Marks Summer Time Travels!!

MARKS SUMMER TIME TRAVELS

It's been awhile since I've written about my travels.  Since we last met, my youngest daughter, Cayla got married to our son-in-law, David and Jeff and I celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary!!  I've been to Napa (obviously), Las Vegas (for the Travel Show) and then we went to Ojai ValleyInn and Pelican Hill...two of my favorite places in Southern California. 

Ojai is where you can find your zen/tranquility 90 minutes North of Los Angeles in the quiet artsy city of Ojai.  It is all about serenity and golf.  Their rooms have just received a soft goods refurbishment.  They also offer children’s programs and horseback riding.

Pelican Hill is a golfer and spa lover’s paradise.  Large, expansive, it's the perfect getaway from it all 1 hour south of Los Angeles in Newport Beach.  We went with 2 of our 3 daughters and their spouses as well as our granddaughter, Maddy.  Maddy loved the heated pool and at 13 months kept us all entertained and woken up...but it was so worth it.  

We had an early dinner at their Italian restaurant, Andrea and had the most amazing mushroom risotto prepared in a parmesan cheese bowl.  Rich and decadent.  

Pelican Hill is really perfect for families, couples and friends. 
In October and November, they are running special pricing for their 3 and 4 bedroom villas beginning at $575 per night plus Virtuoso amenities.  Since Pelican Hill does not believe in resort fees or parking fees, this is a very good promotion worth considering. 



Contact me to assist you with your travel needs and wants :-)

MARI

Florence May 2012

Florence 

May 2012

I absolutely adore FLORENCE.  There is something about this interesting city that draws you in.  Because most of Florence is in a pedestrian zone, it seems more quiet - more personal.  The sounds of church bells ringing, the smells coming from the restaurants, the smiles on the faces of both locals and visitors, listening to an improptu organ concert at a church, watching artists paint their city... and then there is the shopping!

We are staying at Palazzo Vecchietti.  I have wanted to stay here since I C Bellagio (my favorite tour company in Italy) recommended that I come for a site visit last year.  Palazzo Vecchietti only has 12 rooms.  Their entry level room is 40 square meters which in Florence is quite large.  The furnishings are so comfortable with excellent beds, bed linens and space to feel comfortable.  Rates this summer begin in the mid 300 euros and include a lovely breakfast.  I love the intimate service at Palazzo Vecchietti.  Valentina, Paolo and the General Manager, Alesandra make your visit feel like you are staying in their palazzo.  This is an intimate, romantic place.  Palazzo Vecchietti is located in the heart of Florence - in fact, it is next door to Dolce and Gabbana and 1 block from stores such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Dior.  It is across the piazza from Hotel Savoy so if you want to go to a bar, I would recommend the 1 block walk to the Savoy.  Please ask me for more details - I would love you to experience my favorite place in Florence.

We have had some wonderful meals so far.  Our first evening, we enjoyed the intimate local cuisine at Parione on Via del parione.  Their fresh pasta was amazing!  I loved their fresh Tagliarini with fresh sea bass in a white wine sauce.  Jeff enjoyed their "new" Osso Buco" while I had their Tuscan lamb chops wtih roasted potatoes.

The following afternoon, after shopping in the San Croce area, we found Il Magazzino Restaurante in Pussy Square.  Pussy Square was named because in the 17th century, it boasted a brothel.  The logo has 3 nude women with Pussy Square listed in many languages.  We both enjoyed their homemade Tagliatelli.  Mine with mushrooms and Jeff's with white ragu which is beef ragu without tomatoes.  The restaurant is known for the Florentine speciality - tripe - which we took a pass on.

Dinner on the last night was at Il Latini.  Ok, I admit that Il Latini really is a touristy restaurant but it is a lot of fun.  We were seated in the middle of a 6 person table with one couple from Japan and another mother daughter from Moscow.  We had a blast helping to translate and share our food and wine.  Come to Il Latini for the pasta, the wonderful homemade soups and Bisteca Florentine.  FANTASTIC!!  (Mari tip - you MUST have a reservation or you will be the unhappy person with their nose to the window looking in from the outside).  Save room for dessert - Jeff's favorite is profiteroles.

Tips on shopping in Florence:

1. Visit San Croce for its unique more personalized shops

2. Visit Anna's in the Pitti Palace area for quality leather coats and handbags.  They also sell cashmere.  Anna always gives you a discount - just ask nicely.

