Tag: hotel

Going Down East – Bar Harbor, Maine

PortFringe was over and we were on to the next part of our Maine excursion. We pulled out of Portland in our rental car after saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts, Laurie and Ross, and headed for Mt. Desert Island. Mt. Desert might be better known to you as Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park which are located on the very large island off the coast of Maine.

We were early in the season for Maine tourism, so the traffic on the 1 as you drove north up the coast was not to bad so we made decent time. We stopped for lunch in Camden and walked around. Pretty little town, but very touristy and crowded.

We turned off the 1 to the 3 at Ellsworth and in about 16 to 18 miles took the bridge over to the island and headed to our hotel – the High Seas Motel on Highway 3 on the outskirts of Bar Harbor. A very reasonably priced, clean family run motel with a heated pool in summer. There is morning coffee and an open kitchen area with microwave open from 7 AM to 10 PM. There is also a coin laundry on the premises for the guests.

After settling in and getting unpacked, we headed for Bar Harbor about 3PM. Bar Harbor is located along Maine’s Frenchman Bay. It serves as the gateway to the mountains and cliffs of neighboring Acadia National Park. Towering over the park, Cadillac Mountain has trails and views of the town, the bay and the Cranberry Islands.  From the town pier, the Shore Path winds along the bay overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the Porcupine Islands, and several of the remaining grand houses of the Glided Age building craze in the 1890’s.

Here I will take a moment to comment on the National Park and its relationship to the island. Acadia National Park covers much of Mt. Desert but there are many selections of the island that are purely residential. When you arrive on the island you are encouraged to buy a $40 pass that allows to travel and park in the National Park. But to be honest, we were on the island and in the National Park everyday – we were never stopped or given a ticket. I am not advocating not supporting the National Park Service, but it is not absolutely necessary to buy a Park Pass in all cases. You may run the risk of getting a parking ticket from the Park Service. Yet, with so many out of state people living on the island during the summer, it is almost impossible to keep track of all the cars and knowing who is a part-time resident or a park visitor. That said I would encourage to support the work of the National Park Service and buy a pass.

Brief History of Bar Harbor

The town of Bar Harbor was founded on the northeast shore of Mount Desert Island, which the Wabanaki Indians knew as Pemetic, meaning “range of mountains” or “mountains seen at a distance.” The Wabanaki seasonally fished, hunted and gathered berries, clams, and other shellfish in the area. They spoke of Bar Harbor as Man-es-ayd’ik (“clam-gathering place”) or Ah-bays’auk (“clambake place”), leaving great piles of shells as evidence of this abundance. In early September 1604, French explorer Samuel de Champlain ran aground on a rock ledge believed to be just off Otter Cliffs, and when he came ashore to repair his boat he met local natives. Champlain named the island Isles des Monts Deserts, meaning “island of barren mountains”—now called Mount Desert Island, the largest in Maine. The community was first settled by Europeans in 1763 by Israel Higgins and John Thomas and incorporated on February 23, 1796 as Eden, after Sir Richard Eden, an English statesman.

The Famous Balance Rock!

In the 1840s, its rugged maritime scenery attracted the Hudson River School and Luminism artists Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, William Hart and Fitz Henry Lane. Inspired by their paintings, journalists, sportsmen and “rusticators” followed. Agamont House, the first hotel in Eden, was established in 1855 by Tobias Roberts. Birch Point, the first summer estate, was built in 1868 by Alpheus Hardy.

By 1880, there were 30 hotels, and tourists were arriving by train and ferry to the Gilded Age resort that would rival Newport, Rhode Island. The rich and famous tried to outdo each other with entertaining and estates, often hiring landscape gardener and landscape architect Beatrix Farrand, a resident at local Reef Point Estate, to design their gardens. A glimpse of their lifestyles was available from the Shore Path, a walkway skirting waterfront lawns. Yachting, garden parties at the Pot & Kettle Club, and carriage rides up Cadillac Mountain were popular diversions. Others enjoyed horse-racing at Robin Hood Park-Morrell Park. Many of these grand estates and homes were burned down in a massive fire at raged in the town in 1947.

On March 3, 1918, Eden was renamed Bar Harbor, after the sand and gravel bar, visible at low tide, which leads across to Bar Island and forms the rear of the harbor. The name would become synonymous with elite wealth. It was the birthplace of vice-president Nelson Rockefeller on July 8, 1908.

Many influential people have called Bar Harbor home for at least part of the year. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., son of John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil Co., donated about one-third of the land in Acadia National Park and built the carriage roads that are used for hiking and biking. J. P. Morgan owned a house that is adjacent to Bar Harbor. Cornelius Vanderbilt built cottages in Bar Harbor. The Astor family owned hotels and cottages in Bar Harbor and the surrounding areas. The co-founder and CEO of Burt’s Bees, Roxanne Quimby, has a home near Bar Harbor. Martha Stewart has also been known to frequent Mount Desert Island and been seen in Bar Harbor.

Shore Path

We sent the late afternoon and early evening exploring the small streets of Bar Harbor and walking along the Shore Path (described above). Seeing what remains of the houses that at one time rivaled Newport Beach in Rhode Island, as a playground of the super-wealthy. The walk starts at Argamont Park and moves along the shore till it reached Wayman Lane.

There are several yacht tours of the harbor and islands, some even on large sailing yachts, all docking and leaving from the terminal next to Argamont Park. Many of the large old homes have been converted into hotels, B&B’s and restaurants, and all with wonderful views of the harbor. And of course there are tourists, t-shirt shops and sports bars everywhere.

We opted for dinner at a natural food store on Main Street, but there are eateries of every variety to choose from all serving lobster (especially lobster rolls),  haddock and salmon.

