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Strolling Florence’s Oltrarno Neighborhood

To escape the crowds in Florence, all you have to do is cross over the Arno into the far more residential Oltrarno neighborhood. Walking the narrow streets, I spotted a child being picked up at school by her grandfather and scooped onto the front of his bike to ride home. We found a wonderful row of boutique shops just off the Palazzo Pitti on Sdrucciolo dei Pitti and then wandered into a massive church, Santo Spirito, where a crucifix created by Michelangelo at the age of 18 still hangs. The highlight was a stop Lisa vividly remembered from studying abroad in Florence over three decades ago, the Brancacci Chapel. Inside this off-the-beaten-track church is one of Western art’s most important works, the fresco by artists Masaccio and Masolino (started in 1383), most importantly Masaccio’s Expulsion of Adam and Eve. The figures in this work reflect light, giving them a sculptural presence as Masaccio was one of the first artists to use single-point perspective. We ended our day with dinner at Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco, a wonderful restaurant suggested by our friend, Nina. The bruschetta was overflowing with ripe tomatoes and garlic and my tender veal scaloppini was covered with eggplants and peppers, all washed down with good Sangiovese wine. Perfecto! 

 

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Top 5 Paddling Spots, Boundary Waters, Ely, Minnesota

Maybe it’s the 1,000,000-plus acres of seemingly endless wilderness—a whopping 1200 miles of canoeable waters through countless lakes, rivers, and ponds—that gets paddlers all dreamy-eyed over Minnesota’s northern frontier, the Boundary Waters. You can go days without seeing another person, replaced instead by moose, whitetail deer, black bears, beavers, otters, and those laughing loons. Wilderness Outfitters has been taking people away from civilization since 1912. Fish for smallmouth bass as you canoe from Mudro to Crooked Lake in early June, or wait for fall foliage in late September and you can paddle when moose are in heat. They also offer canoes and maps for self-guided trips. 
 

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Top 5 Travel Days of 2015, Exploring Cappadocia

When Mount Erciyes poured lava over central Turkey thousands of years ago, the volcanic ash formed a surreal, lunar-like landscape consisting of cone-shaped “fairy chimneys” and layers of soft volcanic rock called “tufa.” Early Christians found the pervious terrain ideal for escaping persecution by Romans and Arabs. When wet, the tufa could be easily carved like soap to make caves out of the pinnacles as well as underground cities descending hundreds of feet below the surface. Tunnels were carved into the soft volcanic rock that venture a mind-boggling 7 and 8 levels underground. They lead to rooms that were used to sleep, eat, pray, along with advanced ventilation systems and a well to retrieve water.

 
This past July, Lisa and I returned with the kids to Cappadocia to revisit this otherworldly terrain. One of our favorite jaunts was a hike with guide, Mehmet Gungor, accompanied by his dog. We were all by our lonesome in the stunning Rose Valley, hiking in and out of caves. Early the next morning we took a magical hot air balloon ride over the terrain and then toured the underground cities. We rented a car our entire time in Cappadocia and it was easy to drive through this rural part of central Turkey. We made it to the mountain town of Güzelyurt, where we found more underground cities and churches from over a millennium ago. We never felt unsafe driving on the backcountry roads of Cappadocia. On the contrary, surrounded by spectacular scenery and very little traffic, it was a great part of the world to cruise. 
 
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The Royal Hotel in Levuka, Fiji

While there are more than 300 islands in Fiji, most visitors opt to stay on the main island of Viti Levu where the international airport and the country’s two largest cities, Nadi and Suva, are located. Knowing that intimate Fijian villages and remote islands are less than an hour boat ride away, it pains me to meet people who spend their entire trip on this one commercial isle. Stay a night or two on the Coral Coast, one hour south of Nadi, to relax after the 10-hour flight from Los Angeles. Then ferry over to the town of Levuka on the island of Ovalau. More than fifty stores and hotels built in the 1850s still stand in this former capital of Fiji. Walk past the ficus trees down Beach Street to the most prestigious establishment of all, The Royal Hotel. Continuously operating since Levuka’s heyday, this is the oldest hotel in the South Pacific. Walk around the lobby and you feel like you’re entering a novel by Somerset Maugham or Robert Louis Stevenson, who both spent at least a night here. Inside, you’ll find rattan chairs, ceiling fans, a large stained oak bar, and a 100-year-old snooker table. Thankfully, one doesn’t have to be an acclaimed man of letters to afford this lodging. Cost of a room starts at $32 a night, including toast and tea for breakfast. 
 

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Wild About Wild China

When I first met Mei Zhang, founder of Wild China, six years ago at my favorite dim sum spot in Boston, she told me it was her passion it to take travelers to see the authentic China. Now our clients are reaping the benefits. For more than 15 years, the Harvard MBA grad has brought visitors to the remote parts of China, stating that “over 80 percent of travelers to the country see less than 20 percent of the land mass.” More than likely they get a glimpse of the Great Wall in Beijing, go on a Yangtze River cruise, and, if they have time, see the Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China in Xi’an. But what about that impressive mountain and river scenery found in the backdrop of Zhang Yimou films? To immerse yourself in that otherworldly beauty, you’re going to have to sign up for one of Wild China’s trips. One of the best is the Tea & Horse Caravan Trail, a southern Silk Route still being used that links southwestern China with Tibet. This October, the 10-day trip is being led by explorer and talented photographer, Jeff Fuchs. Fuchs is the first westerner to have completed the entire Tea Horse Road, stretching almost 6,000 kilometers through a dozen cultures in the Himalayas. His book “The Ancient Tea Horse Road” details his 8-month groundbreaking journey traveling and chronicling one of the world’s great trade routes. If you ever wanted to see the real China and be led by the expert on the subject, book this trip with us.
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Costa Rica Highlights, Tirimbina Rainforest

A mere 40 minutes north of Poas Volcano and you’ll reach the Sarapiqui Region of Costa Rica, another part of Costa Rica that’s mistakenly overlooked. Along the banks of the Sarapiqui River, you’ll find pockets of rainforest rich with birdlife and researchers studying the wildlife. On my last visit to the region, I stayed at La Selva Biological Station to pen a story on birdwatching while feasting my eyes on a variety of toucans and monkeys. This visit, I brought the kids to Tirimbina Rainforest to go on a chocolate tour, where we tasted heavenly chocolate straight from the cocoa pod. It was my son’s 16th birthday and the creamy chocolate sure beat any birthday cake I could have bought in town. On the way over to the cocoa pods, we crossed the longest canopy bridge in the country and spotted our first furry sloth resting under a large leaf of a tree. 

 
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Quebec’s Winter Carnival

Just up the road from Montreal, 30 minutes outside of Quebec City, is North America’s first ice hotel, Hotel de Glace. 32 new rooms are created each year out of 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice, along with an Absolut ice bar, Jacuzzis, and a dance club. Bring those long johns. Temperature inside is a mere 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Quebec City is also home to one of the finest winter carnivals. For 16 days, January 27-February 12, the party never stops. More than one million people descend upon the fortified city to cheer on the competition in Le Grande Virée, a dogsled race that cruises through the heart of the historic Old City, or watch paddlers sprint across the turgid waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The French-flavored festivities continue with tours of the Ice Palace, a giant medieval castle constructed of pure crystalline water, parades, snow sculpture contests, inner tube sled rides, dancing to live music, and late night jaunts to heated tents to sample the potent drink called Caribou, made of whiskey, red wine, and maple syrup. One swig of this and you might be running naked through the snowfields.

 

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