3. Buy leather gloves here.  Florence is known for it's quality leather gloves.  They are a wonderful gift to yourself or a special gift to a loved one.  They choices of styles and colors will amaze you.  Also, it's fun trying on the gloves because there is a certain way that the sales person has you try your gloves on.

4. Italy's SALES are in January and July.  This way you can skip the outlets (ask me why I don't visit them anymore) and get the really good stuff at a discount.

5. Visit Rive Gauche for handmade Italian leather shoes for men and women.

COMPLEMENTARY NIGHTS AND MORE FOR THIS SUMMER

COMPLEMENTARY NIGHTS

AND

MORE FOR THIS SUMMER

I just attended the Four Seasons Preferred Partner Forum yesterday.  The Forum was open to the top travel consultants at the top agencies in Southern California who are privileged to be part of the Four Seasons Preferred Partner Program.  We had representation from Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County and San Diego County.  I was one of 155 qualified participants able to attend this prestigious forum.

So, what does this mean for you?

As part of Four Seasons Preferred Partners, I have access to key people at every Four Seasons property.  Additionally, I have access to the BEST PROMOTIONS that each property has to offer.  Many of these promotions are not available to the general public or even to clients of Virtuoso or American Express Platinum. 

What I bring to your experience is VALUE ADDED AMENITIES. 

For example, UPGRADES AT TIME OF BOOKING in Lanai, COMPLEMENTARY NIGHTS at almost all of the Four Seasons properties or the exclusive DOUBLE UPGRADE in Nevis just to name a few. 

My personal FAVORITE promotion is Bora Bora's FAMILY PACKAGE WITH BREAKFAST which offers 50% off the 2nd room and COMPLEMENTARY Kids for all Seasons Club and Teen's Chill Island!

The Four Seasons hotel group is just one example of hotels offering COMPLEMENTARY NIGHTS. 



Please contact me for complementary nights at many RITZ CARLTON, MANDARIN ORIENTAL, PARK HYATT AND FAIRMONT PROPERTIES as well as many independent hotels such as ESPERANZA IN CABO, RANCHO LAS PALMAS in PALM SPRINGS, many properties along the Southern California Coast such as the GRAND DEL MAR and the ST. REGIS MONARCH BEACH, ESPRIT SAN GERMAIN in PARIS and the GRAND HOTEL DU CAP-FERRAT (two of my personal favorites in France), IL SALVIATINO in FLORENCE AND MORE ALL AROUND THE WORLD!


My personal motto is "THE WORLD IS MY PLAYGROUND" so please contact me so you too can join me and enjoy the benefits of my playground.

Peru is NOT for the Faint of Heart: Part III - Cuzco and Lake Titicaca (PLUS some helpful hints)

Peru is NOT for the Faint of Heart

Part III – Cuzco and Lake Titicaca 
(PLUS some helpful hints)

After Jeff and K.C. finished their hike to Huayna Picchu, we traveled via the Vista Dome train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo.  We took our private transfer to an amazing lunch at Wayra. We dined family style on traditional Peruvian cuisine with gorgeous views of the Sacred Valley. During lunch, we watched a horse show and saw Peruvian dancing.

After lunch, we met the Callanaupa family (see next pic below) for a traditional weaving demonstration. This was definitely one of my highlights of this trip. The Callanaupa sisters have organized local women into a weaving cooperative to help them support their families. They have rediscovered traditional weaving patterns that have disappeared over time. We watched the women dye the wool using traditional methods of using natural dyes.  Of course, I had to buy their amazing, colorful products! 

After our weaving demonstration, we drove to the Orient Express, Monasterio Hotel (see next pic below). The Monasterio Hotel is housed in a 16th century monastery. It has maintained its original Spanish colonial architecture. This is a lovely hotel in the best part of Cusco. Beware: they drive crazy in Peru and the driver has the right of way, not the pedestrian.

For dinner, we had a wonderful surprise at the MAP museum. We had a private dinner with 5 courses after the museum had closed. What a great experience!

The following morning, we had a general tour of the highlights of Cusco. This included the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral which had 400 canvasses of the distinguished Escuela Cusquena. Our group left for the States and Jeff and I stayed 1 more night in Cuzco dining across the Plaza at the Inketerra hotel.

To get to Lake Titicaca (see pic above), we had to take a 7:20 am flight…OUCH! It was worth it!

