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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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Davis, California, Leading the Way in Cutting Carbon Emissions

Located near Sacramento, Davis, California, is a city of just over 65,000 people that’s perhaps best known as the first city in the country to create bike lines on their streets. Well, yesterday, they just upped the ante by announcing their intent to cut the community’s carbon emissions by up to 50 percent by 2013. Using the tenets of David Gershon’s book, “Low Carbon Diet: A 30-day Program to Lose 5,000 Pounds,” Davis is creating EcoTeams, peer-support groups to help households reduce their emissions. Cool Portland (Oregon), Gershon’s first pilot program, helped reduce carbon emissions of each household by 22 percent or 6,700 pounds. 50 percent seems ambitious, but kudos to Davis and Gershon for giving it a shot!
 

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May Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

I just spotted a bright yellow goldfinch outside my office window. Yes, springtime has finally arrived in New England along with budding magnolia and weeping willow trees and the blooms of tulips, hyacinth, and forsythia. Time to go play. Summer is officially around the corner. Our May newsletter covers mostly domestic travel despite the fact that so many of our members are traveling to Europe right now. We don’t want you to forget the beauty of the National Parks, the fun of camping with your family (especially if the tour operator is doing all the heavy lifting), and the enticing events on Nantucket in May and June. Amsterdam is our sole European subject in this issue as we cover some of our favorite properties. Enjoy the weekend! 

 
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A Highly Recommended Private Guide In Barcelona

When I mentioned to a friend that my husband and I were going to Barcelona, she recommended a private guide company, Hi This Is Barcelona. I could tell right away from their personalized email reply to my inquiry that this was a classy boutique organization. My husband and I took two of their ½-day tours. Seeing Barcelona through their guide was like shopping for a novel at an independent bookstore versus going to a chain store. Our guide had so much knowledge and passion about his adopted city and he was genuinely committed to sharing as much as possible. 
 
He met us at our hotel the first morning and gave us an overview of the Gothic area, geographically, culturally and historically. That introduction, which he elaborated on during our walk, gave us a full perspective on what we’d be seeing. During the tour, we had time to hear stories and anecdotes that weren’t in any of the guidebooks or websites we’d checked out before our trip. 
 
My husband wanted to photograph the city from various perspectives. During the Modernist tour, our guide brought us to rooftop locations with aerial views, and we always got there at prime time for best lighting conditions. He navigated us to the least crowded areas with the most interesting mix of architectural styles and shared insight about the lives of the architects, their relationships which each other and what was going on around them that was influential at the time.
 
After our tours, our guide recommended restaurants, specific shops, and day trips outside the city that catered to our interests. Compared to the places our hotel concierge suggested, our guide’s picks were places where we felt like insiders instead of tourists. We chose Barcelona as a destination because we needed to feed our souls with culture, history and great food and Hi This Is Barcelona made it all happen for us in a uniquely relaxing and stimulating way. I highly recommend it!
 
Posted by Guest Blogger, Robin Regensburg, co-founder of RainCastle Communications, a web design and marketing firm in Boston
 
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Nova Scotia Week, Sampling the Surprisingly Good Wines of Annapolis Valley

An easy one-hour drive west of Halifax and I arrived in the growing wine region of Annapolis Valley. Once a footnote among grape-growing regions, the rolling green countryside now boasts 14 wineries that produce crisp cool-climate whites, decadent icewines, and Champagne-style sparkling wines that are attracting international attention. My first stop was Luckett Vineyards, where I enjoyed the dry Tidal Bay and spicier Muscat, with hints of tropical fruit. A short drive through the rolling countryside dotted with rows of vines, dairy farms, and green fields and I arrived at L’Acadie Vineyards. Their 2007 Prestige Brut was the only North American entry to be honored last fall in a competition held in France, bringing home a silver medal for its sparkling wine. I tried the 2008 variety, which also deserves kudos for its earthy, mineral taste. My favorite wine of the day was an Ortega, a Riesling like wine made by Domaine de Grand Pré. Not nearly as cloying as most Rieslings, this one went down smoothly with my seafood chowder of lobster and scallops, served at the Grand Pré’s excellent restaurant, Le Caveau. The college town of Wolfville is the gateway to the Annapolis Valley. Victorian mansions have been transformed into bed and breakfasts like the one I’m writing this from, the Blomidon Inn. Their top-notch restaurant not only serves local wines, but other indigenous goodies like a freshly caught halibut in the nearby Bay of Fundy that I happily devoured last night. 

 
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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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Spicer Mansion to Debut in Mystic in May

Conveniently located halfway between Boston and New York on the I-95 corridor, Mystic has always been a popular stopover to see the beluga whales at the Mystic Aquarium and the former whaling vessels at the Mystic Seaport, a re-creation of a 19th-century seaside village. Then there’s B.F. Clyde’s, the oldest steam powered cider mill in America, Mystic Pizza, and Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, where homemade ice cream has been served at the same site for over a century. Lodging, however, has always been geared toward families, not adults who crave a bit more sophistication. That will change on May 4 when management of the acclaimed Relais & Chateau property, Ocean House, and Weekapaug Inn in nearby Rhode Island open the Spicer Mansion. A landmark since 1853, the building will return to its Victorian splendor. Expect the same level of service that one finds at the Ocean House, afternoon tea in the grand salon, cocktails at Room No. 9 Speakeasy, and a new restaurant that will offer a seasonal six-course tasting menu. Guests at the Spicer Mansion also gain access to the other two properties and their beaches and spa facilities. 

 

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