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Don’t Miss the Goya Show at Museum of Fine Arts Boston

When we last saw the curatorial work of Frederick Ilchman, he was at the helm of the masterful MFA exhibition, “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice,” on view in 2009. Ilchman showed his theatrical side by placing a Tintoretto work on the ceiling as the artist originally intended. Knowing his travels took him back and forth to his beloved Venice, I persuaded him to divulge some of his favorite restaurants and sights in the city for a Boston Globe story. The past five years, he’s been traveling back and forth to Madrid and the result is his impressive new show at the MFA on the Spanish artist Goya. Goya: Order and Disorder, is on view at the MFA through January 19, and you can read my review of the exhibition at Everett Potter’s Travel Report. The MFA is the only venue for the show and you’d be wise to get there or wait another five years for Ilchman’s next exhibition. Thankfully, Ilchman is here to stay, having recently been appointed Chair, Art of Europe at the MFA.
 
I’m off to Fort Lauderdale for the wedding of good friends, Fran Golden and David Molyneaux. Since they’re two of the top cruise writers in America, their wedding will take place on the new Regal Princess on a short voyage to the Bahamas Tomorrow, I’ll be at the naming ceremony with six of the original cast members of The Love Boat, including Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), former Iowa congressman, Fred Grandy (Gopher), and my personal favorite, Bernie Kopell (Doc), who also played the villain Siegfried on “Get Smart.” I’ll be back next Tuesday. Have a great week!
 
Photo: Thirteenth Dutchess of Alba (1797, Hispanic Society of America, New York)
 

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Backroads Family Breakaway to Switzerland, First Stop Kandersteg

Having just returned from Switzerland last night, I have to admit that the Backroads trip my family was just on was as close to perfection as it gets in the world of travel. It wasn’t merely the stunning Alps scenery around every bend or the two exceptional group leaders, Agata and Gosia, who led the 6-day jaunt seamlessly with a confident dose of professionalism and buoyant personalities. The families on this trip were wonderful, all yearning for a dose of adventure to celebrate a momentous occasion like a son or daughter soon leaving for their first year of college. After a week of hiking, biking, and kayaking together, swapping anecdotes about our lives, I consider them all friends. But the real reason I think this trip excelled was the itinerary. I’ve been on two other Backroads trips, biking around the Big Island and a multisport trip to Costa Rica, and spent far too much time in shuttles or transfers to the next destination. Switzerland, especially the Swiss Alps, is blessed with an intricate network of trains, gondolas, and ferries that can connect with endless opportunities for high adventure right outside your hotel doorstep. You never have to travel far.

Our first gondola ride took us from the small mountain resort town of Kandersteg up 5,500 feet to Oeschinensee, a glacially carved lake filled with cobalt blue waters. We hiked along the shoreline, passing under countless waterfalls, as we rose some 1,000 feet to a mountain hut. We peered up in awe at 12,000-feet Blümlisalp and its fresh coating of sparkling white snow atop its jagged-edged peak. A worthy introduction to these majestic mountains and their lofty altitudes. I would spend the rest of the week looking up at the staggering beauty every chance I had. 
 
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Stroll Boston’s HarborWalk

With the emergence of the Seaport District, Boston is finally taking advantage of its waterfront setting. This is especially true if you use the HarborWalk, a boardwalk that snakes along the shores. Park in the lot next to the ICA building. From the grandstand behind the Museum, you can watch the planes fly into Logan Airport and tugboats glide through the harbor. The downtown skyline, best seen from this vantage point, becomes even more impressive as you make your way around the glass exterior of the Joseph J. Moakley Courthouse. Next up is the Barking Crab, a great place to grab a lobster roll and sit family-style at picnic tables. Walk across Fort Point Channel on the pedestrian-only bridge to reach Boston Harbor Hotel, and the mega-yachts that line Rowes Wharf. If the weather cooperates, you can continue along the waterfront to the New England Aquarium, Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, and the North End, where I usually reenergize with a pistachio macaroon at Mike’s Pastry. 
 