After the walk and dinner, we returned to our hotel for a bottle of wine and some time in the heated pool before the mosquitoes got too bad. Next day  was Monday and that was to be part 1 of two days in Acadia.

Historical data from WikiPedia, Photos by James Carey

 

Temptation Resort Cancun – Review – Cancun, Mexico

PLAYGROUND FOR ADULTS!

It was a coldish December (for Los Angeles) and I had just received news that my teaching contract was not going to be renewed for the next semester. I had also just been hired to be the Artistic Director of a theatre company in Los Angeles. Changes were in the air and I needed to get away some place where I did not have to think about anything except where the next meal or drink was coming from.

I made a list of what I wanted from this get-away. Hot (or warmish), chance at a tan, inclusive of all meals and drinks, chance to meet people, and adults only (meaning no kids in the pool). I started looking at any place that kind of met that list, but it had to be inclusive – I did not want to leave the property once I got there UNLESS I wanted too.

Hawaii does not do inclusive. They have deals that look like that – but they are really different merchants that have been packaged by travel agents to look like that they are all together. Asia too far to fly. I had just completed an around the world trip 3 months before and I did not want to sit on another plane for 12 hours to get anywhere. Central America seemed pretty cool, but Costa Rica deals for that time of year were pretty high and Belize while interesting, I had to travel for a couple of hours outside the capitol to get to anywhere nice. I just wanted to get in a taxi and be there.

I know I sound like the whinny type of tourist – but sometimes you do not want an adventure, you want to rest and relax and not worry about catching that bus or climbing 1000 stairs to see an awesome landmark or view. I want to hang by a pool and watch the world walk by.

So, I turned to the Caribbean, and began to look at lists of best inclusive spots in the islands. Many came up – some really nice and expensive, some allowed the whole family, some for couples only, some like Hedonism II for adults only for adult activities (you understand that right?). I was flying solo and did not want to end up the third wheel to an entire hotel, or deal with sullen teenagers who could not get a strong wifi single in Haiti or Cuba. I was on a budget and could not afford places that were 700 per night or even 300 per night. Cheap, nice, inclusive and easy to get too.

An odd thing caught my eye while I was researching places, and I admit I was a little shocked at first. I am a single adult male who has a strong appreciation for the other gender of our species, yet I was really surprised to see the ads for inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic where hookers were part of the price. Prostitution is legal in the DR, and there are resorts there (not all) that cater to men of all ages who are looking to spend their time having as much sex as their wallet could afford – the sex is included with the meals and drinks. Very convenient. And the resorts have reviews that talk about the food, drinks, girls, and the premises of the resort. Upscale, low scale. I am not a prude by any stretch – topless or nude beaches or resorts for swinger couples – all fine. Yet, a vacation based on the idea of paid impersonal sex just seemed very slimy and rather pathetic to me.

After a lot of comparing of prices, flights, travel time to the actual resort while on the ground, what the term inclusive meant for that resort, reviews about food, entertainment, cleanliness and staff response, I had it down to three places. The final challenge was made by whether if you were a solo at an adult only resort was the resort solo friendly. And the resort I choose passed all those tests with great reviews and an awesome price.

Temptation Resort Cancun was the place that I choose for my Christmas, solo, inclusive resort getaway. And here is my honest review.

I flew into Cancun on a warm, clear day of about 84 F. I cleared customs and was meet at the entrance by my shuttle company – USA Transfers – which I found online when looking for shuttles to the hotel. Great reviews and a very good price. I paid 50 US up front to be taken there and a promise of being picked up to go home at a pre-arranged time. You book with them online giving them your arrival and departure times. After you are picked up at the airport, you pay the first driver in cash when you arrive at the hotel on the first ride and that pays for both rides. You have already exchanged emails when you made the reservation and that is how they will confirm with you the pickup time. Everything with them was smooth as glass. Both to the hotel and during the pickup time back to the airport, things were on time, no extra charges, the vehicle was new and clean, driver spoke excellent English and tolerated my very bad Spanish, beer-soda-water was available complementary, and the driving was very safe. I cannot recommend USA Transfers highly enough. And as they stated, they confirmed everything by email a couple of days in advance. There can be extra charges for changing times or adding destinations.

I arrived at Temptation and from the outside, while it is a big hotel featuring 7 floors and 428 rooms and suites – there is nothing to prepare you for what is inside.  You walk up the wide front stairs and pass thru large glass doors into a huge reception/lobby area. A huge marble hall with floor to ceiling windows at one end that look out on Cancun Harbor with reception is on your right, the concierge on your left and in front of you on a raised dais is a huge bar placed in front of the windows. Through the windows you can see that you entered the second floor of the hotel, because beyond the indoor bar and glass windows is the main party area of the hotel. At night this area becomes “Bash” the hotel’s nonstop party with a bar stretching at least 300 feet in length on one side and on the other is a long buffet with chefs who will also cook you specialty items. Featuring a raised dance/presentation area where the nightly entertainment performs, the patio looks out on the resort’s “Sexy Pool” area with a swim up bar, DJ, and optional topless swimming that goes until the sun goes down.

Temptation advertises itself as “the Playground for Adults”, and it is that with the 21 and above age limit. The hotel features 7 restaurants, 5 bars, 2 pool areas and beach access (also topless). For the high rollers, who are members of the resort (you can buy a membership to the resort which opens certain special areas and services) there is a private roof top pool and bar area on the seventh floor of the hotel.

I was first booked into a room that faced onto the “Bash” area that was very modern and clean. The bed was very comfortable, and each room as a private balcony. The night-time party started about 8 PM and went until 1:45 AM in the morning. With the loud boom music and lights and DJ and dancers, this basically becomes a huge outdoor dance club. The noise level was a little too much for me, so I asked to move; and they gave me an equally nice room on the other side of the hotel that was very private and quiet.

