Country Vacations & Resorts

Over in Britain, the 5th of November becomes a special night where people up and down the country let off fireworks and light bonfires to celebrate Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night.

The tradition stems back to the events of the 5th November 1605. Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder plot, was caught guarding explosives which were set to go off under the House of Lords – in an attempt to assassinate King James I whilst he attended the State Opening of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was then found guilty and hung, drawn, and quartered; a rather grizzly end.

With the plot failed, the government proclaimed the 5th of November as a day of thanksgiving and since then celebrations in one form or another have taken place across the country on this day.

Most local towns and villages nowadays will have a fireworks display, and will occasionally burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes on the large communal bonfire. However, in Ottery St Mary in Devon, one of the older more unusual traditions still remains…

Torchlit processions and rolling tar barrels down the streets has long been a tradition of many towns and villages in the south west of England. However, in Ottery St Mary, it was decided that merely rolling tar barrels down the streets wasn’t enough and the heavy burning barrels were instead carried on the shoulders of local citizens.

These locals are fiercely proud of the annual event and you can see for yourself – videos of the event.

The thrilling fiery spectacle happens annually on the weekend of the 5th November, so if you are in the region and want to come along and see this exciting tradition first hand, My Favourite Holiday Cottages has some excellent country cottages for you to stay in nearby in neighbouring Sidmouth – only a few short miles away.

Boswell Farm is the home to 7 cosy period cottages which date back to the 1850’s. The cosiest of these is the charming Mill House which sleeps 6. Originally built as a dairy, this 4-Star character cottage is set within 45 acres of farmland making it ideal for a vacation at any time of the year. Being only 2 miles to the south coast, it is also perfect for a summer seaside holiday, while being centrally located for explorations of the stunning south Devon countryside in the fall. After you come back from a cold windy stroll you can also snuggle up in your own four poster bed!

So with that in mind for next November, you can go and see your own bonfire, let off fireworks, and see the extreme tar barrels carrying of Ottery St Mary.

~ Read more about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot here.

~ Review past “Cottage of the Month” entries from My Favourite Holiday Cottages…

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If June, (don’t forget Father’s Day, June 19th) passes by as fast as May has, the 4th of July holiday weekend will be upon us quicker than we expect. For any who want to plan a little getaway, accommodations are still available but you need to act immediately. Beach and resort locations and hotels are booking reservations fast and furious right now.

Here are a few “beach suggestions” in Hawaii (Oahu), Florida, California, and Anguilla, British West Indies.

This 2 bedroom Bellows Beach/Waimanalo Beach property is located in the Waimanalo Beach area, which is only 20 minutes from Honolulu and Waikiki. Waimanalo Beach is one of the largest, cleanest, and most private beaches on Oahu. I’ve been to Bellows Beach – astounding beach views and surfing (if the tides are with you!)

A luxurious 5 bedroom home waterfront home on one of the prime beaches of Naples. This mature landscaped family beach home is located in Naples on the Gulf just 6 blocks south of the Naples Pier. Yard and screened pool are maintained year round. Naples is a great destination for a vacation – town and beach areas! It was the “N” choice on our “Destinations” list.

The 7 bedroom Zenaida Beach and Tennis Estate property is nestled on three acres of lush tropical gardens with sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea, and the mountains of St Martin and St Barths beyond. Luxuriate in the white powdery sands of this nearly deserted and very private beach.

This romantic 1920′s Venice Beach 3 bedroom cottage cottage located steps to one of the best Southern California beaches. Also the cottage is on one of the famous Venice Walk Streets where no cars are allowed. This makes for a very safe and quiet area.

Safe and quiet sound like a good time to me! But the cottage is also just a block to nice restaurants and shops, a great surf spot, and the historic canals.

Book your 4th of July flights at up to 65% OFF!

Oddly enough, I find I will not be making a planned vacation this year either. I may be able to squeeze in a long weekend or two, but some ongoing house renovations will be keeping me fairly close to home.

