August/September, 2009, in Quebec City

We decided to take a “mini-vacation” this Fall, and our choice was Quebec City. Quebec is probably the finest city in North America in terms of charm, pleasant European lifestyle, beauty, cleanliness, safety, and historical interests. Quebec is unique (I know it is an over-used word, but appropriate in this case). It feels French in all the positive ways, and yet has its own charm and friendliness. Not too far away, at least for those of us in the NE USA, yet a world apart from what we are used to. We had a truly wonderful vacation.

We stayed in the unbelievably beautiful, 4-star rated Le Chateau Frontenac. Our room included a section in the top of a turret, which had window views looking up/down and directly over the great St. Lawrence River.

We ate at Aux Anciens Canadiens, built in 1677, and had caribou and quail in this ultra-charming place. You can find any cuisine that you seek in Quebec, and the restaurants are uniformly excellent. We walked along Upper Town's quant streets and along the boardwalk by the Frontenac, overlooking the St. Lawrence river. We took a ferry across the river to Lévis for lunch. We walked through Lower Town streets, visiting museaums, shops, and the farmer's market. We walked the historic Plains of Abraham, toured the fortifications around the walled city, watched a parade, and visited the falls at Montmorency. All in all - you must visit this place.

September/October, 2008, in Italy

We traveled once again to Italy this Fall, this time with our good friends Peter and Dorothy as travel companions. We started out in Tuscany, staying in Montepulciano in a truly wonderful small hotel, Meublé Il Riccio. The Meublé is run by the Caroti family, headed by Giorgio and Ivana. They have six rooms and with Karen & me and Peter & Dorothy, we had one third of the capacity. The place is many centuries old, extraordinarily charming, and perfectly positioned in the spectacularly beautiful Montepulciano in the Sienna region of central Italy.

We toured the Tuscana and Umbria regions, touring a number of towns... each more beautiful, historic, and absolutely charming than the last. These included Pienza, Bagno Vignola, Chiusi, Montalcino, and a trip in to Firenze (Florence). In Firenze, we toured through the city, viewing such local treasures as Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo), the spectacular statues in the Piazza Della Signoria, the famous Ponte Vecchio, and Giardino di Bobali (Bobali Gardens). Throughout, we drank the local wines, luxored in the local cuisine, and did I mention that we drank the local wines. Fantastico!

Tuscany from to rooftop terrace of Meuble Il Riccio                             Dinner the last night in Tuscany

From there we drove south past Roma to the Amalfi coast, staying in mega-beautiful Positano. One cannot imagine how wonderful the place is without having been there. We took a ferry to the Isle of Capri and toured the island. Karen and I took the Funicular (like a ski chairlift) to the top of Capri and like everyone who arrives there, our first words were "omigod". Unbelievable views, of Capri, the Mediterranean, Mount Vesuvius on the mainland, the Amalfi coastline, the tiny islands surrounding Capri... everything. We took a ride in a very small powerboat along the coast to the the town of Amalfi, stopping along the way to tour water caves carved into the coastline. We saw the homes of the "rich and famous", like Sofia Loren, Rudolf Nureyev, Franco Zeffirelli, and so on. And again, we ate the local cuisine and drank the local wines. Life is good. Very good.

We stayed in Hotel Pasetea in Positano                                           The View From Our Room


The Italian Coastline from the Top of Capri                                         Karen and me on Capri (Mt Vesuvius Seen in Back Right)

We spent the end of our days in Italy in Roma (Rome), staying near the heart of the city. We bought an open pass for one of the open-top touring buses that constantly provide guided tours. We'd get on and off and see a site and then on/off to another. We saw many of the sights we've seen before (see our 2003 trip to Italy), but they are just a amazing. And we had a final dinner near the Spanish Steps.

All in all, a wonderful adventure with very good friends.

February/March, 2007, in Hawaii

We completed a spectacular vacation of two weeks in the Hawaii islands, staying on Maui, Kauai, and Oahu. If you can do it, I'd recommend that you go there at least once in your life. The views are, well, spectacular, and the people are absolutely charming, helpful, and friendly. The accommodations are excellent and the food is great, especially if you like seafood and fresh fruits and veggies.

We flew to and from Honolulu on USAir (mostly on their America West planes/routes, recently merged in). We flew First Class all the way, thanks to accumulated Dividend Miles points, and the total airfare cost us a total of $10. From Honolulu, we flew on Aloha Airlines between islands. The whole trip, from home to back home, was a flawless adventure. Our checked baggage was always promptly delivered, onboard meals were good, service was excellent, and everything was on-time, or very close to it. We had no complaints regarding travel. The same thing could be said about accommodations. Every place we stayed was excellent, and I'll talk about each place as we go along.

