Las Vegas
December 2-6, 2007
We flew from Providence to Las Vegas on a Southwest Airlines non-stop, and arrived at about noon. Since MGM Grand operates a check-in desk right at the airport, near the baggage carousels (very convenient!) we checked in there, got our room keys, and the bellman put us (and our luggage) onto the hotel shuttle ($8 per person, one way). At MGM, we were able to go right to our room to drop the bags, and then head out to explore. The resort itself is HUGE, and it took a while just to find our way around. We had a quick (but expensive, which would be a recurring theme) lunch at the Grand Wok, and then headed up the strip to spend the afternoon exploring the other hotels. The weather was perfect (60’s and sunny) and we spent hours going in and out of NY NY, Paris Las Vegas, Caesar’s Palace, Bellagio, and more. After shopping for some holiday gifts at the M&M store and the Harley Davidson store, and stopping for a drink at Margaritaville, it was time to head back and get ready for dinner.

We had made advance reservations at Emeril’s that night, and we enjoyed what was one of the best restaurant meals I have ever had! We opted for the six-course “Chef’s tasting menu” which was a real gourmet experience (both the food and the service) and included lobster, shrimp, ahi tuna, beef and more.

When we returned, we checked out of MGM Grand and took a cab over to the Mandalay Bay (it would have been a very easy walk, if we did not have our bags). We spent the rest of our trip in this hotel, as I was attending a conference that was being held here. Our twelfth-floor room had a great view, straight down the strip, and faced away from the airport (which I had requested). It definitely had a more luxurious feel than our room at MGM, with a marble bathroom, Jacuzzi tub, flat screen TV, and more. In fact, the resort on the whole had a more “high-end” feel. But it also lacked any reasonably-priced places to eat. We found that, unless you wanted to spend $40 on breakfast, you had to take the tram to one of the adjacent hotels to find a quick coffee and a bagel.

We woke up very early Monday morning, due to the time difference, and were more than ready for the 10 am pick-up for our Papillon Helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon. For me, this excursion was the highlight of the week! We were picked up at our hotel for the 30-minute drive to an airfield outside the city, where we received some basic safety instructions and were then escorted (with a small group of people) to a six-passenger helicopter. The pilot flew us over the Hoover Dam and across the Mojave Desert to the Grand Canyon, while we listened to a narrated audio track over our headphones. He flew down into the canyon and pointed out some of the geology to us, and then landed inside the canyon for a champagne picnic and photo op, before flying us back to the airfield. All told, it was about an hour and a half in the air, and it was awesome!

We spent the afternoon exploring some more, and visited the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, which was a small aquarium with an audio tour. After watching (and losing some money on) the Patriots football game, we had another great dinner at Rum Jungle – an exotic Brazilian-style restaurant with cascading waterfalls and delicious mojitos!

Tuesday morning we took the tram to both Luxor and Excalibur to explore those resorts, and then returned to Mandalay Bay for the noontime kickoff of the Luxury Travel Expo. After the afternoon seminars, we had dinner (margaritas and quesadillas) in the Mandalay Bay Cantina, and then we had tickets to see Mamma Mia, which we both thoroughly enjoyed.

Wednesday was the first full day of the conference, so we were tied up until about 3 pm. After that, we took a cab downtown to Fremont Street (old-time Las Vegas, before the strip became the strip). We had a great time wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere, and visiting places like the Golden Nugget and Fitzgerald’s. The Rodeo Championships were in town, and there were lots of big hats and belt buckles to be seen, as well as a free country and western concert (the “Downtown Hoedown”) going on. We grabbed a table at the Vue Bar (a tiny little outdoor balcony at Fitzgerald’s Casino that looks over Fremont Street) and enjoyed juicy burgers, dollar beers, and front-row seats for the concert and the Fremont Street Experience – an hourly laser-light show projected onto the canopy over the street. It was great! After that, it was time to head back to MGM Grand for a private party (part of the travel expo) at Studio 54 nightclub. Free drinks, dancing, and all the people-watching you could want!

Thursday was our last day, and I headed to a full day of seminars/sessions while Everett took the monorail up the strip to visit a few resorts we had missed (like the Venetian) and to make a quick trip to the Cowboy Marketplace (part of the rodeo festivities) for Christmas presents. We were back at the airport by 2:30 pm for our non-stop flight home, and back in Rhode Island about midnight.