The decor of the hotel is bright colors and smooth textures with a lot of erotic abstract art pieces around. Having a cocktail on your own private balcony with a warm Caribbean breeze blowing is not a bad way to watch a breathtaking sunset.

The food at some inclusive resorts borders on uneatable, but at Temptation the food for the most part was excellent. There is one huge buffet area that faces onto the pool where breakfast and lunch are served. Take as much as you want and bring a drink from one of the bars, or the waiter staff will get whatever you want. The other restaurants that open only at night offer about 15 different cuisines. I ate in all the featured restaurants and the food was very good. And all the bars serve top of the line brands.

There also all kinds of beach activities which are free, like small catamarans, paddle boards, and kayaks. The hotel also tries to create all kinds of ways for guests to interact with each other. Poolside contests, volleyball, and yoga classes are just a few. The staff is very friendly and tries very hard to please. I had some trouble with hot water in my second room, but they jumped on it right away. It took a day to fix, but I felt the effort was real so I dealt with the cold water for a day. Besides it was 85 outside, so not that cold.

Ultimately, the resort met all my needs and was above par. I wanted a quiet (relatively) vacation with sun, fun, drink, food and an adult only atmosphere and I got it. And for a very fair price. The topless optional and adult outlook on clothing and behavior were nice but not the reason that I was there. As solo, I was concerned that it would be all couples, but there were plenty of solos there as well. If you want to find someone to talk to or meet there are plenty of opportunities. I recommend the resort if you are open-minded and willing to try something a little different. But this is not for family, this is a resort that focuses on couples and the sensual.

Visit to Cannery Row – Monterey, California

On a recent business trip to the Bay Area, I had the chance to spend part of the day in Monterey, California. I had not been to Monterey in about 18 years, and I was both astonished but not surprised by the changes along the world-famous street “Cannery Row.”

Cannery Row is most famous for the John Steinbeck book written about it in  1945, Cannery Row. The book is set during the Great Depression and tells the tale of the down and out fishermen and cannery workers on a street lined with sardine canneries. The actual row was known as Ocean View Avenue until it was named Cannery Row in 1946 in honor of Steinbeck’s book.

Yet, the story of Cannery Row started long before that with the arrival in the early 1850’s of Chinese sailing families into the area, and they began fishing in the rich waters of Monterey Bay. During the 1880’s, the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in the area opening the rugged Monterey Peninsula to the world. By around 1902, the beginnings of what would be a massive fishing industry along the Monterey coast began with the first small canneries opening. In 1906, a huge fire destroyed much of the “Chinatown” area of Monterey ending their dominance among the local fishing workers, and they were soon replaced by Japanese and Filipino workers and other fishermen who also began to live around Ocean View Avenue.

From around 1916 to 1945, the Row became the “Sardine Capital of the World” as is supplied tons and tons of sardines for canning and for fertilizer. It only ended when they had totally over fished the Monterey Bay and surrounding areas of sardines. Then a slow sad decline began as the canneries closed leaving their huge metal skeletons empty along the coast. The buildings and small wood frame houses built among the canneries began to fill with painters and writers, bars and whore houses and bums.

During the 1950’s and 60’s, small family restaurants and eateries began to open along the Row making it more of a family atmosphere as tourism began to drift in due to Steinbeck’s book and the artist colony that now was established there. In 1984, the biggest change to the row since the end of the canneries came in the form of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium with its aggressive educational outreach programs to the local school children in the area.

When I first visited the area in 1998, the Row had a strong tourist vibe going but the shops housed antiques stores, thrift shops, second hand stores, and vintage clothing stores. A couple of chain restaurants had opened along the Row, but it still seemed to be dominated by local family places. My then wife and I bought a beautiful 3-piece vase and bowl set made of cut blue glass that I still use today. The Row still maintained a semi-hippy vibe and charm that went well with the Monterey coast and weather.

Today the Row is a tourist haven filled with upscale eateries and bars, Starbucks, and t-shirt shops. Anchored by the Aquarium, the cannery buildings that are still there have been turned into small indoor malls featuring all types of shops selling tourist junk made somewhere else. All the vacant lots are being filled with condos and upscale hotels. It was a November weekday morning and the street was crowded, during the summer it must be a parking nightmare with bumper to bumper traffic. There are also several B&B’s in the area that are worth checking out for a nice stay along the Row.

The City has done a nice job of trying to keep some the history of the Row with a recreation trail right in the middle of the area featuring markers along the way describing the history of the area and some of the older buildings that are now historically preserved. The area is a little hilly but totally walk-able and is contained in a 7 by 3 block area along the coastline. There is a wonderful open-air plaza with good eateries and ocean views called Steinbeck Plaza featuring a huge statue with several of the significant people who helped turn the Row into a vibrant destination including John Steinbeck and the famous marine biologist, Ed Ricketts.

The Bay is also on the comeback. It was turned into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and the protected area extends for 35 miles offshore. It is a perfect place to go on a kayak or stand up paddle board ride, or just to take a walk along McAbee or San Carlos beaches to experience the beautiful Monterey coast.

Cannery Row is certainly worth your time to see and visit. Along with Fisherman’s Wharf and the Monterey Marina and the Aquarium, there are tons of things to do and experience. It is certainly has the potential for a great romantic weekend getaway.

My only personal drawback is the memory of a great day in the 90’s wandering through antique and second-hand stores discovering treasures of the early 20th century. All of that is gone now. Sometimes I wish progress was not so destructive in turning quaint, off the beaten track, tourist friendly environments into themed mega-shopping malls filled with chain restaurants and t-shirt shops. There is a sense that part of California’s amazing history is slipping away, and no one seems to be noticing.

