Balfour Castle
Who hasn’t dreamed of living in a castle? In the Orkney Islands, visitors can fulfill that dream by booking a night or two at Shapinsay’s Balfour Castle.
Category: Travel
Must love travel: When actress Jordana Spiro takes five, she heads for exotic destinations like Vietnam
During her recent three-week trip to Vietnam, actress Jordana Spiro made do with just one backpack. “Really, there’s almost nothing you can’t buy there if you need it,” she says. “It’s a completely amazing place and I’d go back in a second.”
Go Away With … Jordana Spiro
In “Must Love Dogs,” Jordana Spiro played a ditzy fashionista who loved luxury and liked John Cusack. In her TBS sitcom “My Boys,” the actress stars as a down-to-earth Chicago Sun-Times sports reporter covering the Cubs. But when she has a week or two off from work, Spiro relishes getting away from it all by traveling to exotic destinations. While others in her position might book themselves into five-star accommodations, she prefers to spend less on hotels and more on experiencing the country’s culture. During her recent three-week trip to Vietnam, she made do with just one backpack.
Tahiti
It is with trepidation I walk back to my room after dinner. I am used to strolling back to hotels in foreign countries, but I am not accustomed to looking overboard into a pitch black ocean while doing so. But when you are on a cruise ship, that’s what you do. You lay in the sun. You eat plenty of food. You relax. And if you’re a land lover like me, you think about what it takes to keep a liner like the M/S Paul Gauguin afloat.
Frog Marsh Bed & Breakfast
I’ve stayed at Four Seasons properties and the Bellagio in Las Vegas. But I can honestly say that Aberdeenshire’s quaint Frog Marsh Bed & Breakfast was one of my favorite places.
Bali
The Indonesian island of Bali is steeped in history and ritual. Every day, the Balinese leave canang sari (or offerings of flowers, money and food) at temples, on shrines or even outside their own homes in the hopes that good fortune will smile upon their families. Despite the bombings last year in Kuta and Kimbaran, Bali is not a paradise lost.
Singapore
As an international port of call, Singapore is the embarking point for many top-end cruise lines, such as the Regent Seven Seas voyage through Australasia. And savvy travelers looking to overcome jet lag before boarding their cruise ships are starting their trips off in Singapore, where they can get their bearings and enjoy a few days basking in a shopper’s paradise. Fashionistas in the know will tell you that Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive has nothing on Singapore’s tony Orchard Road.
Shopping in Melbourne
Kylie Minogue has a home in Melbourne’s trendy South Yarra. So do a slew of other Australian celebrities. It’s not difficult to see why. The streets are lined with unique and immaculate homes. But while trendy and upscale, South Yarra is anything but snobby. Full of charming cafes and funky shops selling cutting edge fashion, South Yarra is one of Melbourne’s best-kept secrets.
New Zealand lodges
When people hear the word “lodge” they tend to think of something rustic. Nowhere is the fallacy of this assumption more wonderfully apparent than in stunning New Zealand, where a slew of lodges, numbering in the hundreds, are rapidly gaining in popularity. These lodges, which promote themselves with themes (nature, fishing, wine and more) in an effort to lure visitors from afar, are as sumptuous as they are varied.
Australian Cities Serve Up Fine Dining, Scenery and Wildlife
It was in Melbourne’s chic South Yarra district that the standard was set. Hungry and suffering from extreme jet lag, my photographer and I also were cranky because a local had guided us to a “fabulous breakfast place” that wasn’t open yet. After walking back toward the chic, boutique Lyall Hotel where we were staying, we settled on Cafe Darling – a small, neighborhood eatery. I ordered a focaccia veggie sandwich with a piquant salsa dressing. He opted for a softly poached egg, which was served with thick slices of ham and tomato on a chunk of toasted French bread.
