Month: May 2015

st. tropez and back in a day

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Monday I woke up after eight with the bright idea to venture to St Tropez. I figured even if it was after ten in the morning by the time we were ready we could catch the next train to St Raphael to connect to the bus-cheapest way to St Tropez. We queued up in line at Cannes train station to buy our tickets. The sales clerk offered us seats on the sncf with reserved seats on the way to St Raphael and open ticket to get on any train for the return 19euros per person, since I explained I had no idea what time I wanted to come back. We boarded the 1130am train since it was the next available and within twenty minutes arrived in St Raphael. Having done this before I knew that directly to the right of the train tracks there is the bus depot connecting to St Tropez. What I forgot about was the fact it was still off season and buses were scares. Which meant the next bus was at 1pm …

french riviera: cannes film festival and gran prix monaco in a nutshell

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I never realized juggling two major events on vacation would be so challenging and yet so much fun. I also don’t understand why the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Gran Prix were running at the same time or maybe it’s better I don’t understand these things. Anyway, we arrived in Nice for Cannes late on a flight from Madrid, past midnight to be exact and since I had a chauffeur pick up arranged for us, I wasn’t worried. Now before you pass judgment about chauffeurs and all, I had no other choice at the hour our flight landed, and public transport getting us to Cannes from Nice airport was not an option. The following morning, I got ready very early, and headed out to the film festival/tourist information office to get myself organized to see as many films as possible in the days I alloted for this portion  of the trip. My travel partner however was antsy to see the Monaco gran prix and was busy organizing that bit of the trip, pushing my …

madrid, spain to the french riviera

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I got too lazy for a few days about blogging. I suppose I am not to be blamed since I have blogged for over six years now, every day, for three different blog sites. I figured I needed a break, some wine, and much touring around. Anyway, after Lisbon we flew to Madrid. This is the first year I decided to fly in between countries to save time, although I hardly call getting to the airport, checking in, waiting around, boarding, waiting on the tarmac, flying, waiting for a gate, being bussed to the gate, getting bags, and leaving the airport saving any time. Madrid was a two-day stop, and only included because my travel partner wanted to visit the Real Madrid Stadium, and I went along for the ride. We stayed in a wonderful brand new five-star property (which I will talk about another time) near the Gran Via – close to everything, even the best of restaurants. On the first day which technically was a half a day since we flew in the …

a day in lisbon, portugal

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On our last day, I figured we would see the city, the old-fashioned tourist way.  We left our hotel at 9:00 and walked over to a smoke shop to buy a day pass for the public transport. First train – 15 to Belem – a waterfront town if you will, with an impressive monastery, a monumental discoveries monument, and an impressive forte, several museums housing everything from archeology  to coaches – all worth exploring, and pondering over.  We spent a few hours sightseeing, snapping photographs and learning all about some of Portugal’s history, and yes they do have a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge even though in my opinion its a mixture of the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge. {pointers: If the 15 isn’t working for some strange reason such as the one we experienced, a head on collision with a car, take the 728 bus which runs the same route and gets you there faster I almost feel. Avoid temptation by going into McDonalds. Instead eat Honorato Burger Artisian, afterwards have the …

portugal: sintra not sinatra smartphone auto correct

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If you try to type in Sintra on your smartphone you may get Sinatra and although some of us appreciate the classic artist, he is not a travel destination. Sintra is, for Portugal. We got up a little later on Sunday, since we knew within 40 minutes we would be in Sintra, and we also learned the last train leaving Sintra was at 12:50a.m. or something like that, which meant we could come and go as we please from Lisbon. But we opted to leave our hotel around ten, leisurely  walking to the Rossio train station, a hop-skip from the center of town where we are staying. I looked up at the monitor mounted at a corner wall near the escalators  taking note the next train leaving at 10:40, with a line a mile long to buy tickets. I wasn’t worried since according to the TV monitor there was a train leaving every 30 minutes. My travel partner however was freaked out, along with the hundred or so people in line desperate to get on …

travel: porto, portugal day trip

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On saturday we got up at 4:30 in the morning, to get ready for our day trip to Porto, a 2:45 train ride from Lisbon. We purchased our roundtrip tickets the evening before to make avoid lines and the stress of making sure we got seats on a train. 110.00USD for two tickets roundtrip leaving at 7a.m. getting there at 9:40 and leaving there at 6:45p.m. arriving in Lisbon nine something. I didn’t care to worry about the return time. We left our hotel at 6:00 in the morning to walk for twenty minutes or so to the train station. Since we are staying in the center of town, walking was our best option. Even though the hotel concierge suggested we take a taxi. The streets were quiet, not a shop or restaurant open yet, and the walk very refreshing, considering it was going to be nearly 80F degrees. The ride was comfortable, I fell asleep just as I expected to, still a little jet lagged and woke up to the sound of my cell …

lisbon on my way to a book promo tour

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  I will explain the book promo tour later. But for now, let’s talk about Lisbon. I started out with planning a trip to promote my books, mostly at the BEA- Book Expo America happening the end of May. I figured if I was going to take a trip to the East Coast, I may as well cross the pond and promote my novels in a few places in Europe also, ending up at the BEA. The tour got creative just like anything else I do. I went from a simple tour for work, and ended up including a few days to play here and there. First stop, Portugal. I’ve never been. Not sure why, I asked myself all the way to catch my flight, and then I arrived in Lisbon, thinking – what took me so long: I’ve realized the older I get the more I want someone else to worry about travel details. I mean past the planning, organizing and getting to a destination. I just don’t want to struggle with airport transfers …

decor: chandelier talks

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While growing up, my entire extended family, from aunts and uncles to cousins of my parents and family friends close enough to be referred to as family, had chandeliers in their homes. At the time, I hated them, don’t know why. Maybe, as a child I considered modern lighting to be the best in lighting. In my twenties, I began to venture into the world, traveling mostly to learn about decor, fashion, style, and even a little about history. With that, my appreciation for chandeliers flourished: {source: Veranda online}

designing lunch get-together in a home with outdoor space

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I live in San Francisco, and the weather as we all know it, is very unpredictable especially since I live by the ocean. Planning to do anything outdoors weeks or days in advance doesn’t really work for our type of weather. But I have to say, I envy those who can plan such an event, and for that here are some wonderful ideas from Veranda Magazine – one of my favorite sources for style: