Country Vacations & Resorts

Not sure about you, but when it hits 80 degrees one day, is 59 degrees the next morning, and by that day at lunchtime it’s 40 degrees – I think something weird is going on with the weather! This past Saturday in the US provided a huge weather shock for many on the East Coast. My North Carolina temperatures were in the low 80s on Thursday, 50s and 40s on Friday – and barely made it to 45 all day Saturday – but no snow here – yet.

Time to “Unparka.”

The Unparka provides warmth in temperatures as cold as -40º F without the restrictive bulk of a heavier parka.

The jacket owes its exceptional warmth to its unique construction–a double layer of fleece bonded with a polyurethane layer that retains the body’s heat while blocking wind, water, and snow. It allows the body’s moisture to escape, keeping skin dry and warm for optimal comfort. Lightweight construction also permits nimble movements that are otherwise impossible while wearing a heavy parka and both sleeves unzip to provide use as a vest. The elastic cuffs, drawstring waist, and high collar lock out the cold for complete comfort.

This year is already setting up to be full of weather surprises. Be prepared with your own Unparka – offered by…

Here’s a very yummy update from Matt at Thrifty Tuscany on Christmas holiday meals – Tuscan style. I hope he will forgive me for showing this fantastic image of dessert (Torrone) first!

What is the most appreciated thing in Tuscany at Christmas? Food of course!

Since times long ago the preferred way to spend the holidays in Tuscany is around a table with good food and good company. And good food is also the perfect means to make new friends. Families with their relatives get together to celebrate the festivities with long hours around a dining table. The luckiest ones can warm up the evening with the romantic flame of a fireplace, but in any case a Christmas tree and nativity scene are always present.

Needless to say, preparations for the dinner require quite some time and go on from early morning, often with the help of a handful of people. The dinner usually includes a variety of appetizers, at least two first entries, two meat dishes, various kinds of side dishes, cheese, fruit and typical Tuscan desserts.

Among the most common appetizers you will find tarts, also known as “crostini“. These are bread slices covered with sauces.

Splint and liver crostini are the most Tuscan there is, but you can exercise your fantasy and produce a number of variations. Butter, salmon and lemon is also popular, but also parsley, boiled egg, garlic and anchovies, without forgetting mushroom, truffle and raw sausage condiments. Cold cuts with oil and vinegar preserves is an evergreen on the Tuscan Christmas table, altogether with Fettunta (the Tuscan name of Bruschetta), which can be simple or with various condiments on.

Among the classic first entries a Tuscan table cannot be left empty of at Christmas is a plate of filled pasta in a meat stock. Pasta usually is Tortellini or Cappelletti, both small and filled with meat and spices. The stock should be the boiling water of Lesso or Bollito preparation, which includes chicken, veal, entrails and vegetables, and is served as one of the main courses. Another popular first entry is Ravioli Gnudi (naked ravioli) or Malfatti, lightly boiled dumplings made of ricotta cheese, spinach and egg, in a meat or butter sauce. Other kinds of filled pasta, such as Ravioli, or Tagliatelle egg noodles with a rich meat sauce are also very common.

As anticipated, Bollito and the more dainty Lesso are a tradition on Tuscan tables at Christmas. It is served on a large tray and accompanied by a variety of oil and vinegar vegetable preserves, such as artichokes hearts, small white onions, spicy peppers, and green and black olives. Dressings are also very important; the most common are Agresto, Salsa Verde made with parsley, and homemade mayonnaise.

Following the boiled meat, roasted pork, chicken, or fowl meat with roasted potatoes is served. Stewed wild boar is also a common alternative. Second courses are always accompanied by one or more side dishes. Green salad dressed with olive oil, vinegar and salt, and a vegetable pie, called Sformato are the most common.

If after also eating cheese along with dry and fresh seasonal fruits you still have an empty space in your stomach, you must try the classic Tuscan sweets.

Copate, Panforte, Panpepato, Torrone, and Cavallucci all originated in Tuscany, while Panettone and Pandoro are from Milan and Verona respectively.

Enjoy your Tuscan Christmas Dinner!

Matt writes for Thriftytuscany.com, a direct booking website with apartments and hotels – also an excellent site to help you find your perfect wedding villa in Tuscany.

Follow our Christmas in Tuscany mini-series starting here.

This entry into the “Cottage of the Month” list is actually your choice of two cottages, Smugglers Cottage and Wreckers Cottage, Higher Rosevine, Truro.