Caribbean Destinations
“Celebrities migrate toward the Caribbean because it’s one of the few places they can go where they’re left alone,” says Keija Minor, editor in chief of Travel Savvy magazine. “It’s the perfect place for them to get some relaxation, quiet time and seclusion.” What’s not to love? The fruit and fish are always fresh, and the weather usually cooperates. Besides the laid-back tranquility of the islands, celebs also enjoy a bit of welcome anonymity from fans and paparazzi when they’re tucked away in their own pockets of paradise.
Scotland
Scotland has become almost a caricature of itself in the American media with comics imitating Sean Connery’s brogue and Mike Myers “If it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!” skits on “Saturday Night Live.” Often viewed as less cosmopolitan than England but not pastoral enough to be as pretty as Switzerland, Scotland actually is all that and more. With some fabulous gourmet restaurants, the gorgeous countryside and some of the most amazing castles and ruins — all within a few hours drive — Scotland is a wonderful destination for travelers who want it all without having to learn another language.
French Lick
Sports fans know of French Lick as the hometown of basketball legend Larry Bird. But during a period that lasted from the late 1800s to the 1950s, the small Midwestern city was as famous for its swanky visitors as its natural spring water. Pluto Water, as it was dubbed, wasn’t like the mineral water we’re accustomed to today. The sulfur-rich drink was more of a diuretic than a refreshing thirst quencher. Hence, its slogan: “When nature won’t, Pluto will.” Guests were encouraged to carry canes during their morning walks. When nature called — and apparently it called quite often after a glassful of Pluto Water — it was considered the polite thing to place your cane on the outhouse door to indicate it was occupied. It was rude in those days to knock on a bathroom door.
Orkney Islands
Refer to any of the 19,000 inhabitants of the Orkney Islands as a Scot, and he or she will politely inform you they are not Scots. They’re Orcadians. They may live just a few miles north of mainland Scotland, but these island dwellers are an entity unto themselves. Yes, they eat haggis and talk with accents as thick as the blood used in black pudding. But unlike residents of cosmopolitan Edinburgh and nouveau-chic Glasgow, Orcadians don’t revel in trendy nightlife or upscale boutiques catering to the rich and bored.
Where to stay in … Scotland
During a recent trip to Scotland, I stayed at a boutique hotel in Edinburgh, a grand castle in Shapinsay and a quaint bed & breakfast in Stromness.
Palm Beach pulse
Some might say that the season officially is over in Palm Beach. Try telling that to Lilly Pulitzer. The designer socialite lives year-round in her “jungle” on the island, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s not the lifestyle in Palm Beach that’s so great,” Pulitzer says. “It’s the life–the sun, the light, the sand, great weather all year round. There’s swimming, sailing, tennis, golf. It’s a paradise. The eyes of the whole world were focused on this little sand spit!”
Bonaire
Bonaire is gorgeous, tranquil and about as close to paradise as most of us will ever get. It’s the anti-Cancun. Whereas the Mexican city is full of rambunctious college kids on spring break, Bonaire is less crowded and, well, less American. And let’s face it — when you’re vacationing in another country, foreign is a good thing. Granted, Bonaire is the least well-known of the ABC islands –Aruba and Curacao make up the remainder of the alphabet triangle — but it’s a diver’s paradise and a vacationer’s dream.
Cuba Quarter
The “Lord of the Rings” crew may have left New Zealand, but Wellington hasn’t lost its buzz – particularly not the city’s Cuba Quarter. Located adjacent to the financial district, the nabe is home to funky boutiques, cafés and some crazy nightlife.
Las Vegas
I’ve never been one of those people enamored of Las Vegas. I’d been here a couple times in the past for business, stayed in crappy hotels and had virtually no time to do anything but work. So I’m the last person you’d think would actually plan a vacation to Vegas. But when my fiance’s birthday rolled around this summer, it was a no-brainer where I would take him–Vegas, baby!
Get Trapped: Santa Claus, Indiana
When you hit the intersection of Christmas Blvd. and Kringle Place, you’ve reached Santa Claus, Ind., where it’s anything but ho-ho-hum for those who get a big kick out of all things Santa. The post office features jolly ol’ St. Nick climbing up its premises.