Tag Archives: ocean

  • A View for Days!

    September 14, 2012

    3 Comments

    Cape Town, South Africa…I have travelled the world and I have never been amazed by a city like this one! It’s blend of stunning natural beauty and cosmopolitan urban cool that is so inviting…the beach, the vistas, and the waterfront set a perfect backdrop for an array of delicious restaurants, a happening night scene, and beautiful fun loving people.

    I treated myself to more of Cape Town’s natural beauty today with a day long trip down the peninsula to Cape Point and back! Stunning cliffs, impressive flora, and mesmerizing sea views could be seen all along the way…

    Starting out in the fishing village of Hout Bay then down to the Cape of Good Hope until finally reaching Cape Point! The point is a lighthouse topped place where two different seas meet…one cold and one warm. This spot at the tip of the peninsula overwhelms you with it’s beauty as well as it’s display of mother nature at her fiercest! The churning seas crashing ashore and the strong gale force winds that almost knock you over give you a sense of the Hell the seas can hold yet the jaw dropping views beyond the horizon seem to give you a glimpse of Heaven!

    What I witnessed today was not made by human engineered nor dreamed up by modern technology…it is one of nature’s great displays of grandeur!

    Sometimes words cannot capture the awesome experience that feeling it with all your senses can!

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  • Clubbin’ It!

    September 6, 2012

    3 Comments

    St.Tropez, France…summer has returned to the south of France! The sun is shining and the skies are blue…a perfect beach day!

    So, it’s swanky beach club “Le Club 55” today for a taste of the good life! I get my over-priced lounger and umbrella on the sand and settle in for some fun people watching! I ask to be farther from the water, shocking my beach boy, as this is not as “chic”; but I rather be further back to take it all in! I see Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas cavorting on the beach and figure it’s gonna be a fun day!

    After some sun, I settle into my table at 55 for a serious lunch of who’s who! It’s September, so most of the “Fabulous” have already left for the season…the true celebs come in July before the tourist hordes descend in August!

    It may be Fashion Week back home in NYC but this crowd is doing their own runway right here on Pampelonne Beach! The style here is decidedly French and certainly eccentric and ostentatious…More is better to this crowd! The shoes can’t be high enough, the bling not showy enough, and the tan not dark enough! The must-have accessory is your pooch!

    It’s essential to make reservations at 55, which I did and I am swiftly shown to my Provencal blue and white decked out table! Yachts pull along the water front and Club 55 sends their small dingy boat to bring them ashore for lunch…how fantastic! The menu is a feast of French favorites and the prices are “sticker-shock” stunners!
    A rich goat cheese and tomato salad and Sole Meneuire makes a perfect French lunch for me! Yet, everyone orders the huge Crudités plate to share, but being solo I pass! Is this the best French food you will have, no! All for a small price of 100 euro for one (US $125)…But definitely it’s the most fun afternoon feeling part of the International jet set you can experience!

    Oh la la, life on the French Riviera!

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  • Cruising in a New Way!

    August 24, 2012

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    Civitavecchia, Italy…today I boarded the Celebrity Equinox…this is my first time aboard a Celebrity ship. This Solstice class of ships by Celebrity set a new standard in mainstream cruising with a totally modern vibe when they were first introduced.

    The ship is surprising chic for a boat of this size. Cool futuristic details such as an Ice Bar with molecular drinks, a spaceship looking dining room, and of course the signature lawn on the top deck.

    Walking around, I feel as if I walked into a South Beach nightclub or an interior design editorial from Wallpaper magazine! Multiple restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, bars galore, cutting edge art collection, and many entertainment venues will keep me busy for the duration of this cruise…

    I look forward to the next 10 nights in my lux digs at sea…setting sail from deck 14 on the m/s Equinox! 20120824-163949.jpg20120824-163904.jpg20120824-164028.jpg20120824-164451.jpg

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  • Greek Oasis!

    July 31, 2012

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    Elia Beach, Mykonos, Greece…yesterday I decided to try Elia Beach, Mykonos’ longest and most acclaimed stretch of sand. It’s less of a party beach and more a chill and swim spot…

    Another bus day, Elia is simpler to get to with a direct bus, no water taxi needed! The ride was uneventful but pulling up at my destination turned out to be the main event…the long sandy beach, plush loungers set under grass umbrellas, and astonishingly clear water told me today was going to be another good day! I can really get used to this!

    The left side of the beach is straight and the right is gay…neither exclusively but predominantly. I spent hours doing NOTHING! Of course, more gawking at beautiful people, swimming for hours, and just sleeping in the shade of my woven grass umbrella…there is a beautiful restaurant as well, but why leave my spot, I’ll be decadent and order “in”! The service was so friendly and the plate of fresh summer watermelon hit the spot! I am not sure how I am ever going to leave this…

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  • Becoming a Beach-a-Holic!

    July 29, 2012

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    Super Paradise Beach, Mykonos, Greece…getting around this island can be a bit of a chore! Most visitors rent scooters or 4 wheelers, but I think after my last outing on these, I’ll continue to pass on that idea! The roads wind and slope and as much as I want to do it, my inner voice is saying “No way!” Plus, you hear horror stories of vacationers getting really hurt on the treacherous dirt and stone roads… So I shared a taxi with others from my hotel to Platys Gialos, where I could hop a boat to Super Paradise for the day. I think I am off to a late start at 1 pm, but not here! Everyone sleeps in and gets to the beach around 3ish…the taxi boat makes stops at Paraga, Paradise, and then arrives at today’s heaven. There is no schedule and it leaves whenever the cantankerous skipper wants to. Remember, no rush…you are now on Greek time!

