I’ve always found the best way to explore a city is by foot. You can’t really experience the same thing in a car or tour bus. Most of the major cities offer walking tours.  Usually the tours are priced well below a comparable bus tour and they provide an intimate perspective you aren’t going to get sitting in a vinyl seat.  London’s Original London Walks tops my list for variety of tours and expertise of the guides.  Many of the walking tour guides in London have a vast knowledge of British history and you never know what you’ll learn on one of these trips.  I took the walking Pub Tour in London and discovered the history of Viking attacks on the city of London that shaped much of the way the city was designed.
 
If you don’t find a walking tour that interests you, you can always go self-guided.  There are several sources of self-guided tour books.  One of them is City Walks: 50 Adventures on Foot - a collection of suggested short walking tours for a specific city.   Each collection comes in what looks like a large pack of cards. Each card has a walking map on one side and on the opposite, points of interest, suggested stops and other insider information.  It’s a fun way to explore small sections of a city.  Make a game of it. Close your eyes, pick a card and you’re off on a new adventure.  You can order City Walks on Amazon.com.  Here are the current cities covered:

• City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot 
• City Walks: San Francisco: 50 Adventures on Foot   
• City Walks: Amsterdam: 50 Adventures on Foot 
• City Walks: Boston: 50 Adventures on Foot
• City Walks: Washington, D.C.: 50 Adventures on Foot  
• City Walks: Paris: 50 Adventures on Foot 
• City Walks: London: 50 Adventures on Foot
• City Walks: Rome: 50 Adventures on Foot (City Walks Deck)

Coming soon

• City Walks Deck: Chicago: 50 Adventures On Foot 
• City Walks: Vancouver: 50 Adventures on Foot 
• City Walks Deck: Los Angeles

I just spent a few days in Los Angeles with my sister and thought I’d share the highlights of our girl trip.  We spent most of our time in the West Hollywood area – a great neighborhood with lots of restaurants, shops, and beautiful homes within walking distance. Speaking of walking…I think I wore out a pair of shoes, but it was a nice change from driving everywhere. 

Here are some of the places we went in West Hollywood that you may want to try:

- Urth Caffé on Melrose Ave (see past article).   This is one of my favorite places anywhere -  My lunch (chicken curry sandwich and banana cream pie) was delicious (everything is delicious here) and a great place for people watching. 

 - Shopping on Wilshire - very up scale clothes and furniture shops in a nice neighborhood setting.  Don’t be surprised to see Rodeo Drive like prices.  It’s fun to shop even if you can’t afford to buy a $350 white cotton blouse or a $1000 cashmere sweater.

- Tour architect Schindler’s home on Kings Road - This small 1922 home is surprisingly current in its design.

 - Dessert at Sweet Lady Jane on Melrose Ave.  This bakery/café has wonderful cakes that look as good as they taste.  We enjoyed a slice of seven layer cake and a berry filled English trifle with French press coffee.  While we were there, a steady stream of custom cakes were being picked up for private events.

 - Visit the Farmer’s Market on a Sunday morning – flowers, wonderful fruits, vegetables and rustic bread - just around the corner from Urth Caffe and a fun place to visit on a cool Sunday morning. 

- Stroll around the neighborhood to see homes with beautifully landscaped courtyards and gated entries.

Just a note to you single girls - you’ll find many attractive males in West Hollywood. However a large portion of them are interested in other guys, not girls.

We did venture outside West Hollywood to Hollywood Blvd and on impulse took a guided tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Rodeo Drive.  The tour was really interesting (i.e. – we saw Bruce Willis’ house which is a few feet from Demi Moore’s house) and pointed out several celebrity homes and homes used in well-known movies like Gone with the Wind and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. 

After the tour we shopped on Rodeo Drive, which was closed to motorized traffic for an evening event.  As we wandered from store to store, we saw an army of event planners – most dressed in black — prepare a stage on Rodeo Drive, set-up catering and arranged outdoor displays of shoes for the “Walk of Style” in honor of shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo. Unfortunately, we had to leave just as the celebs were arriving, but we did catch a glimpse of Tim Robbins.

On our last day, we toured the Getty Villa which is located off the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.  Although much smaller than the Getty Center, the Villa is modeled after a famous Roman villa and has some wonderful gardens and mosaics.   If you plan to go, be sure to get tickets online (free) in advance.  They offer several free tours each day – we got a lot out of the Architecture and Gardens tour.

Tour Info: All Star Showbiz Tours van across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theater

For a fun day trip outside San Francisco, drive out to Filoli’s mansion and gardens followed by shopping at Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center.

