Athens is a lively city filled with historical wonders, great food and shopping, along with fab luxury hotels.

I stayed at the Hotel Grand Bretagne, which is the grand dame of hotels in Athens due to its history of hosting celebrities and world leaders for over 100 years. It was even the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Forces during WWII and was the site of many conferences attended by Winston Churchill. That’s why there’s the famous Churchill Bar (below) and private dining room at the hotel, where you can also do a masterclass in Greek wine with a sommelier. Definitely recommend!

The Grand Bretagne was also the site of a famous Lady Gaga nude photoshoot right here in the blue and white marble master bathroom in the Grand Suite. Google it!

The Grand Bretagne is right across the street from Syntagma Square and Greek Parliament, where you should not miss the Changing of the Presidential Guard, which takes place every hour on the hour.

The Acropolis and The Parthenon are known world-wide as symbols of Athens and even Greece. It’s unthinkable to visit Athens and not visit the Acropolis!

And you can easily walk to the Acropolis from most any downtown location as it’s literally right in the middle of the city.

The Acropolis is an ancient citadel comprised of many structures including the Parthenon, the Theatre of Dionysios, statues, altars, temples including the Erectheion with its famous “Porch of Maidens” (see below) which was dedicated to Athena and Poseidon.

Biggest Tip: Visit the Acropolis very early, or very late! It was already pretty hot and steamy in May, I can’t imagine being up there in July and August. AND tour with a private guide so you understand what you are looking at!

You should check when you are in town because they actually hold concerts and operas in the Theatre of Dionysios, the oldest theater on the planet!!!!!

From the Acropolis, you can walk down into the neighborhood known as Plaka, with its narrow maze of cafes, shops and galleries A do-not-miss!

Besides the Grand Bretagne, other fine hotels are the King David which is right next to the Grand Bretagne, Hotel Milos is just around the corner, and M Gallery is adjacent to the Parliament building. This area is such a great central location that allows you to walk everywhere and see Athen’s major sights.

My first night in Athens I enjoyed a superb dinner on the rooftop restaurant at Athens Gate Hotel, with a spectacular view of the Acropolis. Authentic Greek salad (no lettuce and caper leaves!) with a dollop of fresh feta cheese and a super fresh shrimp saute. I had dinner in Tudor Hall at King David with a very sophisticated menu with this killer dessert and the next night I sat outside at a local fave tiny shop ‘Hoocut’ that supposedly has the best souvlaki in town. I say yes!

The food in Greece will get its own blog post!

On my last evening, friends took me for drinks to an in-the-know rooftop bar, Ermou 18, having perfect views of the city. A great way to end my time in Athens!

Clients of ours who stay in the Hotel Grand Bretagne Hotel in Athens receive special perks:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Daily breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom
• Complimentary lunch for up to two persons on a 3 course set menu in Winter Garden or GB Pool Bar & Grill, excluding alcohol and gratuities, once during stay
• Early Check-In / Late Check-Out, subject to availability
• Complimentary Wi-Fi

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I just did a fabulous tour of Morocco and it is an absolute FEAST for your senses!

The food, the fragrances, the mosaic tile and pottery, the artisans, the craftsmanship, the architecture-it’s all amazing. I have been all over the world and I was blown away by the wonders of Morocco. It offers so much: imperial cities, breathtaking mountains, the ocean AND the desert. The shopping will make you buy another piece of luggage to bring all your new baubles back with you. And the welcoming hospitality of its people will have you planning your return before you leave.

The quick topline of MUST-SEES and some MUST-DO’s in Morocco:

–The old medina in Fes with its twisting, narrow alleyways and PUBLIC kitchens!

-The Al-Attarine Madrasa (university) right in the middle of the Fes medina

-A visit to a mosaic and/or pottery workshop to see how they are still handcrafting in the centuries-old traditional methods

-The Chouara leather tannery in Fes is a sight to behold, with all the different colored dye vats outside in the sun but nothing can truly prepare you for the smell (they give you fresh mint to hold to your nose but that cannot purge the odor!)

–Staying in a riad as opposed to a hotel is a MUST (and if you have the budget, The Royal Mansour in Marrakech may well be the most beautiful place you have ever stayed, anywhere)

–The wine area outside Meknes will have you believing you are in Tuscany, no kidding! The olive oil and wine are fantastic!

–The ancient Roman ruins at Volubilis (I had no idea they were so extensive, like Pompeii)

-a hands-on tajine cooking class or a perfume workshop

–Bahia Palace in Marrakech, unbelievable mosaic and woodwork

-The massive wooden doors of the impressive Kasbah (fortress) of the Oudayas in Rabat

–Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, one of the few mosques non-Muslims can enter, with its huge chandeliers and beautiful setting on the ocean

-a glamping stay in a desert camp either in the Agafay or ideally, in the Sahara if you have the time

-a camel ride in the desert at sunset, a must!