We flew to Juliaca which is a horrible city with a decent airport. We drove 1 hour through Puno to get to visit our first excursion….another highlight….the Uros People living on Lake Titicaca in reed houses on their 27 floating islands. This was a complete wonder! We sat with a family and learned about their distinct culture with our fantastic guide, Julio Cesar. It turned out that Julio Cesar’s family lived on the floating island. After our visit, we continued driving to our destination, the Lake Titilaka Lodge which was directly on Lake Titicaca. The Lodge is located on its own private peninsula with amazing views. Lake Titicaca is the highest of the world’s large lakes at 12,500 feet above sea level. This was the only destination that both of us required oxygen. All meals are included with the Lake Titilaka Lodge. We had the corner suite which had views of sunrise and sunset. Our room was minimalistic and interesting. It was one of those Zen moments…

The following morning we went to visit Taquile Island via a one hour boat ride. We met local people and saw the way that they lived. They made us quinoa soup and served us tea. They also danced for us and showed us the way that they wove their handicrafts. Their technique was different from the Callanaupa sisters…the weaving is tighter. This is not an easy way of life to say the least. We hiked up to the Plaza which was at the top of the Llacastiti peak….yes, I hiked! THEN, to return to the boat, we had to walk down over 500 rocky steps.

The next morning, we relaxed and drove the 2 hours back to Julica to begin our journey home.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Hiking shoes are a must!

Discuss altitude medication with your doctor

Take your camera – you will need it.

Stop and listen to what the different people have to say. Their way of life is simple and hard and definitely worth listening to.

Enjoy a Pisco sour.

Visit Peru…it will amaze you!



Peru is NOT for the Faint of Heart: Part II - Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu

Peru is NOT for the Faint of Heart

Part II – Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu

We woke up VERY early, enjoyed another lovely breakfast at the Miraflores Park Hotel and met our group at the airport. I forgot to mention that Jeff and I were part of a very small group of travel consultants visiting Peru for the first time. We flew to Cusco for our transfer to the Sacred Valley. Cusco is approximately, 11,000 feet above sea level. I immediately felt the lack of oxygen when going up the ramp to baggage claim. We met our guide, Roger there. Roger was so knowledgeable –maybe too knowledgeable. He was only interested in the history and explanation of what we were doing and seeing rather than understanding that we were travel consultants wanting to see hotels for our clients, learn about the highlights (without too much detail). Unfortunately, Roger also didn’t understand how important helping people was as we climbed steep rocky pathways up and down. He also became impatient when we wanted to shop….so much about Roger…

On the way to the Sacred Valley, we stopped at the Pisac Market. This is a touristy area full of handicrafts all made from Alpaca. The things sold at Pisac Market (see below) are not high quality but it was a fun place to shop for small gift items. Later, we enjoyed a ceremony and blessing from a local Andean Shaman who participated in the inauguration of the Indian Museum in Washington D.C..

After lunch at Hacienda Huayoccari, we arrived at our hotel for the next 2 nights, Sol y Luna Lodge (see below). The Sol y Luna Lodge was one of our most favorite lodges that we have ever experienced. It is understated luxury. Our room was huge with a wood burning fireplace and separate sitting area. The bathroom was also quite large with a soaking tub, shower and dual sinks. The views from Sol y Luna were breathtaking as was the Sacred Valley in general. We had a fantastic dinner and met the owner, Petite from France.

The following morning, we journeyed to Maras. Some of our group enjoyed a private horseback riding excursion to Moray while a few of us went with the van. We enjoyed a fantastic gourmet picnic overlooking Moray. After lunch, we went to the amphitheater-type ruins of Moray. We walked through the Maras salt flats which were located on a wide, open hill above the Urubamba Valley. This was very scary and some of the group decided not to do this. The paths through the salt flats at times had loose rocks and blasts of wind which made for unstable walking. Good hiking boots are a must here.

We returned to Sol y Luna and had a private cooking demonstration and dinner. Our group shared their tales of how our guide insisted that the Maras salt flats was a “piece of cake” which is definitely was not. The “piece of cake” comment became one of our catch phrases while we were together so we were able to laugh off the experience our way.

The next morning, we went to the train station to get to Aguas Calientes. We were treated to the President’s Car on Inka Rail. What a wonderful way to see the landscapes of the majestic Andes as we approached Machu Picchu. The train followed the Vilcanota River.

