womantraveler

36 Hours in Rome

For 36 hours in Rome, you have to be really focused, for seeing what Rome has to offer could be a lifetime of 36-hour visits. Stopping briefly in Rome for the very first time (on the way to a Mediterrean-Adriatic cruise), my smart move was a private tour guide for a half day, arranged by the concierge at the Hotel Splendide Royal. 

Jet-lagged yet eager to set out, I indulged in the private tour for just the dose of sight-seeing I could manage in that short visit. The personalized service was pricey (344 euros plus tip) but well worth not having to stand in interminable lines (hours long) in the excessive August heat (hats and shelter required). By and large the guides, who drive mini-vans, can get you right to the front of a line or even in the door. (Clearly they have their connections.) Typically the minimum fee is a half day and you pay the same price for one or several people, but that splurge certainly was worth it in the personalization, efficiency, ease and dose of history that met my own tolerance levels and expectations. 

First off, I'll have to confess that I skipped St. Peter's and the Vatican City for this trip. I decided to get a wider swath of the sights more serendipitously and then next time, dig in deeper with more planning. That's always been my style for short trips to mega places -- get out on foot or by car to absorb the big picture first, then be choosier and more prescriptive later. It's always worked well for me and resulted in considerable quality and unexpected finds. It happened in Rome, too.

While the tour guides do have their favorite spots, I set aside my long list of touristy to-dos and let Rolando, who once lived in the U.S. and studied at Boston University, suggest some destinations I wasn't even aware of. Another smart move because it brought some truly marvelous experiences I wouldn't have selected from my initial research. First off that took us to the less-traveled basilica San Pietro in Vincoli, originally a pagan temple built in 432-440 A.D. to house the relic of chains that bound Saint Peter in Jerusalem. As if that is not awesome enough, here stands Michaelangelo's stirring sculpture of "Moses," part of the funeral monument originally built for Pope Julius II in his relatively small family church. The 8-foot 4-inch marble statue (bottom center) creates a powerful presence of a Moses who is both watchful and meditative (you feel his wise leadership as well as the potential of his terrible wrath), and, frankly, it has stuck with me a lot longer than Michaelangelo's "David," which I later saw in Florence.

Then we drove outside the ancient but still intact city walls to the Appian Way, the oldest and most strategic road in the Roman Empire, where I visited the Catacomb San Callisto (see another post for some highlights of that one-hour tour) and walked along the amazingly preserved 560-mile highway, where the grooves of chariots in the lava bricks are still visible. (Actually the scope of all the preservation in Rome, given its thousands-years antiquity, is completely amazing).

Then, with about 90 minutes left, we cruised through some elegant neighborhoods on the Aventine Hill, before reaching the Capitoline and Palatine hills that house some of the most-renowned treasures. Along the way, we stopped for a view of Sophia Loren's palazzo overlooking Piazza Venezia -- note she has a view of the Vatican in the far distance  among other churches from her terraces -- and around the must-see sights of the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill residence of the emperors built in 200 A.D. and up a narrow roadway untraveled by tour buses and overlooking the Roman Forum, so I could see everything in one sweeping vista. I'll be blogging more about this fabulous trip, but this in itself, was the perfect way to spend part of my first 36-hour Rome adventure.

48 Hours in Boston: Shepard Fairey and Great Food

Graffiti-fueled street artist Shepard Fairey's retrospective in Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art inspires hope (the iconic Obama campaign image) and challenges authority (starkly conveyed through his "Obey the Giant" campaign in the 1990s). Get there fast -- before the exhibit closes Aug. 16. Its defiant, yet often subtle, messages and images interpreting pop culture, revolution, commercialism and dirty politics will stick with you for a long time afterwards. Fairey is a controversial figure with Boston authorities, who gave him some unexpected publicity when they arrested him for previous graffiti vandalism on the way to the exhibit's opening party in February. This week he was in the news again when he received two years' probation.

The 200 posters, stencils, screen prints, collages and more represent a huge output of a very focused artist in the past 20 years. The collective impact is all the more jarring via his bold signature colors of red, black and white.

The new ICA building,  which opened in late 2006 on the South Boston waterfront after a presence dating back to 1936, is definitely worth a trip whenever you go, with its compelling galleries and bayside computer theater, where visitors can gain deeper access into its artistic riches. We trekked via the T (Metro) and a few blocks on foot on a drizzly day, followed by a warm and welcoming lunch at the modern Italian diner Sportello at 348 Congress St.  (And, by the way, classically prepared Bolognese sauce with milk.)

