Category: Hotels

Happy to present to you another pro travel Writer: Nancy D. Brown of the “What a Trip” blog.

1. Who are you?
I’m a wife and a mom to two teenagers (Kendall 17, Evan 13) living in Northern California. I write the “What a Trip” column for the Contra Costa Times Lamorinda Sun newspaper and the “What a Trip” blog.  I’m the Lodging Editor at Uptake’s Lodging Blog (see Nancy’s posts here ed.). I’m also a public relations consultant for food and wine clients.

Before kids (bk) I owned Brown Miller Communications, a public relations agency.

Currently, I live in the East Bay, 20 minutes outside of San Francisco with my husband, our teens and a yellow Labrador retriever. I love that we are surrounded by hills with cows mooing in the distance, yet the City is only a BART ride away.

2. What do you like about what you do?
As a journalism graduate, I love that I’m paid to write about travel. I enjoy traveling, blogging, going to new places and meeting the people that make things happen in the industry. My kids have entered the independent stage, so they don’t mind when I’m gone for a few days. I have a dream job.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
I’m sure this is a familiar battle cry, but travel writers and journalists, in general, don’t make a lot of money. I’m sad to witness the demise of quality magazines and newspapers.

4. Please tell us about your blog and your aims for it?
My What a Trip blog began as a place for me to showcase my freelance writing. The blog morphed into a resource for my newspaper readers and then reached a global audience when it was selected for Travel @ Alltop.

I enjoy attending events such as the Luxury Travel Expo, the Book Passage Travel Writers conference, as well as conferences like Blogher so that I can share what I’ve learned with my readers. It’s also wonderful to meet my online friends in person.

My goal for What a Trip is to contribute fresh, informative content while increasing traffic and RSS readers. It’s also time for me to accepting advertising on the blog.

5. Your top three destination experiences you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
Switzerland was a magical trip for me. During a summer tour of Europe while I was in college, we arrived in the mountain village of Wengen at night. The next morning I opened the hotel shutters and there stood the magnificent snowcapped Jungfrau. With cows grazing in the distance, their bells clanging to the rhythm of their hoofs, I vowed to return to this paradise with my future mate. It should be noted that I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time. However, I did return to Wengen, Switzerland to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.

I read in a glossy travel magazine of an Alaskan fishing lodge that served the guests warm chocolate chip cookies upon arrival via float plane. Pointing to the dreamy picture in the magazine, I said to my husband, “We should try that!” Several years later, when we could financially afford the trip, I was disappointed to hear that owners Carl and Kirsten Dixon had sold Riversong Lodge. We met new owners Randy and Robin Dewar and had a fantastic fishing weekend. I am hooked on Alaskan fishing lodges.

Give me a warm Pasteis de Belem tart from Lisbon, and I’ll return to Portugal in a flash. As a San Francisco area native, I marveled at the similarities with this coastal, cosmopolitan city. Late fall is an ideal time to visit. Save time for a Eurail day trip to the charming town of Sintra where a UNESCO world heritage site awaits your fantasies of what a European castle should look like. In a word: charming.

6. Your top three accommodations you’ve ever stayed today and why?
The Tu Tu Tun Lodge in Gold Beach, Oregon is a family run resort on the Rogue River. It’s got it all; gorgeous grounds, great fishing and jet boating, amazing food and friendly staff. I need to get back there.

St. Helena, California’s Wine Country Inn oozes romance. Perhaps it was my in-room massage overlooking the vineyard that set the stage. Then again, it could have been the bubble bath in the bathroom with the surround sound speakers and stained glass window streaming rainbow colors over the tub. But it was probably the breakfast in bed room service that put this family-owned inn at the top of the romantic list. Any day in wine country is a good day in my book.

In doing this interview, I’m noticing a theme of family run properties. Mendocino, California’s Alegria Inn is no exception to the rule. Owners Elaine and Eric Hillesland make every trip to the Inn and Cottages special. The property is located within easy walking distance to the historic village of Mendocino with some rooms offering ocean views. Perhaps the most memorable part of my stay at the Alegria was the fact that I came home with a bed from the Inn. Not just any bed, a Flobed made in nearby Fort Bragg.
As a travel writer, I sleep around a lot. This eco-friendly natural latex mattress had me at hello or should I say, good night? My husband and I love our Flobed mattress. Both of our teens covet the mattress but custom beds don’t come cheap. Until I win the lotto, the prince and princess will have to sleep with the pea in the mattress. By the way, the Princess and the Pea is a Hans Christian Andersen fable for anyone wondering about the reference.