-a hike in the Atlas Mountains and lunch in a Berber village while looking at the snow-capped peaks of Mt Toubkal

These pictures below are all from only Fes! I will put up other pics in separate posts.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at denise@luxurytraveladventures.com

IMAGES FROM FES

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I cruised for a week, stopping in Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka and Ketchikan. We sailed all day through Glacier Bay National Park, which is full of glaciers such as Marjorie Glacier, the largest tidewater glacier in the world with a 21-mile span back from its face! And, it moves 7 feet every day. WILD. And we saw lots of humpback whales, sea otters, bald eagles and even a bear!

Here are some of my best pictures from my glorious week in Alaska, and my best humpback whale video:

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Yes, everyone who goes to Egypt wants to see the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx

And they certainly are MUST-SEES.

But so is Sakkara, the VERY FIRST PYRAMID from 2700 B.C. and pre-dating the pyramids at Giza!

It’s about 45 minutes outside of Cairo. The day we went, there was NO ONE THERE except excavation teams. Their work is never done in Egypt! There are tombs all over this site.

We were able to go INSIDE the Sakkara pyramid, which opened to the public for the first time ever last year. The inside shaft was completely hand-dug and it’s an engineering feat-especially when you remind yourself that it is almost 5,000 years old.

There’s a small museum dedicated to the genius architect of Sakkara, Imhoetep, who designed this for King Zoser. Very worthy to spend time inside checking out the artifacts that have been found onsite, including this gorgeous blue tile, check it out in the video clip below:

I recommend Sakkara as a DO NOT MISS when in Egypt!

And of course we went to check out the Pyramids at Giza. It was super hot and hazy but once again, there was hardly any people here! You simply are in awe looking at these last great wonders of the ancient world, and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Did you know you can go INSIDE the Great Pyramid (that would be the largest one)?

I recommend only if you are not claustrophobic, not afraid of heights as its pretty steep, and don’t mind crouching for a long way! I could only get this far. And-there’s NOTHING inside anyway!

The Sphinx is also on the Giza plateau, and—it’s smaller than you think!

There’s a nightly Sound & Light Show at the Pyramids, but don’t expect a Disney-esque presentation, more like 1970’s Richard Burton doing Marc Antony!

Questions about Egypt? Just reach out to us!

denise@luxurytraveladventures.com

Office: 240-744-4749

The post The “MUST-SEES” in EGYPT-Part 1 appeared first on Luxury Travel Adventures.

The Egyptian Museum (currently open in downtown Cairo) or Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) when it opens, likely in 2022.

Before you go to Egypt, it’s best if you have some sense of the historical timeline before you start taking in loads of ancient Egypt data points!

To that end, I think it’s incredibly helpful to make a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo BEFORE you venture out to the Valley of the Kings, where all the tombs are located.

The brand new ‘Grand Egyptian Museum’ or GEM is not yet open, so there are still many exhibits on display in the “old” museum, including highlights of the Tut collection (as of May 2021).

NOTE: Not all the Tut pieces are still in the old museum, items like the chariots have been moved to GEM already. But the famous death mask and solid gold coffin, among many other items, are still there (as of May 2021) and will be the last items moved to GEM.

The Tut pieces are an absolute do-not-miss! You will be blown away by the intricacy, beauty and craftsmanship of these objects that are 3,000+ years old and you will marvel at the story of thier discovery.

And when GEM opens, for the very first time EVER, all 5,000+ artifacts found in Tut’s tomb will be on display together. Only a fraction of what Howard Carter found has been on display for the last 100 years, so there will be literally thousands of items never before seen by the public on display at GEM. Worth another trip back to Egypt for me!

MAJOR TIP: Go here with an Egyptologist, or a very, very good guide! Things are not well marked and a knowledgeable guide will help you with context and you will get so much more from the experience. Also-the Mummy rooms cost extra and are worth it!

But wait-there’s more!

There are other notable items here besides the King Tut collection!

Tut was a minor pharoah who ruled for only 9 or 10 years, and is famous mainly because his tomb was found intact instead of totally looted like all the others.

There is the Narmer Palette, which is one of the earliest records of hieroglyphics (kind of like the Rosetta Stone) and is considered one of the first historical documents in the world. It documents the unification of Lower & Upper Egypt.

Here you can also find ‘The Meidum Geese’ painting, considered to be “Egypt’s Mona Lisa”. The painting depicts a now globally-extinct species of geese in incredible and artistic detail.

