Antonia (Toni) Dosik’s memories of her first foreign trip include sandy beaches and seashells. In reality, Mexico was hardly a protracted voyage for a six-year-old kid from Los Angeles, but it was the kickoff for Toni’s travel-centric life.

At 13, Toni began plotting her return to Europe while on a vacation that included visits to England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. During college, she took advantage of a study abroad program to improve her French language skills, and to visit Switzerland and southern France. Toni spent a university year in England before racking up extensive travel miles to Provence, Paris, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia and Portugal.

Best in Britain was born in 1987, a small business that sprouted from friends and family asking Toni for help with their travel planning. Toni’s travel bug married her planning talent. She tells me that Best in Britain planned more than 40 trips to England and Wales for people who wanted unique and personalized vacations. Starting…

Recipes & Travel:
Bespoke Holiday, England, Herdade Do Esporao, Holiday planning, Paris, Perfectly Planned Travel, Portugal, Provence, Travel Agent, Travel Planning, Wines from Provence

Fault lines, droughts and dust storms are the realities of the California desert where nothing can be too permanent or too real.
Pioneertown may look like a Wild West frontier town from gold rush days, but it in reality it was created in 1946 for western-themed Hollywood movies. Complete with facades of banks, jails, saloons and stables this veneer of a town was the stage set for over 50 movies through the end of the 1950s.

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Recipes & Travel:
Bar, California, Pappy and Harriet's, Pioneertown

Ginger and Nutmeg’s group of friends were all interested in cycling the Romantic Road in Germany for different reasons. Still, it was clear that sausage, sauerkraut, and artisan beers were a common denominator. However, no one was too excited to begin the bike journey in cold-weather gear in the face of single-digit temperatures.

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Recipes & Travel:
Bavaria, Beer, Bike trips, Cycling, Germany, Romantic Road

Coffee and audio books are the only way to fuel a seven-day journey in a small car. G&N joined U.S. Route 101 on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and “Where is the best place to go for coffee?” became the recurrent question of their road trip.
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Recipes & Travel:
Ace Hotel, California, Coffee, Heart Coffee Roasters, Highway 1, Oregon, Powells Books, Road Trip, Route 101, Storyville Coffee, Stumptown Coffee, Washington

In a green maze – that is how your journey starts.
Wandering aimlessly through the hedge circuit your footsteps form the letters, as your shoulders rub against the thick shrubbery.  The characters spell Bereishit the first word of the Torah, a Hebrew word that translates to in the beginning of. In this case, it is the beginning of a distinctive garden adjacent to Mas de la Brune, a home that dates from 1572.

Le Jardin de l’Achimiste (Garden of the Alchemist) is a public garden located near the village of Eygalières and a short drive from St Remy. This magical place was created in 1997. “It is a philosophical essay in the form of a garden, representing physical and intellectual development, and the development of the senses.” – a well-crafted description is from Wikipedia.
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Recipes & Travel:
Jardin de l'Achimiste, Provence Travel, Travel in France

“Tu es amoureuse des olives!”

A six-year-old’s words to describe author, linguist, sommelier and Mediterranean food aficionado Viktorija Todorovska. According to Todorovska, the young girl pegged her with such laser accuracy that she is considering changing the title on her business cards to read “Amoureuse des Olives.”

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Recipes & Travel:
Cookbooks, Cooking, Oliva Cooking, Olives, Recipes, Viktorija Todorovska, WSET

It is sweltering!
The thought of making dinner is overwhelming.

There are two solutions:

Pour yourself a cold, frosty drink
Order take-out.

If you insist on cooking, keep it simple and this summer salad is the perfect answer, easy, tasty and filling.
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Recipes & Travel:
Healthy Salads, Healthy Salmon recipes, Meal salads, Panzanella salad, Salad, Salmon

Much has been written about Vincent Van Gogh’s life, the famous Dutch painter who led an expressive, tortured life. This statue le voleur de tournesol (the Sunflower Thief) by Gabriel Sterk may just capture the essence of Van Gogh’s work – as you never quite look at sunflowers, irises, olive trees or wheat fields the same way after seeing his paintings.
le voleur de tournesol (the Sunflower Thief) by Gabriel Sterk
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Recipes & Travel:
Facts about Vincent Van Gogh, Provence Travel, St Remy de Provence, Travel in France

In 12 days, Ginger and Nutmeg had explored the northern part of Portugal from A to Z, they drove from Lisbon to Porto and beyond the Douro Valley. The early September weather cooperated, and the summer tourist crush had started to wane, leaving the rugged, windswept coastline devoid of summer crowds — picture perfect.
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Cascais, Light festival, LUMINA Festival da Luz, Lumina Light Festival, OCUBO, Portugal

When Ginger and Nutmeg first ventured to Provence they felt prepared for the adventure. After all, it was not their first trip to France, they had previously biked in the region, and they had read Peter Mayle’s books – so they were confident in their basic understanding of the region.
And basic it was!
Nutmeg would like to share five Provencal myths for consideration as you pack your bags for the south of France, with visions of purple lavender fields and olive groves dancing in your head.

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Recipes & Travel:
Markets in Provence, Provence Travel, Travel in France