Filoli is an estate with over 650 acres in an area where real estate values are astronomical.  The Bourns, who created the estate in 1915, got rich from a California gold mine.  Filoli got its name from their philosophy on life:

“Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”

When visiting the estate, you can tour the early 20th century mansion, which is still furnished.  Almost every room has a beautiful fresh bouquet of flowers – each one tailored to the room - from the estate gardens.  Outside you can stroll around 16 acres of formal gardens which have gained world-wide attention.  Depending on the season, you’ll see thousands of tulips, daffodils, roses and lilies. 

If you’re old enough to have watched – or seen the re-runs – of Dynasty with John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins, then you’ve seen glimpses of the Filoli mansion where the TV series was filmed.  The Wedding Planner (Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey) was also filmed here.

Filoli is open February 14 through October 28, 2006, Tuesday – Sunday.  Filoli’s web site

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities.  And it’s easy to see why.  It has a spectacular setting, moderate weather, cable cars, great shopping, interesting people and fabulous restaurants.  It’s a great place for a girls-only get together. 

To help you plan your next trip to the Bay Area, here’s my top ten list of favorite things to do in and around San Francisco:

1. Walking around the Marina District and seeing Chestnut Street, Marina Green and the Palace of the Fine Arts
2. Shopping at Union Square
3. Spending a Sunday in Golden Gate Park and watching the remote control boats and visiting the Conservatory
4. Driving down Lombard Street, the world’s crookedest street
5. Taking an informal walking tour in the Pacific Heights neighborhood (near the Presidio), where you can stroll by beautiful Victorian mansions
6. Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands overlook for a panoramic view of San Francisco Bay, the bridge and the city
7. Spending an afternoon in Mill Valley, a misty storybook-like village just across the bridge
8. Having lunch at Sam’s in Tiburon, one of the few restaurants right on the Bay
9. Shopping at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto (borders Stanford University)
10. Exploring the mansion and gardens at Filoli

If you’re looking for a destination where nature is the main attraction, there are few places more beautiful than the San Juan Islands, located north of Seattle.  The San Juan Islands are made up of several small islands including Orcas, Lopez, Shaw and San Juan Island.  The best time to visit is from June through mid-September when the weather is warmest.  Most people reach the islands by boat or by taking the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes.

I love taking the ferry.  It stops at each of the islands, so you get to watch all the travelers coming and going and see the beautiful waterfront homes. For my money, it’s one of the best cruise deals around.  Once you board, head up to the passenger deck and grab a hot drink or Ivar’s famous clam chowder. Relax in one of the booths in the observation areas that overlook the open water.  Hold on to your hair and anything else that isn’t attached to your body and brave the front deck to catch a glimpse of porpoises (or maybe an Orca if you’re lucky) swimming in front of the bow of the ship. (more…)

Here’s a quick recap of what appeared in June:

• Where the Girls Are
• Chocolate Martinis
• Westin Kierland Resort & Spa (Scottsdale)
• Girl (Trip) Interrupted
• Mackinac Island, Michigan
• Spa Recap
• Vinotherapy
• Deals: Travel & Leisure’s Spa Week
• Stowe, Vermont
• Sharing photos? Try Flickr.
• Flip-Flop Style
• Nantucket
• Booking a Flight?
• Green Valley Resort & Spa (St. George, Utah)
• Beach Reads
• Carmel, California
• Things to do around Carmel
• Women may Benefit from Moderate Drinking
• Want to be on the Today Show?

Mackinac Island will take you back in time.  That’s exactly what happened to Christopher Reeve in the film Somewhere in Time, which was filmed here at the Grand Hotel.  From its horse drawn buggies, to its Victorian lined streets, the island retains the ambiance of a 19th-century village. Like his character, Richard Collier, you might find yourself sprawling across the bed of your room and saying “It really is June 27, 1912”.

There aren’t a lot of activities on the island.  This is the kind of place where you’ll want to go to soak up the scenery, read a book, spend time catching up with your girlfriends and just relax. (more…)

I may be biased because my husband grew up in Stowe and we lived there in the early 90’s but it’s one of my favorite places in all of New England. Although Stowe is mainly known as a winter skiing destination, it’s also a fantastic place to visit in the summer.  The village of Stowe is located near Mount Mansfield and has a classic white steepled church and plenty of charm.  This quaint village is perfect for exploring by foot and browsing through local shops, galleries, cafes and pubs. 

For places to stay, Stowe offers a selection of inns and authentic ski lodges. One thing you won’t find is a chain hotel. (more…)