But do not pay attention to me, go experience beautiful Monterey and Cannery Row for a magical day filled with history and shopping fun for yourself.

The Night Watchman of Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Germany

You find yourself in Germany and you are on a budget. You are staying in hostels, taking regional trains to save money. You are eating in small cafes or roadside stands. Anything to save a few euros. You are always looking for a bargain. Some way to save money so you stay on the road longer. But you are tired of the castles, churches, and endless tours to see this and that. Yet you want something entertaining. Something that does not require you to buy a meal or a drink or a ticket, yet is fun and entertaining.

Well, buddy, I have a deal for you.

In Rothenberg ob der Tauber not far from Munich is the best entertainment deal in Germany. Cheap, fun, entertaining, and educational. There are no tickets. No long lines. You pay at the end not the beginning. If you don’t like it just leave, no problem. It lasts an hour and walking is involved. Yet, I guarantee that you will laugh, be entertained and learn a whole bunch of things you did not know.

What is this fantastic deal – it is the Night Watchman’s Tour of Rothenburg ob der Tauber featuring the most famous, non-famous actor in Germany.

Ok, lets stop here a moment and fill in some gaps.

Every night (from March to Christmas) just before dark (7 PM in the fall and early spring, and 8 PM in the summer), a single bearded man dressed in a long grey cape, a tri-corner hat, carrying a lantern and a hellebarde (a type of ancient spear with an axe head on the top used in medieval times) strolls into the main square of Rothenburg. He stands on the steps of the ancient city hall and groups of people who have been waiting for his arrival – some for an hour – gather around him. Some nights the crowd could be 50 to 100 people, and some nights in the summer the crowd could be as large as 300. From all over the world – people gather in front of this stranger and wait for him to speak. In a soft, sing-song voice that somehow carries quite far, speaking in English he advises the people that if they want to take a photo with him – to do it now, and that it is free. And as many as 30 to 40 people will rush up and take selfies, or group shots with this mysterious man.

Who is this person? Is he a cult figure, or some religious or political figure? No, he is Hans Georg Baumgartner, an actor, and he has been doing this wonderful tour for 25 years.

Awarded the TripAdvisor Award for Excellence in 2014, Baumgartner tells his stories about Rothenburg’s medieval history using dry wit and sly puns with a comic’s timing. He tells you just enough without boring you with endless details and too much information. Yet, he does convey the harshness of medieval life even in what was one of Germany’s grandest cities of the 14th to 16th centuries.  He talks about the day-to-day life in a walled city where the livestock were stored inside the city gates at night in the people’s homes, the constant fear of famines, and the unpleasant odors (especially in the summer) from people throwing their waste into the streets each day and the open sewers that ran through the city. He talks about plagues, the wars, how the city became wealthy, and how it slipped away.

 

All while he manages to hold an audience’s attention without aid of microphones or projections or sound effects. Just a single performer using his voice and his story-telling ability to weave his story as he walks the streets of his small town as cars, motorbikes, other tourists and residents pass by. It is really a very impressive performance as he leads through the streets and down alleyways, through gates, in and out of tunnels and to vantage points that offer sweeping views of Rothenberg and the surrounding valley.

Yet, Baumgartner is not really acting a role, he is the role because after doing this tour for 25 years the entire tour reflects his wit, style and personality. His bright blue eyes flash with humor and his devilish smile and inflection get constant laughs from his engaged audience. Yet, the narrative is what drives this interesting tale full of legends and true stories.

A legend like a 1631 drinking contest, in which the mayor of the town supposedly saved Rothenburg from being destroyed by the Catholic army during the Thirty Years War. It’s said that he downed three liters of wine in one gulp, besting the conquering general.

Or the very true story of how the town suffered during the end of World War II, when Allied bombing destroyed about 40 percent of its buildings and 2,000 feet of its wall. The town was about to be destroyed by the Allies when an official in the US State Department halted the bombardment because his Mother had gone to the village as a young woman and fallen in love with it. Years later, she often talked about the experience around the family dinner table, so when he heard about the possible destruction of the village he had to act. The official told the US commander to offer the Germans a chance to evacuate or be destroyed. The Germans withdrew and Rothenburg was saved all because a son honored his mother’s memories.

Rick Steves, the travel guide-book author, savvy in what American tourists will pay to see in Europe, calls the watchman tour “flat-out the most entertaining hour of medieval wonder anywhere in Germany.”

At the end of the tour – which lasts almost exactly an hour – he passes the hat and almost not one person refuses to pay him. Many in fact give him more Euros because of the quality and fun of the tour. He has a DVD for sale as well, that he hawks a couple of time during the tour, but even that gets a laugh. Baumgartner is a rock star storyteller and you can tell he loves the audience reaction.

This is without a doubt the best entertainment deal in Germany. Check it out and enjoy the ride.

NOTE: There are several Rothenburg’s in Germany. Do not go to the wrong one. You must go to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (the city’s official name) or you will miss out on Germany’s kept medieval city.

NOTE 2: There is also a strictly German-speaking tour later in the evening. Baumgartner sometimes does this one as well, but there is another Night Watchman for the German tour. Check local travel guides for the times of this tour.

 

Romantic Rothenburg ob der Tauber – Germany

After 5 rainy days in Munich, I took the train out of Munich to Rothenburg to experience the community that has been on this site since 1150 AD. The official name of the city is Rothenburg ob de Tauber, or “Red Fort on the River Tauber.” Around 1160, Rothenburg was swiftly became a commercial center because of its’ enviable position on the age old trade routes through Germany where goods from the East passed through, but also because of “the white gold” known as salt.