7. Your top three most memorable food experiences to date and why?
The Sardine Factory in Monterey, California is a special occasion restaurant located off Cannery Row. We were seated in the arboretum, surrounded by glass windows. The sommelier came over and helped us select a bottle of pinot noir. We had the signature abalone bisque and I had the best piece of swordfish I’ve ever tasted. They brought a sorbet palate cleanser between courses that was served in a swan ice sculpture. After sharing a chocolate lava cake we had a flaming coffee drink for dessert. It was served tableside and everyone was looking at the waiter as he lit our drinks on fire. The waiter and sommelier called us by name all evening. It was very decadent, but as you can see, I remembered every detail. It was fantastic.

Some 20+ years ago and my boyfriend, now husband, and I were backpacking through Europe. A Parisian magazine editor and his wife befriended us and took us to this neighborhood bistro in Paris for a typical French meal. We had steak tartar, pommes frites, haricots verts and a wonderful Beaujolais Nouveau. I still have the label from that bottle. The meal and the company were magnifique.

Café Beaujolais, situated in the tiny coastal village of Mendocino, California is like a cat with nine lives. Opened in 1969, the Pitzenbarger family lived in the upstairs of the house & served dinners. In 1977 Margaret Fox turned the cozy bistro into a culinary destination and eventually added a bakery. The restaurant landed in the hands of loyal customers Steve and Ashley Jenks in 2000. Current Chef David LaMonica and co-owner Kristy Bishop purchased Café Beaujolais in 2006 and continue the tradition of organic produce and locally sourced food.
I love Café Beaujolais for its homemade soups and breads. If I lived in this town, I’d be waiting at the back door of the brickery like a galavanting hound dog returning for his daily meal.

8. Your 3 worst destination/ accommodation/food experiences to date and why?
Home to Christopher Columbus, Genoa, Italy is not a friendly town. My husband and I had slept through our train stop and when we awoke, we were in Genoa. Assuming this was a Mediterranean beach-front town; we hopped off with our backpacks and started looking for cheap lodging. During our visit in 1986, I remember the place as dark and not at all friendly to tourists. I couldn’t interpret anything on the menu at the café and our waiter was not happy with my questions. Finally, I ordered what I thought was seafood pasta; instead I received a small plate of tiny fried smelt. We also learned that the beach access in the town is by private club entrance. Somehow we managed to get to the beach and were reprimanded at every place we tried to place our towels. After one night in Genoa, we were happy to return to the train.

Last spring break we decided to visit the Grand Canyon via Las Vegas with our teens. I decided to use a travel agent for this trip as I was not familiar with Las Vegas. She recommended Circus Circus. What a mistake. Our room was in the older tower with paper thin walls, aging furniture and a screenless window looking down to the RV parking lot. My daughter jokingly called it the suicide room because of the easy access out the window. We attempted to visit the swimming pool and were temporarily trapped in the elevator.
Unfortunately, we were booked here for two nights and when I tried to cancel the room, which was priced at rack rates, I was told this wasn’t possible because we had booked a discount package from our travel agent. Our location on the strip was horrible and the closest dining was a very crowded Denny’s restaurant with a long wait. Lady luck was not shining on us in Vegas.

I landed in the hospital one time when I contracted Campylobactor from a dim sum restaurant. Looking back, our positive travel experiences have greatly outnumbered the bad times. Afterall; travel is an adventure and one never knows what waits around the bend.

9. Can you offer the readers 3 travel/ food / accommodation / things to do tips about the city you are currently living in?
Born and raised in the Bay Area, I consider San Francisco my city. My friend Wendy Perrin of Conde Nast Traveler magazine asked for layover recommendations while in San Francisco. For foodies, I recommend a Woz-Wiz Chinatown tour with Shirley Fong-Torres. For those preferring Italian, GraceAnn Walden offers Mangia North Beach walking tours. Take a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf and stay at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. See my post Say Yes to Airport Layover in SFO.

10. Any Question(s) you’d expected me to ask that you would like to answer?
As the mother of two teenagers I thought you might ask why it is important to keep young adults traveling. While many youth in our community have passports, I feel these documents come with a responsibility to represent our country; open our eyes to how others live and to give back to communities we visit. Mission trips are an affordable way for teens to experience different cultures without iPods and cell phones.

