Wine and Spirits Travel

I woke up to palm trees swaying and a light ocean breeze. I didn’t take me long to remember I was a Nisbet Plantation in Nevis, a boutique slice of paradise. After some light yoga, I walked down to the beach for breakfast. My cottage was one of the first ones so it wasn’t that close to the beach, but close enough so that the sense of the waves instantly relaxed me. Coconuts is the restaurant for breakfast at NisbetPlantation and I don’t think I could have dreamed up a better scene for the morning. It’s open air dining with clear views of the beach. They offer a buffet filled with fresh fruit and juice – including a different special juice each day – breads and yogurt. You can then order their specialties from their menu. I thought I was keeping it simple with a veggie filled omelet and corned beef hash, but the hash turned out to be like no other I had previously. It included fruit (pineapple?) and was absolutely delicious. My friend and fellow travel wr

I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy trip when my friend and fellow travel writer, Sue Campbell , invited me to join her on the island of Nevis, but it sounded like an ideal way to spend a week during the winter. Nevis Tourism booked my flights and I was set to leave Champaign in the morning for a flight to Chicago, then onto Miami, for a flight to St. Kitts. I would then take a ferry to the island. It was a lot of traveling to get there, but we did plan to stay over a night at the St. Kitts Marriott to cut it down on the way back. With all that travel planned, it just took one little problem for the trip to go off schedule, and that happened at the beginning. I missed my first connection and couldn’t get to Miami in time for the last St.Kitts flight of the day. I didn’t want to take a chance of all those connections again, so I did continue on to Miami and got a hotel room at the Fairfield Inn for the night. I was onboard my flight to Nevis the next morni

After the excitement of my daughter Sam’s engagement on the beach to her boyfriend (now fiancé) Matt the night before , we were all ready for a relaxing last day in paradise, and Breathless Resort definitely provided it. I went to Spoon Restaurant for breakfast, enjoying a cheese and mushroom omelet, a waffle with Nutella, and a plate full of tropical fruit. Matt and Sam joined me and then we all spent the morning alternating between the pool and the beach. We split up for lunch, for which I went back to Spoon for delicious pasta and more of that luscious fruit. I then headed to the big event – the Sunday Pool Party. The party is a tradition at Breathless Punta Cana , but this one was extra special because it was the last with DJ Rhiannon. I had seen her before at a club in Atlantic City and I knew she could get the crowd going. It seemed like most of the resort was at the pool. It was packed and a bit wild. Bubbles were in the pool and sangria was being poure

It had been a few years since I’d been to Punta Cana. I was excited about returning to the beautiful beaches in this area of the Dominican Republic. I was looking forward to taking my daughter and her boyfriend to check out AMResorts new property, Breathless , but first we got to experience a two day girls only getaway at the perfect spot – Zoetry Agua Punta Cana. I had s pent the day at Zoetry Paraiso Riviera Maya and could not wait until I had the opportunity to return to one of these resorts. I felt it would be the perfect way to do a little mother-daughter relaxing before we headed to a more party-oriented resort. Sam and I met at Punta Cana airport since we had flown in from separate parts of the country. It took us a little while to get through the customs line and get our luggage, but then we were whisked off by our private driver to the 45 minute drive to Zoetry Agua. To say Zoetry is a luxury property is an understatement. It’s about “Endless Privileges,” a

After our final stop in the Dominican Republic, the Seabourn  Sojourn was heading back to Fort Lauderdale, but not before we had a chance to enjoy more time at sea. Mom came down to the Colonnade Restaurant with me for breakfast. We indulged in chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs and fruit. After breakfast, I went up to the deck to relax for a while and Mom headed to a lecture, “Gods from the East: Arrival of the Europeans in the New World.” It was a leisurely day so we met up for lunch in the Restaurant 1 and had fantastic Coconut Crusted Chicken Burgers with roasted potatoes and coleslaw, followed by ice cream for dessert. Mom came up to the pool deck with me and we lounged around for a while with Pina Coladas in hand. It was actually the first time I had a chance to go into the pool and the water was warm and inviting. We remained reading and sunning some more before dinner with an eclectic group from Los Angeles, England and Canada. For the