700 year old cobble street

By 1400, the city was one of the largest and most successful cities in the area. The city had a population that topped 6000 people, and business was booming. Rothenburg was becoming very wealthy and was much worried about the safety of its’ wealth and citizenry. The city elders through the years constructed a sophisticated system of walls, towers, and gates for the protection of the city. Massive stone walls were constructed that were pierced with 7 main gateways and aided by 42 stone towers for defensive positions and protecting the town. Along the inside length of much of the city’s walls, covered walkways were built that allowed for archers and other solders to take up protected positions for watching or shooting at possible invaders.

Guards walkway on the outer wall

However during the early 1500’s and into the late 1600’s, the city began to experience a steady decline because of political and religious upheavals like the Peasants War, the Reformation, the counter-Reformation and the 30 Years War. Plus the “Black Plague” that were sweeping through Europe killing millions of people also visited Rothenburg and killed as many as one-third of the citizens. What remained by the 1800’s was a walled village that was once famous yet now was a backwater town with no real business and thus no real reason to change anything. It was if the once prosperous medieval village was trapped in a time warp. Narrow cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses with red tile roofs, massive stone walls that no longer protected anything but a poor half-empty village that recalled a more ancient time.

Massive stone walls and towers are part of the defense.

Yet along about 1850, fortune began to smile on Rothenburg once again. This time it was because of the very backward nature of the village that people were attracted. Because of its’ very medieval look and feel, artists, poets and writers discovered the old town and painted it, wrote about it, and talked about it. What was considered ancient and backward now became quaint. And as is true through the ages of man, when the artists and creative types come, soon the general public follow and you have tourism. Tourists helped make Rothenburg relevant again.

Chapel courtyard

They came for the quaint ancient walls and half-timber houses that were 500 years old. They came to see the old churches like St. James Church, the Gothic masterpiece with its hand carved altar. They came for the excellent Franconian wine, food and hospitality. They came for the chance to step back time and experience a little of what it must have been like in the Middle Ages.

One of the many gateways into the town

And that is what you get when you spend a day or two in Rothenburg – living history. Walls and houses and buildings that are in some cases over 700 years old, but people still use and live in them. A chance to walk cobblestone streets that have carried people and goods for over a thousand years. Walking the same covered walkways along the village walls that some guard walked 500 years before you.

You can actually walk the city by using the guards walkway

There is a suggested Town Walk around the village that will lead you through large squares where you will see historic buildings, along the city walls where you will find towers, churches, gateways and bridges that date from the 12th century and leads to other parts of the city where you may decide to wander off the “official” tour to see some mysterious door or walkway of Rothenburg that interests you. There are several museums in Rothenburg like the German Christmas Museum showing the history of Christmas through the centuries, the Imperial City Museum with its’ collection of items covering 9 centuries, and the gruesome and very interesting Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum featuring scary examples of torture and execution devices.

Center square

The most interesting thing to see in Rothenburg is actually live entertainment. It is the world-famous Night Watchman’s Tour which I will write about in my next blog, but it is without a doubt the best hour of entertainment in Rothenburg and at 8 Euros the best deal in Germany.

400 year old cover bridge (rebuilt of course)

The most romantic place in Rothenburg is the Castle Garden and Burgtor Gate. A huge quiet garden at one end of the town as you pass through the Burgtor Gate with spectacular views of the city and the surrounding valley. There is a small old chapel that has stood there since the 14th century and a lovely herb garden. The area is quite large with many old trees and benches to sit and read or just chill. If you walk further in the park past the chapel and herb garden to another viewpoint of the surrounding valley, rumor has it that this is the best place to grab a kiss with your significant other.

View of Rothenburg from the Castle Garden Park

And of course as a tourist destination, there are plenty of eateries of all types and places to sleep inside and outside the village walls. For something to eat, you have traditional German fare, non-German styles foods, Italian food (because it is just on the other side of the nearby Alps), sandwiches and snacks plus several Biergartens (beer gardens) all covering a range of prices and styles. But make sure that you eat early. Rothenburg shuts down early. In the Old Town there are no night spots, although a couple of places stay open till mid-night during the summer where locals mix with tourists.

My Hotel, PhinzHotel Rothenburg

If you are staying in the Old Town there are more than 20 hotels and hostels to chose from and in all different prices ranges from very expensive to a very reasonable hostel located in a former horse-powered mill house. Outside the walls, there are even more choices of food and hotels.

One of the Tower Gates into the City

Getting to Rothenburg is very easy. By car or bus, you are on the Romantic Road, a route that extends from Fussen in the south to Frankfurt in the north, and you pass right through Rothenburg. There several car parks in and around the Old Town, and cars are allowed to drive in parts of the Old Town. If you are coming by train, the station is literally a block away from the main gate of the Old Town.  You can only get to Rothenburg if you make a connection in Steinach. It is a little spur line with a small train that runs about every hour until 10:30 PM. If you arrived after 10:30 in Steinach, there is a subsidized taxi service that can take you to Rothenburg, but you must call them 2 hours ahead of time to make a reservation. To use them call AST at 09861/2000 in advance, and they will take you to Old Town for 4.60 Euros per person instead of the regular 31 Euro daytime charge.

Enjoy Rothenburg and step back in time for a romantic and fun adventure.

 

Seven Final Thoughts on Iceland

  1. It is expensive! Remember it is expensive. As a young hostel guest I heard say, “Is nothing in this county cheap?” The answer of course is no. Not sure but by vote of every one in my hostel, Reykjavik seemed the most expensive city in Europe to them. More than Stockholm or London or Oslo. Buyer beware because you are going to spend some dough. Icelandic Kroner is about 106 to a US Dollar. So if you divide everything by 100 you will get a pretty accurate price.