There are also the famous “Mummy Portraits of Faiyum”, dating back from the Roman era around 260 BC. These portraits are famous for their highly realistic depictions.

And maybe my favorite exhibit besides the Tut Collection was learning about “Yuya & Tuya”, extremely well-preserved mummies that seemingly were not royalty but very well-connected, and thought to be Tut’s great grandparents. Their tombs were found in 1904, and until Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922, Yuya and Tuya’s mummies and tomb were the most intact ever found.

LOOK at her hair and curls!!

I cannot wait for the GEM to open, it’s going to be a world-class showcase for ancient history!

If this inspires you to put Egypt at the top of your travel bucket list, don’t hesitate to reach out to us to help you plan the trip of a lifetime!

Contact denise@luxurytraveladventures.com

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Egypt has so many iconic sights to see!

Of course you will come to see the Great Pyramid at Giza and the Sphinx, but there are many things to see and do that I would recommend not missing.

So here is my own personal highlights list based on my most recent trip starting with:

1. The Khan al Khalili Bazaar, Cairo

Transport yourself back in time to an old Arab souk by visiting this large labyrinth-like bazaar in the heart of Cairo. The twisted alleyways go on for days, and you can buy anything here from spices to jewels. There is even an old Jewish quarter tucked away behind an enormous old wooden door. End with a cup of freshly roasted coffee with cardamon or tea from the 300 year old El Fishawy coffee shop that attracts locals and tourists alike.

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Now that the vaccine is here, you MAY be thinking about traveling this summer or in the second half of this year.

And you may be thinking, how safe is it to stay in a hotel?

Let me preface this by saying I am not a doctor, and everyone has a different comfort level.

But honestly speaking, I firmly believe that one of the silver linings of this pandemic has been how CLEAN hotels (and planes) are! 

I’ve stayed in 12 hotels over the last several months, from well-known chain properties to boutique properties, the 3-star Thunderbird Inn to 4 star Hotel Hershey to  5-star Rosewood Las Ventanas, and the one thing they all have in common? 

They were all noticeably *spotlessly* clean.

So what measure are hotels taking to sanitize and clean during the pandemic to ensure a positive and safe guest experience?

From budget Choice Hotels to Hilton to Marriott to Hyatt to Four Seasons, hotel groups have established Covid Advisory Boards stacked with medical personnel from  heavy hitters such as Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and have rolled out a slew of cleaning and safety programs including:

• Many hotels are using electrostatic sprayers that completely sanitize surfaces within a matter of minutes and are leaving a seal on the room so it remains untouched until guests’ arrival.
• Four Seasons mandates that rooms be disinfected daily with EPA approved products and have blacklight inspections.
• Public areas cleaned hourly with extra attention to frequented areas including front desk counters and public restrooms.
• Marriott’s Global Cleanliness Council requires the use of “hospital-grade” disinfectants and HEPA filters in public spaces and guest rooms. Among the proposals for Hilton’s program, a partnership with the Mayo Clinic and Lysol maker Reckitt Benckiser that launched last June,  are requirements that public spaces and 10 specific “high-touch” (elevator buttons, door knobs) areas be cleaned even more frequently.
• The Red Carnation Hotel Collection has implemented the CleanCoat A/S self-disinfection solution. A proprietary coating renders hotel surfaces self-disinfecting, helping to break down microbes like bacteria and viruses as well as pollutants such as volatile organic compounds.
• Enhanced cleaning protocols to disinfect every space, ongoing and especially during peak usage.   Consistently and frequently disinfecting all high-touch items like elevator buttons and escalator handrails.   Hand sanitation stations added throughout hotels, especially in high-traffic area.
• Utilizing mobile technology for contactless communication: Mobile Key, Mobile Dining, Mobile checkout and QR codes instead of paper menus.
• Social and physical distancing practices: reducing allowable capacities in spaces, increasing distance between furniture, and managing queueing areas.
• Hygiene kits placed in each guest room providing masks, hand sanitizer and sanitization wipes, with additional masks supplied on demand.
• Social distancing measures embedded in all services for guest protection, including appropriately spaced fitness equipment, modified spa menu and services, contactless check-in and housekeeping services.
• Restaurants and bars may operate with reduced capacity to ensure adequate space and socially distant set-up.
• Deep cleaning each guest room between stays.  Some hotels are even mandating 24 hours between guest room stays.  Removing nonessential high-touch items that can’t be disinfected (magazine, books, pens and stationery, for instance) and providing disinfecting wipes in every guest room. Limit in-stay housekeeping frequency to reduce contact during each stay.