We flew through Phoenix to Honolulu and then on to Maui, where we stayed at Ho'oilo House, perhaps the finest bed-and-breakfast we have had the pleasure of seeing. Our hosts were Amy and Dan, and our stay there was excellent in every way. You've got to see this place, and it is located just outside of Lahaina in the beautiful hills. Our backdrop were the mountains, and our view was the blue pacific with the island of Molokai in the background. Our first day was spent driving our Mustang convertible north to the Kaanapali coast and beyond. We ate lunch at the gorgeous Kapalua Golf course's Plantation House, and we spent the afternoon sunning and swimming on Fleming Beach in Kaanapali. That night we had dinner at Kimo's in Lahaina, overlooking the sun setting in the Pacific.

The next day we played the Bay Course at Kapalua, where we had a great time playing and enjoying the spectacular views of the coastline. After lunch at the Bay Course, we drove down to the Wailea area to Ulua Beach, next to the Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort. We played for a long time in the clear waters with great and continuous surf.

The next morning we drove the famous "Road to Hana", making breathtaking stops along the way. Waterfalls, primeval forest, cliffs, and a winding road that'll keep you on your toes, and especially, views that will knock your socks off. The drive takes most of the day (at least), but is well worth the experience. When we got back, we had dinner on the rooftop Lahaina Oyster Bar and Grill. The next day we did the beach at Kaanapali again, and had lunch at Canoes in Lahaina, overlooking the water. While at the beach, we saw humpback whales, lots of them, as they moved along the island. They'd spray as they breathed, giving away that there was a whale there, and then they'd breach the water. We lounged around much of the PM at Ho'oilo House and then went to the Feast at Lele for a tremendously enjoyable luau. If you haven't experienced a Hawaiian luau, you have missed a very entertaining (and appetite-pleasing) evening.

On Sunday, we drove around the North Shore to the airport. Now that doesn't sound too exciting, but if you think that you haven't been on that road. It is largely one lane, unpaved at times, and traverses cliffs overlooking the water. The views are, again, spectacular, and the drive is treacherous at times. We stopped for a herd of donkeys to pass, and once backed up so another car could navigate through. But we wouldn't have missed it. At the end, stopped at Kanaha Kai to watch some kite surfing. Then we flew to Kauai.

In Kauai we stayed at the Poipu Sheraton Beach Resort, with a room overlooking the water. We had an excellent dinner at Shell's in the hotel, and then watched another beautiful Pacific sunset. On Monday, after breakfast at Joe's, overlooking the Kiahuna Golf Course. Then we did it... we took the Blue Hawaii helicopter tour of Kauai! Neither Karen nor I have ever experienced anything nearly as spectacular as this flight. The helicopter takes you where you otherwise cannot go, with views you cannot otherwise see. We saw so many mountain peaks with dense vegitation and thousands of waterfalls. We flew into the Olokele Volcano, which last erupted 400,000 years ago. Olokele has since eroded into two main peaks: Kawaikini (5,243 ft) and Mt. Wai`ale`ale (5,148 ft), and we flew over them, as well. We saw a 4,000 ft waterfall... and a dozen more of 2,000 ft or more. We flew along the Napali Coast. Kauai is over 5.5 million years old and is made up of eroding lava. It is lush and beautiful everywhere, and in its center mountains, it gets between 600 and 700 inches of rain per year (the wettest place on the planet). It has only 55,000 residents, and is relatively undeveloped, except for the resorts and plantations. You see all of this and more from the helicopter. If you would like to see clips from the DVD made during the helicopter tour, there are three from 6 to 12 minutes each you can select by clicking here.

After the exhilerating ride, we ate dinner at Duke's in Kalapaki, watching the surfers in the evening glow. The next day we rested at the beach, right at our resort. The beach was pure white sand, clear waters, and continuous surf... pretty big surf. It was a blast! We could lay on the sand, in a lounge on the sand, in a lounge on the grass by the sand, by the pool overlooking the beach, ... you get the picture. That evening we opted for Chinese at Yum Cha at the Poipu Bay Golf Course. That evening, as we sat on our balcony having a drink, we spotted more humpback whales. What a view... the sun setting and whales in the foreground. Breathtaking.