Nealon Girls Trip to Italy

September 21 – 29, 2007

This was a very special girls’ getaway in honor of some milestone birthdays my sisters and I were celebrating (40, 35, and 30 – yikes!) We started planning this trip about nine months in advance and, given the fact that we could only take a week away from jobs/families/etc. we managed to combine a really nice mix of big city culture (in Florence) and small town scenery/exploration (in Bellagio).

Day One: Friday, September 21^st

Our KLM flight left New York’s JFK airport at 5:40 p.m., and we were pleasantly surprised to see that we each had our own individual seat-back entertainment systems. This was a relatively short flight, as Atlantic crossings go, and we passed the time watching movies, chatting, and reading.

Day Two: Saturday, September 22^nd

We arrived in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport at 7:20 a.m. local time (which felt like 1:20 am for us!), cleared customs and security and settled down for a 3 hour wait before our connecting flight. The Amsterdam airport was very easy to navigate, and we were surprised to see that most of the signs were in English. Our connecting flight left at 10:20 a.m., and we arrived in Florence at 12:10 p.m. We zipped right out of the airport and into a taxi for the short drive to our B&B – Panella’s Residence, on via della Pergola. The taxi fare was just 25 euros total (for all four of us, and our bags) and well worth it – versus trying to manage public transportation after a long night without sleep. When we arrived at Panella’s, we received a warm welcome and a quick orientation from Graziela (the owner) and then headed up several steep flights of stairs to our rooms. After unpacking and freshening up, we were more than ready for a quick lunch (nice fresh pizza from the bakery on the corner) and a walk around the city.

We started with the Duomo, as it was just blocks away from our hotel. My sister Kate and I foolishly decided to climb the Campanile (bell tower) and – after more than 400 steep steps straight up – were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the city, and very sore legs! After that, we strolled around one of the Medici Palaces and then headed back to the Duomo for a 5pm English language mass. This was my mom’s idea, and I have to admit it was really cool to experience the cathedral this way. After that, though we were ready to fall asleep, it was time to go home and get changed for dinner. We had 7:30 pm reservations at Il Francescano, in Santa Croce Square, and enjoyed a very relaxing dinner al fresco, including two courses and plenty of house wine, for about 25 euros per person (including tip). My risotto was fantastic! On the way home, we stopped for our first taste of gelato.

Day Three: Sunday, September 23^rd

Breakfast at Panella’s takes place in a cozy little room that used to be the stable in this former (15^th century) convent. Graziela made us feel right at home with juice, cappuccino, yogurt, breads, and her homemade apple tart. A great way to fortify ourselves for this busy day! We started out with a visit to the Central Market – a blocks-long outdoor market full of vendors selling silk and leather goods, jewelry, souvenirs and more. After stocking up on gifts for everyone at home, we had an early lunch at Café ZaZa. Personally, this was my favorite lunch of the whole trip. I had a sampler of three different types of traditional Tuscan soups, from tomato to vegetable to bean. Yum!

After lunch, we headed over to the Uffizi Gallery to pick up our pre-reserved tickets for a 1:15 p.m. entrance. The general admission line was HUGE, and we were very glad we had the pre-reserved tickets. The Uffizi, as expected, was amazing. Since we did not purchase the audio tour, we were very glad to have my sister Megan (our Art History major) along to provide commentary. After getting our dose of Renaissance art, we crossed the Arno River via the Ponte Vecchio, doing a little window shopping along the way. On the other side, we headed to the Pitti Palace and purchased a combination ticket that gave us admission to several of the palace’s exhibitions (including a display of gorgeous costumes/clothing from throughout the centuries) as well as the Boboli Gardens. The gardens were vast, and the hills/stairs were a bit too much for some of us after all the walking we’d been doing, but the parts we managed to see were beautiful. Plus, the views from the palace back over the city of Florence were worth every penny! At that point, we were tired of sightseeing, and a bit early for our dinner reservations, so we sat on one of the many bridges and people watched for a while. Florence is full of beautiful, well-dressed people and zooming motorbikes, and we saw a lot of both! Dinner this evening was at Osteria Cinghiale Bianco, and unfortunately none of us tried the wild boar for which the restaurant is named. I did have some delicious polenta con funghi, though, and lots of the house wine! We were very glad to have made advance reservations, as we watched the maitre d’ turn away many disappointed customers. After dinner, we enjoyed the warm evening with a nice stroll back across the Arno and home to bed.