We arrived in time for lunch and a site visit at the Sanctuary Lodge which is the only hotel directly in Machu Picchu. The lodge is perfect for those who really want to experience all of Machu Picchu because you need to take a public bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu and the buses end their service before dark. The rooms were very small and most were recently refurbished.

Our group visited Machu Picchu which has been named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It was built by the Inca Pachacutec in the 15th Century and is perched between two peaks offering incredible views of the Urubamba River Valley and the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Hiking Machu Picchu means climbing up uneven, rocky steps. You need to understand this and wear hiking boots.

After our tour of Machu Picchu, we took the bus down to Aguas Calientes and walked two blocks to the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel (see above). The hotel was set amongst beautiful gardens and offered specialty walks throughout the vast property. We had a junior suite overlooking the river. The only problem was that the room was quite cold. At least it was only for 1 night. I loved their quinoa pancakes for breakfast.

The following morning, Jeff and our Blue Parallel host, K.C. hiked to Huayna Picchu which was a steep hike higher than Machu Picchu. They said that the hike was worth it because the view from the top was breathtaking.

Peru is Not for the Faint of Heart: Part I - LIMA

Peru is Not for the Faint of Heart

PART 1 - LIMA

Peru has been a fantastic experience. There is so much to see and learn about in this small country. I hope that you enjoy reading about our experiences while visiting this wonderful country. I’ve decided to divide my travels into 3 parts. Part I is Lima, Part II is the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu and Part III is Cusco, Lake Titikaka and helpful suggestions.

We had one of those horrible missed flights courtesy of American Airlines so instead of arriving at 9:30 pm on the 19th of March, we arrived at 5:00 am on the 20th…OUCH!

We checked into the Miraflores Park Hotel in Lima and took a short nap. After our nap, we had breakfast including perfect cappuccinos for me which helped a lot. Breakfast is served on the top floor overlooking the ocean. There is inside and outside seating available. After breakfast, I had a brief site visit of the Hotel. The Miraflores Park Hotel is situated directly on the Pacific Ocean. Our room had a perfect ocean view. The beds and bed linens were comfortable and high quality and the bathroom had beautiful marble with a separate shower and tub and dual sinks. The hotel has a small efficient gym and spa on the upper floor.

We toured Lima with a lovely guide, Hugo arranged through Blue Parallel. He was so knowledgeable and proud of his city. We visited the different highlights of Lima including the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Cathedral as well as San Isidro and the antique/Bohemian neighborhood of Barranco. Hugo suggested La Rosa Nautica for lunch. The restaurant is situated on the Pacific. You have to walk down the boardwalk to access the restaurant. Of course, I had to stop at one of the shops to purchase a few “must haves” for our granddaughter, Maddy. Lunch was delicious and I would strongly recommend that you try this restaurant when you visit Lima. After lunch, we drove to Lover’s Park (see picture below) where they have this amazing statue of two lovers kissing. The park is quite pretty with benches and flowers all around it. There is not a lot of green space in Lima so this place was a treasure. Before we returned to the Miraflores Park Hotel, we stopped at the Larco Museum which is a must see when visiting Lima because it houses a private collection of pre-Incan and Incan treasures.

After a brief nap, we went to dinner at Central Restaurant. This is also a must when visiting Lima. The décor is modern and the restaurant is housed on two levels with an open kitchen. We were able to watch the kitchen staff prepare our meal because our table was next to the kitchen. We enjoyed perfect service and creative cuisine. Best of all, the sommelier gave us a private tour of the entire restaurant. We were able to visit the kitchen, the urban garden on the top floor and the wine cellar. What a wonderful evening.

WAVE SEASON - Cruises

We are approaching WAVE SEASON.

Wave Season is when cruise lines have promotions to entice people onto their ships. Wave Season promotions are for a very limited time and are usually for new bookings only.
Protravel and Virtuoso have fantastic promotions available beginning next week. Here are an example of two promotions.

Royal Caribbean is offering on board credits and more for their Europe, 2012 sailings. Bookings need to be made between January 18-24, 2012 for their European voyages.

Celebrity has PRE-PAID GRATUITIES for select sailings to Hawaii, the Caribbean, Southern Caribbean, Short Caribbean sailings in March and April and Alaska including a Wine themed cruise on May 5, 2012 and a re-positioning cruise on April 28, 2012.

This is limited to booking a SUITE and the prepaid gratuities is for the first and second guest only. This offer is valid from now until January 31, 2012.

Please feel free to send this to your friends and family. It would be a great chance to get a group and go!

Mari