It can be a bit depressing when everyone else seems to be making travel plans and you are not. But have no fear! This is a good time to plan what you want to do next year. Here are a few books that can help in the planning stages and that will also give you some great reading material for your home-based Summer 2011.

100 Countries, 5,000 Ideas

100 Best Affordable Vacations

Drives of a Lifetime

This would be a great guide book to go along with our “Dream Property of the Day” from yesterday:

Or take your virtual tour of Great Britain and Ireland:

If you can’t swing a real vacation this year don’t despair. A large percentage of the fun of travel is in its planning…

Ever heard of a cooking holiday? Probably. And almost certainly it was in the same sentence with Italy or Tuscany. There is no better place on earth to combine a relaxing vacation at some splendid Tuscan villas while learning to cook delicious gourmet food. Of course you also get to eat it!

What is a cooking holiday?

In its simplest form, a vacation during which you take cookery lessons. Learning to prepare the typical dishes of the region where you are vacationing just comes natural, as the local culinary culture and its main ingredients will be all around you.

In Tuscany you will likely be learning to cook recipes like Pici and Ravioli Pasta, Ribollita Soup, Bordatino, Boar Stew, Tiramisù and many other traditional gourmet dishes.

Your course may be organized in several ways. You can choose a loose class schedule allowing you to doze off by the poolside of your Tuscan villa, or have your days pivot around your five-hour daily cooking class. Some accommodations even feature a visit to the most important areas of food production where you will learn how local Tuscan cuisine intertwines with the region’s rural tradition.

There are several agencies offering packages including your accommodation plus a tailored cooking course. However, unless you need a highly customized holiday involving lots of planning and coordinating, the advice is to let go of any intermediaries. Why should you bear the (sometimes very expensive) extra charge? Just rely on direct booking and personal communication with property owners. Tuscan owners love to give you the details of their work and meet your requests, as they take pride in it. Just let them know your needs, or ask for any available cooking program they run. They have all the ins and outs on their fingertips and will tell you right away what they can or cannot do, often going that extra mile for you.

Whether you decide to visit Tuscany as a family, a solo traveler or as part of a large group, a cookery class is an excellent fit for your holiday. Solo travelers will have a chance to meet other guests at the property in a jolly atmosphere, while families and large groups will be in for some serious fun and unforgettable moments to share and remember for a long time. This is what happens at La Casetta del Borgo, where guests can enjoy the splendid residence and take advantage of the cuisine lessons, and also at La Locanda Cuccuini, where organic food grows on the property estate and is the main ingredient of its kitchen.

A cooking holiday in Tuscany is a special way to enrich your travel experience, literally making it more flavorful. This time you will not only taste delicious gourmet food, but will also learn how to recreate it it in your home, and each time you will relive a joyful memory.

Matt from ThriftyTuscany.com wrote this guest post. He enjoys discovering and writing on Italy, helping with useful, local advice. Matt recommends staying in Tuscan villas to experience the essence of this land.

Thanks Matt – I’m ready to “Pack my knives…”

I figured since I promote vacation rentals on this blog and the web site, I should at least be willing to review my 2010 vacation rental experience so, here goes…

I already knew where I was going this year and when. If you are still trying to decide on a vacation destination I hope this blog and the web site provide some good suggestions. By the 4th of July weekend 2010, my destination of Corolla, North Carolina – on the beautiful Outer Banks, was decided and the week of September 19th was also chosen – although I was a tad flexible on dates. Now I had to find accommodations.

After about a morning’s worth of research I had narrowed down several potential properties for my vacation stay. I was also taking my dog, CoCo, so this variable both added to and reduced my research – limiting the sheer number of possibilities. Also, since I have no children, I was able to time my vacation during off-peak days and paid off-peak rates – which usually coincide with after Labor Day weekend and the resumption of the school year.

I found a 4-bedroom, 3-bath home, 133 feet from the ocean, with a pool in the backyard and a hot tub on the deck. This alone was quite a find since many vacation homes are meant not for my 2-person, 1-dog traveling crew, but for multi-family or family group vacations. Most of the homes I’d seen advertised had 6 or more bedrooms with nearly as many baths in 6 to 10,000 square feet! I’d get lost!!