Day Four: Monday, September 24^th
After another delicious breakfast with Graziela, we headed out for a day trip to Siena. It took us a little bit to find the bus station (which was not precisely next to the train station as we had been led to believe) but, once we were there, we quickly purchased our tickets for the “Siena Rapida” bus (14 euros roundtrip) and got ready to shoulder our way onto the packed bus (the Italians seem to have no respect for orderly lines, and I was afraid my mom was going to get into a fistfight!) The ride to Siena took about 1 ½ hours, and we were dropped off right outside the city center, a very easy downhill walk to Il Campo. Words can’t really describe my first glimpse of Il Campo, as we came walking out of one of Siena’s tiny, shaded alleyways into the blinding sun that shone down on this enormous bowl-shaped piazza. Truly amazing! We wound our way through the steep alleyways to Siena’s Duomo and the adjacent museum. The cathedral itself was even more impressive than Florence’s, and we were lucky enough to be there at the right time of year to see the intricate inlaid mosaic floors (which are only uncovered in September/October). After a relaxing lunch at one of the outdoor cafes that surround Il Campo, and a quick gelato for the road, we headed back to the bus stop to return to Florence. We survived the requisite pushing and shoving, and found four seats together on the jam-packed double-decker bus. Once back in Florence, it was a nice stroll back to our hotel to wash up for dinner. We had not made advance plans for this evening, so we decided to try a nearby restaurant that had looked intriguing. Little did we know that La Giostra was one of Florence’s most highly-acclaimed restaurants. They laughed at us when we said we did not have reservations. Oh well. We found a cute bistro in the Santa Croce area (Bistrot Baldoria, on via San Giuseppe) and sat outside to enjoy the warm weather. On Kate’s recommendation, I tried a traditional (and delicious!) Florentine dish of ravioli with butter and sage. And, of course, a little pistachio gelato on the way home.

Day Five: Tuesday, September 25th
For our last morning in Florence, we wanted to go outside the city – to Fiesole – to see the villa where Kate had spent a semester while she was in college. We took the #7 bus from San Marco Square and were soon heading up the hill to the village of Fiesole. Once there, we walked down an unbelievably steep road to the Villa le Balze. Behind the imposing iron gates we found a villa set within gorgeous gardens (we could only tour the grounds, unfortunately, as the semester was in session) with a breathtaking view over the city of Florence. Afterwards, we strolled around the little village and then took the bus back down to the city to go back to our hotel and check out. Graziela called us a cab, and we headed off to the Santa Maria Novella train station to catch a 1:15 train to Milan. We printed our tickets at a self-service kiosk, picked up some paninis at a snack bar, and settled ourselves into our pre-reserved seats for the 3 ½ hour ride north. In Milan, we had only 15 minutes to make our connecting train to Varenna, but we made it. The one-hour ride along the lake shore provided some beautiful scenery and, before we knew it, we were exiting the train in Varenna and heading down to the ferry dock. Our first closeup view of Lake Como was cold and grey, yet still beautiful – with the wind-whipped water and the wisps of low-hanging clouds obscuring the surrounding mountains.

We caught the 5:50 ferry, and were walking off the boat in Bellagio just 15 minutes later. What a pretty little village! Just two main streets for car traffic, and the rest is steep stairways heading up from the lake. Our hotel, Hotel Centrale, was mid-way up one of those stairways, and it was a real cardio workout dragging our suitcases! We were welcomed at the desk by Giacomo, the owner, and taken to our third floor rooms – thankfully, via an elevator. The rooms were cozy, with sloped ceilings and skylights and a sort of a ski lodge feel to them (warm woods, etc.) After unpacking, we asked Giacomo for a dinner suggestion, and he called ahead to reserve us a table at Far Out (strange name, yes, but it turned out to be a very nice restaurant). We enjoyed fresh pasta, seafood, and wine, and then turned in early after a very long day of traveling.