As the only city in Cornwall, Truro, with its spectacular and scenic location on the coast, provides an opportunity for a quick walk to a beach – such as Porthcurnick shown here, for hiking in the countryside, and is the focal and market point of Cornwall and the Roseland Peninsula.

Two 4-Star cottages are perfectly positioned to provide you with convenient and quiet accommodation while you explore this most southern city in Great Britain.

Smugglers Cottage

Just a 5 minute walk to the sea at Porthcurnick Beach, Smugglers Cottage is a barn conversion set on 15 acres of idyllic, rural pasture. If you’re looking for a quiet country vacation, Higher Rosevine Farm is the destination for you!

The property sleeps 4 in a single-story unit but thanks to its being a “barn conversion,” single story rooms are spacious and bright with high open ceilings and also have one of my vacation favorites – underfloor heating!

Add a fully equipped kitchen and wet room, (shower, toilet, and sink) and what more could you want? This property will be the best choice for any travelers with mobility restrictions. For those without, Wreckers Cottage is also available…

Wreckers Cottage

This two-story cottage also sleeps 4 and is also converted from a stone-built Cornish barn.

Upstairs you’ll find a twin and a double bedroom. Downstairs is your open-plan, fully equipped kitchen, a spacious lounge, and wet room. TV and DVD are provided along with linens (excepting beach towels.)

Sustainability is important at Higher Rosevine Farm. These “low impact” cottages have been designed to be both energy and water-wise. The Higher Rosevine Development is a member of both the “Verified Owners” and the “Enjoy England” programs – ensuring what visitors will expect from a 4-Star rated accommodation.

With so much to see and do nearby, I think I’d park my car and take a bike to really explore this historic and beautiful corner of the United Kingdom. For more on local attractions, visit the Higher Rosevine Farm web site.

Visit past UK “Cottage of the Month” properties…or head over to My Favourite Holiday Cottages and start building your own cottage portfolio!

2012 will be a big year for travel to the United Kingdom. There’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee from the 2nd through the 5th of June, 2012. You can read some details on celebration plans here. I also wrote a post about the amazing Queen last month – this jubilee is a well-deserved honor for both the Queen and her country.

As if that wasn’t enough, add the XXX Summer Olympic Games – held 27 July to 12 August 2012 in and around London. Think of the location of the 2012 Olympics as almost a gift to the Queen. Tourism will be HUGE for the Olympics and anyone planning to be anywhere in Great Britain during this particular time frame had better be making arrangements NOW!

Here’s something you will find very useful from our friends at My Favourite Holiday Cottages. You’ll recognize them from the UK Vacation Cottage of the Month series on this blog.

From their web site, simply click the red “My Favourites Favourites” logIn button and do a quick registration on the site – totally painless. You can then save the results of your searches for the perfect English cottage right on the site. I have a little insider info that there are now over 300 cottages listed. Make some coffee, or some tea, and plan a nice long visit – this will be fun!

Not ready to book today? Well, don’t wait too long if you’re just contemplating 2012 visits, and an even better reason to start working on your portfolio. Even though the Olympics are focused on London, the entire country will no doubt be a #1 travel destination for 2012.

Happy planning…and don’t forget new “Downton Abbey” and “Doc Martin” episodes are also coming up in 2012 for those in the US! I’m ready for a return to “Portwenn” – otherwise known as Port Issac, Cornwall. Here are a few cottages there to get you started…

Time in Office: January 1969 to August 1974
Terms: One +
Birthday: January 9, 1913
Birth Place: Yorba Linda, California
Date of Death: April 22, 1994
Place of Death: Cornell Medical Center, Manhattan, New York
Buried: Yorba Linda, California

Notes:

~ An avid walker
~ Played several musical instruments
~ “President” of his 8th grade class
~ Won numerous debating awards
~ Wrote the bestselling book “Six Crises” (1962)
~ Served 8 years as Vice President
~ First incumbent President to visit the People’s Republic of China
~ Established the Environmental Protection Agency
~ Wrote 10 books during his retirement

The 37th President of the United States, Richard Milhouse Nixon was born in a small farmhouse built by his father but was raised mainly in nearby Whittier, California.

Having moved and then transferring schools in his early years, Nixon graduated 3rd in his class from Whittier High School and was offered a grant to Harvard. He was unable to accept due to family responsibilities and instead attended Whittier College – graduating in 1934. Richard received a full scholarship to Duke University School of Law (North Carolina,) where he graduated near the top of his class in 1937.

