Mt. Tremblant definitely offers the top skiing experience in the East of North America. We had fun, no doubt. But it was somewhat overshadowed, in our memories, by the Quebec-French cuisine and our stay at Avanlanche B&B and St. Paul Hotel.
French cuisine earns both respect and weaker interest (compared to Italian and Japanese) from us. The rich and creamy part of French cuisine do not excite us. But when every single meal tasted good, at a small inn restaurant close to our B&B, at Le Grand Lodge in Mt. Tremblant and at Cube Restaurant in Montreal, despite rich and creamy, we enjoyed them.
At Mt. Tremblant, we spent three nights at Avalanche B&B, warm and cozy without the stuffiness of some other B&Bs/small inns. The owners Nancy and Phillippe are especially worthy of mentioning for their sweetness, and great care in gourmet breakfast preparation. After Mt. Tremblant, our New Year's Eve at Hotel St. Paul
was a totally different style. Designed by Ana Borrallo and Carlos Aparicio, Hotel St. Paul is a modern and chic boutique. The rooms play ice, fire, earth and sky themes beautifully. And the "Fire on Ice" fireplace in the lobby, we want to have that style in our future home, hopefully!
Ski Trip to Mt. Tremblant (Quebec, Canada)
Ski Trip to Vail, Colorado
Vail would always carry special meaning to me. In 2002, I flew there to learn skiing and loved it. In 2006, I returned, and this time with K. My skill level then was blue/single black diamond (recovering from a skiing-accident caused knee surgery in 2004).
We stayed at a grand log cabin style inn away from the mountain: Savory Inn. Although it is 5-8minutes away from the mountain, it's worthy of the distance. (You take a free bus to the mountain.) The Inn sits behind Gore Creek, and has only a dozen rooms, each uniquely named after a herb/spice and uniquely designed. It's intimate and warm. The Inn owns Vail Cooking School on site. Not only the breakfast tasted good, the complimentary apre ski snacks were generous and delicious. It's rated the highest 5 star by Vail Resort. And our room was $290 per night+tax (vs $500-$1,000/night for the same rating hotel room inside the Vail Village on the mountain), very good value.
Northern California: (3) Surfing in Carmel
I admired surfing even before I could swim. That aspiration helped me to overcome the fear of water and learn swimming three years ago. And I've been practicing swimming weekly since. Going to California, I'm ready for surfing lesson!
It was June, but only around 50-55F for the first two days we were in Carmel Valley, and was cloudy and foggy most of time. Just did not create a mood for getting into the water. I was also chickening out about my water skills too. I seriously wanted to cancel the surf lesson reservation. The next morning, it was worse, not only it was cold, it had a light drizzle. K was still enthusiastic. We went to meet the instructor, very reluctantly, feeling unsure, I put on the wetsuit anyway. I was glad I did.
It was cold (55F in the air, lower in the water), and the waves were getting big for beginners. While sitting on the board and paddling out to the ocean, I felt as if walking right into a wall, a wall of powerful water--the waves were higher than my head. Before the wave hit, there was a little fear. After the wave hit, there was pure bliss. And we were able to ride a few times towards the shore!
Northern California: (3) Bernardus Lodge, Vineyard Resort with Epicurean Flair
In a way, Bernardus Lodge was the most anticipated part of our trip. We've been to quite many nice hotels, but this would be our first time to stay in a vineyard. And it has a top notch "farm to table style" restaurant Marinus. (I learned about Bernardus through TravelandLeisure.com, my "bible" for travel planning. I can always rely on it for sophisticated and tasteful recommendations. )
The vineyards, the oak trees, the lavender scent in the air, the homelike rooms with fireplace, fresh flower, bottles of complimentary vintage wines and basketful of snacks, feather beds and Italian linens, gourmet food, and superb service, what else to ask for? We booked for three nights, but did not want to leave.
Northern California: (2) Coastline, Nature's Symphony
After San Francisco, we were on 4 wheels, heading south along the Pacific Coast Highway to Carmel Valley for the second half of our vaca. The rugged northern California coastline is truly a symphony of natural forces, of the earth, ocean, wind, sunshine and rain. The textures on the rocks, the colors, the patterns and the shapes explain this symphony.
The slide show includes coastline views of:
Drive from SF to Carmel Valley,
17-mile drive at Pebble Beach, Monterey,
Point Lobos State Reserve (we spent more than half day hiking along the ocean),
Drive from Carmel Valley to Big Sur (We drove all the way to the Post Ranch Inn area only. The road further south was closed due to forest fire!)
