All posts tagged: Romantic Destinations

Food: Caramelized Onion Focaccia Bread

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The best Focaccia bread I’ve had, was in Portofino, Italy at any of the number of bakeries aligning the narrow pathways leading to the water’s edge. One in particular was Panificio Canale. I stuffed my face at one sitting or standing actually since there is no space to take a seat inside. And then brought some to go – which hardly lasted past the night. In San Francisco I often search for the best of   Focaccia in our Italian neighborhood, North Beach, and although I find them here and there worth a try, they are not the same as the ones in Portofino. For this holiday season I decided to contribute to the get-togethers with home-made Focaccia, hoping to capture a little bit of Italy here .

travel: it’s all about italy

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What is it about this wonderful country most of us Americans can’t get enough? I can only speak for myself of course when I say I am madly in love with Italy – Rome, Florence, Venice, Genoa, and every other corner in between  from the hillside small villages of Cinque Terre, to the wonderful Como district, the country the most romantic in my opinion –  and very different  from the well known city of love – Paris. That is where I chose to base  my first novel Piazza Navona, the story unfolding in my imagination and mind, over a cup of espresso sitting in a cafe on the historic Piazza Navona. One day, while I sat in a cafe in Rome-in Piazza Navona, staring at a small stationery store, I realized I wanted to write a novel, about a woman who falls in love in Rome. But I knew I needed a twist on a story that has been told a thousand times. So in 2011, after my return to San Francisco, I began working on my first …

Travel: European Cities To Add To Your Travel Plans

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I just got back from my annual trip to Europe in May, and I am already thinking about planning the next one. This year, my travel partner and I decided to change it up a bit, adding a few new destinations, seeking some adventure.  We opted for Lisbon, Porto, Edinburgh, back to Madrid, then through the norm, the French Rivera, and ending up in Paris. And I have to say it was the best decision we made. Based on the article here, I would like to say that I have to agree with Porto, Salzburg, Seville, Edinburgh, Bruges, Verona being underrated destinations, but most definitely places worth seeing and exploring. As for the rest of the places on the list, I need to add to my list of places to see. The problem is, I have to wait until 2016.      

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 …

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 …

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 …

travel: interesting finds online

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Travel has been on my mind for months, and with that, all I want to do is talk travel. Click on photos to be redirected to some of my finds this week: Couple of years ago, I was in Milan and was very disappointed to see the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II under construction. I couldn’t get a single photo of the magnificent space without some sort of scaffolding, or sign or any indication that it was under renovation. So good news is, it is now complete. The sad news is this year I am not going to Italy. Every chance I get, I walk into a bookstore at home and while travelling. I guess that’s the author in me. The sad thing is, in San Francisco we are left with a handful of mom-and-pop bookstores, and that makes me feel sad. On the positive, Architectural Digest has compiled a list of bookstores around the world worth seeing. My favorite from the list being the one in Santorini, Greece. Iceland has been on my list …

boutique hotel pick – relais and chateaux hotel heritage – bruges, belgium

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It’s been a while since I’ve suggested a boutique hotel – a blog entry I’ve put aside for a while, focusing on other topics instead. But since I am an avid traveler, always longing to get on a plane to go somewhere, at times more or less on a whim, I decided to bring this popular entry back, even throughout the off-season in travel. The city of Bruges, in Belgium came to mind recently since I normally crave to be in a storybook type of place in the winter months, hibernating in a room with character, a fireplace if possible, hot tea at my disposal, the ambiance exuding enough energy to inspire me to write at the very least, the romance portion of my novels. In Bruges, I would stay in Relais and Chateaux Hotel Heritage, and although there isn’t a fireplace in the rooms, the character and charm of each space make it a wonderful destination for romance I could go on forever, detailing bits and pieces of information about this romantic town, but …