Boston is always about food for me, since my brother Steve Johnson is the owner of the three-year-old dining hit, Rendezvous Central Square in Cambridge. So I'm a biased enthusiast (full disclosure duly noted). But the restaurant stands on its own reputation, with seasonal menus that maximize local produce and seafood matched by culinary invention. Two of us dived into the June menu -- appetizers (1) fried softshell crab with stone-ground grits and chipotle pepper puree and (2) grilled Portuguese sardins with a Meyer lemon-fennel vinaigrette (best ever); entrees (1) Paella Valenciana and (2) his popular braised pork and veal meatballs; and for dessert (1) lemon-buttermilk pudding with huckleberry sauce and (2)a cherry-rhubarb crostada with honey-lavendar ice cream. Incidentally, Steve and his team make the ice cream with herbs grown on the restaurant's roof (note the the urban garden here).  

The next night we went to R.F. O'Sullivan's Pub in Somerville for what are said to be some of the best burgers in Boston, and we weren't disappointed. It's small, it's local, it's loud and it's sports TV (Red Sox, natch, this time of year) and the yummy half-pound burgers (with dozens of topping options) are fat and drippy. (You can order low-carb options, but why bother here?) "People come in and they get mad, but I explain to them, it's not your everyday place. It takes time to cook," explains the voice of the menu notes. "To cook a burger this thick and juicy takes patience, and about 20 minutes." So we started with a big plate of onion rings along with our drinks. The #1 lesson for cooks -- advises the same menu voice -- "don't squish the burgers." Also don't wear your finest -- each rounded mound of burger (from the 400 pounds of fresh ground sirloin cooked each week) can be a bit messy to handle. 

Winding up the 48-hour tour, we took a day in Westport on Buzzard's Bay 90 minutes south of Boston. I've previously chronicled a day on the Westport River and its surroundings here. It is a fertile region -- watermen and leisure travelers mixed with the local wildlife, like the osprey protecting their young in the nest and clams raked froom ankle-deep beds. An early dinner at the waterside Back Eddy restaurant (defined as a "current that runs counterculture to the mainstream") delivered a one-pound "chicken lobster" among other fresh local seafood and produce from southeastern Massachusetts and coastal Rhode Island.

The distance from water and land to the table is not far in these parts, and you recognize, respect, honor and savor that unvarnished experience.

Pleasanton, California: Perfectly Named

As a woman business traveler and proactive fan of leisure day trips, I've learned time and again that some of the best adventures are close to home. Pleasanton, California, originating in the Gold Rush and existing comfortably today next to the Livermore Valley wine country east of San Francisco, is one of my recent "finds." History, luxury and quality wines and food within a few blocks -- my fundamentals!

Since I often stay overnight in nearby outlying communities when I have an evening event -- to avoid rush-hour traffic, windy country roads at dusk or late-night driving alone -- I calculate at the front end a pleasant evening in new surroundings to finish off my business or leisure commitment. And, Pleasanton, California, has definitely earned its name in my travel journals.

  But the secret -- absolutely -- is the right hotel or inn. A male friend recommended Pleasanton's Rose Hotel, and it turned out to be the right combo of stylish but casual luxury and welcoming service. To wit -- a spacious and well-appointed room with windows that actually open to fresh air, a jacuzzi tub (superb after an afternoon on the links at a Women on Course event at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in the Livermore Valley,) and Peet's Coffee brewed in my room's own French press. That was the first part of the wake-up experience before I went down to the Victorian lobby/loungefor an ample continental breakfast (which comes with the room). Men and women business travelers, a leisure travel couple from Pennsylvania, and more personalities crossed paths in this quietly confident and charming space.

For dinner, I hiked up and down Main Street to check out the multiple options (40 nearby restaurants), from lively outdoor gardens to indoor white table cloth candlelight -- but chose the originality of The Oasis Grille across the street from the hotel and its Afghan/Middle Eastern specialties and featured wine list. Grilled shish kebab and a Riva Ridge Chardonnay from one of the California originals, Wente Vineyards in Livermore, were perfectly matched!

Business Travel: Be Agile

Entrepreneurs are agile, smart businesses in the new (aka recession) economy are agile and we business travelers have to be extra-agile to protect our business and navigate the predictable wacky travel uncertainties.

