I stumbled upon one of the world's best kept secrets. The Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella has only five stores in the

I never thought I’d be so close to a real bear. Yeah, only about 12 feet away! That was my bonus feature from visiting the Mendenhall Glacier while in Juneau, Alaska. It was an unusually warm and sunny day in Juneau. Who would have known? Those who have experienced a 7-day Alaska cruise warned that I should prepare for cold and wet weather. Heeding their advice, I was garbed in a sweatshirt, thick socks, and waterproof boots. I stashed my beanie, gloves, and rain jacket in

It's never too early to plan for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We missed it in 2017 because by the time we began searching for hotels, all the hotel rooms were already sold out. So for the following year's festivities, we knew we'd better plan way in advance. By "we," I'm referring to my husband and myself plus our travel buddies, Sandy and John. Lucky for us, NOLA was celebrating its tricentennial in 2018, making it all the merrier. Not only do hotel rooms fill up very quickly

This story is continued from the blogpost "Island-Hopping in Abaco." Easter Sunday. April 1, 2018. Today was the day I was going for an Easter Egg Dive. (You read that right!) Alan and I camped out early at Nipper's Beach Bar & Grill, an outdoor bar/restaurant perched on a seaside bluff. We staked our claim on a table at the upper level from where we could get captivating 180-degree views of the ocean blue. We willingly shared our table with a small family while waiting for o

This story is continued from the blogpost "Great Guana Cay." Alan and I were kicking back again in the pavilion when I heard a familiar Calypso ring tone. Oh wait. That's my phone! It turns out that Terry and Jane had been trying to reach us. They were headed for Great Guana Cay from nearby Hope Town and wanted to know if we were up for an island-hopping adventure. Could this day get any better? I'd been up early to watch a stunning sunrise, we've already made our grocery ru

The memories of my Abaco visit still cling to me. Oh Abaco, I have fallen for you!

Meeting new friends is made even better when you dine at a great restaurant for the first time. It all started with a Facebook Group post from Shay Williams Horner, also a member of a women's network that I recently joined. She was embarking on a cruise with a port of call in Nassau and wanted to know if anyone on the island would like to meet. Naturally, I raised my hand. When I found out that she had never been to the newly opened Baha Mar, I took her for a drive to the gra

I was inside a renowned wine cellar that was once a pirate’s dungeon 300 years ago.

I didn't expect anything out of the ordinary during a Sunday morning walk with hubby. I knew we were going to walk along the beach. But Alan had bigger plans. He was going to take me to the Sacred Space. He led me all the way to the tip of The Cove in Atlantis -- called The Cove Peninsula -- where the wooden sculptures of the Seven Dancing Women proudly stood. The arresting pieces were a creation of Antonius Roberts, a renowned local Bahamian artist. Each symbolic figure, car

"Would you go back?" Christopher, who was with us for dinner that evening, brought up this simple but most important question. The answer is very telling of one's overall rating of a restaurant. He's absolutely right. You might say that the food was delicious, the service was good, and the venue was great. But was the restaurant compelling enough to make you want to go back? Tonight, we put Katsuya to the test. Katsuya's main dining room Giant-sized kanji, the Japanese symbol