Day Six: Wednesday, September 26th
We woke to pouring rain and cold temperatures and the sad forecast that this would be the weather for the next few days. We had the bad luck to have arrived while they were having some unseasonably cold weather for Bellagio (50’s in the day time and 40’s at night, with snow on the surrounding mountains!). Oh well, we decided to make the best of it. After a breakfast of yogurt/granola/breads in the cheery breakfast room, we headed out to explore the town a bit. But our first stop, naturally, was to purchase umbrellas. We visited the medieval church of San Giacomo, window shopped up and down the various stairways, and then had a warm and filling lunch of tomato soup and pizza at Antico Pozzo. Afterwards, we took the ferry across the lake to the village of Tremezzo to visit Villa Carlotta, a 17^th century villa with extensive (and beautiful) gardens. Then we strolled along the lake shore taking photos, including the one below of an incredible floating pool set into a dock in the lake. We ferried back to Bellagio and did a little more shopping that afternoon. Or, I should say, while Kate and I shopped, mom and Megan discovered the local wine bar / internet café and spent some time sampling their house-made wines (5 euros/glass) and snacking on free cheese and crackers. That night, we had our one disappointing dinner of the trip, at another Giacomo-recommended restaurant (at the Hotel du Lac). The food was so-so, and the atmosphere was too formal and quiet for our taste. Oh well. We decided to choose our own restaurant the next night!

Day Seven: Thursday, September 27^th
Another cold and rainy morning, but we decided to ignore the weather and walk to the Villa Melzi, on the outskirts of Bellagio, to explore their lakefront grounds. It was worth braving the damp weather to explore the gardens, and the chapel, and to continue past the Villa to the little fishing village beyond (where we saw some of the traditional old boats that were used to travel around the lake before the modern ferries and hydrofoils came into use). After another round of pizzas and paninis for lunch, and a quick visit to the internet café to check emails, we boarded the slow ferry for the 2-hour ride to Como. We could have taken a much faster hydrofoil, but Giacomo recommended (and we concurred) that it was much better to take the slow and scenic boat that stops at all the little lakeside towns. When we arrived in Como, we stopped for a coffee (we needed the warmth!) and a map, and then found our way on foot to the Como Culinary Institute for our evening cooking class. We had been looking forward to this evening for months.

The catalog had described a unique experience that included a trip to the market with the chef to buy fresh ingredients and a hands-on cooking lesson where we would be preparing a multi-course dinner that would then be served to us with appropriate wines. Unfortunately, the class did not live up to our expectations. The instructors were some very lovely high school students who tried very hard, but it was not the gourmet experience we had expected (and for which we had paid $220 per person!) As a side note, the school has since refunded a portion of our fee. Since the class did not end until 9 pm (at which the ferries were no longer running), we had pre-booked a private car and driver to return us to Bellagio. Our driver, Christian, spoke terrific English and told us all about his life Bellagio and his winters in his favorite vacation destination – Fort Lauderdale, Florida!

Day Eight: Friday, September 28^th

We finally saw a glimmer of sun this morning and, after our morning cappuccino, decided to bravely head out without our umbrellas! We took the ferry back across the lake to Varenna and walked along their unique lakeside promenade to the Villa Monastero. This former monastery has been turned into a luxurious lakefront conference center/hotel but non-guests can still pay admission to explore the grounds. After that, Kate and I decided we were feeling energetic enough to attempt the half-hour climb up Varenna’s very steep “hill” (I call it a mountain) to the Castello di Vezio (castle) on top. After a very sweaty climb (and several rest breaks) we discovered a whole little village on the hilltop, complete with houses, shops and a small cemetery. As Kate aptly said, “If I lived here, I would definitely be having my groceries delivered!” When we made it back down to the lakefront, we found Megan and mom sitting at a café enjoying the sunshine. Since it was so nice out, we walked back along the lake to a restaurant we had passed, where we enjoyed a leisurely al fresco lunch. After lunch, we took the ferry back to Bellagio for our 3:30 pm tour of the Villa Serbelloni, an imposing villa on the hilltop overlooking Bellagio. Although the property is a private think-tank owned by the Rockefeller Foundation, they allow guided tours twice per day (of the grounds only). This was a very interesting tour, which provided background history of the village itself, the founding families, and more – plus some spectacular views of the lake, the surrounding mountains and (now that it was clear out) the pre-Alps in the distance. For our final dinner in Bellagio, we wanted to try a restaurant that we had been hearing lots about (from fellow travelers, as well as the guidebooks). Trattoria San Giacomo has only one seating per night, and a total of maybe ten tables in the whole restaurant, so we were lined up outside 20 minutes before the doors opened. And it was well worth it! Afterwards, we made one last visit to our favorite wine bar to check emails and purchase a couple of bottles of the house-made wine to bring home, and then we turned in for the night.

