Wonderful Destination Resort in Moab
Sweet Sorrel: A Wonderful Destination Resort in Moab
A Glorious High-Desert Garden at Sorrel River Ranch
When most people think of Moab, Utah, they imagine red rock landscapes the likes of which you see in some of the best westerns. Indeed, many great movies, TV shows and commercials, featuring the rugged scenery of the great American West, have been and continue to be made here, It is the land of two wonderful national parks: Arches and Canyonlands. But those in-the- know—and especially those that have traveled to the sweetest spots of Moab along the banks of the Colorado River—are aware that there’s many an oasis within this russet-red land.
Surely one of the most lush, the greenest piece of well-irrigated earth—long ago homesteaded by adventuresome settlers—makes up the Sorrel River Ranch Resort & Spa, a veritable paradise where fine living meets the great outdoors. I first stayed here nearly eleven years ago, shortly after the ranch was transformed into an elegant resort and here I am happy to find myself once again. It’s the kind of place you want to settle into for an entire week, but sadly I’m just passing through. Who ever said the life of a travel writer is marked by long periods of rest and relaxation?
Colorado Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Rockies: Aspen Colorado Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants The Rockies
by maribeth
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Two Special Aspen Restaurants for an Important Day
Chefs Club with the Chef’s Table in the Background
- If you find yourself dining alone on your birthday, you better hope that you land in a lively place that serves up excellent food. I lucked out a month ago when I claimed a spot at the Chef’s Table at the oh-so style-y Chefs Club by FOOD & WINE at The St. Regis Aspen Resort. Although I had my back to most of the diners, six fastidious chefs held my attention throughout an evening filled with fabulous food and drink. Why, I didn’t feel alone at all and I didn’t even mention it was my b-day. (That was highly unusual, since I’m not one to shy away from a fuss.)
I luxuriated at the black marble bar that faces the open kitchen for almost three hours. At one point an elegant woman and her teenage daughter savored coffee and dessert a few seats away, but otherwise I had no interest in glancing around at the tony crowd around me—I was totally consumed by the scene in this bustling beehive of culinary savoir faire. Executive Chef Thomas Riordan, a young man (or am I just getting old), managed his team with nuance and grace. I picked up on a nod here, a word there, subtle directives that facilitated the quick and steady movements of preparing refined cuisine for a room full of diners. I watched as he drizzled extra virgin olive oil over my beef, a Grilled Prime Bistecca Fiorentina served with porcini mushrooms, arugula and fava bean. Chef then finished off this divine piece of meat with a squeeze of lemon. It was perfect.
Art & Culture Cycling Food & Wine French Life French Provinces Girl Talk Hotels & Lodging Paris Restaurants Romance & Relationships Travel Writing & Books: Art & Culture Cycling Food & Wine French Life French Provinces Girl Talk Hotels & Lodging Paris Restaurants Romance & Relationships Travel Writing & Books
by maribeth
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A Tour of the Heart and KOTO Love
My New Book: A TOUR OF THE HEART
Last year around this time, I celebrated a milestone birthday. I was grateful that I was feeling healthy and well, the most fit I’d been in ages and ten pounds thinner (a rarity for me since my weight never fluctuates). Here I am a year later having perhaps gained back five of those pounds—I don’t really know since I stopped weighing myself (a good sign of maturity). And now I’m two days away from another b-day with something far more significant to celebrate—a new book!
Twelve years. Yes, twelve years. I can’t believe it myself. It was twelve years ago that I began to plan a trip that would forever change my life. I actually took that trip in the fall of 2000. We all have transformative events and travels in our lives. I just happen to take a lot of notes on mine. “A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France” is the fruit of all that note taking and so much more.” Click here to see a preview and download excerpts. I hope you’ll enjoy the read. Books are rolling into bookstores now; be sure to ask for it if you don’t readily see it on the shelf. You can also purchase it as a paperback through amazon now or as an eBook on kindle.
Since it’s KOTO fundraising time and I love my NPR-station here in Telluride, Colorado, you can receive a free e-book with every $20. donation and a free paperback with every $30. donation. Books sell for $8. and $20. respectively. Contact me directly through this site to make your donation. Also, if you enjoy Travel Fun, my talk radio show on travel, and the podcasts of those interviews I post here on this blog, please make a pledge or donation to KOTO as well. For that also, it’s best to contact me directly. Community radio is a rare breed in the U.S. and ours is almost entirely supported by caring people like you.