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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Niagara-on-the-Lake

There’s nothing quite like the combination of biking through wine country. It’s not merely the lonely backcountry roads that lead to the wineries, but the chance to dine on a sublime meal at a winery after a day of biking. This week I plan to focus on some of my favorite regions to bike and visit wineries. Yes, I’ll include the obvious choices like Napa and Sonoma, along with the Stellenbosch region in South Africa, the Bordeaux Valley of France, and the exceptional pinot noirs of Oregon wine country, But I’ll start with a destination that may come as a bit of a surprise, Canada. 

 
Only a half-hour drive from the thunderous roar of Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake is the antithesis of its commercialized neighbor. This charming Victorian town rests in the heart of Ontario wine country, where close to 100 vineyards produce the sweet icewine, Riesling, and Pinot Noir. At night, rest your weary legs while watching a play at the renowned Shaw Festival, specializing in the works of Bernard Shaw. I was fortunate to tour the region with the highly reputable outfitter, Butterfield and Robinson, and it resulted in this story for The Boston Globe. 
 
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Canadian Rockies/Alaska Combo

Vacations by Rail, the Chicago-based travel company, has just announced a phenomenal 16-day vacation that combines train travel on arguably the best train in North America, Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer, with an Alaskan cruise on Holland America, ending with an Alaskan railroad jaunt from Anchorage to Denali National Park. Coined the Rocky Mountaineer and Alaska by Sea and Land package, board the Rocky Mountaineer and get ready for a soul-stirring train ride through the snowcapped peaks and cobalt blue glacial waters of the Canadian Rockies. You have two days in Vancouver before you board the ms Zaandam for a weeklong cruse on Alaska’s Inside Passage, stopping at Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay before arriving in Anchorage. Spend a day and night in town, before taking your last train on to Denali, home to 20,157-foot Mount McKinley, and your final destination of Fairbanks. 2013 departures are available May 21, June 18, July 16, and August 13 and 27 and prices start at $3,579 per person based on double occupancy.
 
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Climb Longs Peak, Colorado

Despite its forbidding East face and a summit of strewn boulders, Rocky Mountain National Park’s highest peak is climbed by hundreds in the summer months. Spend at least one night at 7,000 to 8,000 feet to adjust to the elevation and then begin this 15-mile round-trip (10 to 15 hours) hike in the wee morning hours. Starting at the East Longs Peak trailhead (9400 feet and a 90-minute drive from Denver), the first six miles is a moderate ascent through a forest of sub-alpine fir, Engelmann spruce, and what the Germans call krummholz (crooked timber). At aptly named Boulder Field (12,760 feet), the path steepens as you begin the Keyhole Route to the top. Here, the above-treeline ledges resemble a cliffside stairway, albeit without handrail. The final “Homestretch” is a scramble atop rocks as the Continental Divide and all the glorious splendor of the Rockies spread out on a carpet of green before you. Try to get off the 14,225-foot summit by noon, when summer thunderstorms often begin its daily light show on the exposed rock. Colorado Mountain School offers guided hikes up the mountain.  
 
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Memorable Spring Bike Rides, Walla Walla, Washington

Not so long ago, Walla Walla was known for its sweet tasting onion. Yet, as of late, this community of 40,000 has been transformed by the grapevine, now boasting more than 80 boutique vineyards. Talented chefs have also made the move to this fertile valley, happy to get their produce from the local farmer and to have their meals washed down with award-winning cabernets and syrahs. The relatively level terrain in the southeastern corner of Washington offers a web of backcountry roads through vineyards and fields of wheat, onions, and peas that are perfect for road bikers. Unlike Napa, with its close proximity to San Francisco, there are no limos or buses filled with wine tasters to blow exhaust your way. Indeed, the closest city is sleepy Spokane, 155 miles to the north.  Ride south of town to view the 6,000-foot snowcapped peaks of the Blue Mountains, making sure to stop at Pepper Bridge, Northstar, and Zerba Wineries to try the complex, yet aromatic red wines, which, depending on the vintage, can hint at black cherry, pepper, even licorice.  
 
Follow me live on location next week, when I bike through Niagara-on-the-Lake with Butterfield & Robinson!
 

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