I have seen all of this in action at the hotels I have personally stayed in.

I usually test before I travel, and on the 5^th day when I return, and all tests have been negative.  That being said, I also wear a surgical mask at all times and have eaten all my meals outside or have done carry-out and taken it back to my room.

Everyone has their own threshold for traveling right now, and all I can say is that I have had excellent experiences with managed expectations. Yes, a bar may have reduced hours, you may have to reserve your spot at the gym, and the breakfast buffet may have been replaced by a la carte, but for me, the positives of traveling and the change of scenery more than outweigh any negatives.

Any questions? Email me at denise@luxurytraveladventures.com

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A quick weekend getaway to Chincoteague and Assateague Island was just what I needed……. Nothing like sand, waves and wild ponies to help get through these pandemic times!

The wild ponies of Assateague have made this area famous, but it’s a birder’s paradise and a fishermen’s dream, with gorgeous sunsets. It’s about 4 hours from the DC area, depending where you are coming from.

Story has it that the ponies are the descendants of stallions that swam to shore from a sinking Spanish galleon in the 1600’s. There are about 150 adult ponies in the designated Wildlife Refuge area.

Assateague is uninhabited save for the ponies, so you have to stay on Chincoteague. There, the pace is something from days gone by….you’re on “island time”.

If you go to Chincoteague or Assateague, make sure you walk or bike the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge 3 mile loop, never know what you might see and it’s a birders paradise due to its location in the middle of the migratory route. Chincoteague has a very healthy population of bald eagles. Right now, sections of the beach adjacent to the Wildlife Refuge are roped off because plover birds are nesting.

The beach is wide and the waves enough to surf. And fires are allowed on the beach, so bring S’mores supplies!

There are no deluxe hotels around, this is a seasonal renting destination and there are many options. There are some hotels such as Comfort Suites and a Best Western. People even camp on Assateague beach.

You can also visit the NASA Wallops Island Flight Visitor Center ….they launch rockets from here periodically. This center provided telemetry support for the Space X launch this past Saturday.

While on Chincoteague, don’t miss fresh seafood take-out from Capt. Zack’s or seafood from the Gary Howard fish market. Followed by homemade ice cream from Island Creamery, an absolute must (try Iced Nirvana, my fave). If soft-serve is your thing, head to Mr. Whippy.

Visiting Chincoteague and Assateague from the DC area or even Philly is a great weekend getaway that provides the required social distancing but also the peaceful, relaxing environment we are all in need of right now!

Feel free to contact me for more details.

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One of the highlights of my time in Bangkok in November was a street food tour I took with Chef “Nut”. Nut is half Chinese, half Thai and has lived in Bangkok his whole life, and knows the streets like the back of his hand. 

We started in Chinatown in late afternoon, stopping at a street cart that was already surrounded by people. We were dished up Bua Loy Nam Khing, a “snack” sweet soup of ginger tea, gingko nuts, black sesame dumplings and tofu custard. Slightly sweet, a bit crunchy, creamy, refreshing, it was all these things. Couldn’t stop eating it!

I knew my time with “Nut” was going to be well spent.

Next was another street cart that only makes green onion pancakes with chili sauce…Nut lamented that you can’t even find these anymore, it’s a dying delicacy but this one guy is still dishing them up in a little nondescript corner in Chinatown.  Another winner. This was followed by Nut’s choice for best pork satay and pickled cucumber in Bangkok, a very clean and neat cart run by a wizened lady with bright eyes. Her satay could make you cry, in the good way.  

After walking by the famous balcony from Hangover II, we continued down dark, narrow streets where stall after stall sells paper goods that you “gift” to a dearly departed and burn for them… there were paper LG refrigerators, paper Samsung TV’s, paper iPad and more. A knowing turn took us to THE place to buy “worker noodles”, a HUGE bowl of noodle soup for only 40 Thai baht (about $1.30 USD). Another street cart rigged to run on charcoal fire, operated by the same man for over 40 years who ladles up his home-made beef broth and hand-pulled noodles with a big smile and not a word of English. You would never find this place on your own, and if by some chance you did, you may just keep walking… big mistake.

We kept winding deeper into Chinatown until we came to Jok’s kitchen, Michelin-guide recommended  for their handmade shrimp dumplings topped with fried garlic, which they made for us right outside on the sidewalk.  Nothing like fresh ingredients cooked right in front of you and handed over hot and sizzling.  Oh, the waft of that garlic…

Next stop was the “red stool place” Jek Pui made famous on an episode of Netflix ‘Street Food’ and generally regarded as the best curry in Bangkok. Giant pots of green curry with chicken simmer away, and are served with a sweet dried Chinese sausage to counter the heat of the curry.  Eat like a local and just camp out on a red stool where you won’t get hit by a passing scooter.

