You May Be Wandering

Wandering With The Enchanted Home

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I promised you all some fabulous guest posts while I am away and today you will not be disappointed. I am absolutely thrilled that one of my all time favorite bloggers, Tina, from The Enchanted Home is here today to  share a few of her favorite vacation places.
 
Tina is the pinnacle of good taste, so it is no surprise that her travels have taken her to some pretty amazing places. You will definitely want to take some time with this one…
so sit back, relax and let’s go wandering with Tina!

Hi there, I am Tina from The Enchanted Home and I am so happy to be over at one of my favorite blogs helping one of my favorite bloggers out while she is living large in Europe…lucky lady. Please whatever you do Sandy, eat a macaroon and a croissant on me:)

Knowing Sandy’s love of travel (and expertise) I tossed and turned over what to talk about and decided to take a walk down memory lane and talk to you about some of my favorite places ever. Places I would go back to in a heartbeat and have in some cases gone back to more than once. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty on my bucket list that have yet to be visited but hopefully I will get to those too:) So here we go, lets go back a bit…….

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. We have been four times…..loved it every single time. We have always rented a villa and have gone with another family and on one trip with three other families….talk about some big tables for dinner!  I cannot say enough about Casa de Campo, a truly world class resort set on some 6000 acres, there is a large hotel and many magnificent villas spread throughout, with an amazing yacht club, tennis, golf, swimming, archery, horseback riding,  spa, the list goes on….there is EVERYTHING here and something for every one. Every villa comes equipped with a golf cart or two…so its the best way to get around the sprawling resort….

A picture of our villas pool house and pool
 

LOVED the open floorplan, who needs walls! All we had was billowy white curtains separating us from the outside…….and even when it rained (all of 15 minutes) it was amazing!

This was the “hallway” leading to the kids bedrooms……pretty neat, huh!
 
The living room done all in white….it was tasteful and so comfortable for two families

PARK CITY, UTAH…..Have been here three times and each time had an absolute blast. A GREAT family trip. It is absolutely beautiful and the downtown of Park City is loaded with tons of amazing restaurants, cute shops and has a lively atmosphere. So this is really a perfect vacation spot, combined with world class skiing (though blues are more than enough for me thank you), incredible dining choices, fun shopping, a lively cultural scene, (after all The famed Sundance Film Festival is held here) all this, makes up one little slice of snowy heaven.  It is honestly one of the best places we have visited as a family…tons to do.

We stayed last time in the Grand Summit which is a fabulous ski on/ski off property, very convenient!

BERMUDA. For about six years, we went to Bermuda every July 4th, normally with another family. Always had the best time. For us here in NY, its a quick 2 hour flight…think about it, I can get to Bermuda faster than I can arrive in the Hamptons, crazy as that sounds! We have traditionally stayed at The Southampton Princess or  Elbow Beach but our next trip we are going to stay at the new Tuckers Point. I have been to many beaches in my lifetime but nowhere rivals the water of Bermuda.
The downtown of Hamilton is utterly charming and a fun way to spend a day when you have had too much sun:)

 

 Yes those pink houses really do exist!
 
As do the Bermuda shorts!
 

MONTAUK. We have spent a lot of time in this wonderful beachside haven.We are there nearly every summer and its just the quintessential beachy, casual oceanside family town. You have the sparkle and glam of East Hampton just a few miles away but this casual and easy going beach enclave is perfect for a family. We have so  many good memories in good ol Montauk! And the lobster rolls are not an urban myth, they really are out of this world!

 I still cannot believe I took this picture with my iPhone, amazing, don’t you think?

Yep, they really are that good!!!!!!



PROVENCE AND PARIS. Do I even need to say anything as to why I love both of these places so much? I have been to Paris maybe four times and Provence only once (but more to come) and I have to say it never ever gets old. Each time I arrive, it is like I am seeing the city for the first time…..just a true feast for every one of my senses! We stayed at the George V a few times which is out of this world and Le Meurice when we were last there which was equally incredible!

Exploring the streets of Avignon was like being part of a fairytale……
 
Magnificence was everywhere we turned
 

The magnificent lobby of the George V….ooh la la!
 
Yum…I can almost taste it now:)



SAN MIGUEL DEL ALLENDE, MEXICO. We went after a long plane ride, then a three hour caravan of buses and cars and finally arrived at the most charming, cobblestone clad colonial town I had ever seen. Coupled with such incredibly warm people, this wedding was an absolute fairytale! We went to Punta Mita for a few days after this and it was overall an incredibly memorable vacation!

Pictures from their wedding, it was fabulous!
 

 The mariachi band that serenaded us as we led a parade down the cobblestone streets to the reception

 Loved seeing all the candles all aglow…it set such a beautiful vibe for the evening

 At twilight it was simply magical!
 