Nixon had hoped to work for the FBI but instead found himself practicing law back in Whittier. Cast in a local theater production, Nixon met Thelma “Pat” Ryan whom he married in 1940. In 1942 Nixon accepted a job in Washington, DC and later in that same year he joined the US Navy – serving stateside and in the South West Pacific theater. He resigned from the Navy in 1946.

Most of the next 30+ years Nixon’s life was totally involved in politics. His political career began with his election to the US House of Representatives – January 1947 to December 1950. He was then elected US Senator from California – December 1950 to January 1953. Later in January 1953 he became the 36th Vice President of the United States – a office he held until January 1961.

From 1961 to 1967, Nixon traveled to Europe with his family, meeting with leaders in an unofficial capacity. He moved his family to New York where he was senior partner in the law firm Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander. Nixon had stated that he was not interested in a run for President and seemed disillusioned by politics but by the end of 1967 he had changed his mind and by January 20, 1969 he was President. He was re-elected in 1972 and impeached August 1974. Nixon is the only President ever forced to resign while in office.

Nixon – “Traveling Man”

It gets more difficult to cover Presidential travel now that Air Force One and air travel are the main means of transportation. Current era Presidents, unlike Jefferson and Jackson who got around either on horseback, by carriage, or by slow, ocean-going vessels – can and do visit several countries in the same week. As example, President Nixon visited the following countries in the year 1969 alone:

~ Belgium ~ UK ~ Italy ~ Germany ~ France ~ Indonesia ~ Phillipines ~ Thailand
~ Viet Nam ~ Pakistan ~ Romania ~ Mexico

In 1970, Nixon visited:

~Mexico ~Italy ~Yugoslavia ~Spain ~UK ~Ireland ~France ~Portugal ~Bermuda
~China ~Canada ~Austria ~USSR ~Iran ~Poland ~Iceland ~Egypt ~Saudi Arabia
~Israel ~Jordan ~Belgium

The purpose of most Presidential travel is State or “official visits,” or to attend memorial services for foreign dignitaries. Use of the radio call sign “Air Force One” began in 1953 when a plane carrying President Dwight Eisenhower had a near miss with a commercial plane using a prior, similar call sign. “Air Force One” is now notification to air traffic control as a plane transporting the President of the United States.

Flying via Air Force One, which Nixon named “The Spirit of ’76″ is now “standard procedure” for US Presidents. One of the two planes used during this timeframe was a Boeing 707 – tail number “26000″ which also flew John F. Kennedy to Dallas in 1963.

The U. S. S. Sequoia, placed in service in 1920, has been used by Presidents including Nixon – who played the piano while onboard. The Sequoia is docked near Washington, DC and is open for tours and even rentals! The Sequoia was possibly the first handicapped-accessible boat since it was outfitted to provide wheelchair access for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Vacations and time off were spent at Camp David, Maryland. President Nixon used Camp David as much as his 5 predecessors combined. Nixon also spent much time at the “Florida White House” which was his private compound on Key Biscayne, Florida and which he visited more than 50 times while in office between 1969 and 1974.

“La Casa Pacifica” (The Pacific House), which overlooked the beach in San Clemente, California was also known as the “Western White House.” The home is now a private residence and closed to the public.

Time magazine reported that some $10.5 million tax dollars went in to the “refurbishment” of these two estates. The Key Biscayne property had a floating helicopter pad…and you can now rent it yourself…maybe for your next vacation?

Nixon suffered a severe stroke while at his home in New Jersey, April 1994. He died April 22, 1994 at the age of 81. His funeral was attended by 5 living Presidents. Nixon is buried next to his wife Pat – who had died in 1993, at the Nixon Library and Birthplace. He was survived by his two daughters, Tricia and Julie.

Links:

Nixon Library & Birthplace
An essay on Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon – The Politician
Nixon’s Resignation Speech

Prior President: Lyndon B. Johnson
Next: Gerald R. Ford

The Traveling with the Presidents Series.

Time in Office: November 1963 to January 1969
Terms: One +
Birthday: August 27, 1908
Birth Place: Stonewall, Texas
Date of Death: January 22, 1973
Place of Death: At his ranch – Stonewall, Texas
Buried: Family cemetery – Lyndon B. Johnson National Park, Stonewall, Texas.

