Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CALodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CA
From the rustic refinement of La Jolla’s Torrey Pines Lodge to the local spunk of Rubio’s citywide Fresh Mexican Grill, there’s a locally owned venue in any price bracket for all residents to patronize in this southern California urban county, and they seem to happily do so often.
Ribs at the La Jolla Open Aire MarketSunset off Del Mar, San Diego
Sea, cliffs, beach and mountain vistas abound, the climate begs for outdoor dining and the region’s relative affluence blend to create menus of imagination and freshness – California Modern.
Come read about eleven restaurants and a market that exemplify the best San Diego, La Jolla and Southern California offers…
Kavala, Greecethe Imaret (early 19th century) now boutique hotel.
The twisting streets of Kavala’s old city reveals its recent past. The architecture is a mosaic of historical patterns befitting a port city serving empires. Known as Neapolis for its first thousand years, Kavala has born witness to dreamers and emperors since the 7th century B.C. It’s easy to marvel at the 16th century engineering beauty of the Kamares aquaduct from the fortress.
The Kamares aquaduct (15th century)
Adding to the charm of the city are important and entertaining sites in the nearby countryside – the impressive remains of Philippi, Lydia, the Krinides Therapeutic Clay Baths and vineyards on the mountain where Dionysus resided in the Pangaion Hills.
Ktima Biblia Chora vineyard on the slopes of Mt. Pangaion.
To get there, stay at, go to and dine please read…
Harrisburg the capital of Pennsylvania and Rehoboth Beach in far southern Delaware may be 165 miles apart, but they share similar European colonial origins, the Susquehanna/Chesapeake Bay river basin and legendary farmlands.
Wearable art at the Art League of RehobothLarry Ringgold, driftwood horse sculpture, Peninsula Gallery
From plein air painters feasting on the raw natural beauty of beaches and marshland to cutting edge jewelry design, southern Delaware has nurtured the arts for the past century. As the motto of the Art League of Rehoboth says, Art Grows Here.™
Abraxas Hudson, artist , owner Abraxas Studio of Art, Lewes, DE.
Before there was state government, before there was coal, iron, steel and chocolate, farm and tavern table were always next-door. The ingredients to make a creamy mushroom risotto, charcuterie, or a Polish vegetarian chili are still from the earth surrounding the Harrisburg/Hershey region.
Bar at Devon Seafood Grill
A spotlight on eight venues offering culinary creativity…
“Alonissos is a close knit community,” British expats Dave Court and Gerry Ivison said. For me it’s the robetiko ballads that touch the soul of both Alonissos and Greece.
Not all Greek islands are similar. In this most northerly of the Sporades islands, the towering pine forests tumble down the rocky cliffs to the sea.
Tsoukali beach windmill
Palio Horio, Alonissos
Secluded beaches, historic towns, lush pine forests, the land gives way to solitude as one drives north from the port capital of Patitiri to Gerka. Cafes, tavernas, museums, hotels, artists all make Alonissos home, and so did pirates.
At the Museum of Alonissos
Read more in my Hellenic News of America column on this alluring central Aegean island…
Grilled squid at AsteriasChef Kostas Tsoutsas & Yannis Laspas
The Asterias is the flagship restaurant of Yannis Laspas’ new Flegra Beach Boutique Apartments. Like the airy decor of the dining room, Chef Kostas Tsoutas has a light modern touch with traditional Greek ingredients.
Asterias Greek seafood restaurant
Flegra Beach Boutique Apartments
The waterfront Flegra Beach Boutique Apartments and Asterias are located in Pefkochori on the Kassandra peninsula with window walls looking onto the pine tree shaded beach and Aegean Sea.
Mt. Athos at dawnmosaic floor at the excavations Monastery of Zygos
The evidence of Greece’s long and turbulent civilization lay scattered throughout the country. It was as easy to stumble across remnants of an ancient site in the middle of a farm field as it was to visit the impressive ruins of the 10th century Monastery of Zygos
Ancient StagiraAlexandros Palace Hotel
Between Mt. Athos and Stagira the 250-room Alexandros Palace Hotel resort complex, a veritable village on a 90-acre hillside just outside Ouranoupolis, is an ideal location to explore this fabled peninsula.
Stained glass dome of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chambers, Capitol Building
Harrisburg is still one of the major railroad transportation hubs of the Northeast connecting to the west and the south. Old steel mill buildings and warehouses have been repurposed for new specialized industries and institutes of higher education.
Lark Quartet, Harrisburg
Read more about Harrisburg’s new mayor – not a cookie cutter politician!
roast duck at Carley’s glazed with a not overly sweet orange plum sauce and topping wilted spinach and goat cheese infused polenta.
Farmers who created Pennsylvania’s moniker the “American breadbasket” in the late 18th century built Harrisburg.
Buddha Buddha’s cucumber martini
Young professionals flooding center city Harrisburg, PA, have a penchant for gathering with friends – that’s fueling a revitalization of hospitality businesses. Read the rest of the article at…
Theodora Tziamali & Chef George Katseas partners: Katogi Cafe
“We’re romantic,” says Chef George Katseas and that’s evident by both the decor and the manner in which George and partner Theodora Tziamali treat their customers like family.
Elia
“I want to marry the modern with tradition,” says Harris Boukas the young owner of Elia.
Nightlife on the Greek Island of Ios can certainly become lively during the summer season, but dining in the following seven tavernas and cafes put a smile on my face. Read more at…
Windmills tell stories of the drive for labor saving devices even in the pre-industrial age.
Harnessing the near steady breeze of both coast and hills was a technological breakthrough akin to present day electric wind generators.
Building a windmill was no easy task.
Windmill on the island of Alonissos
Mr. Ionnis Trinas has constructed what very well may be the first fully functioning windmill in the Greek islands for over a century. Read the rest at…
Mrs. Annezio Bouritis and her son Mixαlis Famelitis. Annezio Bakery
Mrs. Annezio Bouritis and her son Mixαlis Famelitis operate the traditional Annezio Bakery located in the port town of Merichas. Set in a typical white washed stone building with a view overlooking the harbor, the cars of customers are usually double parked on the narrow street.
cheese tarts
Greeks positively revel in sharing their food, especially with visitors. Mrs. Bouritis and Mixalis were equally enthusiastic to share recipes for cheese tarts and pastel. Read more at…
Spend time talking to the owners of the Paros Land Hotel and their promising young chef and you understand the resilience that has sustained Greece for millenniums.
It’s a creative force responsible for this enterprise and it will propel Greece beyond a temporary financial crisis.
Mrs. Tricha Stavroula, owner of Paros Land Hotel
Brothers, sisters, in-laws and grandchildren have all had a hand in the design, rebuilding and the myriad operational details required of a hotel. Their pride was palpable when they sat down each night at a long wooden table in the airy dining room for lengthy multi-course meals.
It’s a story worthy of Shakespeare’s Tempest – millionaires and a dark and stormy night… One can imagine the longing for peace and tranquility that celebrities seek.
Seven square miles of the Sithonia peninsula, five miles of pristine EU certified Blue Flag beaches… After all Greeks deified the very concept of hospitality. It’s unthinkable to change perfection.
Travel with Pen and Palate 
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