I will be talking about “A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France,” on Travel Fun tomorrow, August 21, at 6 p.m. mountain time. You can also tune in on the Internet at KOTO.org at the time of the broadcast. I hope to post that interview as a podcast on this blog within the upcoming week.
One more thing: Click here to become a fan of A Tour of the Heart on Facebook.
Merci!
Colorado Denver Restaurants: Colorado Denver Restaurants
by maribeth
Comments Off on Celebrate Bastille Day at Randolph’s in Denver
Celebrate Bastille Day at Randolph’s in Denver
Happy Bastille Day!
Yay! It’s Bastille Day! Time to celebrate the French and all the wonderful goods they’ve flourished on the world. Excellent French food and wine immediately come to mind.
I’m in Breckenridge now, on my way to Leadville, Colorado, the highest city in the United States perched at an elevation of more than 10,000 feet. Can’t help wondering if there’s a French restaurant in that old mining town. If not, I suppose I can content myself with a fine glass of French wine—that you can typically find easily enough.
Colorado Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Restaurants Spas The Rockies: Colorado Hotels & Lodging Mountain Living Restaurants Spas The Rockies
by maribeth
Comments Off on Back to Normal at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs
Back to Normal at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs
Poolside Luxe at The Broadmoor
What a difference a day makes. It sounds trite but boy, does it ring true.
A week can make even more of a difference. This past week of moisture—day after day of hard driving rains and good soaking showers—has changed the look of Colorado measurably. Although some of our grasses, bushes and shrubs were burned beneath the pounding sun of late spring and early summer, most of our flora has perked up and as I gaze outside my window here in Telluride, the scene appears lush and verdant.
Double Beauty
Today in Colorado Springs, the most destructive fire in the history of Colorado has been declared fully contained. There’s not a trace of smoke in the air (actually there hasn’t been for days). With the monsoonal flows of July and August seemingly settling in throughout the state, I can almost hear every Coloradan breathing a collective sigh of relief.
Now don’t be scared off by the word monsoon! Ours are nothing like what you would expect on the other side of the earth. In the Rockies during most of July and August, you wake up to blue skies that typically cloud over in the afternoon, just enough to give our glorious landscapes a good watering. By late in the day, the sun usually reappears, affording us spectacular sunsets and an abundance of rainbows. This doesn’t happen every day although typically it occurs just enough to keep our mountain-scapes green and fresh.
So in case you haven’t fully absorbed my message, I can tell you now is a great time to visit colorful Colorado. If you want to help those that have suffered from the tremendous outbreak of wildfires we recently experienced, plan a trip to Colorado. If you already have a trip planned, plan another. With all the national news coverage of the fires, you can bet the state’s tourism has been slammed. I wish CNN and others would now broadcast that this great Western state is looking mighty fine and that blooming wildflowers have replaced blooming wildfires.
Colorado Restaurants Telluride: Colorado Restaurants Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Favorite Telluride Restaurants
Favorite Telluride Restaurants
The Ever-So Lovely New Sheridan Hotel and Chop House
As a resident of Telluride, Colorado, visitors are always asking me about my favorite restaurants in town. And that’s before I even have a chance to tell them I’m a travel writer! No matter where I meet people—in the gondola, on the chairlift or even just out and about nursing a drink or a coffee—the most frequently asked question concerns restaurant recommen-dations. Come to think of it, that’s what I do when traveling as well.
No matter how much you read up on a place, no matter how many online reviews you peruse, smart travelers always want to hear it from the source, a local that exudes enough confidence and soave (moi!) to reassure the visitor that he or she will be pointed in the right direction. When I mention I’m a travel writer who lived in Paris over a decade and nearly as long in Telluride, they practically shout bingo.
Of course I’m prepared to give a full dissertation on all the wonderful eating establishments we enjoy here in Telluride, however, I seemingly always begin my suggestions with my two favorites: New Sheridan Chop House and Cosmopolitan of Telluride. Both seldom disappoint and more often than not, diners walk away feeling supremely satisfied by all the essential elements of fine dining: food, ambiance and service. I would add that the price/quality relationship is always right there where it’s supposed to be—that’s to say the amount you pay is worth every penny of the culinary experience these restaurants offer.
Before the summer season kicked off (the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the official starter, was held last weekend), I revisited my two faves with a more discerning eye and palate. I was there to review and most of all consider all like a visitor to Telluride, a discriminating person that wants to make sure that the nights out of their well-deserved vacation create memorable moments.
