Have you been to Bilbao, Spain? If not, you should add to your travel list. It’s fantastic, and while there’s so much to see, you can absolutely see the highlights in a couple of days. Bilbao is a neat and compact city, tucked neatly into surrounding hills on either side of the river. Getting around is easy and the ‘must…
Studies show it’s important to take time away from life and the kids to connect with your significant other. We recently carved out time for date night to see ‘ABBA the Concert’ at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. ABBA has sold nearly 500 million records since they first won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 to take the world by…
If you’re looking for a night filled with charm, holiday spirit and nostalgia this holiday season… RUN to see Love Actually Live at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. ‘Love Actually’ is a seasonal cult classic, and may be my favorite holiday movie of all time. The film is a celebration of love with all of the messiness…
It’s been four months since we dropped our son at college, and I get to see him in two days! It’s my son’s first Christmas home from college. I read a poignant article by Mia Freedman, who wrote : “Being the mother of a son is like someone breaking up with you really slowly.” Our job, as a mom, is to…
As we drove along the Pyrenees, through Southern France and Northern Spain, we were excited to stay in San Sebastian, Spain. The number one reason most people visit San Sebastián, in Spain’s Basque region, is to sample the fantastic cuisine. We’d heard and read so much about it, and were dying to see the incredible art, architecture, and of course…
We recently drove along northern Spain, hitting all of the hotspots and walked between 8 and 12 miles each day in our Cariuma sneakers. We like to walk around cities rather than take public transportation, since we’ve found it’s the best way to actually get a ‘feel’ for the city. Most cities are easy to navigate and you can…
Istanbul is the only city in the world built on two continents. Bosphorus strait separates the European part from the Asian part of Istanbul. Istanbul is seeping with history, culture, and generous hospitality. In recent years tourism has declined because some feel it’s dangerous to travel to Turkey, and since you may be wondering, I never once felt unsafe in Istanbul. Here are some…
There are weddings and then there are Indian weddings. It’s been on my bucket list for years to attend an Indian wedding. In India. When we received an invitation to celebrate the marriage of two beautiful Indian friends in Delhi, we jumped at the chance. An Indian wedding reflects the cultures of the bride and groom, and very special rituals. We attended a…
If you’re looking for a really fun night, grab some girlfriends, put on your little black dresses, and head out to see Little Black Dress The Musical. I took some girlfriends to see this last night and we laughed, cried and empathized with every single number. Every part of the show was relatable to us, and many parts were relatable in a cringey way…
Visiting a Turkish Bath in Istanbul was a highlight of our trip. Hamams or Turkish Baths, are primarily found in Turkey and Morocco. These opulent bathhouses were built as a place for people to cleanse before heading to the mosque. They were also used as social centers where men and women gathered to relax. Traditional hamams contain three chambers: a hot room to steam, a…