On 03.20.10, In Uncategorized, By admin
On 01.19.10, In Uncategorized, By admin
Walked by here this morning, it’s as glorious as ever…
On 01.08.10, In Uncategorized, By admin
On 01.08.10, In Uncategorized, By admin
I saw this pile of poor Christmas trees on the way to work today. Apparently, this apartment building has an official day for getting rid of shrubbery, as well as all of the other Christmas/holiday garbage that accumulates during the season.
On 01.04.10, In Uncategorized, By admin
I took the train from Grand Central Station in Manhattan to Brewster, New York, yesterday. This might not seem like a big deal but it has probably been, oh, about 12 years since I’ve done that, maybe more. I am from Brewster, but I’ve moved away. So has my entire extended family that lived up there. So, my regular jaunts up north are no longer necessary.
Brewster reservoir
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On 12.15.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
I was walking across town today and realized things looked a lot like Christmas. The shop windows, the streets, and then low and behold, I stumbled across the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Here’s what my morning walk looked like:
J Crew window
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On 10.26.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
Tim Burton's Romeo and Juliet
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By Ruthanne Terrero
One trap I’ve noticed that people in the travel industry fall into with Twitter is instead of trying to position themselves as a brand to the general populace, they quickly form a community of other like-minded travel folks and start chatting with them. As a result, Twitter soon becomes a personal social network and not a professional venue through which you can demonstrate your travel expertise.
Compare the situation to the physical workplace. Have you ever had co-workers or employees who have seen the office as their own personal sorority? They’re constantly instant-messaging jokes to other staffers and planning the daily happy hour get together. Sometimes they forget that the workplace isn’t their personal playground.
Now, Twitter has no rules, so I’m not saying that anyone online there is doing anything wrong. I am saying, however, that if you consider yourself adept at Twitter—to be a social media expert, in fact—simply because you can write messages using 140 characters or less, you should also take a look at what it is you’re writing. Is every tweet aimed at bolstering your public image? Are your more casual comments designed to engage potential customers or are they meant simply to garner a response from other travel agents or travel bloggers because you’re feeling mildly bored with your day? Are you using Twitter as a marketing tool or is this a playground that’s an extension of your personal Facebook account? Are your 100 new connections on Twitter potential customers who can bring you new business or are they new people that you can now complain about your day to?
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On 08.06.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
On 08.05.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
Does anyone know where these young ladies are and where they might be going?
On 08.04.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
Does anyone know where there photo was taken? Let me know what you think….leave a comment….
On 08.02.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
The Italian Riviera: http://www.theitalianriviera.eu
Top 10 movies to make you think of Italy: http://www.italy-revealed.com/10-movies-italy/
Brief guide to Rimini: http://www.venere.com/blog/rimini-guide/
Keep up to date with news of Italy: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/news
The official website of Tuscany: http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/intoscana2/export/TurismoRTen/
Personal shopper in Rome: http://www.romeshoppinguide.com/
Angels & Demons in Rome: Tour book and movie sites
10 Italy Experts Meet on Twitter and write this article
All you need to know about making your own Limoncello
The Vatican: 10 symbols to know
Trains from Florence to Milan
Chocoholic heaven in Amalfi
Here are several specialists who can help you with your travel to Italy.
CNN.com referenced them in a story it posted on July 9, entitled “Italy: Six Ways to Spend the Night.”
Italy generalist
Insiders Italy: insidersitaly.com
Rentalo:: www.rentalo.com
CNN’s Advice: Each method has perks: Renting direct gets you greater variety and lower prices, while using an agency will cost a bit more but offers the conveniences of dealing in English with a vetted catalog, the option of paying everything by credit card (direct rentals often require wire transfers), and greater consumer safeguards.
These are mine, I plan to keep adding to this list, so be sure to keep checking back.
Italian Connection
Just read this neat blog on Top 10 Things to Do in Naples, Italy
By Ruthanne Terrero
If you’re traveling to Italy, consider Sorrento on the Bay of Naples. We stopped here this summer on a cruise. This is a beautiful city and we walked and walked through the residential area, the modern area and the old town.
One of the greatest surprises of the day was discovering the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. It’s set right on the main thoroughfare (Piazza Tasso, 34), or rather its entry way is. As you walk through the gates, you’re greeted with beautiful gardens and archways of flowers. It’s all so elegant, you feel as if you’ve walked into an old world, aristocratic estate.
On 07.25.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
By Art Terrero
I’m just back from a trip to the Montreaux Jazz Festival; here’s George Benson playing Mambo Inn:
On 07.17.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
Just got this press release!
Located on the French Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa and a product of the late Marlon Brando’s vision, construction on The Brando has officially begun with completion slated for late 2011. Construction of the luxury eco-resort has commenced with the official authorization from the Tahitian government after several years of studying the impact of construction on the environment. The Brando will feature: 47 deluxe bungalow villas (each with private plunge pools), a spa, fitness center, community pool, as well as various island activities including scuba diving and archaeological tours of royal Tahitian sites.
Hotel Raito on the Amalfi Coast of Italy has announced a neat summer events schedule, which guests are invited to take part in for free from July 13-October 31, 2009.
The 77-guestroom Hotel Ratio offers rates for July 13-October 31, 2009 beginning at €300 per night, based on double occupancy.
By Ruthanne Terrero
Taormina in Sicily, a medieval town set high on a cliff is one of the best Mediterranean cruise stops I’ve visited.
