Lifestyle Archives - Barbara Redding - Freelance Travel Writer

Big brands, boutiques spice up the New Orleans hotel scene

Food & Drink, History, Hotels, Lifestyle, Luxury, Travel

March 15, 2024 by Barbara Redding

Seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and sugar-dusted beignets entice visitors to New Orleans. Along with Mardi Gras and the Jazz and Heritage Festival, of course. But these days, the city’s hotel scene is also getting some special attention. Luxury hotel brands Caesars and Fairmont are set to add new properties in the Crescent City. Plus, new boutique hotels are opening, and historic favorites are being renovated. Plus, most of the new additions include restaurants that are offering the food that’s helped make New...

A Whale-Watching Adventure in Victoria, B.C.

Adventures, Lifestyle, Nature, Stories, Travel

March 10, 2024 by Barbara Redding

A whale-watching tour in Victoria, British Columbia, is an exhilarating experience, especially in an open-air Zodiac boat. A clear, sunny day is preferable. The steep mountains and pine forests surrounding this city on beautiful Vancouver Island create a breathtaking backdrop for the Salish Sea. But even my tour on a rainy, cold day proved that this Canadian city is one of the best places in the world to see whales in the wild. My whale-watching tour was arranged as part of a cruise...

Exploring the Bayside of the San Francisco Peninsula

Adventures, Family, Food & Drink, History, Lifestyle, Stories, Travel

February 21, 2024 by Barbara Redding

As enticing as the cable cars and cioppino of San Francisco can be, California’s Bay Area is stacked with other options for travelers seeking more rural or small-town adventures. On an excursion south from the city along the bayside of the San Francisco Peninsula, I explored several not-to-be-missed sights. At the serene country estate of Filoli, I enjoyed a wine tasting hosted by the prestigious San Francisco Wine School. Dinner followed in the walkable town of Burlingame at an inventive plant-based restaurant started by a...

The Velvet Rope: A New Palm Springs Hotel Spins Old Hollywood Glamour

Adventures, Fashion, Food & Drink, History, Hotels, Lifestyle, Luxury, Travel

January 18, 2024February 19, 2024 by Barbara Redding

The Velvet Rope, a new boutique hotel in Palm Springs, puts a modern twist on Hollywood’s heyday in this California desert town. Nine deliciously themed suites and a speakeasy-style bar transport guests back in time to experience the mid-20th century glamour that attracted celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, and Hugh Hefner to Palm Springs. The Velvet Rope opened in December 2023. But before the first official guests arrived, I was among a group of travel writers invited to experience a few days...

Séc-he: New Palm Springs Wellness Center Offers Tribal Healing Treatments

Adventures, Lifestyle, Luxury, Travel, Wellness

January 8, 2024 by Barbara Redding

“Taking of the Waters” is a sacred healing experience practiced for centuries by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of Palm Springs, California. Today, visitors can soak in the steaming water of the tribal hot springs at The Spa at Séc-he, the tribe’s new luxury spa in downtown Palm Springs. The tribe began sharing Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring with settlers in the 1800s, making it Palm Springs’s first tourist attraction–and namesake. The first bathhouse was a rough-hewn wooden cabin. Séc-he...

Castles, Cardiff and a Coast Path draw visitors to Wales

Adventures, Beach, Food & Drink, History, Lifestyle, Stories, Travel, Wellness

November 20, 2023 by Barbara Redding

Wales-Coast-Path-winds-around-Cardiff-Bay

With more than 400 fortresses still standing, Wales has more castles per square mile than any other European country. Wales is the place to explore lofty towers, secret dungeons, and legends of Camelot. If you love castles, as I do, Wales should be at the top of your travel list. But castles are hardly the only reason to travel to Wales, which is part of the U.K. and shares the island of Great Britain with England and Scotland. Wales has its own story to tell...

Barton Family Wines: Crafting Innovative Wines and More in Paso Robles

Adventures, Family, Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Luxury, Stories, Travel

August 2, 2023August 3, 2023 by Barbara Redding

California’s Central Coast wine region was in its infancy when the Barton family bought an old farmhouse west of Paso Robles and started a family winery in the 1990s. Today Barton Family Wines includes a winery, a farm-to-table restaurant, and a spirit distillery. Modern indoor tasting rooms and shaded outdoor patios with stunning vineyard views welcome visitors to the original farmhouse. No longer a sleepy inland community, Paso Robles is the state’s third-largest wine region behind Napa and Sonoma. Please read my...

Time Traveling Aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California

Adventures, Family, Food & Drink, History, Hotels, Lifestyle, Luxury, Stories, Travel

July 13, 2023 by Barbara Redding

Pictures of a robust Winston Churchill and a young Queen Elizabeth decorated my art-deco stateroom aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The iconic 1930s ocean liner, now permanently docked on the Pacific Coast, has harbored movie stars, British royals, and prime ministers–as well as more than a few ghosts. In fact, Time magazine designated it one of the most haunted ships in the U.S. I was thrilled to be one of the ship’s first overnight guests when she finally reopened in...

San Miguel Enjoys Worldwide Acclaim for Art and Architecture in Central Mexico

Adventures, Food & Drink, History, Hotels, Lifestyle, Luxury, Stories, Travel

May 31, 2023 by Barbara Redding

San Miguel de Allende’s colorful colonial buildings and narrow cobblestone streets make this Central Mexico city an enchanting place to visit any time of year. But during Day of the Dead festivities, visitors can join locals in honoring loved ones who have passed and in celebrating life. To learn more about my visit and my stay at a colorful casita called Casa Carly, please read my story about San Miguel de Allende. My article is available on the Rovology travel website, which is a wonderful...

Keukenhof Gardens Tulips: The World’s Most Beautiful Spring Garden

Adventures, Family, History, Lifestyle, Luxury, Stories, Travel

May 2, 2023 by Barbara Redding

Vibrantly colored tulips pop up everywhere in the Netherlands when warm weather heats the low-land country’s fertile sandy soil each spring. The best place to appreciate the beauty and variety of this prized flower is Keukenhof Holland, an English landscape-style garden in Lisse, about 30 miles south of Amsterdam. The perennial with cup-shaped petals is cultivated by the acre at Keukenhof, but the show only lasts eight weeks each spring. To learn more about my visit to the world’s most beautiful spring garden,...

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