    Settling under my rented straw umbrella, I take it all in. How much more gorgeousness can I take? Beautiful bodies and sexy faces everywhere clad in the skimpiest attire! I look ridiculous in my staple black Banana Republic v neck tee…I don’t own anything that comes close to what I am seeing, and most likely no one would appreciate me trying to pull off the look! I thought my new Club Monaco 70’s inspired short-short swim trunks were cute! Forget it! Its not about fashion here, sexiness rules; you either have it or you don’t! Men and women all wear the same: the skimpiest bikini bottom and no top accessorized with the only fashion statement: designer sunglasses!

    As the day goes on, more and more arrive and the 5:30 beach party gets into full swing…by the end of the day you know who are really islanders, as by then all the cruise day trippers have returned to their boats in port.

    The water is to-die-for! Clear and cool, it deepens quickly and you never want to get out…there is a lovely breeze to keep things cooled, but that can fool you about the sun’s intensity!

    Life’s concerns have melted away…my biggest worry is to make sure I don’t miss the water taxi back! Thankfully the lifeguard blows his whistle every time a taxi boat approaches, so I should be ok!

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  • The Young & Restless!

    July 27, 2012

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    Nafplion, Greece…the difference a day makes! A relaxed beach day yesterday and today a hopping high energy day on the sand…My destination today is Karathona Beach, a short distance out of town…this is a weekend retreat for Athens residents as it’s only a 90 minute car ride away. The beach has pulsing music blaring, beautiful youthful Greeks playing in and out of the bath-like waters, and lots of posing & looking pretty as they drink and tan the day away!

    Backgammon, paddleball, and water-sports galore are on display! The electronica coming from the speakers unmistakably lets you know that you are somewhere in Europe. The rainbow of umbrellas packed tightly together creates a party like atmosphere along this long stretch of sand.

    I am trying not to look like too much of a troll as I take it all in! I make sure to keep my staring in check as I seem to have plopped down amongst a 20 year old crowd most likely born in the 90’s! Ouch!! Ohhh, to be young, tan, and without an ounce of fat! (whoops, I never really experienced that…)Today will either make me feel a bit younger & hip or older & leacherous! I am afraid the later of the two may prevail…

    In the meantime, I am gonna let myself pulse to the beat and enjoy all the scenery that’s in front of me on full display!

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  • Sporty Fun!?!

    July 25, 2012

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    Ionian Sea, Greece…Water-sports afternoon! The ship’s water-sport marina opened today for some adrenaline charged fun…

    I know this is probably a bad idea! When did I become sporty? I am in Greece, so this is my ode to the Olympics! I just had to partake… So, I signed my life away and got my neon bracelet signaling I was allowed to indulge in the fun.

    Canoe? No! Wind sail? No! Paddleboat? No! Banana boat? No! Today’s stupid move is me (uncoordinated fashion designer and city boy) donut tube riding on the choppy open seas! We will refer to these moments as temporary insanity…

    I got nervous on the boat ride out to sea and I wasn’t even in the tube yet! I had been stripped of my glasses, my hat, my fashion accessories prior to getting on board this dingy! They strapped me in a fat life vest just to make me look extra cute…

    Luckily, I was second to go, my fellow passenger was up first! He clumsily got in the tube and then I watched him get thrown about like a rag doll! I keep telling myself that I am not chickening out! My turn comes and I sit in the tube and I felt secure as my ass was wedged into that thing…off we went and my legs went straight up in the air and I rode the whole way squealing with head in the water and feet in air clenching the handles thinking any minute I was flipping off!

    I made it!!! I stayed on!!! But my wrists are killing me!!! This coulda turned out very differently but I persevered and I did it!

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  • Being Neighborly!

    July 25, 2012

    2 Comments

    Argostoli, Greece…today I find myself in Kefalonia, an island in the Ionian Sea of Greece.

    I didn’t think I had much of a story to tell here, but as I walked along the waterfront I spotted a small fishing boat and a fisherman dangling over the side of his boat. Hmmm…A small crowd formed chanting “Rebecca, Rebecca”! Did someone fall overboard?

    Nope, it was just the neighborhood Sea Turtle that the fishermen in the area nicknamed Rebecca (doesn’t sound very Greek!) had come by for lunch of some leftover fish…so cute! The turtle would circle and then bob her head above the water so the fisherman would feed her a small fish that he couldn’t sell…

    Never know what your gonna encounter! I don’t know why but I started chanting Rebecca too, all the way back to port…I guess there is always a story to be told!

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  • Going Au Naturale!

    July 11, 2012

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    I am still getting on Spanish time..dinner is late, cocktails even later, and dancing until silly o’clock!
    They even serve breakfast in the hotel until 12 noon…today I ate breakfast just in time at almost noon, still a bit groggy.

    After dancing under the stars at an outdoor beach party, I made my exit at almost 5 am and it seemed the party was just starting to get going! Phew…I must be showing my age, this is hard… I guess there isn’t any need for “after-hours” clubs here as that would just mean brunch!

    Well continuing on my comfort zone destruction, today I am off to Balmins beach…called Sitges prettiest beach and also it’s Nude beach! What’s the point? At other beaches women are topless and men wear the tiniest, leave nothing to the imagination, barely speedos!

    The walk is lovely along the water past the main church and San Sebastian beach, then you will see the Melia hotel in distance and eureka! A 10 minute walk in all from town…

    Its a lovely beach set amongst craggy rocks, calm water and no vendors pushing drinks, massages, etc…Unfortunately, there were few loungers & umbrellas available which limited my stay! These bits have never seen the sun, so I had to say “been there, done that” and move on…I didn’t really unleash some inner naturalist or exhibitionist, but I did as the locals and added to my growing list of “experiences”!

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