Thank you Nancy! As a two finger typist the editing of these interviews always take me more time than I would like.
You mentioning Wengen brought back a memory of years ago, especially as I am editing this in Bettmeralp which is located approximately 20 miles south of Wengen on the other side of the trio Jungfrau Eiger and Monch where the Aletch Gletcher (Europes largest Glacier) originates from and also because they are having the Lauberhorn Rennen there this very week: 35 years ago I was skiing from the Lauberhorn and broke my ski (luckily nothing else) and had to walk down the hill in very deep snow for hours to arrive home long after dark…..By the way, the Swiss are very happy to see some of their countrymen taking the podium:-)

Happy to present to you a celebrity traveling mom, whose Delicious Baby blog currently ranks as the first single writer Travel Blog on my version of the T-List.

1) Who Are you?

I am a mom to two young kids (ages 2 and 3 1/2) living in Seattle, WA. I write a blog called Delicious Baby about traveling with young kids. On the blog I share my personal travel stories and my travel tips. My city guides list kid-friendly activities, restaurants and hotels around the world with a focus on finding places that both kids and parents will enjoy.

Before I had children, I was a Program Manager at a large software company. I was responsible for designing and shipping consumer focused software.

I live with my husband and two kids in a home near Seattle’s Lake Washington. We think it’s the perfect blend of urban living and a nature filled retreat. Squirrels and the occasional possum frolic in our yard and we can walk to the beach, but there are also a small market and a handful of restaurants within walking distance. Seattle’s International District (packed with Asian and African restaurants) and our beautiful downtown are a short ride away.

2) What do you like about what you do?

While I sometimes miss the day to day hustle and bustle of the office (and the opportunity to build products that millions of people use), I truly enjoy the immediacy of blogging and the close connection with my readers. It has been tremendously rewarding to build my own site from scratch and help it grow. I particularly love trying out new things, and getting immediate feedback about what works and what doesn’t.

I also love the fact that having a blog gives me a platform to share some of the causes I care about. Having seen poverty around the world first-hand, I am committed to supporting organizations take a practical approach to chipping away at its causes.

3) What don’t you like about what you do?

As a blogger, it can be easy to get caught up in the easy-to-measure indicators of success like traffic and RSS subscribers, and loose focus on the bigger picture of what you are trying to build and what relationship you want to develop with your readers. I find that I need to take a step back about once a month and re-focus my efforts around one or two big-picture goals.

4) Please tell us all about your blog and your aims with it.

I started planning my first trip with my son before he was born, and admittedly I was worried about the logistics of getting on an airplane with him and being in a foreign country with a newborn. I was shocked at how little published information there was about traveling with babies and young kids, and how much of it was either beside-the-point or discouraging. The best information came through word of mouth from friends who had actually traveled with their young children.

Once my son was born, we found that we truly enjoyed traveling together as a family, just as my husband and I had enjoyed traveling together before he was born. As we traveled, friends started to come to me for advice (just as I had gone to other parents for advice) and it just seemed natural to write down my tips and put them in the same place as our travel journals. Over time, I realized that I should share the advice beyond my small network of friends and family members and Delicious Baby has gradually grown into what it is today.

I try to take a step back and remember what it feels like to get on a long-haul flight with a child for the first time and what my concerns were. That insight, along with email and questions from readers, guides the topics I discuss on my site. With each trip we take, we learn a new trick or two and I share them with my readers. As the site grows, one of the most rewarding things for me is that my readers contribute their tips and ideas too. I get tons of great ideas from my readers that make my own travels better and more rewarding.

With the city guides, I focus on finding activities that help all of us (parents and kids) get the most out of each place we visit. I’m not particularly interested in visiting the world’s amusement parks, and it is important to me to try to connect with and understand each place that we visit. That means that on our recent trip to Chicago, finding a Jazz Club with smoke-free Sunday matinees was more important than riding the ferris wheel at the Navy Pier. Finding the best Churros and Chocolate in Barcelona was more important than the nearest Mc Donalds or Starbucks. I take notes about every place we visit so that I can share tips about what the kids enjoyed at each spot (and what they didn’t).

5) Your top 3 destination experiences you’ve ever stayed to date and why?