Example – 1500 ISK for a beer (very usual) is in reality to a US citizen – 15 US Dollars almost. That is an expensive beer.

It is cheap to get to Iceland because the government heavily subsidizes the airlines to Reykjavik, but once they have you – look out. They are after the tourist dollar to correct the horrible financial crash that they went through in 2008 and 09 and are still feeling. So there are no deals in Reykjavik.

  1. It is wet! Bring rain gear, and I mean rain slickers, rain pants, boots. You will not need it all the time, but there are days and places that you are going to need it big time and you will not know when. Also all the weather clothes in Reykjavik for this type of weather – (lets say it together) are EXPENSIVE!

On the day that I went to Black Sand Beach outside of Vik, and the waterfall that you can walk behind – I was drenched to the bone. I had a rain poncho but with the strong wind that day, it made no difference. I wanted a rain suit or at least water proof pants.

3. It is beautiful. Amazingly so. A new vista, a new waterfall, a new cove, a new glacier, and new volcano just around every corner. Get out of Reykjavik. By car, by bus or tour bus, by boat, just get out and see this amazing place.

4. Rent a car if you can. The tour buses are great tours make no mistake – but they are on a time table. Slow down and enjoy this beautiful island. The Golden Circle tour is 8 hours and 69 dollars and while the day was great, most of it was on the bus. The Southern Coast tour was wet, wild and fun, but we were gone of 11 hours and most was riding from point A to point B. The cost for both trips was 170 US over two days and 17 hours of riding and getting out and running around because we usually had about 45 minutes to see everything. The day I rented a car with Canadian lawyer, Andrew Guerra the car cost us about 140 US with gas and we saw a lot of things that were not on a tour, but also things that were. Cost wise, it is better to share with someone if you can. Even a stranger that you meet at your hotel or hostel. Everyone wants to see the same things, and this way is cheaper and you move at your own pace.

5. No need to do the Blue Lagoon. It is a thermal with blue water for about 120 US. Pretty and it has a bar! A 30 minute bus ride out of town.

For a 20 minute walk through lovely Reykjavik and 1200 Kroner (12 dollars US), I had a great afternoon at one of the two local bathing houses/thermal pools in Reykjavik itself. Cheaper, not touristy, locals all around and you can meet some very interesting people.

Word to the wise, Reykjaviks are not hung up by nudity. Not in public so much, but in the locker rooms. In the pool areas, everyone has proper bathing suits on, but in the locker room flesh everywhere. Only speaking for the male side here, but young boys, old men, all colors, every male I saw walking around in the locker not covering with a towel at all. For people from some cultures, it can be a little shocking at first. But since they already have what you have and have seen their own, they do not care about yours. So relax and enjoy yourself. The heated water by volcano is wonderful.

6. If you came to Reykjavik to party and drink. Please be responsible. But save some money and get a local app called “Appyhour”. It is an app that you can load on your phone that tells you when every happy hour in every bar in Reykjavik is. Since they all have different or rolling happy hours, some starting as early as 2 PM, you and your friends can move from bar to bar and save money. Sometimes a lot. Remember a beer at regular price is 12 to 15 dollars, this app will let you drink for about 7 to 8 dollars per beer. Depending on your intake that could be a lot of money.

It is very easy to get around in the party area of Reykjavik. You walk everywhere. Cabs are EXPENSIVE. They are not many police, but the bouncers at these bars do not take any crap. They are nice and professional, the ones I saw and talked too. But if you bring trouble, you are gone and in a not so gentle hurry. So behave!

  1. Please do not throw your trash around. Seriously. Every Icelander I spoke with told me how upset at how their country is filling up with trash at all the natural sites. They take amazing pride in the country and treat it as a sacred place. Tourists do not. Especially the Americans and Chinese seem to be the worst to them. So pick up after yourself, throw your stuff away – plenty of garbage cans everywhere and do not treat Iceland like your trash can please.

Enjoy!

The Urban Wine Trail -Santa Barbara

On a cold wet rainy Super Bowl 2017 weekend, I decided to get out of Los Angeles and head north. I usually stop off in Ventura – the old town part – because of a favorite hotel, a couple of good restaurants and the thrift and furniture stores. But this time I decided to keep going north to Santa Barbara.

I’ve been going to Santa Barbara since the early 1980s. First time I went to Santa Barbara there was still a stoplight on the 101 freeway at State Street. If you were headed north and you turned right on to State Street it took you into town, the cultural and economic center of Santa Barbara. If you turned left and headed towards the beach you passed a couple of hotels, the train station, a couple of beach bars and made it to Cabrillo Street. Right in front of you was famous Sterns Wharf and the long open park which runs along the beach famous for the weekend art and crafts market. All the famous restaurants that are there now were there than as well including the first Sambo’s and the Santa Barbara Fishhouse.

And as you went down State towards the beach off to your left was an old run down warehouse district full of old buildings and tiny houses that hadn’t been torn down when the neighborhood changed from residential to commercial. This part of town was full of contractors, sail makers, and boat yards. The business that worked on the boats that came into the marina and back out again. It was very industrial and pretty run down.

Now Santa Barbara has been going through some amazing changes in the last 40 years but I really had not stopped in Santa Barbara for any more than a couple of hours in the last 10 years. I’ve always been going farther north to Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, or even further north. I had not stopped for more than lunch, but now I was going there for the entire rainy Super Bowl weekend.

