Wine and Spirits Travel

  I live two hours from downtown Chicago, so I almost always stay overnight. Occasionally, the time is too short and the opportunity too great, so I make an exception. This was the case on the day my friend, Kim, and I went for brunch at Sofitel’s CDA and checked out the Driehaus Museum. The CDA Restaurant at Sofitel Hotel in Chicago is the epitome of modern elegance. The decor and service are first class, yet it feels very comfortable with the large windows and white design.  The brunch menu is most definitely French, though they do have their version of the Mexican breakfast favorite Chilaquiles. Named “Sofitel Chilaquiles Rojos,” they are made with sunny side eggs in a crispy corn tortilla and served with a cilantro yogurt. It was difficult to decide as everything sounded so good. After my initial excitement at the Ricotta Pancakes, topped with bananas and cocoa nibs, then drizzled with Cinnabon topping, I decided to save my sweet tooth for dessert and order the Chicken...

I grew up in New York and Boston was a frequent vacation destination. I continued to go occasionally. It had been about 20 years since I had been there when I was recently given an opportunity to go back. Boston has too much for me to cover it all in one story. I will have more at a later date on some other areas to explore. You’ll find more than enough below to start planning a spring break or summer vacation through the cobblestone streets, famous architecture, and many sites in this city.   Must-See Sites Downtown It’s not often a baseball stadium is considered a historical site, but Fenway Park is in that category. You can see a lot of it from the outside. There is a tour to take you through off season or wait for a game to get the best good look.   Take a walk-through scenic Boston Common , the oldest park in the United States, or Boston Public Garden, which has been around since 1837. One of the things about Boston I enjoyed is the historic statues throughout the ...

It was a very comfortable night at the Hyatt Centric the Loop in Chicago . We were able to take our time in the morning and I was excited to find out my friend and fellow writer, Kristine Hansen, was in town. We met for breakfast at Cochon Valent Brasserie, just downstairs from the hotel. Their blueberry pancakes were loaded with fruit and as delicious as everything always is there. My Joan picked something up to eat and relaxed in the room. and we met up to head over to the Art Institute of Chicago . I have been to the Art Institute many times. I try to check out all of their special exhibits as well as some of the smaller ones. The exhibition that brought me here this time was Manet and Modern Beauty.  Edouard Manet was a late 19 th century painter known for what was a modern style at the time. He especially flourished when painting women. The collection, the first of its kind in 50 years, was well worth a trip, but we decided to spend some time looking around. I stopped...

My friend Jaimee and I had arrived in Lafayette, Indiana , the previous day for a quick getaway. It had been a few years since I was here and I had no idea how much there was to see – and eat. We woke up in our spacious two-bedroom accommodation at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Lafayette . Although the hotel offers a big complimentary breakfast, we already had plans for brunch at Town & Gown Bistro. Town & Gown is much bigger than it looks on the outside. It has two floors and they were both full of patrons. Matt O’Neill, former innkeeper and chef at Walden Inn, and author of “Seasons at the Walden Inn,” has made a name for himself in this city. It was easy to figure out why after we finished eating.  Chef O’Neill uses fresh and local ingredients and puts his touch on common brunch items.  Jaimee raved about her eggs benedict, and I thought the house-made corned beef hash was fantastic, as were my latte and eggs. A...

It was a beautiful summer day and my friend Betty and I were heading to St. Louis . We were going to spend the afternoon at the St. Louis Science Center before taking off on a Gateway Arch River Cruise for dinner. We decided to leave the car in the lot by the boat and take an Uber to the museum and back.  The cruises left right below the Gateway Arch and we had quite a view from that spot. The St. Louis Science Center is located within Forest Park. Like the other museums there, it is free to the public. We didn’t realize that the museum closed at 5:00 pm so we couldn’t see it all, but we had enough time to go through the main thing we came for: The King Tut Exhibit . With our tickets we received our recorders for the guided audio tour.  I really didn’t know what to expect since it had been many years since I had seen anything on King Tut.  This exhibit was so much more than I ever expected. It is set up so that you are w...