Day Nine: Saturday, September 29^th
We slept in a little bit, enjoyed our last breakfast, and chatted with Giacomo until our car and driver arrived, at 11:15 am, to take us to the airport. The ride from Bellagio to Milan took about 2 hours, and he dropped us right at our terminal for our 2:55 pm KLM flight to Amsterdam. During our 2-hour layover in Amsterdam, we did some last minute duty-free shopping, grabbed some lunch, and then boarded our 6:20 pm flight back to New York. This was my first time on a double-decker plane, and it was amazing to see that many people (400 or so, I was told) in the gate area waiting to board! We arrived at JFK right on time (8:15 pm), grabbed our bags, cleared customs, and were on our way home to sleep – already dreaming of our next girls’ getaway!

Holland America’s Oosterdam
November 8 – 15, 2008

We flew into San Diego a day early, on Friday 11/7, and checked in to the Hampton Inn Downtown, which is conveniently located close to the cruise port, the airport, and sightseeing areas like Little Italy and the Gas Lamp district. We spent the afternoon exploring the harbor area, from the Maritime Museum, to the USS Midway, and all the way down to Seaport Village. We had an early dinner at the Elephant & Castle pub (in the Holiday Inn across from the cruise port) and an early bed time, since we were still on East Coast time and had been travelling since about 5:30 a.m.

On Saturday morning, we had a quick (included) breakfast at the Hampton Inn, checked our emails on the free internet terminal in the lobby, and then took a cab over to the fishing docks at Point Loma so that Everett could check out the long-range tuna boats and visit a few tackle stores. The rest of the morning was spent touring San Diego on the hop-on hop-off Old Town Trolley – a two hour loop that visits Coronado Island, Balboa Park, the Gas Lamp district, Old Town, and more. It was a great way to get an overview of the city, along with some interesting history and background from the guide.

We grabbed our luggage from the hotel and walked the three blocks or so to the pier, wheeling our bags – very easy! We arrived at about 1 p.m., and the timing was perfect. No lines at all, and just as we walked onto the ship they announced that the rooms were ready, so we headed straight to our cabin — #1119 – an inside cabin on the Main Deck (deck 1). This was the first time we’ve stayed in an inside cabin, and we were very unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised! There was plenty of room, with a nice little sitting area and table, the bed was VERY comfortable, and because of our location all the way aft in the ship, on the lowest passenger deck, there was no noise from foot traffic past our door. At night, it was like being in a dark, quiet, cave. Great for sleeping!

We had a nice lunch at the Lido Buffet and then explored the ship until the Lifeboat Drill and the sailaway party, and then dressed for dinner and made it to the dining room for our 8 p.m. seating. We had requested a large table of 6 or 8, and were initially disappointed to be seated at a table for four, but our dinner companions more than made up for it. We were seated with a really nice couple from Spokane, Washington who “adopted” us and became our surrogate parents for the duration of the cruise. We would meet John and Suzie each evening for cocktails before dinner and share stories of the day. Very nice!

Sunday was a sea day, and we made the most of it. We slept late, walked two miles on the wraparound Promenade Deck, relaxed by the pool, and took a nap in the sun. Since we had the late seating for dinner, we attended the early show at 6:45 p.m. in the Vista Theater. It was just average, though, and I have to say the singing/dancing was not as good as we’ve seen on other ships. This evening was the first of the two formal nights, and we noticed a lot of empty seats in the dining room (presumably for people who had elected not to get dressed up).

Monday morning we sailed into Cabo San Lucas, and were up early and out on deck to take pictures. It was definitely worth it, as we got to watch the fishing boats head out of the harbor while we rounded the gorgeous rock formations at Lands’ End. We were among the first to board the tenders into shore, as we had an early appointment to meet our guide/driver who would be taking us to tour some resorts in the Cabo area. After a long, hot day on shore we took a nap and watched part of a movie in the cabin before dinner. The pre-dinner show this evening was very good – featured performer Joel Mason did a terrific tribute to Elton John! After dinner we spent some time in the piano bar, which became our standard after-dinner hangout for the remainder of the cruise.