I checked into the Avania Inn, a nice place about two blocks from the beach that I found on the Trivago for a good price. I unpacked, walked around on the beach for bit, and went back to the room. After a quick shower, I went out for dinner at the Enterprise Fish Company on State Street. It is not the greatest restaurant in the world but their fish is always fresh and their wine list it pretty decent. Plus it’s always a very popular place to go meet and talk with people specially while seating at the bar. After that I started walking around the area and I stumbled on to the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail. Now the full Urban Wine Trail extends to all parts of Santa Barbara and I have placed a link to a map of the tour here. http://urbanwinetrailsb.com/the-trail-map/

Yet, I wanted to focus on the 20+ wines and tasting rooms featuring Santa Barbara area wines you can find in a four block radius in an area between the 101 and the Beach, and State Street and Garden Street. Plus among those tasting rooms you can also find at least three or four craft beer breweries, and some excellent eateries including Loquita, an upscale Tapas bar that is outstanding.

Now if you’re into wine tasting, you’ve probably been up Napa Valley or down to Temecula. And at these wonderful areas, if you want to go to a lot of wineries you usually end up being part of a wine tasting tour, or you rent a limo,or you have a designated driver because if you have been sampling wines at more than three or four wineries, you should not be driving California highways. Yet, if you’re into the Santa Ynez wines, the wonderful thing is you can sample a wine at one tasting room, walk out the front door and go down three doors and find another tasting room. Some are owned by an individual winery and others are tasting rooms that feature wines that are presented by a collective of wine makers. These collectives feature a person working behind the counter who doesn’t favor one wine or over the other, and you can taste up to four to five different wineries at one time.

You will find 14 wineries or collectives featuring San Ynez area wines in this former industrial area. Here they are: Area 5.1 Winery, Babcock Winery, Ca’del Grevino, Cottonwood Canyon Winery, DV8 Cellars, Fox Wines, Kunin Wines, Laford Winery, Municipal Winemakers, Oreana Winery, Pali Wine Company, Riverbench Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Winery, and The Valley Project.

Also in the same area, you will find Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company, Brass Bear Brewing and Bistro, Corks and Crowns, and Lama Dog Tap Room for the hops connoisseurs. Plus eateries like the Lark, Lucky Penny, 7 Bar and Kitchen and Helena Street Bakery.

Go have a wonderful time – eating and drinking while walking!!

 

 

The Culver Hotel – Old Hollywood Glamour in Culver City – Los Angeles

You are ready for a night on the town, but you would like an upscale place so you can dress up like a real adult. A place with no cover, live jazz, great drinks, friendly bartenders and elegant, historical architecture, does such a place exist anymore? Yes, Virginia, it does. It’s the Lobby Bar at the Culver Hotel.

Music playing is an integral part of the Culver Hotel experience. As the evening begins, the hotel’s Grand Lobby transforms into jazzy supper club. Vintage armchairs, classic movie projections and up-and-coming artists help create an ambiance of old Hollywood and modern times helped along with handcrafted cocktails, tasty fare and musical pleasure. You can order a ‘Good Witch’ or a ‘Cucumber Mule’ cocktail while you sit back and enjoy different interpretations of Jazz, every evening of the week after 7:30 pm. Shared appetizers or a three course dinner are just an order away. (Culver Hotel)

Alternatively, If you are in the mood for something equally “Culver-esque” but with a more contemporary playlist, go past the lobby and up the stairs. You will find the Velvet Lounge reminiscent of a 1920’s ‘Speakeasy’ with a twist of Parisian boudoir. Chic and eclectic, dark and whimsical, The Velvet Lounge is open Thursday through Saturday after 8pm and offers plenty of secluded corners to enjoy a cocktail, wine or bottle service. (Culver Hotel)

TripAdvisor.com calls the Culver Hotel the # 1 Hotel in Culver City. The Lobby Bar is a popular place where 30 somethings and older like to hang out because of the atmosphere and the drinks. The price range for food is between $11 ane $30 per person. I would judge the food good, but not great. They do take reservations and have take-out available but do not do delivery. They accepts all major Credit Cards, and while the dress cord is casual, the ambiance is classy. There also is a wonderful outdoor patio which also features the full dinner menu and drinks. Valet parking is right outside, while there are city parking garages within a short walking distance.

HISTORY

The Culver Hotel is a national historical landmark in downtown Culver City, California. It was built by Harry Culver, the founder of Culver City, and opened on September 4, 1924, with local headlines announcing: “City packed with visitors for opening of Culver skyscraper.” Originally named Hotel Hunt, and later known as Culver City Hotel, the six-story Renaissance Revival building was designed by Curlett & Beelman, the architecture firm behind renowned Art Deco buildings throughout Los Angeles, including downtown Los Angeles’ Roosevelt and Eastern Columbia buildings. (Wikipedia)

But the hotel is most famous for its long and tangled history with Hollywood and its stars. Built in 1924, the property has also housed countless Hollywood legends over its 90-year history. And Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney, Ronald Reagan, Judy Garland, and Clark Gable are just a few stars who actually maintained part-time residences at The Culver Hotel. Charlie Chaplin was even the owner for a while until, legend has it, he lost the property in a poker game to John Wayne. Dwight D. Eisenhower even had a campaign office in the hotel during his run for President in 1952. Modern celebrities who have stayed there include all 4 members of the boy band 98 Degrees, Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms, Countess Luann de Lesseps from Real Housewives of New York City. (Wikipedia)

The Culver Hotel may not be an A-list actor herself, but she has appeared in the background of close to 80 projects. The historic hotel has been used in The Wonder Years, Cougar Town, The Last Action Hero, Marvels Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and many more. Numerous television shows, movies or commercials shoot in and around Culver City, and the hotel’s exterior and interior have stood in as a street in London, an apartment in Barcelona, and a café in Paris. (Travel and Leisure)

During the 1960’s, the hotel began to decline and fall into disrepair. In the 1980s, it was boarded up for a time and at risk of demolition. In the 1990s, the hotel was partially restored and reopened, joining the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, but the Culver Hotel’s modern comeback truly began after a hotelier family bought the ailing property in 2007. Since 2007, the hotel’s entire plumbing and electrical systems have been upgraded, each of the guest rooms and public spaces have been redone, all 140 handmade windows in the guest rooms have been replaced, and the public spaces have been entirely re-imagined all the while maintaining the property’s architectural integrity. The flatiron-shaped building is next door to the historic Culver Studios and a few blocks from the former Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM), now Sony Pictures.