On Wednesday we played the Kiahuna Golf Course in the morning. Karen had woken up with a cold, but we still really enjoyed playing. It is an easy course, I must say, and there is currently a lot of home construction going on around the course. It "rained" (a mist) for the first hole, but otherwise it was a great round of golf. Rain is like that in Kauai... many days a mild mist or slight rain comes and then is gone in no time. It doesn't cause any interruption. After golf, we drove to the North Shore, stopping at a great Thai place for lunch: Mema in Kapaa. The North Shore offers such places as Hanalei Bay. There is a fabulous course course and resort called Princeville, where we stopped to tour. Next time we come, we'll play that course.

On Thursday, we beached at the resort in the AM, and then drove to the Waimea Canyon in the PM. Later, we went to dinner at the utterly beautiful Plantation Gardens for dinner. On Friday, we beached again, then flew to Honolulu. In Hololulu we opted for the "Express Shuttle" to the Marriott Beach Resort on Waikiki Beach. The shuttle was the single bad choice on our entire trip, and we got to see every damn hotel on Waikiki before we got to the Marriott. That evening we made up for it by having sushi at Sensei, followed by a walk on Waikiki.

On Saturday we toured the Pearl Harbor Memorial. We toured the International Market, ate Chinese there, and then lounged at the Marriott's pool for the afternoon. We had a scenic sunset dinner at the Hula Grill at the Outrigger. On Sunday, we lazed all day getting some sun, and then went to the airport for our all-nighter back home. All in all, a fabulous trip.

May, 2006, in Mexico

We went to Puerto Vallarta to attend my niece Sue Taylor's wedding (she is my sister's daughter) to Chris Pilarski. We stayed in a beautiful hotel (the Presidente Intercontinental), located between Puerto Vallarta and Mismaloya, which is a little south of Puerto Vallarta.
We had a great time at the wedding and all of the surrounding events. It was a pleasure seeing the family and meeting Chris and Susie's friends. Chris is a pilot for Air West, and Susie is a family practice physician in Malibu and is a professor at UCLA. If you would like to see a twelve-minute video of our trip to Puerto Vallarta, including the wedding, click here. (Note: All of the videos on this page were created using the "Ken Burns" effect, popularized on Discovery Channel in his epic Civil War pieces and his baseball piece.)

April, 2005, in France

Karen and I went to France in April of 2005 to tour. We celebrated our anniversary in Paris at a dinner at Jacques Cagna's wonderful restaurant on rue des Grands Augustine, near our hotel, L'Hotel on rue des Beaux-Arts. Best dining experience ever. We also dined at some other wonderful establishments, like Guy Savoy's Les Bouquinistes, Jacques Francois on nuits St Georges, Le Bounty Brasserie, and on and on. We had wonderful Champagnes, Burgundies, Pomards, and you-name-it. In Paris, we toured the Louve, saw Mona and Venus of course, and Notre Dame. On several occasions as we looked at our maps, people would come to us and ask if we needed help or directions. We encountered only the best of hospitality from everyone with whom we had contact. At Notre Dame, for example, a mature Parisian stopped us and said she had something interesting to show us... a secret. She took us to a panel sculpture on the side of the building. She told us the story of a man trying to get to Mary Magdalene's body as her casket was being carried to her tomb, and his hands were cut off. Sure enough, on the sculpture we saw two unattached hands on the casket and a man lying at the foot of a procession without his hands. She was very entertaining and she just wanted these two tourists to gain some greater appreciation of the site. Such were the people we met. If you would like to see a twelve-minute video of our trip to France, click here.

Our tours included the Eiffel Tower, the Arc D'Triomphe, the gardens of the Teulleries, St. Chapelle, and we crossed the Seine every day from our L'Hotel in St. Germain on the Riv Gauche. We had cafe latte at Deaux Maggots, the cafe widely known for the intellectuals such as Jean Paul Satre who dined there. We stayed in Paris four days, and then took the SNCF from Paris Gare Lyon to Lyon Perrache (just train stations, but they sound so nice, don't they?).

In Lyon we stayed at Cour des Loges, a beautiful hotel in a connected cluster of buildings built in the 13th & 14th centuries. Our room had a garden (see photos). We loved Lyon, and had a fine meal at Pierre Orsi. You have to talk with Pascal Nabat, the Maitre d'Hotel there. Both Jacques Cagna and Pascal Nabat spoke with us extensively about Georges Perrier, who of course is famous for Le Bec Fin and other Fine Philadelphia establishments. We also dined at Le Palais Saint Jean near our hotel, and a small restaurant, Proseca. The small restaurants are generally called "Bouchons". The specialties of local gastronomy include Quenelles (almost like an omelet with more substance based on fish), Gratons (a fried pork), Cervelle de Canuts ('cervelle' means brains and Canuts were the old silk workers of Lyon, but is just cheese and spices), and of course, andouilettes (sausages made of tripes - cow intestines). Don't try the Andouilettes unless you are adventuresome; I did and would have preferred something else. Oh, and the wines! I dwell on the dining only because Lyon is the capital of French gastronomy.

