North by No Crowds: Adventures off California's Highways

Road Trip. In America, those are magic words. The open road is the American Dream. You can go where you want, when you want, how you want. It’s up to you. You make it happen. To experience America, take a road trip. For the ultimate road trip, make it Highway 1. Here’s what we had to say about this fabled road in 2008:

“There is a saying that a well-loved child has many names. The same can be said about one of America’s best loved highways, State Route 1 in California, aka Highway 1 or Pacific Coast Highway or, as locals call it, the PCH. No matter what it is called, this 655 mile stretch of tarmac, which starts south of Los Angeles in Orange County and ends north of San Francisco in Mendocino County, is the most beautiful, dramatic and inspiring coastline in the United States. That’s a bold statement but I doubt anyone who has driven this road will argue.”

Having already done the LA to San Francisco stretch of the PCH, we were eager to tackle the road north of San Francisco all the way to the Redwood State and National Parks. It’s an area known for spectacular scenery, good food, offbeat residents and no crowds. That sounded pretty good to us, a travelling trio consisting of my husband, our 12-year old-daughter and me.

We had rented a cheap little car (save where you can) but Hertz saw fit to give us a grand luxury coupe. Thanks. This Super Cruiser was way too cool for us. It took 30 minutes and both of us reading the manual just to get it started, but, having gotten over that hurdle, it was smooth sailing – and super fun driving.

We had been warned that some stretches of the PCH north of San Francisco could be both tedious and treacherous so we modified our original idea of a stately drive north. Instead, we raced north on Highway 101 for 5 ½ hours to Trinidad, just south of the Redwood National Park and then spent 5 leisurely days meandering back south. We travelled along the Avenue of the Giants – a 32-mile, 2 lane road under the canopy of the Redwoods, the PCH from Leggett to Albion and then Route 128 through Sonoma wine country to Healdsburg and back on 101 to San Francisco.

The Redwood Coast

Much has been said about the experience of standing under trees that soar 300 feet in the sky that predate the Roman Empire. Muir Woods, an old-growth coastal redwood forest 12 miles outside San Francisco is what most people get to see. It’s a wonderful place but you have to fight for a parking space and share the grandeur with busloads of tourists.

In the Redwood National and State Parks, on the other hand, you can see these wonders of nature in complete solitude. We hiked for hours without seeing anyone. Of the parks in the area, our favorite is Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park that has lots of well-marked trails, a visitor’s center, Fern Canyon and Gold Bluff Beach. We also spent a glorious afternoon at nearby Patrick’s Point State Park hiking, climbing rock formations and searching for stones on Agate Beach. The only folks we saw all afternoon were some local surfers. Pure No Crowds bliss.

To stay near the redwoods, we recommend the Lost Whale Inn in Trinidad. The setting is secluded, the views spectacular. Rooms are large and nicely appointed. The breakfast and complimentary afternoon refreshments are generous and delicious. The innkeepers were welcoming and there is something to be said about waking up each morning to the sound of barking sea lions. We were disappointed that the steps down to the inn’s private beach were closed because of damage from winter storms. The innkeepers say they are working hard to get them repaired.

Heading south from Trinidad, we spent an interesting evening in Arcata, long considered Northern California’s (and therefore America’s) most progressive town. It’s part college town, part Cheech and Chong installation and here’s a factoid I just love about the place. Back in 2003, Arcata’s City Council voted to outlaw compliance with the US Patriot Act. Way to go Arcata! If you like Japanese food, Tomo, located in the Arcata Hotel on the plaza serves very good sushi.

We also spent a pleasant afternoon wandering around Ferndale, a wonderfully preserved Victorian village. There are lots of charming houses and some fun galleries and shops. We loved visiting the Blacksmith Shop and Gallery, established in 1979 by Joe Koches, whose goal is to offer the public “the finest collection of master blacksmithing in the U.S.” It’s not stuff that easily fits in your carry on but the shop is happy to ship and the items are beautiful.