Some Black Soy Sauce ice cream around the corner helped cool us off… I really wish I had also tried the “One Enchanted Evening” flavor of soft serve also in the machine!!

Our big stop to sit down and eat was at T&K Seafood, a multistory complex in the middle of the cacophony of neon-lit Yaorat Road.  As evening begins, they start guerilla marketing their seafood by grilling and sautéing it right out on the street, on the balconies, wherever they can.  There were fresh cockles in steel pans waiting to get steamed, barnacles, giant prawns, whole fish I’ve never seen before, all types of oysters. It’s absolutely crazy chaotic to get in, but with Nut it was not a problem. 

Great seafood is not hard to get in Thailand, and the food here was insanely fresh.  A starter of sour mango with fish sauce was mesmerizing. Tom Yum soup with sea bass and octopus, giant grilled river prawns with green sauce and sautéed morning glory with garlic, a staple Asian vegetable we really don’t know but should.  I felt like Anthony Bourdain would have loved this place! No ambiance but the food was crazy fresh and good.  

Now it was time for dessert, so on to the street cart with the long line of people stretching down Yaorat Road….it’s the Michelin-recommended cart for Pa Thing Ko,Thai doughnuts.  Every culture has some kind of fried dough treat and the Thai are no different.  But their light and airy Pa Thing Ko served with silky-smooth green pandan coconut custard dipping sauce is on another level.  

But we were not finished!  The finish had to be some mango juice and the best mango and sticky rice from a woman’s cart who Nut swears has the very best mangos in all of Bangkok.  I do not dispute this. The mangos are literally perfectly ripe with no marks on them, and she peels them in front of you, served with perfectly sweet and sticky green and white rice.  This pretty much puts to shame any version of mango and sticky rice you have eaten anywhere. 

The End, finally.

WOW.

*I would be happy to set up the same tour for you*

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One of my favorite safari camps is Abu Camp by Wilderness Safari in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

This area in Botswana promises one of the purest safari experiences you can have anywhere. And there are several grand safari camps to stay at.

Abu Camp is a luxurious and eco-minded camp running on solar power, with fabulous food, drink and service as you can see from my pictures. Spacious “tents” offer every creature comfort such as double vanity bathrooms, an indoor and outdoor shower and outdoor tub, and a private deck and plunge pool. Each tent also offers one of the most unique room amenities I have seen anywhere-an art easel and set of watercolors, to capture the brilliance all around you.

The staff really go the extra mile at Abu Camp for sundowners as well, laying out carpets and lanterns and a full bar and canape spread overlooking a watering hole, and we had the great fortune to then be visited by a pack of wild dogs as we sipped our gin and tonics. It’s truly magic hour out in the bush at sunset.

But ABU CAMP has something extra special that truly sets it apart, and that is The ABU HERD, a group of 8 orphaned elephants.   Each elephant has an incredible story.   

The elephants are free to roam daily, but do receive care from the camp staff.  As a guest here, you can have afternoon tea while the elephants roam free and you can walk alongside them as they ramble about in the grass.   Most camps cannot offer this level of closeness and observation, at it comes at no extra charge!

The matriarch of the Abu Herd is 60 year old Cathy, and she has a special relationship with Paseka, the now 10 year old “Easter Elephant”. After walking with these elephants one afternoon at the camp, we watched the documentary about Paseka (screened outside on the deck with lanterns around us) _and her story blew me away. And yes, I cried.

In short–Paseka was somehow separated from her own mother and herd when she was about 1 years old and still nursing. She was attacked by hyenas, and ran for cover to one of  Abu Camp’s vehicles that was out for a game drive. It was decided that they would not intervene but let nature take its course. The actual footage of the bleeding baby elephant running to catch up to the jeep that’s pulling away is heartbreaking! Get out your tissues!

The next day, camp staff found Paseka in the generator room! It was Easter Sunday. She had somehow escaped the hyenas and found her way back to the camp. But she was very young and needed milk, or she would not survive. Cathy the matriarch intervened and signaled the OK, so that one of the other nursing mother elephants actually adopted Paseka the little Easter Elephant and let her nurse. HIGHLY unusual elephant behavior. And so Paseka survived, and is now the mother to her own rambunctious little male calf.

The ABU HERD is out every day at ABU CAMP, and it is a rare privilege and pleasure to spend time in their presence.    It is an unforgettable and moving experience, and one I cannot recommend enough. 

And with two elephants in the herd pregnant with calves due in late Spring, 2020 promises to be a fine time to visit ABU CAMP!

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