Tuesday brought us to Mazatlan, and our only scheduled shore excursion of this cruise – a kayak expedition to Cactus Island. We were ferried across the channel to Stone Island, where we were given an orientation talk and then outfitted with our kayaks and gear. We spent about an hour and a half in the water in the two-person kayaks on a (guided) paddle out from the beach and around Cactus Island. We saw some wildlife, and some pretty scenery, and it was a very easy paddle. Once we got back to the beach, we had about two hours on our own to swim, relax in the beachside restaurant, go horseback riding, or rent ATVs before heading back to the ship in the early afternoon. After that, we headed out on a brief (and ill-advised) trip to Mazatlan’s Central Mercado. This turned out to be more of a food and produce market for the locals, and less of a souvenir-shopping spot, but we did get to experience some local “color”, and a ride in a pulmonia (open-air taxi). This evening, we enjoyed another relaxing dinner with John and Suzie, and a late-night comedian in the Vista Theater.

Wednesday we visited Puerto Vallarta, and we had pre-arranged to spend the day at an all-inclusive resort – Dreams Puerto Vallarta. It was our favorite of all the resorts we saw on this trip! We were back on the ship by about 5 p.m., in time for cocktails and the Mexican BBQ dinner on the pool deck. The evening entertainment included a surprisingly good “Passenger Talent Show”, which included a juggler, dancers, singers, and more.

Thursday and Friday were sea days, and we definitely enjoyed having so much time to unwind at the end of the cruise. I spent a lot of time in a deck chair in the sun, and Everett took advantage of some of the educational offerings – including classes on photo editing and creating DVD movies from your snapshots. I also visited the spa for a deep tissue massage. It was very relaxing at the time, but I felt it in my muscles for a few days! We walked our two miles each morning, and did more than our share of eating, too. The evenings included the second formal night and the Farewell Variety Show on Friday evening, which featured all the acts from throughout the week.

Saturday morning’s disembarkation was a breeze. We had elected to do self-disembarkation, so we wheeled our own bags off the ship at about 8:15 a.m., grabbed a cab, and were at the airport in minutes. We easily made our 11:30 a.m. flight, connected in Las Vegas, and were back home in Providence at about 10:30 p.m.

• The Hampton Inn was a great pre-cruise hotel. The Holiday Inn would also be a good choice. Coming in a day early was a great decision.
• This was definitely our most relaxing cruise ever (no late nights, lots of sea days, easy pace) and the older crowd on a HAL cruise may have added to that. We’d certainly cruise HAL again, but I think Celebrity remains our favorite.
• The inside cabin turned out to be fine. I would not do it for a scenery-intensive cruise like Alaska or Europe, but it was perfectly fine for this one. We slept great, and we probably spent more time out and about on the ship than we would have if we had our usual balcony cabin.
• We were glad we chose the late seating (8 pm) as the early dinner at 5:45 pm would have been too much of a rush.
• We enjoyed sailing from the West Coast, since all our previous cruises have been from NY/FL. It had a different vibe (all those friendly Californians!) and a nice variety of ports.

This was a very quick trip (just four nights) to San Francisco and Monterey, with our two kids (aged 12 and 14) to celebrate my birthday and do some sightseeing. The kids had never been to the west coast, and my husband and I had never been to northern California, so this was a nice introductory “taste” of the area, and definitely left us planning to come back again!

We arrived at the Oakland airport on Saturday evening and took a taxi to our hotel. Taking the Air Shuttle and BART would have been much cheaper, but after a long day, with two hungry teenagers, it was worth the extra expense to take the most direct route. We checked into the Best Western Tuscan Inn (a Kimpton hotel located a stone’s throw from Fisherman’s Wharf) and walked a couple of blocks to an In ‘N Out Burger for a quick dinner. The Fisherman’s Wharf area is not at its best at night (pretty tacky; reminded us of Atlantic City), but we were tired, it was already about 10 pm “our time”, and it was close by!

A few words about the hotel: the location was great (two blocks in from the water, near Fisherman’s Wharf, and convenient to everything we wanted to see and do), and the on-site restaurant was good (though we only ate breakfast there), but our first room (overlooking a busy street) was unbearably noisy and the room they moved us to for the second night was small and strangely laid out. I don’t think I would stay there again.