Making the reservation online was easy. I paid the pet fee and also decided on hurricane insurance – which seemed a “no-brainer” for the North Carolina coast in mid-late September. (Turns out Hurricane Igor threatened 2 days before the start of my vacation!) The home was listed as having keyless entry. Sure enough, about 5 days before liftoff, I received an email with instructions on where and when to call to get the code along with a street map of the Corolla area with a big star on my vacation rental location.

What can I say? The house was awesome.

The management company provided an initial supply of soap, dish liquid, toilet paper, paper towels, and an adequate supply of clean towels. The beds were freshly made. The house was immaculate, particularly the kitchen and bathrooms. Light switches and fans were clearly marked. Instructions for the hot tub – temperature warnings, etc., were provided – along with an astonishing array of books and DVDs for those needing a little vacation diversion. In summary, everything was exactly where it needed to be.

Including the view!

We didn’t pay extra for it, but we also got a fantastic look at the Harvest Moon on September 22nd/23rd – photo taken off the 3rd-level deck:

The vacation week ended way too soon. The weather was near-perfect, warm and sunny every day. I strongly recommend the Outer Banks and particularly the Corolla and Duck, North Carolina areas – which are a little less commercial and to me, a little more restful than Nags Head.

Check-out was as easy as leaving the house broom-clean, washing and putting away any used kitchen items, and making a phone call to the rental office. It can’t be made much easier than this.

As a side-note…we received a phone call from the property’s owner our second day there. He wanted to ensure we had no issues or questions and also called to say that a bag of complimentary bagels were waiting for us in the shop nearby. Since the bagel bakery was right next to the Dairy Queen with the soft-serve ice cream, we already knew exactly where to retrieve our bagel treats!

Unless there is an emergency or quick turnaround trip in my future, I will probably never stay in a hotel again.

And yes, I am already planning a return visit 2011…

This is not a true travel “wish” since I have already been lucky enough to visit, but I sure wish for a second trip to the Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, Arizona.

Ocelot

Over 30 years have flown by since my trip to the Sonora Desert Museum but the memories remain. My first glimpse of a live ocelot, my first opportunity to actually hold a snake – this was a bit tentative I can tell you but the Corn Snake was dry, and mellow in nature – not as bad an experience as I might have predicted, and I wanted to take the ocelot home with me…

The Sonora Desert Museum is truly a remarkable place for a travel destination. See the bobcats and ocelot in “Cat Canyon” – natural environments with views from above and also at (your) eye-level. Be greeted at the museum’s entrance by local lizards – not of the lounge variety – who welcome you to this 21-acre animal preserve.

With over 300 species of animal and over 1200 different plants, this museum is well worth a day’s visit for you and your family. Threatened and endangered species on exhibit at the Desert Museum include: Mexican wolf, thick-billed parrot, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, desert pupfish, Sonora chub, bonytail chub, razorback sucker, Gila top minnow, Colorado River squawfish, Isla San Esteban chuckwalla and Apache trout.

Since it’s opening day in 1952, the museum has successfully served four main and important purposes:

- Providing educational programming for the community – for children and adults

- Conserving the Sonoran Desert environment – protecting native plants and animals

- Maintaining and improving the Museum’s collections of live plants and animals as well as other natural history collections

- Supporting ongoing research and advancing scientific understanding of the desert and shaping people’s sense of stewardship

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is located only 12 miles west of Tucson, making this an easy drive from the city.

Temperatures and tourist environment…

About 85% of the Museum is outside, and about 15% of the exhibits are indoors. In Tucson, expect 87 days each year where the temperature is 100° F or higher so be prepared. Wear a hat, sunscreen and comfortable shoes, or appropriate colder weather gear.

Drinking fountains and shade ramadas are scattered throughout the grounds for your convenience and indoor exhibits are cooled for your comfort. Shops for gifts and souvenirs, and food stations, are also available on the museum grounds.

Plan on spending at least half a day at the museum and then head on back to the City of Tucson, home of the University of Arizona.