The Mendocino Coast

After an impressive drive through the redwoods on the Avenue of the Giants and a spectacular stretch of the PCH, we arrived in Mendocino. The place reminded us of the island of Nantucket in Massachusetts and no wonder, transported New Englanders built it. Filled with saltbox cottages and rose covered picket fences, the town exudes picturesque charm but like Nantucket, is a victim of its own success with high prices and too many shops hawking t-shirts. But with that said, we loved the atmosphere and particularly loved rambling along the dramatic 2-mile stretch of sea cliffs that surround the town.

In Mendocino, we stayed at the Alegria Inn that has an ideal, quiet location overlooking the ocean with private beach access. Because we were travelling with Eloise, we stayed in one of their cottages that had a fold out futon. It also had a wood burning stove, a well-equipped kitchen, a funky Japanese tub and a double bed in a loft. I have to say that I wasn’t crazy about the loft (too old) but everything else, including the helpful innkeepers and excellent breakfast were first class. We also had a very good dinner at the highly rated Café Beaujolais and a tasty lunch at the Moosse Café.

The Sonoma Wine Country

Travelling through wine country with a 12 year old poses a dilemma. As Eloise was neither old enough to drink the wine nor act as the designated driver, we felt it necessary to temper our alcoholic aspirations. Still, it would have been a shame to be so close and not take the opportunity to dip into the world famous California wine scene. Plus, we had heard from lots of savvy travelers that Sonoma was a much more No Crowds appropriate experience compared to Napa – less chi chi and more relaxed.

We ended up heading for Healdsburg, an attractive town that sits at the center of three wine producing valleys. With over 160 wineries within easy striking distance, and a restaurant scene that is starting to give Napa Valley’s Yountsville a run for its money, we thought Healdsburg could provide something interesting for us and something fun for Eloise.

Don’t tell our dentist but the big experience for Eloise took the form of a candy shop unlike any other – except perhaps Willie Wonka’s. Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, on the square in Healdsburg, sells thousands of different kinds of candy. They have candy in there I haven’t seen since I was Eloise’s age. The shop is big fun for any child and an interesting piece of nostalgia for any American parent.

After treating Eloise to a bag of sweets to take back to school we treated ourselves to a visit to the rather glam Ferrari Carano winery, famous as much for its elaborate gardens and villa as for its wines. If the Ewing family from the 80s TV show Dallas had a winery, it would look like Ferrari Carano. Needless to say we had lots of fun.

And then sadly, it was time to head back to San Francisco. Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, I thought about all our inspiring experiences: the magnificent redwoods, the pristine coastline, the sometimes eccentric residents and almost always excellent food and as I had in 2008, I thought how unattractive it was to be envious of your own child. But in the case of my northern Cal son, again, I just couldn’t help myself. This place is too perfect. Come see for yourself.

Photo Credit: Eloise Hedges

San Francisco: Best for Big Children

Ask my 12-year-old daughter Eloise about her recent holiday in San Francisco and she might respond with something like this:

“I slept in my brother’s bar, The Roasted Frog, where I played darts and video games all night with his friends from business school. I spent Easter Sunday at the Hunky Jesus competition run by weird guys dressed as nuns and the Bring Your Own Big Wheels Race where everyone dresses up and rides tiny bikes really fast down a really steep hill. One time we went to a garage for breakfast and another time I started the day with salted caramel ice cream. I had some fabulous burritos and went to a Pirate Store and a prison.

Now before someone calls children’s services, let me explain:

• The Roasted Frog is the bar/pub my son and his French roommate built in their apartment in the Mission, the hood that is part Latin barrio, part hipster hangout with a heavy concentration of cool stores and restaurants and reportedly the best weather in this city of microclimates. Nearby Dolores Park, on a fine evening or weekend, is a great place to hangout and watch the locals ‘do their thing’ which includes playing music, drinking, dog walking, tight rope walking, hula hooping and God-only knows-what-else.

• The Hunky Jesus competition (now in its 31^st year) is a much-loved Easter tradition run by the Sisters of Perpetual Devotion, an interesting group of drag queens dressed up as nuns. It’s weird and fun and reinforces whatever expectations you have about America’s pinkest city. Needs to be seen to be believed.