Sunday morning we enjoyed the included continental breakfast at the hotel and then strolled over to the waterfront to check out the sea lions at Pier 39 and to check in at Pier 33 for our 9:30 am ferry to Alcatraz. The weather was absolutely perfect (upper 60’s and sunny) and the boat ride was very pleasant. Alcatraz itself was amazing. All four of us later agreed that it was the highlight of the trip. The audio tour, which uses first-hand commentary from former guards and prisoners, was very interesting, and you could really imagine what life on “The Rock” must have been like. When we got back to the pier, we had a quick al fresco lunch at the Hard Rock Café for the kids, and then wandered along the waterfront for a while sightseeing and souvenir shopping. That afternoon we made a visit to Ghirardelli Square for our resident chocoholic and then took a cable car ride up the hill to Lombard Street to walk down the “Crookedest Street” in San Francisco. My delicious birthday dinner that evening was at Trattoria Contadina in North Beach.

Monday morning we gave in to the kids’ pleas for breakfast at Johnny Rockets, and then checked out and picked up our rental car. A tip: prices are generally better at off-airport locations, and we saved time and money by picking our car up right downtown at the Hertz office on O’Farrell St. In search of Golden Gate views, we headed to the Presidio and walked along the abandoned armaments above Baker Beach. Then we headed over the bridge towards Sausalito and Muir Woods. We opted for one of the shorter hikes through Muir Woods (about an hour) but it was well-worth the side trip to see such a different environment and learn about the history/ecology of the area. On our way back into the city, we stopped just before the bridge on the Marin side to take some great photos looking across to the San Francisco waterfront.

From there, we took the (long) drive down Coastal Route 1 to Monterey. There were some scenic parts, but it was not the jaw-dropping stretch of coast we had expected (guess we were thinking of the Pacific Coast Highway further south) and it was probably not worth the extra time versus taking the freeway. We arrived in Monterey in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Mariposa Inn and Suites. I would highly recommend this property to anyone. It’s conveniently-located (right off the highway, across the street from a major shopping center, and within minutes of downtown and Cannery Row), well-priced, and the staff could not have been nicer. We had a duplex with a king bedroom and bath upstairs and a downstairs living area for the kids with a separate full bath, a gas fireplace, a double bed (a Murphy bed), couch, and a small balcony with a view of the pool, Jacuzzi and outdoor fire pit. We asked the front desk for a restaurant recommendation for dinner, and they sent us to a great local place called Lalla Grill – not a tourist spot, and definitely not someplace we would have found on our own.

Tuesday morning we enjoyed the included continental breakfast at the hotel, and then drove through downtown to look around and kill some time until the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened. We were in line when the doors opened and enjoyed a couple of hours touring the exhibits. Though we live on the (east) coast and have spent plenty of time at other major aquariums (Boston, Mystic) it was nice to learn about the Pacific and we especially enjoyed the sea otters and the special exhibit on the “Secret Lives of Sea Horses”. After some more souvenir shopping along Cannery Row and a quick lunch, we were back in the car to do the 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach and Carmel. By then it had clouded over and the lighting was not great for pictures, but we enjoyed the scenery all the same. South of Carmel, we headed to Point Lobos Nature Preserve to go for a hike. There are many trails to choose from, and we tried a few of them. The crashing waves, cypress trees, rocky shore line and barking sea lions were well worth the walk. That evening we had our “farewell” dinner at an Italian restaurant on Cannery Row (Louie Linguini’s – very touristy, but the food was good) and then turned in early after all that fresh air and walking.

The next morning, we ate breakfast, checked out, and drove back to San Francisco (taking the major highway this time, for some inland views of farms and hillsides). We returned the car, ate a quick lunch in the airport, and were on our way back home to Providence.

A few overall thoughts/impressions:

• This was a quick trip, and we packed a lot into four days, but I’m not sure everyone would enjoy the pace. We all agreed that one more day in San Francisco would have been perfect, since we never made it to Union Square, Chinatown, etc.
• I had wanted to stay near Fisherman’s Wharf, but I think I actually prefer the area closer to Ghirardelli Square. In particular, I walked through the Argonaut (another Kimpton hotel) and would much prefer to stay there next time.
• Monterey was great for the kids, but next time, I think I will do an adults-only trip and spend a few days in San Francisco followed by some time in Napa/Sonoma. If you’re not into the aquarium, and don’t have time to continue south and see Big Sur, Hearst Castle, etc. it may not be worth going just to Monterey. My personal opinion.

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