We walked through the Traboules (like tunnels through ancient houses), we took the Fanicular (tram) up to the Fourviere (a cathedral with a great view of the city), we toured the ancient Roman ruins in Lyon, wondered at the brilliant combination of the very old, the old, and the new in the buildings and continued use of streets, etc. We wandered around Lyon on both sides of the Saone River. Lyon is built among the Saone and Rhone rivers, like Philadelphia is built between the Schuylkill and the Delaware rivers.

We drove from Lyon to Beaune. Actually, we toured a number of villages along the way, taking small roads instead of highways. We went to Cluny and toured what was once the center of the Catholic empire, where four successive Popes lived. It is a fascinating assembly of 12th and 13th century buildings. We had an enormously pleasant lunch on the square. Driving from Cluny we passed so many beautiful villages, stopping from time to time. In Beaune we stayed at the very best hotel I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing: Le Cep on rue Maufoux. Jean-Claude Bernard is the manager, and he runs a truly magnificent place.

While in Beaune we toured the wonderful wine region, including a stop in Dijon. There we toured the Palace Ducal, where the Duke of Burgundy lived and is entombed. We stopped for lunch in Fixin, a tiny village in the midst of vineyards, where we dined at Napoleon, an ancient and beautiful little restaurant that I'm sure tourists rarely find. We had a grand meal of Boeuf Bourguignon, a local specialty. Too good. We then toured Clos du Vougeot, a spectacular ancient winery amidst the vineyards. No longer in operation, it has 13th century wine presses that you cannot believe unless you see them. A beautiful chateau or castle, whichever it is. You should try the wines of Clos du Vougeot. Or the Pommards. Or, oh you get the picture. At the bar at Le Cep, Monseur Bernard introduced us to Armagnac Veuve J. Goudoulin, a fine vintage brandy, that he mixed with a champagne. What a treat! Then he served us several trays of hors D'Oeurves that included little breads on which he toasted cheeses.

Finally we drove to Paris, but on smaller roads. We stopped at villages along the way, like Sussy, Avallon, and Auxerre. These were very pleasant (no so much Avallon), and we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the countryside. We stayed our last night in the Airport Hilton to kind of re-insert ourselves into our real world. We flew back through Frankfurt, the reverse of how we arrived. The whole trip was business class, courtesy of USAir Gold Preferred miles. We flew mostly Lufthansa, and the travel was extraordinarily pleasant.

So much for France.

Other Travels

Karen and I traveled to Barcelona in 2004, where I attended the International Interactive TV Conference. We were lucky enough to have been hosted by TNS personnel, who provided us with unmatched hospitality, touring, dining, and the use of a car, driver, and guide. It was a spectacular visit to a spectacular city. If you would like to see a seven-minute video of our trip to Barcelona, click here.

Karen & I went to Washington, DC, in Spring of 2002 and toured all the sites: capital, Vietnam Vets, ...

We went to Rome in September, 2002, and we saw many scenes like those below for 12 days in Rome, Venice, Ravenna, and Tuscany. If you would like to see a ten-minute video of our trip to Italy, click here.

Treste Fountain ("3 Coins") in Rome


Roma Antiqua (400BC-200AD) ruins near Rome


Chuck on D'Ingheterra Balcony in Rome


Karen at Borgo Pretale in Tuscany


Karen in Tuscany Diabolo Vinyard

We flew into Rome, stayed at Aberge D'Inghiterra near the Spanish Steps, & toured for three days. Then we trained to Venice and stayed just off St. Mark's Square, and toured two days. We drove to Ravenna for one overnight stay, and then drove through the mountains to Tuscany. We stayed close to Siena, in Sovicille, in a centuries-old farmhouse converted to a small resort called Abergo Borgo Pretale.

It and all of Tuscany was beautiful. We toured wineries, castles, and towns. The food and wine were peerless.

In the winter of 2004, we went to Atlantis, Paradise Island, The Bahamas. We have visited Cape Cod and Martha's Vinyard, Maine, Bermuda (Honemoon), San Diego & Mexico, San Francisco, Florida (many times... St. Pete/Isla del Sol, Orlando, ...), Baltimore Harbor, Annapolis, St. Michaels, Maryland, and Avalon at the Jersey Shore (several summers). In 2005 we visited Washington, DC, where we went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The National Gallaries, Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian, Capital, South Garden of the White House, and the Smithsonian. That, plus fine dining, makes for a great trip.