• The Bring Your Own Big Wheels Race is SF mayhem and madness at its very best. Every Easter Sunday, hundreds and hundreds of San Francisco natives ride kiddie bikes down treacherous Vermont Street in Protero. (They used to ride down Lombard Street but that got shut down) Think McQueen in Bullit on a bike. Some adventurous souls ride their rubbish bins. They come as super heroes and Easter bunnies. They crash. Their bikes fall apart. The huge crowd cheers loudest for the losers.

• Everyone should eat Bi-Rite Creamery ice cream for breakfast – it’s that good. Ditto for Tartine Bakery and Cafe (If you can’t stand to wait in line make a reservation at Bar Tartine around the corner) or Blue Bottle for Coffee or La Taqueria for burritos. In fact, the food in SF is ridiculously good almost everywhere. The best meal we had was at trendy Nopa in and old bank building in the area ‘North of the Panhandle.’

• The Pirate Store at 826 Valencia is, unsurprisingly, “San Francisco’s only independent pirate supply store.” It is filled with all kinds of treasures including great books about writing. All proceeds go towards supporting a literacy and writing skills initiative, 826 Valnecia, started by writer, editor and publisher, Dave Eggers.

• Even San Francisco natives who scorn most of city’s tourist attractions love Alcatraz Island. A visit to the once notorious prison includes a scenic ferry ride, and a chilling self-guided audio tour where stories of crime and punishment are brilliantly retold. Booking ahead is essential - expect crowds – but the experience is worth it. Also crowded but worth it was the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

Actually, everything we did in San Francisco was “worth it” - and loads of fun. My oldest son, the San Francisco resident, put it this way.

“Mom, this is a city for Big Children."

He meant it as a compliment. I think his point was that in this American city of unique neighborhoods, spectacular views, wonderful food (not to mention a comprehensive public transport system and health access for all) you can grow up but you don’t have to grow old.

We’ll be back.

Photo Credit: Eloise Hedges

Idea Credit: Leland Hedges

The Mirage is Real – Desert Elegance in Abu Dhabi’s Back Country

Gary and Lorraine are at it again - this time in the desert.

Question: how do you have a “no crowds” experience at an authentic desert hotel, even when they are fully booked over Easter weekend?

Answer: book a villa! You will barely be aware that anyone else is there.

Anantara, that world class resort management company who brought you the Desert Islands experience (reviewed here a year ago), have done it again. Qasr al Sarab (literally, “castle of the mirage”) has plunked a truly unique experience down smack in the middle of the vast Arabian desert, and have managed to convince discerning travelers to travel 2 ½ hours from the nearest airport (Abu Dhabi) to check it out. Hotel rooms, each with a private open-air dining area, tumble across the dunes like some artist’s award-winning sandcastles. The awesome scale of the desert becomes apparent when you look out your window and see an 800 foot high dune. It’s permanent enough to be known by the locals, but still transitory—the wind is moving it south, inexorably, every year. You really need to be this deep in the desert to appreciate the eternal beauty wrought by wind on sand…and see the genesis of the “Arabesque” curves so common in architecture and design in the region.

Given that this was a special birthday, we thought we’d pass on the rooms and suites, and try out one of the villas that are part of the complex—a 1 bedroom villa doesn’t cost much more than a room, and the private back garden and infinity pool in each one, with the desert and the dunes as the background, sealed the deal. Every detail of the property was carefully thought out, with wonderful local décor, and grace notes like a fully stocked Nespresso machine and not one but two rain showers (one inside, one out). Dinner was good, not great, but a room service breakfast delivered hot by a golf cart-wielding butler and served elegantly on the verandah couldn’t be beat. The croissants, I assure you, had never seen a bubble pack—they were made fresh that morning. The service in every part of the resort was absolutely beyond belief—we figured that there were between 2 and 3 employees for every guest in the hotel…and everyone was very experienced.