Note: End up in Tucson on the 4th of July? They used to put on a fantastic fireworks show at the University!

Visit the Metropolitan Tucson Conventions and Visitor’s Bureau web site for their list of “101 Thing to do in Tucson.” or get a copy of their Free Visitor’s Guide.

The Sonora Desert Museum, a unique vacation experience you will never forget.

For our “I” destination research, how about an island in Italy called Ischia?

Outside the fact that it fulfills the “I” requirement three times in one sentence, Ischia is an island paradise for those looking for a destination that is: near urban centers, a favorite of locals, quaint and somewhat rural, full of hot springs spas and thermal resorts, and easy to visit. Ischia has all this and more.

Where is Ischia, Italy?

The more people who don’t know Ischia’s location, the better for the rest of us contemplating a visit but we’ll spill the beans just for this post.

Ischia is located in the Campania region approximately 17 miles from Naples and is a volcanic-based island located at the northern end of the Bay of Naples. You’ll recognize it from it’s expansive 21 miles of pure coastline! Plan on getting to Ischia from Naples – the easiest route. Your choices are varied as to transportation either via the Italian railway system, or by boarding a ferry or hydrofoil. Let speed and necessity be your guide. Some ferries can also take you to points further in the Bay of Naples should your vacation include visiting other islands such as Ponza. I believe the Roman Emperor Tiberius used to banish people to Ponza, but don’t let this stop you from planning a visit.

The island’s resident population is 55,000 but this number swells in July and August when many Italians and their families take their vacation on Ischia. For lower hotel rates, greater availability, and less crowds to deal with – go outside this July and August timeframe.

The island is comprised of 6 different administrative areas or towns – Ischia (main point of origin for many travelers), Barano, Forio (the busiest town), Serrara Fontana, Casamicciola Terme and Lacco Ameno – each with their own level of charm, scenic, spa, and beach areas and activities.

Beaches

With 37km of coastline, choosing one will be your toughtest call. Many beaches on Ischia, unlike Grenada are owned by businesses who charge you to use them – with charges for beach accessories such as towels and chairs. There are also plenty of “spiaggia libera” or “free beaches”, but you may have to walk a bit or hire a water taxi to find you a more secluded and free location.

But who cares? With beaches like this, I’ll walk a bit.

One of Ischia’s premiere beaches, the Spiaggia dei Maronti, is located Sant’Angelo and Barano – and so the rumors go – might be a good place to check for pirate loot! For a truly unique beach day, visit the nearby natural thermal spring at Cava Scura. Rock-based open-air pools contain therapeutic waters…

Take a thermal spa again (travel is such hard work), at Spiaggia Citara beach where the Giardini Poseidon terme (spa or hot springs), offers a nearly ancient Rome thermal spa experience. Other beaches include Spiaggia Mandra and Spiaggia dei Pescatori between Ischia Porte and Ischia Ponte, and Spiaggia degli Inglesi or “Beach of the English.”

With it’s scenic landscapes and small fishing and boating ports, Ischia has a lot to offer just by being there. However, don’t miss a chance to see the Castello Aragonese fortress at Ischia Ponte the landscape garden at La Mortella, the island’s history museum and “Nestor’s Cup” located at Lacco Ameno, and the and the stunning views from Mt. Epomeo, the island’s highest point. Due to the island’s natural hot springs, spas abound and are seemingly limitless in size, temperature, and therapeutic purpose. Some research will be in order to make sure you choose just the right location should you find yourself in need of spa rejuvenation.

Five-star destination.

There are several luxury accommodations to chose from on Ischia which is to be expected since nearly every resort has a hot springs pool or thermal spa, wellness centers, and concierge-level attendance to your needs.

Among these are the Hotel Mezzatore – just outside Lacco Amerno, Miramare e Castello with is Ischia Ponte view of the Castello Aragonese, the Hotel Europa, also located in Ischia Ponte and last but definitely not least, the Terme Manzi Hotel and Spa in the nearby Casamicciola. But don’t overlook other smaller hotels where customer service is exceptional.