It's not only airlines.  Here's a familiar tale from a consultant friend  navigating the  East Coast for various clients recently -- arrival at Washington, DC's Union Station from private car service (to avoid taxi hassles) in good advance time only to discover that the Amtrak from Washington, DC, to New York City is delayed due to a freak situation (water main break near Baltimore).

Vital meetings were firmly and tightly scheduled for later in the afternoon and evening in Connecticut. Click, click, click -- brain cells go into action. Call airlines from cell phone, book next flight from Reagan International Airport, call private car service for return pick up at train station, zip over to Reagan, make the last flight before the thundershowers hit in both DC for departures and potential delays at LaGuardia. Whew!

What does it take to accomplish this? Think fast, have alternatives/options always at hand, keep your brain alert and your resources ready for quick action. Of course, such a plan is not foolproof, but it does yield big time in most cases. Scott McCartney's "Ten Rules of the Road for Air Travel" in the Wall Street Journal provides a terrific template for pulling it all together, business or leisure. Quick thinking is crucial -- calling the airline by cell phone while you're walking through the train station or airport and, critically, before even reaching a customer service line.

You have to be working all the channels at once as your own private switchboard. That means, first of all, thinking nimbly and having all necessary numbers loaded into your address book so they can be dialed up instantly on your cell phone. In this unpredictable world of business -- and leisure travel -- delays, the only constant is OPTIONS.

Napa Valley's CIA Cooking (the Other One)

Wine inspires, but food sustains in the San Francisco Bay Area, so the Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA) in Napa Valley is a must-do for cooking classes. And they're quick and easy -- 1 to 2 hours. This ongoing series of classes the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena makes it easy to actually develop a small skill in the midst of experiencing the marvelous vineyards.

We girlfriends were jaunting through the Valley one spring day and discovered the Spring Table series at Greystone, the former home of the Christian Brothers Winery. Classes are Friday-Monday and a demo is held the first Tuesday of the month. The 1-hour public cooking demonstrations ($15) include the recipe and tasting while the 2-hour hands-on cooking classes (75)consist of a 30-minute lecture, 90-minute cooking and tasting with a glass of wine. Classes in May, for example, include "Terrine of Salmon with Spring Vegetables," "Lamb Carpaccio with Greek Feta Cheese, Black Olives, Lemon Vinaigrette and Mint Oil" and "Sweet Pea Ravioli with Sauteed Pea Tendrils." I'm getting so hungry I don't think I can finish this post!

There are also Wine Enthusiast classes and elegant dinners at The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, which you can check out on their website.

Spotted by Locals: European Insiders' View

We heard about Spotted by Locals, a smart new website on which local handpicked bloggers dish out tips about cool spots, both traditional and offbeat, to visit in their own European cities. So we tested Paris, which we know pretty well, and, bien sur, our favorite Left Bank resto, Fish la Boissonnerie, was one of the features. Plus, les Parisien bloggers suggested ways to experience some of the typical sights in new ways, such as the picturesque gardens Luxembourg and Jardin des Plantes.

Not that some of these recommendations wouldn't be in a typical guidebook, but the perspective is definitely "from the ground up," where everyday people enjoy something fabulous that outsiders are not going to find easily unless we have their lens. You feel like you're talking to someone you know, who's sincere and believable, and there are maps to help get you to their choices. This is a site to use as part of your broader searching -- it's not all-inclusive, but a welcome peak into an authentic experience. Bravo!

San Francisco Stalwarts Keep Coming -- and One Sad Going

We solo womentravelers spontaneously checked out two of the three "iconic" San Francisco restaurants featured recently by the San Francisco Chronicle -- and all with women chefs -- Zuni Cafe and Hayes Street Grill (we'll dish on the third, Greens, very soon). Here are some some tips for getting in the door when the evening is booked. Plus, read on for a change of face for another iconic brand...

Tips #1-10: Repeat after me, "smile a lot, be friendly, don't be pushy and have faith." The good karma you're putting out will return to you.

Zuni Cafe: hip and cool, between downtown and trendy Mission and Castro districts. Dinner service starts at 6 pm. What's especially welcoming is that they serve all day. So, walk in at 4:45 or 5, grab a seat in the (very small) bar area, have an appetizer and get on the waiting list for dinner in the bar area. Maybe a 30 minute wait or so, and you can eat from the full menu (more limited lunch menu until the 6 pm change). Specialties -- intriguing wine choices, the freshest oysters this side of the Pacific Rim (which is to say locally in West Marin or not far up in the Northwest) and Mediterannean-inspired featured plates.

