“Chicago sounds rough to the maker of verse. One comfort we have – Cincinnati sounds worse.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1880 Back to Chicago, where my husband once lived for a Summer (part one here). The city remains much as I remember it: gritty, even at it’s “prettiest”, middle America in a big city/New York reminiscent package. It doesn’t woo… Read more →
YOSEMITE’S BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9005 Ahwahnee Drive Yosemite National Park, CA 95389 801-559-4884 www.yosemitepark.com/bracebridge Driving through snow-laced Yosemite Valley in Winter… there’s a quiet that is richly restorative. The sound of dripping icicles and waterfalls in the distance create a gentle hum as the backdrop to what is nothing short of Ansel Adams’ photos come alive. A little fog in the… Read more →
“Hog butcher for the world, Tool maker, stacker of wheat, Player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of big shoulders.” – Carl Sandburg, “Chicago,” 1916 Back to Chicago, where my husband once briefly lived, my first visit in nearly a decade. Certainly much has changed, yet the city remains much as I remember it: gritty,… Read more →
“As soon as I arrive to how it all fits together, I have to fathom out the ‘system’ of the city, have to walk, sniff, observe, sit in the buses and trams, make the city my own.” – Cees Noteboom, “Nomad’s Hotel” Back for yet another installment on the one and only New Orleans (last article was on French Quarter… Read more →
A recent weekend trip to the Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel area was ‘just what the doctor ordered’ for my deadline/detail-overloaded mind lately. The Renaissance Man and I took to the rocks along the sea like kids, climbing as far out as we could get, oohing and aahing at big waves and shimmering blue. California is one gorgeous place and there’s a reason… Read more →
ANGELINI OSTERIA The best Italian I’ve eaten in Los Angeles… even LA Times calls Chef Gino Angelini: “hands down, the best Italian chef in LA.” Angelini Osteria is cramped: you’re literally sardine-packed in, but affably flirty Italian waiters and gustatory pleasures make you (almost) forget. You have to shout above the din, but even with a group of friends, I… Read more →
Back to incomparable New Orleans… I continue to share of my long list of finds after recently renting an apartment on the edge of the Quarter, exploring every neighborhood I could (here’s my last installment, more to come). The French Quarter, touristy though it may be, is everything it’s reputed to be and more (next time I’ll share fave jazz… Read more →
Having lived in Orange County/LA area a good portion of my life (with family still there), I head down South regularly, exploring LA haunts as much as I can, struggling much more in OC to find high-caliber food and drink but always on the hunt. My recent visit provided yet more experiences worth sharing… DRINK Seven Grand – This is… Read more →
New Orleans, city that enchants me. Even in its gritty crime and scarred, beating heart, it is radiant, full of history, color and hope. I have many places to write about here… too many for even multiple articles. But I’ll share some from time to time, hoping you’ll go and explore like a local. Here are favorites from Treme and… Read more →
Miami was never on my travel wish list. I don’t find much to excite me about Florida and am not at all drawn to the South Beach party scene in Miami in particular. But I didn’t mind the opportunity to visit close friends there with the Renaissance Man. I knew I’d love South Beach’s Art Deco architecture and Little Havana’s… Read more →