 The evening ended with a fabulous fireworks display
 
La Parroquia, the famous pink church in the downtown
 
 The bright vivid colors are a trademark of this beautiful colonial town
 


HAWAII  I simply cannot omit the mention of Hawaii and what’s a travel post without mention of this true “heaven on earth”! Believe it or not I was lucky enough to live in this tropical oasis for about 4 years (yes it really is that amazing) so was thrilled to take my own family back starting when our kids were young. We have been back several times and typically go to Maui but on occasion Oahu. We loved the Grand Wailea when they were younger and appreciate the serenity of the Four Seasons now that they are older. We also stayed at the Ritz Carlton which is beautiful but its located on the northern side which is the rainier side so tropical showers every afternoon were de rigueur. There is simply not a bad place in Hawaii. I have been to few places in this world that can match the natural beauty of Hawaii and come to think of it, for sheer natural beauty…no where is as pretty!
 The natural lush beauty of Hawaii is truly unsurpassed

And few places can rival Hawaii’s sunsets…they are the stuff of legends
 No trip to Hawaii is complete without the obligatory Hawaiian Luau! It never gets old:)
 
 If you go you must must must take the scenic Hana Highway, one of the most beautiful drives in the world!

Wow, just creating this post and reliving all of those amazing experiences makes me feel so nostalgic for the past and of course for when my kids were young and compliant and HAPPY to do what we wanted to do. When we said we were going on vacation we got cheers and smiles, now we get a rundown of the reasons they are too busy to go:( Oh well,  better to have been able to enjoy it than not at all, right? There are so many other destinations that I could have gone on about, California, St. Thomas, Aruba, Switzerland, Italy…..but I knew I had to stop somewhere:)
And many more I wish to visit, I still haven’t been to Greece or Tuscany, two on the top of my list and both places I hope to visit in the next year or so. How about you? What are your most memorable vacations? I want to hear all about them! Thank you for stopping in, wishing everyone a fabulous day and Sandy, thanks for having me…hope you are having a marvelous time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Oh wow…I just added a few new places to MY bucket list! Thank you SO much, Tina, for sharing these wonderful places with us!!
 
And if you have not had the pleasure to check out The Enchanted Home, do so immediately…I guarantee you will fall in love with Tina and her blog. (And, be sure to check out her online shop – it is filled with gorgeous home and personal accessories curated by Tina.)

 

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Comments

  2. I love Tina's blog and happy to find yours now. I am feeling a sudden desire to travel after seeing all of these wonderful destinations. I love Hawaii and agree for natural beauty, there is no where prettier.

    Tina, Greece is worth the trip, hope you get there. You have been lucky to have traveled to so many great places, this was fun.

    Reply

  6. Wow! I had such fun checking out all of your favorite vacation spots..you truly had some memeorable ones. I know you commented on my post about Dominican Republic, and we really loved it there so I have to look in to Casa de Campo for a future trip!

    I am heading to Park City in February for the US reception of the wedding I went to in Sweden I am posting about currently (have been once before), but your photos made me even more excited to go back!

    I don't know if I could pick a most memorable trip of my own, but I would have to say Bora Bora, Egypt, and Bali were up there!! Thanks for the travel inspiration today!

    Reply

  9. Tina you have been to so many amazing places. We love Park City, my in laws used to own a beautiful home there and every Christmas was spent there.

    Love Hawaii too! The Mexican wedding is so gorgeous. What a spot! Thanks for this fun post through all your travels, great post.

    Reply

  11. My list of "must visit" places just got much longer! Your photos are incredible and really capture the beauty of each place. We've enjoyed a couple of family vacations at The Grand Wailea. You are right – it is "Heaven on Earth"!

    Reply

  12. Sandy,
    I hope you're having a marvelous time!!!! But, if you have to be away, Tina is an amazing fill in!!!

    Tina, some of these places I've been…most I haven't (but dream of), so I'll be tucking this post away for reference. Had no idea you lived in Hawaii…lucky lady…that is where Grant and I got engaged. On Maui, at the top of the Seven Pools after a scenic drive along the Highway to Hana. We've said we need to take our boys back for a visit on our 20th anniversary!!!

    Now, I want to plan a trip!
    xoxo Elizabeth

    Reply

  13. Hi Tina and Sandy nice to meet you.

    Great post. How fun to see all of your favorite places. We love Hawaii and Bermuda too. That Mexican trip looks fantastic and never been to the Dominican but it sounds like a great trip.

    Tina hope you will get to go to Greece and Tuscany, I can assure you that you will love both!

    Reply

  14. That villa in the Dominican is amazing, Tina. Love all the white. I love to travel but don't get to do it as much as we used to with kids in high school now. We are going to Greece in April and I cannot wait.
    We also love Hawaii just wish it wasn't so far. What an enjoyable post around the world, now I want to plan a getaway!

    Reply

  16. This post really has me wanting to take a trip. Hawaii sounds really goo but I could even settle for Bermuda.

    You have been to some incredible places Tina!

    Reply

  17. I never tire of travel posts and I thoroughly enjoyed your fabulous varied photos. The Mexican wedding was stunning and Bermuda is already on my list. The Far East is somewhere we find fascinating and I'm sure you would love Greece. Great guest post!

    Reply

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