Deep within leafy woods near the town of Forcoli in Tuscany, we’re scouring the Italian earth for “diamonds,” says our guide, Sandra Rosy Lotti, a celebrated chef, cookbook author, and food writer. These forest diamonds, also called diamonds of theRead more
Our friends Jan and Art are already seated at a high-top table and sipping citrusy Sauvignon Blanc in the modern barn-style tasting room of Goosecross Cellars when my husband, Bill, and I enter. We’re in Yountville, tucked away on StateRead more
Standing on a broad, tree-lined pedestrian promenade in Lucca, Italy, we’re stories high atop 40-feet-tall red brick walls. Centuries old and remarkably intact, they measure an incredible 2.5 miles long and 100 feet wide at the base. These massive walls,Read more
I’m perched 100-feet high atop an eroding and landslide-prone sandstone bluff in Santa Monica, CA. As I begin my fitness walk on this late summer morning, I’m less concerned about the possibility of the ground collapsing and sending me tumblingRead more
I’m flying, silently and leisurely at 11 mph, about 1,000 feet above the Yadkin Valley near East Bend, NC. Standing in a large rattan basket, I’m fully aware that the only thing keeping me aloft above terra firma is theRead more
Although it’s summer 2018, I’m thinking about my trip to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, as if it’s Christmas Eve 1895. On that date, George Washington Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends for the opening of his new 175,000-square-foot country homeRead more
My fingers are itching to fondle the rich, carnation-red ruffles on the silk organza gown by Oscar de la Renta that Beyoncé wore in the March 2013 issue of Vogue magazine. I’m mesmerized by his pink cocktail dress in silkRead more
Suzanne Pollak is preparing a frisée salad for our lunch. She adds bacon (“You do eat pork?” she considerately asks), grinds some of her new-favorite pepper mélange, and tops the bowl with the largest, toastiest, most geometrically precise cubes of croutonsRead more
Over the steady drone of lawnmowers tending to the 14 lush acres of surrounding lawn and garden, tour guide Dennis Orwin delivers instructions on how to conduct ourselves inside the Miller House in Columbus, Ind. “Don’t sit on anything,” DennisRead more
Morning sun glints off the Robert Stewart Bridge as we drive on Indiana State Road 46 above the White River at the entrance to Columbus, Indiana. Like a giant fan, four fire-engine-red steel supports connect 40 steel tension cables spreadRead more