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Top 5 Travels of 2010, Biking to Giverny, France

I can think of no better way to start 2011 than to look back at my year of travels in 2010 and see which experiences surpassed all expectations. Last July, I took the family to Paris. We climbed up the Eiffel Tower, viewed the monumental works of art at the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Pompidou museums, shopped in the Marais, celebrated my brother’s birthday with a lavish spread at a friend’s home in the 16th arrondissement, and toured an overlooked museum devoted to French innovation, Musee des Arts et Metiers. The highlight for me, however, was our one day away from Paris on a bike tour to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet. Run by Fat Tire Bike Tours, we took a short train ride to the village of Vernon. As soon as we arrived, we were handed our bikes and visited an outdoor market to stock up on creamy Reblochon cheese, tasty Rosette de Lyon sausage, and hot-out-of-the-oven baguettes from the nearby boulangerie. We had our picnic lunch in a park overlooking swans swimming in the Seine, and then headed out on a bike trail that connects Vernon with Giverny. We entered the picturesque hamlet and were soon walking over that Japanese bridge seen in many of Monet’s works. The whole trip took about 8 hours and cost 65 Euros per biker, a perfect day trip for our family of four.
 

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Swiss Bliss

Grindelwald is one of those fairy-tale Swiss mountain villages that serve as a gateway to the heart of the Alps. Wander from your hotel to the gondola, ride it to the last stop, and soon you’ll be staring at a crown of majestic 13,000-foot peaks. While it’s the Jungfrau region’s largest ski resort, in summer Grindelwald offers scenic walks, bike rides, and hikes past lakes and waterfalls and through flower-bedecked alpine meadows.
 
A fresh dusting of snow atop the jagged ridges this July morning only adds to the luster as my family and I set out on a six-mile hike along the Bachalpsee route to a remote lake deep in an emerald valley. To make our descent back to town, we hop aboard scooter-bicycle hybrids called Trottibikes. I point mine downhill on a paved path and pray. Directly across from me lies the mighty Eiger peak, its massive girth only adding to my anxiety. I decide to step off to gather my nerves and pretend to take photos.
 
That’s when my daughter, Melanie, whizzes by me at breakneck speed and screams, "Yeah, Trottibikes!" (Translation: You’re getting old, Dad).
 
To read more about my travels with the family to Switzerland last summer, please check out my latest story for Virtuoso Traveler. 
 
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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Napa and Sonoma Valley, California

Based in San Francisco since the company started in 1979, Backroads has reaped the benefits of being so close to Napa and Sonoma Valley. Their bike tours to the region are still the industry standard. Ride through the vineyards and soaring redwood forests in the company of new friends, have numerous opportunities for wine tastings at the dozens of wineries that line the cycling routes, get those tired legs worked on at award-winning spas, and then indulge in gourmet meals inspired by local vintages and fresh California ingredients. I call that a recipe for success, the reason why Backroads has become an active travel industry leader. They now offer trips all over the globe, but it’s hard to top the ones in their backyard to California Wine Country. 

 
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Bike the Indian Continent from Agra to Kanyakumari

Tour d’Afrique, the socially responsible bike touring company out of Toronto, doesn’t fool around when they create their dream bike trips. In 2003, they traversed the entire African continent in four months, from Cairo to Capetown. Then came the 50-day jaunt on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul, the 2752-mile Silk Route ramble from Istanbul to Samarkand, and 7500-mile Vuelta Sudamericana that traveled from Rio to Quito. Starting in January 2011, they will set their sites on India, cycling from the Taj Mahal to the southern tip of the country, passing though the desert cities of Rajasthan, the city of Mumbai, and the beaches of Goa. You can take the trip in its entirety (2050 miles) from January 29 to March 15, 2011 or split it up into sections. The $5200 cost includes guides, van support, and lodging. A much needed masseuse for those tired calves is extra.
 

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Winslow Homer’s Studio Will Open to the Public in September

Winslow Homer’s still-standing studio on Prouts Neck, Maine will finally open to the public next month. It has been closed for renovations since 2006, when the Portland Museum of Art acquired the studio where Homer lived and painted many of his masterpieces from 1883 until his death. Several years ago, I wrote an article for Yankee Magazine about Homer’s years in Prouts Neck. You can reserve tickets to the studio through the Portland Museum of Art. To further celebrate the opening, the Portland Museum of Art will display 35 major oils and watercolors painted during Homer’s time at Prouts Neck in a show titled Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine. The exhibition will run from September 22 to December 30, 2012. Stay at one of my favorite stopovers in southern Maine, the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, a 15-minute drive from both Portland and Prouts Neck. The Inn by the Sea is featuring a "Seascapes Package" to coincide with the exhibition and studio opening. For $632, you receive two nights in a one-bedroom suite, two rum cocktails named for the artist, two tickets to the Weatherbeaten exhibition, a catalogue from the show, and full breakfast for two each morning. They can also help to arrange tours of the studio, which cost an additional $55 per person. 
 
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Destinations to Visit in 2015—East or South Africa

The hysteria over Ebola has persuaded travelers to avoid Africa in the foreseeable future. But here are the facts. The distance from the Ebola outbreak in Liberia to the safari parks of East and Southern Africa is about the same distance as Manhattan to Anchorage, Alaska. Indeed, Madrid, Paris, and London are all closer to the Ebola epicenter than Nairobi or Capetown. Both Kenya and South Africa have stopped all flights to the affected region and so far, there have been no reported cases of Ebola in the eastern or southern part of the continent. With safari bookings dramatically down in 2015, this is the time to go bargain hunting and find deals with African outfitters. They need to fill seats to stay in business. 

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Kids Stay Free at Iberostar Properties April 8 to December 13

Hey New Englanders! Still want to get away over Patriots Day Week with the kids. Iberostar Resorts just announced that two kids will stay free at their Mexican and Caribbean properties when two adults pay the full price. These include several of my favorites, Iberostar Paraiso Maya in Riviera Maya and Rose Hall Beach, outside of Montego Bay. If you prefer to head to one of their all-inclusive properties over the summer, the offer is good from April 8 to December 13.

 

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