Seduced by the Sultry Setai: Miami Beach, FL The Assignment:Write up my most memorable upscale meal of 2006. My Answer:This one was simple—The Restaurant at the Setai Hotel, Miami Beach. The only thing NOT memorable about this place is its name! The Ambiance: Dramatic glass and austere grey stone walls, accented with lavish touches of…
Czech Out These Spas! Part I: Prague Last December I discovered another earth-shakingly incredible group of spas. I was invited to Prague to cover their famous Christmas Market. This runs for the month of December and the market was filled with European tourists, stocking up like it was Costco. It was freezing cold, so…
Czech Out These Spas! Part II: Karlovy Vary Note: This is the third of a multi-part series on Czech Spas. My first town during last December’s spa tour wasKarlovy Vary (a.k.a. Carlsbad), the Grand Dame of Czech Spas Towns. It’s about a two-hour scenic ride from Prague. K.V. is loaded with hot springs (12 to…
Czech Out These Spas: Part III: Zámecké LáznÄ› No matter where you stay in the spa-centric town of Karlovy Vary, you must schedule a visit for a day of treatments/swimming at Zámecké LáznÄ› (Castle Spa). It’s like a Vegas nightclub, complete with light show, and I had my best massage here. Wearing one of…
Czech Out These Spas! Part IV: Marianske Lazne Marianske Lazne (Marienbad) is located some 45 minutes further west from Karlovy Vary, about three hours from Prague. I loved the picturesque park-like town dotted with fountains, colonnades and elaborate spa houses –– no wonder Goethe and Chopin often hung out there in the old days….
Czech Out These Spas: Part V: Velichovky Spa’s Wellness Week for Women Note: This is the final article in a week-long look at Czech Spas. For the really “tired and poor huddled masses,” there is a fantastic sounding Velichovky Spa’s Wellness Week for Women Program offered to those who believe that “to invest in their…
The Kingdom of Navarra Visits San Francisco: Spanish Wine Dinner Mark your calendars for February 1. The American Insitute of Wine & Food (AIWF) in San Francisco is putting on a once-in-a-lifetime wine pairing dinner featuring some excellent wines from this wild and wooly area of Spain, as well as flying in one of the…