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ActiveTravels Featured in Sunday’s Boston Globe

Sunday was already a celebratory day for my family as we gathered in New York for our niece, Sarah Schechter’s first art opening. The exhibition is on view at the Greenpoint Reformed Church in Brooklyn, 136 Milton Street, through December. So if you’re in New York, please have a look at these skillfully rendered, vibrant and often whimsical sketches and paintings from her life. Adding to the excitement on Sunday was a Boston Globe story about the rise of the travel agent that included quotes from Lisa and me. We were interviewed for the story several months ago, before our trip to southern Africa, and forgot about it until seeing it on Sunday. It was a nice surprise. Paired with the wonderful story from Moira McCarthy on ActiveTravels in the Boston Herald earlier this summer, we feel incredibly fortunate to be recognized. It only helps to legitimize the company when people search for a travel agent in that great big space called Google. 

 

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Top 5 Favorite Spring Drives, Austin to Texas Hill Country

An hour west of Austin lies the Balcones Escarpment, a long geologic fault zone that divides Texas in half. Balcones is Spanish for “balconies,” an apt way to describe how the Texas Hill Country suddenly thrusts up from the gently rolling prairie to create limestone canyons. On lonely backcountry roads, you’ll be driving under tall cypress trees past large cattle ranches and fields of bluebonnets that are in bloom come April. Take US 290 west from Austin to Johnson City’s Wildflower Loop. Then be sure to tour the nearby LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, stop for bratwurst and a pint of Shiner Bock in the German settlement of Fredericksburg, go for a stroll on the pebble-strewn paths of the 5400-acre Hill Country State Natural Area, and listen to the next Willie Nelson at the legendary country music hamlet of Luckenbach. The homey Hoffman Haus B&B in Fredericksburg is a good place to rest your legs after a day of touring the region. 

 
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Seastreak Ferry Announces New Bus/Ferry Service from Boston in 2014

I just received word that Seastreak, the company that offers ferry service from New Bedford to Martha’s Vineyard, will bus clientele from Boston’s South Station to the ferry in New Bedford starting next April. This is wonderful news for people traveling into the Boston area who don’t want to rent a car, only to leave it at the ferry terminal parking lot. It’s also much cheaper than flying into the Vineyard. You’re shuttled one hour by bus from Boston’s South Station to the ferry terminal in New Bedford, where you board the high-speed ferry for the short crossing on Buzzards Bay to the Vineyard. Cost is $68 round-trip for adults including both bus and ferry. 
 
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May is the Ideal Time of Year to Visit Asheville, North Carolina

It certainly was a privilege to be born a Vanderbilt in the latter part of the 19th century. While Cornelius Vanderbilt II erected his mega-mansion, the Italian-style villa The Breakers, in Newport, brother William and his wife Alva were designing the nearby Marble House. Then there was the youngest of Cornelius’s siblings, George Washington Vanderbilt II, who decided to shun the Atlantic coast and build his estate in the therapeutic mountain air of North Carolina. Built in the French chateau style by renowned Manhattan architect, Robert Morris Hunt, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville is still one of the largest private homes in America, close to 180,000 square feet. Each spring, Biltmore celebrates the legacy of American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the mastermind behind the Biltmore gardens. Olmsted’s influence is obvious throughout year, but especially in spring when a progression of blooms spreads like a flowery blanket across the estate. The gardens come to life with the tulip bloom followed by multi-colored azaleas, rhododendrons, and roses in the resplendent rose garden.

 
If you’re feeling active, horseback ride or bike the grounds of the Biltmore. The Biltmore Outdoor Adventure Center also features Segway tours, stand-up paddleboarding, rafting, and sea kayaking. Another joy in the spring is the 80-mile stretch of roadway between Asheville and Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are numerous opportunities to stretch your legs and stroll to lonely mountain streams and waterfalls. Back in town, check out the Asheville Art Museum and visit one of the many galleries like Woolworth Walk, a gallery in an old Woolworth’s department store. 
 
Asheville is gaining a reputation as a foodie destination. The tapas at Curate, especially the squid ink paella is worth the wait. Luella’s Bar-B-Que (just north of downtown) serves ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings, even barbecued tempeh. White Duck Taco in the River Arts District is known for their innovative tacos featuring jerk chicken and banh mi fillings. End with an artisanal hot chocolate at French Broad Chocolate or one of the Flemish beers at Thirsty Monk. 
 
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ActiveTravels January Newsletter, Best of The New Travel in 2019

We look forward to bringing you the ActiveTravels January Newsletter each year because it gives us a chance to discover what’s new in the world of travel. If it wows us, then it passes the test and we’re excited to share it with you. Please have a look to see our roundup of the latest and greatest hotels, resorts, cruises, adventures and restaurants to debut in 2019. 

We’re off to Hong Kong and Bangkok tonight for the next two weeks. We had to leave two days early to avoid the winter storm and snow headed to Boston. We’ll be back on February 4th with the highlights from Amy’s recent trip to Thailand and Laos. Thanks, as always, for checking in! 
 
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Peru Week with Abercrombie and Kent: A Healing Ceremony with a Local Shaman

Abercrombie and Kent has just launched Wellness-Inspired Luxury Small Group Journeys to Peru, India, Kenya, and Southeast Asia. On my last day in Cuzco, I received a small taste of what they offer on these itineraries when a shaman from a mountain village in the Sacred Valley met me at the outdoor courtyard of my hotel, the Belmond Monasterio, a former 400-year-old convent, and performed a healing ritual honoring both my family and the Mother Earth goddess Pachamama. The hourlong ceremony united Mother Earth with the mountains, signifying the union of female and male, as he created a circle of local spices like anise, candies, even a condor feather. Then the shaman wrapped it all up in a cloth to bring back to his village and burn as an offering. He learned to be a shaman from his grandmother and his last words to me were “to keep a pure heart.” I felt re-energized and purified after the meditative encounter. 
 
If interested in any of Abercrombie and Kent’s new Wellness Journeys, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check dates and availability. I want to thank Jean Fawcett, Media Relations Manager at Abercrombie and Kent for helping to arrange this memorable trip to Peru!
 
To all my Jewish friends and family, L’shanah Tovah! 
 
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Nova Scotia Week, Finding the Heart of Cape Breton

Once on Cape Breton, most travelers make a beeline for the headlands of the National Park or the rugged coastline that drops precipitously into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But don’t make the mistake of missing the interior or what locals call the Highlands. Head to a sweet spot like Margaree River Valley and you’ll find a ring of rounded summits peering down on verdant pastures dotted with sheep, cattle, and sleek, dark French Canadian horses. You’ll also find the rolling waters of that legendary salmon fishing river, the Margaree, snaking though the spectacular scenery. This is the authentic Cape Breton, where you can spend a night at the classic Normaway Inn, have dinner from a chef who taught alongside Jacques Pepin at Manhattan’s French Culinary Institute, and then be treated to a foot-stomping fiddler concert every night from June through October. Last night in the Normaway’s library, I was fortunate enough to listen to a father and daughter play fiddle and guitar, while on piano, was the hotel’s housekeeper, who’s toured with Natalie MacMaster and Waylon Jennings. Here, in the heart of Ceilidh “kay-lee” country, it’s a good bet that your waiter or bellhop has played to a packed crowd and can dance the two-step, either in a nearby barn or in a packed concert hall. Seeing this threesome play last night in an intimate setting, stomping my foot and clapping my hands to the fast-moving fiddle, is one of those authentic travel experiences that I’ll remember years from now, when those rugged cliffs of Cape Breton have faded into the sea. 

 

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