Notes:

~ Edited his high school’s paper
~ First candidate to campaign by helicopter
~ Had a first, severe heart attack at age 47
~ Guided the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957
~ Liked to get drunk and drive vehicles around his ranch

Quote: “I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one’s wife happy. First, let her think she’s having her own way. And second, let her have it.”

America’s 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson may have been born to humble beginnings, but this energetic and ambitious young man would become one of only four people ever to hold office as a Representative, a Senator, a Vice President, and as President of the United States.

“LBJ” as he was known, was born in 1908 in a small farmhouse on the Perdanales River near Johnson City, Texas – named for one of his forebearers. Holding his first elected office as President of his Junior Class in high school, Johnson graduated in 1924 having taken part in debate, public speaking and America’s favorite pastime – baseball. Graduating from Southwest Texas Teacher’s College in 1930, Johnson honed his public speaking skills and was a informed and persuasive speaker – even conducting a class on the subject at Sam Houston High School. With his background in speaking and debate, and a father who had held 5 terms as a Texas legislator, Johnson entered politics as a congressional aide. In 1935 he was appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration and from 1937 to 1941 he was the elected representative of Texas’ 10th Congressional district.

LBJ married Claudia Alta Taylor in 1934. With his marriage to Miss Taylor, conveniently and already nicknamed “Lady Bird” – Lyndon would begin his “LBJ” naming convention with his daughters Lynda Bird Johnson – born in 1944, and Lucy Baines Johnson – born in 1947. Even one of Johnson’s dogs was given the name “Little Beagle Johnson!”

When America entered World War II in 1941, Johnson became a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve. He worked stateside until the Spring of 1942 when he spent a short time in the Southwest Pacific to survey military conditions and readiness to be reported back to President Roosevelt. LBJ was awarded a Silver Star though there is much controversy over how an “observer” could have done anything to warrant such a high honor.

Johnson won a Senate seat in 1948, was chosen as Senate Majority Whip in 1951, and Minority Leader in 1953. Johnson visited his various districts during his campaigning via his rented helicopter known as the “Johnson City Windmill.” A savvy, well-informed, and well-connected politician, Johnson was selected (with some controversy still remaining) as John F. Kennedy’s VP candidate in the 1960 Presidential Election.

LBJ – Travel as President

Within hours after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36th President of the United States – taking the Oath of Office aboard Air Force One at Love Field Airport in Dallas. Johnson would fly some 523,000 miles on Air Force One during his 5 years as President. He took trips to Vietnam and Asia – and one long, unplanned trip across the US and to Australia, Thailand, South Vietnam, Pakistan, and Italy. You get the feeling that Johnson’s “inquiring mind” might have thought he was missing something, somewhere…

Johnson was elected President in 1964. Due in large part to unresolved civil rights issues and the Vietnam War, Johnson decided not to run for re-election in 1968. His health was also beginning to fail.

Johnson returned to his ranch in Stonewall, Texas January 1969. He published his memoirs, and later that year the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum opened near the University of Texas – Austin. Johnson died at his ranch January 22, 1973, (one day before the ceasefire in Vietnam was signed) and willed his ranch to the public. The ranch formed the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park with Johnson’s wish that the ranch continue to be a “working” ranch – not just a museum of days gone by. Johnson is buried at the park – just a short walk from the house in which he was born.

Links:

LBJ Library and Museum
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Austin, Texas – Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
More on the life of LBJ
More on LBJ Presidential Travel

Prior: John F. Kennedy
Next: Richard M. Nixon

The Traveling with the Presidents Series.

Believe it or not! Only 38 days until Thanksgiving!

And for those who want to know…

On Sunday, November 6 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time ends in the United States. Time really does seem to fly this time of year!

Time to start your own planning for flights for the 2011 Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s a little early holiday season “gift” and promotional code…

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel holiday in the United States – don’t wait too long or your most convenient flight and time might already be fully booked!

Here’s a chance to grab a great deal on one of our Top 5 recommended beach destinations – Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands.

This Biras Creek – Garden Suite package for 4 – 7 Nights in beautiful Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands is at 24% off and includes:

~All meals
~Snorkeling lessons
~Champagne…
~Unlimited use of bicycles and non-motorized water sports equipment

One of the FamilyGetaway.com packages from LuxuryLink.com.

Book now and save 10% off your first purchase at LuxuryLink.com through 10/31 with code LUX2011