In Namibia, we rented a car and drove around the country. While the roads are (mostly) not paved, they are in great condition, and it was a wonderful way to explore. After having taking guided safaris in other parts of Africa, we particularly enjoyed the freedom of being able to visit Etosha National Park at our own pace. At one point, we spent almost a full day watching elephants at a single watering hole, and it was also fascinating to watch the predators start to rouse themselves in the late afternoon and early evening.

Also in Namibia, we had the opportunity to go on walking safari looking for Rhinos. The safari was run by a local non-profit whose goal was to save the Rhinos from hunters by offering jobs in tourism to locals. Careful not to disturb the rhinos, we parked our jeep at the first sign of a Rhino and searched on foot. Our guides did not carry guns (Rhinos are endangered, people are not), so we had to be very careful not to make noise and to track the direction the wind was blowing. That was an exhilarating experience!

More recently we visited Taos with our kids. The natural beauty of Taos (and New Mexico in general) is stunning, and it would be hard to visit without taking a step back from your everyday life and a deep, refreshing, breath. In Taos, we jettisoned most of our sightseeing plans and just took it all in. The one thing we did not skip, though, was a visit to Taos Pueblo. Taos Pueblo, now a UNESCO world heritage site, is made up of a series of multi-story adobe buildings. The dwellings been inhabited continuously for over 1000 years, and even today some Native Americans choose to give up conveniences like running water and electricity in exchange for the opportunity to live a traditional lifestyle in their own childhood homes. In many ways, it was the most foreign-feeling place I’ve visited within the United States. What I truly loved, though, was that with the kids our visit was transformed from a cursory walk-through to a real exploration. The kids were fascinated with everything about the buildings, from their construction, to the ladders used to enter upper stories, to the crafts being made and sold inside many of the homes. Locals often open up to kids, and want to share their lives with them, so while the kids learned that not everyone lives exactly the way we do, we also got a rare first-hand view into these people’s lives.

6) Your top 3 accommodations you’ve ever stayed to date and why?

When we traveled through Asia, we used Bangkok as a hub and a place to refuel in between destinations like Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. Most of the time we stayed in a small guest house off of Sukhumvit road, but because the Peninsula Hotel (now rated among the top hotels in the world) had just opened, they often had rooms for just $120 US per night. We splurged a few times, and the views of the river, the comfort of the room, and the food in the hotel restaurants were all unparalleled.

Before we had kids, my husband and I stayed at a tented Safari Camp in Botswana. I loved having the comforts of a hotel together with the close connection with nature. There is nothing like waking up in the morning to sunlight streaming in through your open tent flaps and a waiting pot of hot chocolate. One evening as we were getting ready for bed, I heard a sudden flurry of birds taking flight outside. I turned around to see an Elephant walking past the tent. For me, that was a magic moment, the elephant was so silent that I would have never known he was there if it wasn’t for the noise from the birds.

In Phnom Penh Cambodia we stayed in a small local guest house that had recently opened. The employees, new arrivals from the countryside were studying computers, practicing English and sending back a little money to their families at home. We absolutely fell in love with the welcoming guest house and the staff. I loved sitting on the patio in the afternoons, talking to the “girls” (they were young), and drinking tea. We had a post card of Seattle’s Space Needle and a few digital images of home, and they never tired of asking us to see those pictures. Over time we got to know their stories (none of them easy) and we developed such a strong feeling of connection to the country that we extended our time there. That is a connection I still feel today, and when I think of the work that NGOs are doing around the world to help lift people out of poverty, immunize them from disease,
and provide for basic human needs like clean water or sanitation, the images that come to mind are usually of people we met in Cambodia.

7) Your top 3 most memorable food experiences to date and why?

In Hoi An, Vietnam there is a small, locally owned restaurant called “Cafe Des Amis” We had heard about it over and over from other travelers, and of course we couldn’t wait to try it for ourselves. At
Cafe Des Amis you dine outdoors on a multi-course price-fixe meal (I think it was about $6) that included some of the most delicious Vietnamese dumplings I’ve ever eaten. My husband and I usually try as many different restaurants as we can when we travel, but the food here was so good that we returned three nights in a row, to a different meal each night, the final one including a duck that the owner says takes all day to prepare.

I used to travel a lot with a close friend who runs Tasting Menu, a popular food blog. We were invited to dine Daniel Boulud’s office, a skybox overlooking the kitchen at Daniel (one of New York’s finest restaurants). I always love watching people who are very good at what they do work, and it was incredible to sit and watch the kitchen turn out plate after plate of delicately prepared food. Secluded from the dining room, we were also able to relax more than we would have otherwise, and I still laugh when I remember my friend actually licking his plate just as one of the chefs looked up. Licking the plate is probably the highest form of praise you can give a chef, so instead of making us feel uncomfortable, the chef laughed, and then we all did too!