Hayes Street Grill: white table cloth and "older" crowd (for the most part, Baby Boomers and their parents, but welcoming to all). Said to have "the best seafood" in San Francisco. Maitre d' running around with his hair on fire and lines nearly pushing out the door. Walking in is not a guarantee, but it can work. So we put our names on the list for the small bar area and waited patiently, for 35 minutes. People pushed in front of us, nonobservant customers took a bar stool or two, we kept smiling at the waiters, hmmm...And then, two great seats, right in front of the bartender, who took fabulous care of us. Be patient, gals, the rewards will come. Fish cooked all ways, choice of many sauces or none, steamed vegetables, diverse wine list, great service. Even when there were empty tables, the maitre d' wouldn't seat guests early because he wanted to make sure there were servers available to attend them well. This is a well-run destination that you can count on. Future planning tip, because it's near the ballet, symphony and opera, tables tend to open up after 7:30, when the neighborhood locals come in -- and the mood is more convivial and relaxed. 

Greens (our opinion coming soon): still a top choice after founding chef Deborah Madison, who was influenced by Alice Waters, who is one of Obama's "kitchen cabinet." This high-end vegetarian setting has kept to its roots, supplied by the organic gardens of the San Francisco Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm in Marin County.

Speaking of organic, sadly Bill Niman's revolutionary vision, humanely and sustainably raised meat at Niman Ranch, has changed hands. Great idea, popular brand, high-end chefs as clients...but no profit. Niman himself is gone from his Bolinas, California ranch, but the name continues with the new owner, Chicago's Natural Holdings. Just wanted to make sure you knew that. Darn -- loved those Niman Ranch hot dogs my brother used to grill in the fireplace back East. Sort of sad to see the idealist bought out by the corporation, but let's remain optimistic about the quality.

Goodwill's Recessionista Fashion

The story about "Barbie at 50" in Sunday's New York Times reminded me of the "Recessionista" attire recently worn by James David, communications manager of San Francisco's Goodwill Industries stores. Pointing to his $3 shirt and $2 fashion tie during a panel discussion on the economy, he also mentioned his style-conscious new blog SeamsSoGood. (You may recall that last year SF's Goodwill set another smart and sustainable fashion trend by partnering with designer Joe Boxer for the "William Good" clothing line of designer-remade Goodwill donations.)

So all this got me to thinking -- sadly, it's about time. Pardon me, Barbie, but I am done with Carrie Bradshaw shopaholics who for years have shamed the rest of us into buying more expensive clothing that we could really afford. I became one of them temporarily until the bottom hit last fall and I asked myself, "what am I thinking??" Things accumulating in my closet still with the tags on! And a $650 pocketbook (at a steal sale of $250) and a $900 necklace and earrings that I had no reason to buy except the peer pressure in the room. Clearly these wouldn't qualify as expensive luxuries for the shopaholics who set the tone, but in my case, twhile I do love and enjoy them, I've got to break that habit. Fortunately they are made well enough that they will hold up for a long time -- while my $200 jeans develop tatters and become even more trendy.

Like James' example, men are discovering secondhand shopping relief, too. San Francisco is just one city that offers a host of vintage menswear options. Clearly it's a new consciousness. I was having lunch not long ago in upscale Presidio Heights in San Francisco when I spotted a store proclaiming a "Recessionista Sale" with a massive banner. Darn, I didn't have my camera -- but even at its blowout prices, I didn't have the budget. So I zipped up my pocketbook, kept walking and began to feel the relief of re-balancing priorities.

Sonoma's Cottage Inn and Spa: Spoil Me

Downtown Sonoma's Cottage Inn and Spa is my home away from home. And even though I can drive up in 30 minutes from San Francisco's North Bay area, guests last week from Hawaii and Boston clearly had caught onto the same idea. (One couple was hanging out in the dreamy upstairs Vineyard View Suite after just getting married following 27 years of dating. Another arrived with a group for a surprise anniversary event.)

Romance and relaxation are the overwhelming themes in this architecturally inspired hideaway only a 5-minute walk off the Sonoma Square. But a solo woman traveler like me can comfortably slip into one of the individualized rooms -- most with jacuzzi tubs and fireplaces --  for a timeout from the rat race of the typical day to day. And, yes, there's free Wi-Fi in my suite and public spaces whenever I want to fire up my laptop and check back into the real world.