Casts from movies like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz stayed at the hotel during filming, including the more than 100 actors and actresses who played the Munchkins in the Oz film. (wikipedia) Which will lead to another column about the Culver and its notorious place in Hollywood history which earned it the nickname, the “Munchkin Hotel”.

Culver Hotel is a must see for Hollywood History, and a great nightspot in Los Angeles!

Hours For the Hotel

Mon 7:00 am – 12:00 am
Tue 7:00 am – 12:00 am
Wed 7:00 am – 12:00 am
Thu 7:00 am – 1:00 am
Fri 7:00 am – 2:00 am
Sat 7:00 am – 2:00 am
Sun 7:00 am – 12:00 am

 

Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace – Bakerfield, CA

I have lived in California for about 30 years and I can honestly say that I have never been to Bakersfield except passing through on my way to somewhere else. And this time was not going to be any different. My friend and I were on our way to Kernville to go white water rafting.

However, that same weekend everyone else in California was as well. There was no “room in the inn” anywhere within a 25 mile radius of Kernville. We had no choice, we were spending the night in Bakersfield.

We jumped into our trusty car and made it across the Grapevine on I-5 to the turnoff at US 99 (the Golden State Highway) toward Bakersfield. Pulled into town about 4 PM and headed for our motel. Now this was a budget trip so we were not staying at the Four Seasons or any where like that.

We had picked the Quality Inn and Suites at 200 Union Ave in Bakersfield. We were about a mile north from California 58 (the Barstow-Bakersfield Highway). We also about a half mile south from California Avenue which is one of the main drags in Bakersfield. Lining the street for several blocks are chain restaurants and shopping malls. Maya Cinemas are on California Ave., which is a huge multiplex with 16 screens.

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The Quality Inn and Suites are listed on TripAdvisor as #39 out of 61 hotels in Bakersfield. Yet, it does have a 3 star rating based on 197 reviews. Ours was a first floor room just off the pool. You could tell that the hotel had been recently refurbished and all the rooms upgraded. Overall, we were very pleased with the room and the pool was excellent. We ended up staying for 2 nights and the total for a weekend in a double room was about $85 per night with tax. Free pool, free breakfast, and free internet are included.

So what to do in Bakersfield? TripAdvisor says that Bakersfield has 34 points of interest with the Crystal Palace listed as #2. We wanted dinner and the Crystal Palace offers full dinner service as well as being a concert venue with a very reasonable cover. So that is where we decided to go.

buck owens

First a little background for strangers to Bakersfield and Buck Owens. Buck “was an American musician, singer, songwriter and band leader who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band the Buckaroos. They pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound, a reference to Bakersfield, California, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call American music.” (Wikipedia). He lived in Bakersfield and decided to create a full-service concert venue and restaurant. As time and his fame grew, it also became a museum for memorabilia of his long career in Country Music and TV. Aside from this music career, Buck is most famous for being co-host of the TV series Hee Haw with Roy Clark. The show started in 1969 and Buck left the cast in 1986.

The Crystal Palace is designed in the Western Revival style, a style that resembles buildings from the 19th century American Old West. The exterior/interior resembles an American western town from that same period. The museum is located in display cases around the first floor, which resemble the windows to the building. (Wikipedia)

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We entered the lobby and the western motif continued into the building itself. The lobby was filled with case after case of his memorabilia and bronze statues of famous country singers. We paid a small cover as noted before and we followed a hostess into the main room.   It was surprising to me how large it was. The focus of the entire room is the music and the stage. The main room rises three stories and completely surrounds the stage. There is a giant bar at the back of the first floor that has seats that overlook the dance floor. Each floor is open to the main room with railings running along the length each floor. All the dinner tables on each floor are pushed up right against railings so every table and seat in the room has a clear view of the stage and dance floor.  Plus there are giant video screens on each side of the stage so you can see the band has they perform on stage. Yet while the main room is large and tall, no seat is further away then 100 feet from the stage I would guess.

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We heard three bands that night. They were good and professional playing a combination of rock and down home country. I do not know if they were local groups or bands that were on tour in the area. The most impressive thing about the stage was there was no down time between acts. It was really slick to watch. As one group finished their last song, the next band and crew came on stage. They plugged their instruments in, did a very quick sound check, and started playing right away. The longest gap between bands was probably about five minutes. Both the sound and film crews of the Crystal Palace were on it. They moved so fast that you hardly noticed that they were there.

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They placed us in the bar area with seats that faced the stage. They pack them in pretty tight, because there was no space between my friend and myself and the couple sitting next to us. It is a very basic menu that they offer. Steak, fish, salads and burgers. I got the grilled salmon which really was very good with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. My friend got a grilled salmon salad which was also very nice. The only part of this that I did not like was the size and price of the cocktails. I ordered a vodka tonic and what came was in a very small glass with not much vodka in it. I thought the price of $10 for that size drink was way to high for the amount of liquor was in it.

After dinner we took a couple of turns around the dance full that was full of big groups doing line dancing and the “boot scootin boogie,” while couples danced close together on the edges of the dance floor.

All in all, this was a really fun night filled with good food and music. Plus the sheer amount of stuff to look at in the museum cases is daunting.

Totally recommend the Crystal Palace for your next trip to Bakersfield.