Rotterdam: A Second City that Deserves to be Discovered
I’m up in my corner office for a few days, on the sixth floor of the Inntel Hotel in Rotterdam. Once again an unsung and less heralded city has impressed me. Maybe it’s this grand hotel room, with the view of the Erasmus Bridge soaring above the harbor, and the […]
Michelin Awards its Netherland Stars for 2016 in Amsterdam
To any chef working in Europe, the word Michelin means a lot. The tire company’s stars have defined the greatest restaurants across Europe since the end of World War II. Yesterday at the DeLaMar Theater, we found out which chefs will get new stars and which ones will keep their […]
Amsterdam in Winter Sounds Like a Great Party!
I’m off on an adventure on Saturday when I drive down to JFK to board a KLM jet to Amsterdam. The last time I saw this exciting city was in January 2000, I remember how alive the city was even on a Tuesday night. Every bar was packed, the streets […]
Brooklyn: A Beautiful Irish Story from the 1950s
It’s funny to praise a movie for its slow pace, but I’d have to say that’s what gives the new movie Brooklyn its tremendous appeal. It’s the deliberate and held back way that the immigrant Eilis takes to begin speaking when she answers the phone. It’s the pace of the […]
Music Promoters Get Smarter as Album Sales Wither
While many bemoan what’ s happened to the music business, other promoters and artists just figure out clever new ways to make more money despite sagging CD sales. Justin Beiber, the guy so many people love to hate, set up a partnership with the ride-sharing app, Lyft, to lift his […]
Turkeys Are Getting Much, Much Bigger
I learned a bit about turkeys this week, in a story by Joann Craven in the WSJ that explains why Americans continue to be bigger in stature than every other nationality. We eat a lot of turkey. There are four kinds of turkeys, all based on size. And size has […]
Seeing the Grateful Dead–Three of them– In Worcester Tonight
The last time I went to a Grateful Dead concert I was working for the Valley Advocate in downtown Amherst, and I walked down Amity Street to the UMass McGuirk stadium to see the concert. I am pretty certain that at that tender age of about 21, I had ingested […]
How Much Do Americans Travel? Not Enough
How much do most people travel in the US? According to a recent poll by SPGAmex, it’s only 12 days a year on average. But at the TBEX conference, hands were raised and it was confirmed that in this room, we travel about 88 days a year. But then again, […]
TBEX Knowledge: Frederic Gonzalo Shares Promotional Tips
I enjoyed a few seminars this morning from experts in travel promotion and how to use social media. Frederic Gonzalo from Quebec City showed off some interesting tidbits about innovations he has seen in this space. Marriott, for example, is providing Go Pro cameras to their guests to use while […]
Our Three Houseguests Make a Great Excuse for a Party
This is the kind of weekend I really love. A houseful of guests, in particular, my three sisters from New Jersey, and lots of home improvement, cleaning, fixing up and especially, cooking for a big gathering here on Saturday night. I am of a mind that we don’t have enough […]
A New Stove is a Thrill Every Few Decades
I wish I could remember when I bought the stove that I just had removed from the house here in Deerfield. It must be the 1990s…could it be? At any rate, I shed no tears when I said goodbye to my reliable and scary-noise making old white Hotpoint, and welcomed […]
Double Take: Greenfield Comes Alive with Theater All ‘Round Downtown This Weekend
Linda McInerney is up to her wonderfully clever old tricks once again! Formerly Old Deerfield Productions, her company is now Eggtooth Productions, but this is the fifth year of a most exciting and creative idea–bring together eight short plays, find unusual places to produce them, and then let it rip! […]
Porquerelles, Iles d’Hyere: A Pristine Place for Pleasure
Porquerolles, part of the Iles d’Hyere in Provence is about the same size as Nantucket, but that’s where the similarity ends. In fact, while we were mountain biking all around the trails and roads here, there were a lot of things that I wish someone could do to make our […]
The Seaside Path to Port du Niel: Why I Travel
The morning began with a ride in a public bus full of children on their way to school and a great way to mix with the locals. We were headed for Olbia, a Greek and then a Roman settlement ruins, built next to the sea where thermal baths once cooled off […]
In Provence, We Travel Sans Cars to Explore the Terrain
I arrived in Le Pradet, about 20 minutes past Toulon, in Provence France a day ago, and spent today walking up a mountain and learning much about this fantastically beautiful place with guides who are working with the MEET Program. Meet stands for Mediterranean Eco-tourism Experience of Travel, and aims […]
Sardinia: What is It Like Here
Saying goodbye to Sardinia tonight, as I anxiously await a 5 am wake-up and a day of travel to my next trip in France, I’m thinking about what it’s like here, and what memories I”ll take back with me. I’m always fascinated by the elevator speech–what will you tell people […]
