If you happen to find yourself halfway across the world in mid-August, preferably with a sense of adventure and an affinity for insomnia, I'd advise heading to Barcelona and joining in on the annual revelries of the Gràcia Fest. Every August from the 15th to the 21st, Catalans return from their luxuriously long summer vacations and the small barrio of Gràcia plays host to one of the most vibrant neighborhood festivals in Europe.
The Gràcia Fest is basically a hyperbole of a block party- events and feasts are scheduled all throughout the day, live music persists every night until dawn, and outdoor bars and their patrons make it impossible to cross even the smallest square in under ten minutes. Every year, over a million people flood the narrow streets of Gràcia to gawk and to party until literally flooded out by street cleaners in the morning...
Read the rest of: "Gràcia Fest"»  An unfortunate foray was made by yours truly into Roses, in response to its overly simplistic bus connection to Figueres - a mistake that will not be made again. This beach town on the Costa Brava has a lovely name, and a long and lovely sand beach, and little else of charm.
It is for the most part a package-holiday paradise for French pensioners and young families, with newly built condominiums dotting the shoreline, and many more sprouting nearby. In effect, it is exactly the opposite of what I look for a in a coastal escape...
Read the rest of: "Nothing's Coming Up Roses"» 
Canadians aren't the only ones who get to
delight in autumnal apple picking. Even the young at heart of the big city can enjoy the pleasures of fall! A day in the country picking apples is just an hour or two away from the Big Apple.
Long Island is home to countless pick-your-own farms, and is a cinch to get to from NYC. With these last Indian summer days, its prime time for an escape to the farm before winter sets in...
Read the rest of: "A Fall Day in the Hamptons"» 
Le Convivial's chef Emmanuel Nozati did his magic again last night
with his delicious five-course meal and a carefully selected list of matching wines.
We already knew of his braveness with local ingredients from a visit to the Auberge Hatley where he used to cook (it is with great sorrow that I announce that right after our visit the hotel burned to the ground. The terrible accident had nothing to do with us, I swear!). Anyway, it was good to feel that the fate of your Thanksgiving dinner is in competent hands...
Read the rest of: "Le Convivial"»  Traditionally considered to be a classic "outing with the kids," apple picking is fun for really big kids, too (I happen to fall into the second category). The perfect place is only a half hour drive from Montreal, right next to Oka Park (for those of you who are familiar with its pristine beaches).
Saint Joseph-du-Lac is a town completely devoted to planting, growing, cultivating, juicing, and baking apples. In short, everything to do with apples except picking them - that you have to do yourself...
Read the rest of: "Saint Joseph-du-Lac: The Big Apple (of Quebec) "» 
I've always been attracted to all things completely gaudy... well, art- and architecture-wise. So, of course, I had to witness the decadence which is Versailles when I visited Paris. Aside from being into the royals of the past, I will confess... I have a big crush on paintings of young Napoleon, and I wanted to see "Bonaparte à Arcole" and the larger than life "Coronation of Napoleon" painting with my own eyes! Oh yeah, and the acres of lush gardens, Hall of Mirrors and all the crazy statues and paintings... and stuff...
Read the rest of: "Paris Daytrip to Versailles"»
To really enjoy Barcelona - without a doubt, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe - you will be better off steering clear of tourist traps and high-traffic areas. Some landmarks, however, are a "must see"...
Read the rest of: "Gaudí's Barcelona"» 
Until 1986, the site of the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, was an illegal riverside landfill, abandoned and ugly.
A group of local artists got together and decided to turn the area into a park and outdoor museum...
Read the rest of: "Socrates Sculpture Park"»
Somewhat inaccessibly located on the Costa Brava, this small fishing town is the perfect escape from the heat of Spain's major cities, a place to dally for days on end. Some hippies have been dawdling here for decades, and their presence keeps the town from developing into a full-blown designer village, à la Martha's Vineyard or the Hamptons. I can imagine this place becoming a more obscure "south of France" for celebrities, and get the sneaking suspicion that some of the hippies fishing off the rocks might in fact be celebrities incognito.
Cadaqués is famous for being Dalí's home, but my husband and I came for the beaches and stayed for the food and the slightly off-kilter atmosphere...
Read the rest of: "Dallying with Dalí in Cadaqués "» It's 5 am. You've just wandered from the far east side of Alphabet City, in search of pizza, a hot sandwich, SOMETHING that isn't deli chips. But everything is closed!
Wander no more! Hot food awaits at the corner of St. Marks and 2nd Avenue in the East Village...
Read the rest of: "Hot Bamn!"»
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