Beware, Qasr al Sarab really is in the middle of nowhere…and it’s in the tropics. We drove south and actually crossed the Tropic of Cancer to get there. The 2.5 hour drive from Abu Dhabi (4 from Dubai) finishes with a 150 km trek across deep desert (albeit on a paved road). We were singing “we’re on the road to nowhere” and “on the road again”, but finally settled on “I’ve been through the desert on a road with no name”. With a brisk wind most of the way, the sand eddies flowed across the road and drifted in corners in a way that made us flash back to the snowfields of the high alps and Dolomites. When we arrived, we looked jealously at the Abu Dhabi Aviation chopper sitting on the helipad—well, maybe next time. Because there will be a next time—it’s a truly unique place— and worth the drive.

Photo Credit: Gary Ransom

In Bed with Washington Irving

In 1829, Washington Irving arrived in Granada. So enraptured by the Alhambra, the city’s fabled and near deserted fairytale fortress, he moved in and wrote a book about the experience, the much admired Tales of the Alhambra. In 2010, an average of 6,000 daily visitors make their way through the legendary palaces and gardens. So how much of the romance is left? Can you get out of the scrum and recreate some of Irving’s experience ? It sounds impossible but you can. Here’s how

Start by avoiding July through September and Easter Week. Stay at the Parador de Granada San Francisco smack dab in the center of the Alhambra, and book your room at least 6 months ahead. Once a convent and resting place of Queen Isabella, this is now a swish, small hotel that absolutely makes your Alhambra experience. From the moment you drive up the closed off road, past the scores of tourists on foot wondering about the lucky folks in the car, you feel special. Outside is intensive tourism but inside the parador is your own private sanctuary. At night, when the tour groups are long gone, you can wander the battlement and bastions “treading haunted ground, and surrounded by romantic associations.” Like Irving you can believe that you "inhabit the enchanted palace of an Arabian tale", and "look down from its balconies upon chivalric Granada".

Another important thing to do prior to your visit, is to order your tickets to the Alhambra over the internet or by phone (902 441 221). Even if you are staying at the Parador de Granada, it is still a good idea to do this. Here’s why.

The fortress complex has some open areas, some areas only accessible by ticket and one area, the Palacio Nazares for which you need a time slot. If you order your tickets well in advance (you can order up to a year before your visit), you have a much better chance of getting a desirable time slot which for No Crowds travelers is either early in the morning or at night. The Parador will offer you a 2 ½ hour guided tour at EUR 49 per person, but we were perfectly happy with our EUR 13 tickets and EUR 4 audio guide which included the words of Tales of the Alhambra woven into the commentary.

At some stage during your stay you will want to leave your Arabian aerie and venture down into the city of Granada. To stay away from the crowds, we followed the excellent advice to be found in a 2008 article in the Guardian newspaper entitled “Granada’s top 10 Moorish secrets”. We especially appreciated the recommendation to visit the Carmen de la Victoria in the Moorish District, the Albaicin, which is now the guest residence for Granada University. The Islamic garden, with stunning views of the Alhambra, has been planted with flowers and bushes that would have existed in Nasrid times and we were quite alone during our marvelous visit. We also enjoyed a lively tapas evening on the Campo del Principe following the recommendation of Gayle Mackie, co-author of 100 Best Tapas Bars in Granada. Her favourite tapas bar, the atmospheric La Esquinta, also became ours.

After two magical nights, it was time to leave the Alhambra and the footsteps of Washington Irving with his love of the place still in our hearts and his haunting words still in our heads:

“Such is the Alhambra; a Moslem pile in the midst of a Christian land; an Oriental palace amidst the Gothic edifices of the West; an elegant memento of a brave, intelligent, and graceful people, who conquered, ruled, flourished and passed away.”

Paris Feedback - In Shorthand

We have always dreamed that No Crowds would develop into a place for like minded travelers to share discoveries. Today, we moved closer to that goal with the addition of a report on a visit to Paris by Trish, a savvy traveler if ever there was one. We've been telling her for a long time that she doesn't need to write a lot (she's busy - just like you), just pass on a list of highlights and she's done exactly that. So enjoy these wonderful suggestions (we can't wait to try the Laiterie St Clotilde) and be sure to send us your own discoveries.

I had a great time in Paris. - thank you for all your tips and here's some feedback in shorthand.

