Looking for a place to have afternoon tea in San Francisco? Look no further than the Palace Hotel tea which is served in a stunningly beautiful dining area called The Garden Court. If you are pairing tea with some sightseeing, Lands End offers a beautiful coastal hike on the other side of the city. I love tea and the act of indulging in the formal ritual of afternoon tea, and I have been wanting to come to the Palace Hotel tea for over three years after I got a glimpse of The Garden Court during our first visit to San Francisco. The Garden Court is located where the carriage entrance to the hotel used to be and offers magnificent turn-of-the-century grandeur and elegance. Imagine a large room with a magnificent glass atrium, glass chandeliers, the buzz of people softly talking, china clinking, adorable children wearing crowns, and a grand piano… Read the rest
Archives for August 2013
Munich Greeter Program: Explore Munich with a Free Local Tour Guide
Have you heard of the Munich Greeter Program? If you are planning a trip to Munich, you should definitely check out this program which matches new visitors to the city with a local greeter that will accompany them on a walking tour of the city. If your visit lines up with the fall, do not miss Oktoberfest in Munich and the city’s historic beer halls. Greeters are local people who are passionate about their city and volunteer their time to show visitors an in-depth look at their favorite area of Munich. The idea for the Munich Greeter Program came from a similar program that was first started in New York City, and now many cities worldwide offer these types of volunteer walking tour programs to provide guests with a friendly introduction to their city. We were just in Munich for the first time in May and we used this program… Read the rest
Must-See Waterfalls on the Big Island of Hawaii
Aloha! While all of the islands of Hawaii have waterfalls, none are perhaps as accessible as some of the ones on the Big Island of Hawaii. Most of the waterfalls can be seen along the northeastern coast of the island, along the Hamakua and Hilo coasts. While part of the island is a dark desert of dry volcanic rock, this part of the island is green, wet, and supports amazing lush vegetation, rainforests, and botanical gardens. And of course, some spectacular waterfalls! I love waterfalls and have been lucky to have had the opportunity to spend about 2 weeks on the Big Island and see many, but certainly not all, of these wonderful cascading waterfalls. All the waterfalls listed below are located between the Waipi’o Valley (located near the small town of Kukuihaele) and Hilo. All fall within the Hamakua, North Hilo, and South Hilo districts if you have a… Read the rest
Our Airbnb Review: Advice and Tips for Booking via Airbnb
Using Airbnb to book accommodations during your travels can not only help save you money, but it can also help you meet people and bring you closer to the local culture. While hotels and even hostels can offer more services than most Airbnb hosts, the chance to stay in someone’s house or apartment can lead to some wonderful conversations and experiences. We have found that it can also help us save a lot of money when compared to booking a hotel room in the same location. Sometimes it can even be cheaper than booking a hostel! While Airbnb is not for every traveler, we’ll provide a review of Airbnb that can help you decide if it is right for you. In this article, we’ll cover the basics of what is Airbnb, our personal experiences of using Airbnb, the pros and cons of using Airbnb, and tips on booking through Airbnb…. Read the rest
Galeries Lafayette Fashion Show Paris: Tickets, Tips, and Our Review
Interested in attending a fashion show in Paris? Paris is one of the Big Four cities of fashion in the world along with London, New York City, and Milan, and it is no wonder that many visitors to the City of Lights are interested in catching a glimpse of models on a catwalk showing off the latest collections. But chances are that your visit to Paris won’t coincide with the semi-annual Paris Fashion Week, and even if it did, tickets are almost impossible to obtain for those of us who are not part of the fashion industry or press world. No reason to despair though. You can attend a fashion show held regularly throughout the year at the Galeries Lafayette. The Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann holds a 30-minute fashion show every Friday afternoon where models show off ready-to-wear collections from brands you can buy in the store. We’ve attended the… Read the rest
Travel Research: Are Travel Guidebooks Still Useful in the Digital Age?
As more and more people use the Internet to do travel research, are travel guidebooks still useful and relevant? Do we need travel guidebooks anymore? With giant travel websites like Tripadvisor and Expedia, it made me wonder how much people use guidebooks these days. Recent research suggests that although most people are using the Internet as a source of travel information, most people still rely on travel guidebooks during their travels. Let’s take a look at a research article in the Journal of Travel Research. Research Study: A 2011 published research study collected information from 196 overseas travelers from Hong Kong. The majority of travelers were traveling for leisure purposes. Travelers completed surveys about what information sources they used to help them plan their trip prior to travel, what sources they used while traveling, and what sources they used after travel. They were also asked to rate how influential each travel… Read the rest
Our Dining Experience at The French Laundry in Napa Valley
For our fourth anniversary, Ethan surprised me with reservations at The French Laundry during an overnight trip to the Napa Valley in California. While Napa Valley is of course best known for its wonderful wines and winery visits are on most people’s to-do lists, there are lots of things to do in Napa Valley besides wine tasting. Eating at the wonderful restaurants is definitely one of them and definitely great for those who can’t or don’t drink wine like my then boyfriend. Eating at the highly-rated The French Laundry restaurant had been something that I had wanted to do. But given the cost of dining here, I had never really thought I’d get the chance to do so. But I was lucky enough to have the opportunity on our anniversary. So how was it you ask? Here’s our full The French Laundry review of our dining experience. General Information/BookIng: For… Read the rest
Missing the Boat on the Canal Saint Martin: Sometimes Things Don’t Work Out as We Planned
Sometimes our perfectly planned travel days don’t work out as we planned. Sometimes the weather, public transportation, or our own health derails a perfectly planned day. And sometimes we just get lost and miss our reservations for a boat ride down the Canal Saint Martin. This is what happened to us during our last visit to Paris. During our first trip to Paris, we had taken the obligatory boat ride on the Seine River. We saw all the major sites – the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame, etc.—as we plied along the famous river. So we wanted to do something a little different on our second trip to Paris together. We decided to take a boat ride down the Canal Saint-Martin, which is a 4.5 km long canal in Paris that connects the Canal de ‘Ourcq to the Seine. I am much more of a planner… Read the rest