Marenas Beach Resort in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami, FL
HOT DEALS!
School in Florida is back in session, but that doesn’t mean the travel deals have played hooky. In the two-and-a-half-mile white sand stretch of Sunny Isles Beach in the Miami area, a number of hotels are offering some sweet deals for getaways. For Florida residents, the Read more
Brocket Hall at Christmas
HOT DEALS!!
The holidays are fast approaching, which means you only have until August 31 to book a vintage holiday celebration at one of the main venues at the 543-acre Brocket Hall Estate in the United Kingdom. There are special menus and amenities for each venue. Brocket Hall’s butlers cater to up to 150 guests in the ballroom, Billiard room and library. With this booking by August 31, the planner receives a complimentary bedroom in Brocket Hall on the night of the party. Book the Oak Room and the planner gets a complimentary bedroom in Melbourne Lodge on the night of the party. Or, join in with your group of Read more
A painting by Paul Cezanne.
In Part 4, we saw how Vincent Van Gogh’s art was impacted by his mental issues, how mountaintop former castles and fortresses continue to “live,” and how the idyllic beauty of Southern France country landscapes inspire paintings.
Aix-en-Provence
It was a reality jolt to spend days roaming gentle villages of country folk living high in ancient fortresses and then to find oneself in the thriving urban city of Aix-en-Provence. We strolled along Cours Mirabeau, a wide, tree-lined thoroughfare, explored the Old Town, and took in the artistic drumbeat left by Artist Paul Cezanne, born here in 1839 and who Read more
Shopping at the farmer market.
In Part 3, we cruised down the Canal du Midi in a barge, cooked a full-course meal in a 5-star French hotel’s cooking school, and learned that Vincent Van Gogh left his impressions on more than canvas.
SAINT-REMY-DE-PROVENCE, LES-BAUX-DE-PROVENCE, ISLE-SUR-LA-SORGUE and ROUSSILLON
One of the absolute delights of this Southern France trip was getting to visit (albeit too briefly) small mountainside medieval villages on day excursions. We were lodging in Aix-en-Provence. Each village brimmed with the flavors of France, from fresh bags of lavender to nutty confections of nougat, to the flower-potted window sills that crowded narrow passageways within the former fortress rock walls. The air was fresh from mountain breezes. The views of multi-hued fields Read more
The locks at Canal du Midi
In Part 2, the journey took us to Figueres, Spain to explore Surrealist Salvadore Dali’s Theatre-Museum, to the seaside city of Collioure immortalized by paintings of André Derain, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, and to the quiet beauty of Perpignan.
CANAL DU MIDI, AVIGNON and ARLES
On our way to stay in Arles and to visit Avignon, we paused for a morning excursion on the famed Canal du Midi.
CANAL DU MIDI
The slow steady pace of cruising down the 150-mile-long 17th century-constructed Canal du Midi in a flat-bottomed barge was one of the most relaxing aspects of the two-week Odysseys Unlimited tour thus far. Originally named the Canal Royal en Languedoc in 1681 when completed by Pierre-Paul Riquet, it was renamed by French revolutionaries to Canal Read more
Hollywood Oscar-like figurines repose in niches at Dali’s Theatre-Museum
In Part 1, our journey began in Albi before exploring the medieval city of Carcassonne and then the Abbaye Fontroide in Narbonne.
FIGUERES (SPAIN), COLLIOURE and PERPIGNAN
Where we stayed:
La Villa Duflot sits in a three-acre park with olive and palm trees. The hotel’s site says it has just 24-rooms, but it is apparent they have added many more than that. We had to walk outside the hotel’s lobby to reach our room in a first-floor wing. The hotel is styled after an Italian villa, although the décor was more Art Deco. The dining room in the evening is Read more
Idyllic Southern France countryside
Art. Food. Wine.
Those were the three words that drew my husband, Russ, and I to book our two-week tour to Southern France, the Languedoc and Provence regions. Russ expected this tour would be a bit more laid back than our previous Odysseys Unlimited tours, though sometimes we still felt as if we were racing against time to cram in as many cultural experiences as we could before our weary bodies collapsed. That’s not a complaint, by the way… just the reality of not wanting to miss out Read more
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa
HOT DEALS!
Summer isn’t the only time Florida Resident discount rates will be available at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa, minutes from Naples, FL. A seven-day advance purchase is required, but the rates are available through December 31 by using the code CPFLR. The 26-acre property can host meetings up to 1500 people, has an 18-hole golf course, Camp Hyatt kids club, two firepits and is close to the airport. There is a three-acre pool area with waterslides, lazy river, adults-only pool, hot tub, and both a Read more
The Met Hotel in Greece is both an art gallery and upscale hotel.
GRAND OPENINGS
A terrace of El Llorenç Parc de la Mar overlooks the Palma neighborhood in Mallorca