Restaurants:

· Cocottes (Cafe Constant new outpost, a few doors up) – fab – very groovy, packed, casual sitting on bar stools at the bar or at high tables. Most of the food comes served in the signature cocotte – a small cast iron pot. Most plates are around 10-20 euros – I had 2 courses and 2 glasses of wine for 45 euros

· Le Petit Lutetia (Lutetia is the old word for Paris according to the waiter) – old fashioned, good food, sat with older formal Parisian couples who live in the chic 7^th Ar. I was actually staying about 200 yards directly up the street in Rue Vaneau! Again around 45-50 euros per person with 2 courses and wine.

· Restaurant Laiterie Sainte Clotilde The best new find!! I always discover the good places by walking past, seeing a full and buzzing place and just trying it. Again up the road from me at 64 rue de Bellechasse in the 7^th, I found Restaurant Laiterie Sainte Clotilde. So named for the magnificent catholic church a block away where I went to moving Ash Wednesday High Mass. Restaurant has been open year and a half. The young female chef is half English and was looking over cookbooks at the bar after dinner discussing recipe ideas with the owner for a menu that changes every few days. Again about 40 euros for 2 courses and a few glasses of wine – this was by far the best food I had in Paris. Not traditional – imagine a French River Cafe – the chocolate cake was a recipe from the owner’s great aunt!

· Terminus Nord. My Parisien friend took me to dinner one night to a restaurant right opposite Gare Du Nord called Terminus Nord. Full of locals – it is the typical large brasserie with traditional food, the ubiquitous seafood platters etc. Food not that amazing but a great convenient fix before or after your train journey and not too expensive.

. Lunch at Maillol Museum was a treat in a quirky basement restaurant. From a very contemporary menu I had an excellent lentil salad served in a glass jar.

The Museum in the 7^th is a real gem – housing the fabulous Maillol collection in the mansion that belonged to his mistress and muse Dina Vierny who died only recently. Plus fab temporary shows – I saw an amazing exhibit called “C’est la Vie:Caravaggio to Hirst”

http://www.museemaillol.com/index2.html

· The Museum pass was a great tip – if you haven’t got it in advance of arriving in Paris – go to a quiet, less popular museum from the list. I had gone to the Rodin Museum to buy the pass and faced a queue at 10am. Later I was going for a run along the Seine when I spotted the obscure Musee de l’Assistance Publique on quai de la Tournelle where there are no queues! Sadly I wasn’t interested in seeing the history of Parisian hospitals, but the helpful staff, pleased to see a visitor, sold me a museum pass! I then sailed past the queues at the bigger attractions – v. long queue at the new Orangerie. (isn’t that an amazing re-furb!)

· A must see - Monumenta - every year in the ‘off season’ at the Grand Palais, a leading international contemporary artist is invited by the Ministry of Culture and Communication to create an exceptional new work for the 13,500 m² Nave of the Grand Palais. This year it was the French artist Christian Boltanski. I waited 40 mins to record my heartbeat for his project that will see 50,000 human heart beats recorded and placed in a digital library in Japan for a little piece of history. I have a DVD copy which I am going to upload on my kids I-pods for when they are missing me!

http://www.monumenta.com/2010/english/votre-visite/Votre-visite.html

· The best Van Gogh painting NOT in the Royal Academy show is actually in the Rodin Museum – I was admiring the portrait of Le Pere Tanguy there and noticed in the fabulous show at the Royal Academy a week later, that it is referred to in the Japanese room with an only a postcard image.

· I walked past a lovely hotel also near me and picked up a rate card – may be worth recommending – The Hotel de Varenne on rue de Bourgogne. www.hoteldevarenne.com

Room with bath 177 euros, breakfast in lovely courtyard, 10 euros

That’s all the news that’s fit to print!

A Hot Tip for a Cold Winter – Head North for a Warm Welcome

Here’s a quiz. How can you visit some of the best royal palaces in Europe with no crowds? What about some of the best art collections? Or famous restaurants? Answer – head for Denmark in February.

It’s a counter-intuitive strategy and not one that is endorsed by many travel writers. The perceived wisdom is that Denmark in February is cold, gray and many of the sights are closed.