Why? It’s authentic. Even though tourists flood its main boulevard, people live here. They stop and greet the gentleman who is sweeping the streets. Mothers walk up and down the streets with baby strollers and cars and motor scooters are everywhere. Everywhere as in, you and your traveling companion having to take turns telling each other to watch your back as vehicles navigate their way down narrow, archaic streets.
The town is filled with coffee shops, pastry shops, pizza shops, nightclubs and full-fledged restaurants. Our first stop was to a little place serving coffee. The host greeted us warmly, let us pick our seat out front and didn’t flinch when we ordered two cappuccinos at 1 p.m. The drinks were excellent. I don’t know how they get the froth at the top to be so creamy. Probably because their cappuccino machine cost a heck of a lot more than the one in my kitchen that I purchased 25 years ago.
In Taorimina, the cappucino is excellent.
By Ruthanne Terrero
Bari, in the Apulia (Puglia) region of Italy, has become an increasingly popular cruise port over the past few years. We stopped there on an itinerary that sailed out of Venice, first visiting Hvar, Croatia and continuing on its way along the coast of Italy.
For some reason, I thought Bari would be a small village, but it’s a big city divided into an old town and a modern area. It’s a university town of half a million people with a thriving commercial port. Our ship, the Seabourn Spirit, was able to dock right at the pier rather than using the tender transport it had to use in other ports we stopped in. Bari is, and always has been, ready for the big-time ships. If you’re looking for Bari on the map, it’s right in the heel of the boot, in the southwestern portion of the country.
Fishing boats in Bari
By Ruthanne Terrero
Are you ready for a new Tuscan villa hotel experience that comes with a pampering spa and a dining provided by Chef Gordon Ramsay?
Castel Monastero in the small medieval village of Monastero d’Ombrone in Chianti, has just opened. It’s just 14 miles east of Siena, set atop a hill, of course, as all good villa hotels should be. But that’s just me. The property is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which means it’s passed a number of arduous tests to be accepted. That’s a good thing.
What’s cool about Castel Monastero, aside from the fact that it’s set in an 11th-century village, is that its 76 guestrooms and suites are actually spread out among 13 buildings. Local artisans were employed to provide antiques and light fixtures from the area, as well as wall frescos and stone floors. Sounds nice.
Castel Monastero
Something else: It also has a 10,000-square-foot, 10-room spa, so it’s unlikely you’ll have to wait for an appointment. “Urban Retreat” is actually housed in two buildings connected by a glass tunnel, which sounds sort of charming. There are also three outdoor swimming pools that will let you get your “Under the Tuscan Sun” groove on. Another nice touch: Couples can book their own spa suite.
By Ruthanne Terrero
There are few places in the world that make you feel as if you are somewhere magnificently significant; Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy, is one of them. It all comes down to location: The hotel sits atop a winding hill in a stunningly idyllic port on the Italian Riviera, overlooking Portofino’s cove and the Tigullio Gulf, where jetsetters glide along in their yachts and sloops. Then there are the exclusive homes tucked into the hills; just across from the hotel is the home of the designers Dolce & Gabbana, which draws its own posh crowd when the duo is in town.
On 07.02.09, In Italy, Uncategorized, By admin
She treats visitors to meals hosted by the Contessa of one of Italy’s ancestral farmhouses, in the home kitchens of celebrated regional chefs, in local trattorie with nary a tourist in sight, and in the hallowed Michelin two-star ristorante, Il Duomo in Ragusa, where the chef is a personal friend.
Her guests learn to make hand-rolled pasta in La Maremma where villagers never heard of George Clooney, and to forage for wild plants, herbs and flowers that are the foundation and adornment of regional cuisines. In Alba they indulge in a white truffle dinner and attend the prestigious Alba Truffle Fair. They cook alongside renowned Sicilian cookbook author Eleonora Consoli, and spend an afternoon in Ragusa learning to make bread from the hard wheat flour grown on tiny organic farms.
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By Arthur J. Terry
These four properties provide a personal touch in Rome and Florence
On a recent visit to Rome, we stayed at the Hotel Mediterraneo, one of four hotels owned by the Bettoja Hotel Group. These properties, which are clustered together geographically, are within walking distance to many of the city’s most famous attractions (Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, Imperial Forums and the Opera House) and are conveniently close to the Termini Railway Station.
Hotel Mediterraneo guestroom
By Ruthanne Terrero
Terranea Resort opened June 12, 20 miles south of Los Angeles in Palos Verdes. The entire property seems amazing, since it’s right on the grand old California coastline but we’re most excited about the oceanfront Spa at Terranea, whose theme is all about wellness.
The views here are dazzling, especially from the second story oceanfront co-ed lounge, which has a walkout balcony that gives the illusion of being positioned directly over the ocean. Back inside, there’s a fireplace in case the gentle ocean breezes are just too much.
This is no small facility; the spa itself is 25,000 square feet in size, with a cool 24 treatment rooms and three VIP suites. Men and women have their own indoor/outdoor lounge areas, and that’s not all, there’s an oceanfront pool, 5,000 square foot Fitness and Wellness Center, full-service salon and a Spa Cafe.
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On 05.21.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
By Ruthanne Terrero
Great series of summer concerts announced….
So the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, one of the events of the 1960s, will be 40 this year. We hear that Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (www.BethelWoodsCenter.org) in Bethel, NY, has a little celebration planned, on account that it was at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival.
On 05.21.09, In Uncategorized, By admin
We are ready to get on a plane just to go see the new Modern Wing at The Art Institute of Chicago, which opened last weekend. This is no small attraction; the addition is 264,000-square-foot in size and brings the total footage of the museum to more than a million square feet.
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