My husband is Persian, but his family left when he was a child and he has not been able to return. When were in Dubai, we were astounded at the huge number of Persian restaurants, and made a reservation at one of the finest Persian restaurants in the city. For me, it was merely an amazing meal, but for my husband, it was more emotional. Everything from produce to spices tastes a little different in the states than it does in the Middle East, so it’s never really possible to recreate the tastes of Iran in an American kitchen. When we finished our meal, my husband told me that he hadn’t tasted some of those flavors since childhood, and that the meal brought back all sorts of memories from his childhood. We spent the rest of the evening walking off the food and my husband told me all sorts of childhood stories that would have otherwise been lost to time.

8) Your 3 worst destination/ accommodation /food experiences to date and why?

In between a camping safari in the Serengetti and a walking safari beginning at the Ngorongoro Crater, we decided to splurge on a hotel at the edge of the crater, get a real shower and clean up before continuing on. I was sick, and there was no heat in the hotel, so we slept in our sleeping bags (on top of the beds) that night. The hotel’s big windows let heat out (unlike our cozy tent) and the shower in the morning was lukewarm. We would have been more comfortable camping that night!

We took an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa in Vietnam (and back). I can sleep pretty much anywhere if I’m tired enough, but there was no sleep on those nights. We expected the train to be dirty and uncomfortable, but what really threw us off-guard was the hands that reached in through our (jammed) open window to try and grab what they could every time the train stopped at a station.

As much as we travel with our kids, you would think that I would have more nightmare stories than I do, but I have only one really terrible one… On an airplane, the air pressure can wreak havoc on a baby’s little tummy (everything is very close together in a person who is only 25 inches long!) On one one flight home from LA, what probably should have been a burp was instead a full bottle of spitup all over me, my seat, and the floor in front of me. I travel with a pretty full carry on, so I had a spare outfit for my son, lots of diapers, and even an extra baby blanket. The one item I was missing? A spare shirt for myself. Needless to say, I walked off of the plane with my jacket zipped all the way, and rushed to baggage claim!

9) Can you offer the readers 3 travel/ food / accommodation / things to do tips about the city you are currently living in?

If you enjoy modern architecture (and even if you don’t), our new downtown library is a great example of modern architecture that really works. The architect worked closely with local planners to design a space that really works, both as a public space and as a library. The light filled building is one of my favorite places to work, and my kids love the 15,000 square foot children’s area.

I love both the homey atmosphere and the delicious homemade pasta at Spinasse. When I eat there, I’m transported to Italy.

The Fremont neighborhood is a fun and quirky area that most tourists never see. The area is filled with public sculpture, like a huge, climbable troll lurking under a bridge, a rocketship, and even a sign
designating Fremont as the center of the universe. Quirky independent shops and restaurants make this a fun area to explore, and on Sundays you can find all sorts of odds and ends at the Fremont Market

10) Any Question(s) you’d expected me to ask that you would like to answer?

I thought you might ask why I think it’s worthwhile to travel with kids. We started traveling with our kids because we simply weren’t willing to give up travel just because we had kids. As they grow, I’m starting to look at travel as one of the many things we will do to help them grow into well-rounded adults with perspective that extends beyond their own neighborhood. I hope that as the kids grow, our
travel experiences will help my kids understand that their daily lives are hardly the norm as compared with other children’s lives around the world. I’d like them to embrace different lifestyles and cultures
instead of being afraid of them, and to understand that our responsibility to help extends beyond our own family and our own back yard.

Thank you very much Debbie. Your answers and your blog show great care and a great eye for detail. As we did more or less travel with the same attitude with our kids (on a smaller scale than you apparently do) I can assure you that it works. My two kids are over 30 now and have been and are traveling the world on a larger scale than I ever did and with a lot of interest in foreign cultures. I also envy you for having visited Taos Pueblo with its amazing adobe buildings. I’m an adobe addict and as building material it fascinates me to the extent I have applied it to the inner walls of our small hotel …over the wall heating system. It works for modern buildings as well as for ancient buildings! A great resource for modern application of Adobe is the blog Earth Architecture.