But we were tired of fighting our fellow Brits at Heathrow and on the slopes and beaches, as we have every year, and headed instead to the place on no one's list - Denmark. Sure it was cold and some of the sights we really wanted to see, such as the Open Air Museum and Karen Blixen’s house, were closed, but even more were open. Some of the finest sites, such as the fairy-tale Frederiksborg Castle, seemed virtually deserted.

And besides, regardless of the time of year, the Danes are excellent hosts. Great linguists, friendly and helpful, I can’t think of a country where we have received a warmer welcome, despite the sub-zero temperatures. And then there is the scale. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Denmark is not too large and not too small. During our five-day visit, we were able to explore Copenhagen and the countryside, feeling that we had seen many of the major sites while leaving plenty more for another visit. Here are the highlights:

Day 1 – Back to Nature

After arriving at modern, efficient Copenhagen Airport, we headed for Brede, a small community north of Copenhagen containing an 86 acre Open-Air Museum with farmhouses and dwellings from all over Denmark and Brede Works, a preserved mill and factory. The museum and factory are closed for the winter but we were staying with a friend who lives in one of the historic factory workers cottages, – a magical place straight out of the time of Hans Christian Andersen. We hiked in the snow all around the beautiful woodland retreat and we highly recommend taking the 30 minute train to Brede, considered one of the loveliest train rides in Denmark – when the museum is open which is from April to September.

In the late afternoon we took a short drive to Allerod and Ninas Natur Café – also closed for the winter – but as we are friends of Nina and her husband, Hans, we had a sneak preview of the delicious food, lovely countryside and warm welcome that await visitors from May through September.

Day 2 – Castles, Hamlet and Hockney

We began the day at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerod (22 miles NW of Copenhagen) which is both a former royal palace and the home of Denmark’s Museum of National History. This is an exquisite Renaissance castle, full of romance, and the national history collection is vast and fascinating. As palaces go, Frederiksborg is five star, with the added benefit of being open every day of the year.

Lunch across the street from the castle at the Slotskroen (a tavern since 1795) included lots of herring, open faced Danish sandwiches and plenty of beer and acquavit which set us up well for the afternoon.

After lunch, we headed for Helsingor and the Kronborg Castle, made famous by Shakespeare in Hamlet under the name of Elsinore Castle. Positioned dramatically overlooking the Oresund (the straits between Denmark and Sweden), this fortress is as mighty and foreboding as Frederiksborg is beautiful.

Our last stop was at Louisiana – not the American state – rather, a fabulously sited modern art museum overlooking Oresund with unusual architecture, a sculpture park and a blockbuster collection: Picasso, Giacometti, Pollock, Calder and so much more. I wouldn’t call the place empty but it certainly wasn’t crowded and for fans of modern art, I would call it unmissable.

Day 3 – A Copenhagen Culture Marathon

Such is the compact scale and vast cultural richness of Copenhagen that we were able to visit three remarkable museums and enjoy an excellent lunch and still make it back to Brede for a fine dinner.

While we were doing all of that, our 12 year old daughter was off visiting the Experimentarium, a museum within the old Tuborg brewery bottling hall designed to make science accessible to the masses. As Eloise has promised to write a post about her experience, I will say no more about it now.

Anyway, following the No Crowds rule of bypassing major museums in favour of smaller more interesting ones, we began our day at the Hirschsprung Sammlung. Housed in a romantic neoclassical pavilion in a lovely park, this fine collection of 19^th century Danish art was donated to the state by the German-Jewish tobacco magnate Heinrich Hirschsprung whose giant portrait greets you as you come in the door. As I’m partial to German-Jewish tobacco magnates, I felt we were off to a great start. The collection of paintings from Denmark’s Golden Age (1800-1850) are particularly inspiring.

Next up was the David Collection. Housed in an early 19^th building that was once occupied by the Museum’s founder, Christian Ludvig David, the museum is really three collections: 18^th century art displayed in period interiors; Danish early modern art and a world-class collection of Islamic Art. Similar to the Wallace Collection in London and the Jacquemart Andre, this museum provides the opportunity to see a highly individualistic collection in the collector's home.