The Cottage Inn is different from the quaint or "wine country elegant" inns that dot Sonoma. The carefully chosen painting, photographs and sculpture in the rooms and the spirit forms and Buddhas in courtyards and walkways create a soothing, healing presence. Cloistered Santa Fe-style with adobe walls around two converted houses, the inn declares "cozy retreat" whatever your intention. 

Now that it's Mustard Festival in next-door Napa Valley through March, vineyards across both valleys are brimming with yellow gold flowers. So the Cottage Inn is a perfect anchor for taking in the wine country sights -- and then pulling back to more serenity in the evenings. I arrange for a Zen Garden Spa treatment, then unwind even more beside the open pit gas fire that burns up through a floor of crushed glass in the Romantico Paradiso Room.   

Each room has a unique decor, designed by the late founder, who was an architect. All have similar amenities, including coffee and juice and refrigerators stocked for breakfast. Each morning fresh breads arrive in a basket at the door.The largest North Suite is one of two with full kitchens, and most rooms have open or covered outdoor patios. 

I like the convenience, too. Hiking trails and bike routes start nearby and go in all directions, including over to General Vallejo's 19th century estate and historical museum to the west and a vineyard walk to Sebastiani and Ravenswood to the east. Sonoma Square offers some of the Valley's best dining -- including The Girl and the Fig, Cafe La Haye and El Dorado Kitchen, while the former General's Daughter restaurant in an 1864 Victorian on the Vallejo estate is generating a lot of buzz as Estate, the new venture of Girl and the Fig's Sondra Bernstein. 

Downtown Napa's Revival

Downtown Napa continues its energetic boomlet, creating a classy alternative   to its tony north-county wine country neighbors in Napa Valley. Not that wine-touring and epicurean dining aren't worthy tourist-focused delights anywhere in "the Valley." But those of us who live and work close by like to get away for an evening in downtown Napa for a friendly, yet stylish, "hometown" scene delivered with neighborly personality and first-rate quality.

The 2003 restoration of the 19th century Napa Valley Opera House helped kick off a wave of activity that has transformed this once rundown and neglected river town into a charming riverfront destination just an hour north of San Francisco. When I heard that "The Blue Note 7" jazz tour celebrating 70 years of Blue Note Records would bring some of the world's finest jazz to      the 500-seat opera house theater, I snapped up a seat on a weeknight. Renowned jazz artists like Bill Charlap, Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton and their colleagues gave a stunning performance of their new CD "Mosaic," then hung out with the locals in the lobby afterwards for easy conversation. Keeping the music alive, pianist Charlap and bassist Peter Washington joined 15 late-night jazz enthusiasts at Silo's, the local club that manager Keith Stansberry kept open afterhours for the occasion. (Check out Silo's schedule at 707-251-5833. Exquisitely chosen Napa wines currently complement "Great American Songbook" artists Wesla Whitfield and Mike Greensill Wednesdays-Saturdays. Not to mention the Opera House's ongoing calendar.) 

  A few paces from Silos in the restored 1884 Napa Mill complex, I checked into the Napa River Inn, one of the preserved Historic Hotels of America for spacious luxury in a Victorian style room with a gas fireplace, canopy bed and claw-footed bath tub. Morning brought fresh baked goods in a basket from Sweetie Pies next door, a bakery that choosy clientele know well. Sweetie Pies' pumpkin pie was recently voted #1 on the Rachel Ray Show, and it's easily shipped. As one patron confessed, "you can't walk by without going in."

  We foodies are in pig heaven in places like Napa, where high standards by patrons and friendly competition among skilled chefs keep restaurant quality very high. There's something for everyone, too --from Ubuntu, the vegetarian restaurant and yoga studio that was cited in 2008 by the New York Times as one of the best two new restos in the U.S., to Vietnamese Annalien, the country French riverfront Angele, globally focused Celadon and the playful Kelley's "No Bad Days" Cafe. Mix that with stroller-friendly "The Little Gourmet: A Kid's Restaurant that is Grown-up Friendly" and many more dining spots, and it's easy to contemplate the next trip to downtown Napa.  

If you're going, note these two stellar upcoming events -- the 16th annual Napa Valley Mustard Festival, January 31-March 28, 2009 and the Napa Valley Opera House League's 9th Annual "Dinner Is Served" fundraiser, where you can eat in the best restaurants, on Wednesday February 25, 2009.