Chad Scothorn from Cosmo
At Cosmopolitan of Telluride—affectionately known as Cosmo—Chef Chad Scothorn sent out a few dishes that I normally wouldn’t have ordered. Two stunningly beautiful plates of sushi were among them. I love sushi, however, I wasn’t associating it with Cosmo, a sophisticated restaurant, known for its elegant continental cuisine. What a surprise! Steve (my partner in love and dining here) and I practically swooned over their sushi, a gorgeous fusion of taste, a sort of east meets west take on traditional sushi where different creamy sauces accent the rich flavor of the fish and seafood. Their Scallop Volcano Roll prompted Steve to exclaim “there’s a lot going on in this little sushi roll.” Indeed, the medley of flavors is so delicate that it’s no wonder soy sauce is not served on the side. Cosmo works with Honolulu Fish, so the fish served here in the heart of the Rockies is overnighted-in and is as fresh as anything you’d fine in high-end restaurants in New York or L.A.
Chad, one of Telluride’s top chefs and arguably this town’s most notable restaurateur, also sent out his Finchville Ham starter, a plate filled with savory ham, artichoke salad, local broccoli sprouts, French olives and goat cheese-filled burrata. The latter, made in house like just about everything else here, tasted more like a fresh, creamy mozzarella. I slathered it on thick on the rustic bread served here along with a thin slice of the Finchville Ham. Hmmmm, that along with a few sips of French Chardonnay, made me feel as though I was dining in one of my favorite country inns in Burgundy. Or perhaps it was Provence?
Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel: Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel
by maribeth
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Fun for All in Florida at Tradewinds on St. Pete’s Beach
Tradewinds Island Grand Waterway on St. Pete’s Beach
Off-season is drawing to a close in most of our mountain towns here in the Rockies. Locals are heading home after trips to all kinds of exciting hot spots. Most appear tanned and well-rested and eager to take on the busy summer season in our resort communities. I rarely travel far in the spring since there’s so much catching up to do at my desk after the busy ski season. I do, however, enjoy hearing everyone’s tales about their time away.
Many head to exotic locales in Central and South America, others opt for more genteel destinations, such as Florida, within the United States. I’m more of a fan of the latter, especially when it comes to enjoying fun and relaxation at a resort in a safe, scenic part of my own country.
Tradewinds Island Grand, on St. Pete’s Beach in Florida, appeals to me the most out of all my friends’ sun-soaked travel tales this off-season. First of all I love the sugar-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast of Florida and with twenty acres of beachfront playground, Tradewinds Island Grand ranks as one of the best.
Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Restaurants: Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Restaurants
by maribeth
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Denver à la Française: A French Whirlwind in the Mile-High City
Feeling Très Royale at Bistro Vendôme
Hmmmm, Kir Royale. Yum. I love the sensation of sweet, bubbly goodness that this cocktail produces in my mouth. Its balance of effervescence and full, ripe fruit tantalizes and satisfies like well, hmmmm, yes. I guess that’s why this is a drink for lovers.
Actually I was with my girlfriend, Mary Dawn, recently when I sipped this delicious nectar at Bistro Vendôme in Denver. (Hey, you don’t have to be with a guy to feel sexy, especially since women often do a better job than men at making other women feel attractive, wouldn’t you agree?) We were both feeling PRETT-Y perky—you know two girls out on the town in the big city feeling footloose and fancy free.
I think it was the whole French thing that brought these sentiments on and, of course, the Kir Royale, a fabulous apéritif that embodies all the lusciousness and fizz of Paree. Ours was raspberry, likely made with Chambord, which, as I explained to MD, was made with champagne (or at least sparkling wine), as indicated by the word royale. (A regular kir is made with white wine—or sometimes a chilled red in France—and a touch of crème de cassis.)
We were to be in Denver less-than twenty-four hours and in honor of the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, I insisted we make it a totally French experience. I had zeroed in on Denver’s Italian flair before (see below), however, I hadn’t explored its French side. I had visited Yves Saint Lauent: The Retrospective in the afternoon and was already feeling fantastique. We had also already checked into the Ritz-Carlton Denver, the mile-high city’s first and only AAA five-diamond hotel where I was happy to discover much of the grandeur and elegance of Paris. So the French theme was well underway.
Voilå, zee Ritz
Bistro Vendôme: Never Has Denver Been So French
