Now that the CapeFlyer train is running once again from Boston to Hyannis, there’s no better time to sample the French fare at Pain D’Avignon. The café at the renowned bread bakery lured Massachusetts native Matthew Tropeano back to his roots last summer to serve as executive chef. Tropeano has an impressive resume, including an eight-year tenure at New York’s La Grenouille, where he received a three-star rating from The New York Times. At the helm of Pain D’Avignon, the chef takes full advantage of the bounty of produce and seafood found on the Cape to create his innovative menu.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s backed by a bread factory that produces 6,000 to 16,000 pounds of product a day depending on the season. Over 200 varieties of bread are made on premises, distributed across New England to restaurants, resorts, and individuals via the increasingly popular Bread of the Month Club.
Last summer, I sampled the innovative fare and wrote this story for
The Boston Globe.
The allure of Barbados has always been the stretch of soft white sand on the west coast that serves as a welcome mat for the warm aquamarine waters of the Caribbean Sea. Yet, it’s the ecological wonders in the northern and eastern section of the island that make Barbados an intriguing island destination. At Harrison’s Cave, you hop on a tram that slowly ambles into the dark corridor of limestone coral. The 100-foot high Great Hall is teeming with stalagmites and stalactites, the color of a creamsicle. Even more impressive is the crystal-like formations found in the Rotunda above pools of rushing water. Next stop is the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, home to green monkeys that were first brought to the island as pets of slave traders in the mid-17th century. The monkeys tend to be shy, so you have to be still. There are also flamingos and pelicans drinking from the shallow ponds, toucans that blurt “hello” from inside an aviary, and peacocks who squawk at the slow moving red-footed tortoise. You finish with a swim on one of those blissful beaches. 
Just the name, 
New England is known for its abundant number of private retreats where you and your group of friends can rent out the entire enclave for a weekend of yoga, meditation, and hiking and biking in the outdoors. Yet, the list of these retreats can be overwhelming so it helps to have friends who do the research for you. I was excited to be included on the guest list for a momentous birthday this past weekend at 
If you’re dreaming of visiting old Havana before its transformation back to the lavish Havana of Hemingway’s day, then you better act quickly. I just received word last week that the ultra-sybaritic hotelier, 
I know where I’ll be this Christmas Day, skiing with my family on the slopes of 
When I visited Toronto in October, I took a hardhat tour of the new