Thank you .. ‘Dirt du Jour’

for the glowing review! "Go ask Alice ... where all the best vineyard gardens are. She's an erudite charmer; you'll have fun!"
California Wine Country

Sonoma .. Napa Holiday Wine Country

Sonoma Valley Inn BW

Lovely weather in December stirred a desire to spend the Christmas holiday in Napa Valley and Sonoma Wine Country. I never cease to wonder at the beauty of the landscape, where eye-catching vignettes emerge along roadways. Certainly the notion of enjoying fabulous food and wine made the brief getaway a very special holiday, indeed. Christmas Eve lunch at Bouchon .. quite simply a feast! To start: Endives au Roquefort salad with fuji apples, toasted walnuts & walnut vinagrette. T. and I shared satisfying Hors d’Oeuvres: a heaping serving of Rillettes aux Deux Saumons – prepared with fresh and smoked salmon, along with delectable cod beignets!

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4 comments - (Comments are closed)   California Wine Country, Foodie Havens, Hotels & Inns   , , , ,  
England

Gravetye Manor Resurgence

Gravetye Manor - Wm. Robinson's Garden Room Photo © Alice Joyce

Once home to the doyen of 19th century English gardening, William Robinson’s historic Gravetye Manor is enjoying new life as a luxe country hotel and celebrated restaurant, just as the acclaimed gardens are regaining their rightful role. Having left his post at Great Dixter, Gravetye’s head gardener Tom Coward is managing the restoration of the property’s established gardenscape, while promising to add contemporary panache to planting beds, borders, and bucolic landscape.

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Desert Travel

Borrego Springs: Palms at Indian Head

Palms at Indian Head Hotel Pool Photo © Alice Joyce

The town of Borrego Springs is situated in the heart of the northern part of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Among your accommodation choices: RV campgrounds and motels, small hotels and resorts for the golf aficionado. Formerly the Hoberg Resort, the property is renowned as a one-time getaway for movie stars from Marilyn Monroe to Clark Gable, and a safe haven at the time for actors seeking privacy, like Montgomery Clift and Raymond Burr. The current owners stepped in to save the main building and two poolside casitas from being demolished after a fire destroyed many bungalows on the land.

Continue reading The Palms at Indian Head .. Borrego Springs

3 comments - (Comments are closed)   Desert Travel, Hotels & Inns, Southern California   , ,  
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