Lunch took place at the Slotskaelderen (near the Christiansborg), famous for its open faced sandwiches, the smorrebrod. Open since 1797 and run by the same family since 1910, this place is old fashioned, authentic and big fun. The smorrebrod, as you would expect, were delicious.

After lunch, we headed across the street to Thorvaldsens Museum that houses the work, possessions and last resting place of Denmark’s most famous sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770- 1844).

Dinner was back in Brede at the now rather elegant Brede Spieshus, which was once the cafeteria for the factory workers. The restaurant sits picturesquely overlooking a small lake and the food is good.

Day 4 – Christiania

Social experiment in self-government? Drug haven for drop-outs? The longest running anarchist commune in Europe? We had heard so much about the Free City of Christiania, an 86 acre area of Copenhagen with roughly 1,000 residents who have been operating autonomously since 1971, that we just had to see it. The problem was, we saw it in the middle of a blizzard which made walking around the community an abbreviated affair.

Highlights of our time in Christiania included husband and daughter shooting pool in a café where the mild scent of pot wafted through the air. We visited the Loppe building with its impressive grafitti, famous music venue and much admired restaurant, the Spiselopen. Being capitalists, we also bought a distinctive Christiania sweatshirt in bright red with yellow dots to support the anarchist cause which I now wear all over London in the hope of meeting Danes. In all, it was a fun and interesting place. They have their own currency and are doing their own thing and the fact that the government hasn’t shut them down shows that their controversial social experiment still claims sufficient support from the people. We say - Right on, Christiania.

Day 5 – the Miraculous Departure

As it had snowed all the previous day and most of the night, I figured we would never get out of Denmark. With my UK hat on, I expected road chaos and airport delays. Instead, we woke to find the roads plowed and clear and our airline running to schedule. What a great country!

As our plane took off over snow-covered Denmark, I thought, As soon as we can, we’ll be back.

Hotel Info

The friends that we stayed with highly recommend the Guldsmeden Hotel group who have several properties in Copenhagen at varying price points. All Guldsmeden properties are distinctive, sustainable and owner operated.

http://hotelguldsmeden.dk/home/

Photo from Twyzilla on Photobucket

Mastering Truth and Illusion in London's National Gallery

So what’s the best 55 British pounds I never spent on travel?

A small group tour of the National Gallery in London with Context Travel. I think it is important to say right up front that I was invited by Context to join this tour as part of a relationship building exercise. It is also important to say that of all the museum tours I have ever taken (and trust me, I’ve taken plenty) this tour was the best.

I wasn’t expecting to be bedazzled by another trip to the National Gallery. After all, I’ve been there countless times ( 5 times a year X the last 15 years = at least 75 visits) but that was the tour on offer and I was keen to see if Context could deliver on their big brand promise of offering "scholar-led experiences for the intellectually curious traveler". I should also say that I don't much like to be led. Maybe it's just because I am a child of the 60s but when I travel, I really like to do my own thing.

Despite the caveats, I was bedazzled. For three solid hours, my small group of four (including two intrepid gentlemen who had just flown in from Dallas for the weekend) experienced something special – a history of art Master Class for art loving amateurs. As you can imagine, that's not an easy thing to deliver. Our Context docent, Scott Nethersole, wove an incredible narrative out of one of the world’s greatest art collections that included scholarship, anecdotes, humour and a love of subject so infectious that it made me want to go back to University and study art.

Be forewarned, if what you want is a quick introduction and some highlights then I don't think Context is for you. These are tours and itineraries for travelers who want to dig deep into a topic and it would be a waste of your time and the docent’s talent to sign up with Context if that’s not what you are about.

Context offers an impressive range of experiences in many major cities. They have small groups you can join, as I did, which keeps cost down or they can arrange for private groups and custom itineraries including private tours of the Vatican and special programs for families with children. They have a good website and you can check it all out here.

As for me, I plan to use Context again, even when I’m paying my own way. I was expecting a "tour' of the National Gallery. Instead I attended an amazing three hour Master Class in the history of western art. I can't think of a better way to experience a great museum.

Photo of the Toilet of Venue ("Rokeby Venus") by Velazques - one of the many paintings we saw with a fabulous story attached.