Springtime
brings to life all the beauty on earth!
By Stephanie Abrams
I like to think of every bloom opening to share a pleasurable
travel experience! So tiptoe through the tulips with me as we
peel back the petals of places guaranteed to excite your imagination,
uplift your spirit, and enhance your life so that your journeys
will truly take you to another place! Here's a fairytale
itinerary designed to create a garden-spot in your memory bank:
Firstly, start by staying overnight at an airport hotel in the
US. Sleep late, take a leisurely bath, and arrive at your airport
gateway with hours and hours to spare! It will make such a difference
in the way you feel about your departure day! For some serious
pampering, check to see if there's a Sofitel Hotel (www.sofitel.com)
in your gateway city. Expect luxurious service travelgirl-style
all topped with orchids! And if you're flying from JFK,
you'll appreciate the bedding at the Crowne Plaza JFK
and the pair of 18th century Baccarat Crystal urns in the lobby
valued at $250,000 each!
Airports are great, fun-filled places but most travelers red-line
the departure process so it's one big rush and hassle.
The airport is a playground for the travelgirl, filled with
restaurants, shops, observations areas to watch planes take-off
and land and, if you're traveling internationally, there
are duty-free shops to explore! But note that, if you buy liquids
such as perfume, liquor, shampoo or other items in containers
larger than 3 ounces, in the shops you find after the security
check-point, you'll be able to take them on board and
carry them to your next destination. However, you won't
be able to carry them onto a connecting flight. So if you're
making a connection you'll need to get your checked luggage
and stow your liquid purchases inside. If your luggage is check
through to your destination, that won't happen. If you
can't claim your luggage before you reach your final destination,
or if you've packed your luggage solidly with no room
to stow your new purchases, those liquid items over 3 ounces
will be confiscated by the security folks! Remember this so
you can factor your shopping into the TSA formula so you get
to keep everything you buy!
Let the fairytale commence! The pity is that there is nothing
I can write nor any photo you can see that will truly give you
the sense of the experience I am about to roll out to you. Suffice
it to say that, while few travelgirls are familiar with the
unique lodgings to follow, there are some Americans who have
already been repeat guests such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia
Coppola, Ron Howard, Tony Curtis and many Europeans well-known
to travelgirls such as Julio Iglesias, designer John Gallinano
and Gerard Lanvin.
All of the places we are going to are part of Grandes Etapes
Francaises. Don't be scared off by the buying power of
celebs! There are deals to be had even at these amazing places!
Check out their website at www.GEFhotels.com for details.
The only way to understand the richness of staying at the following
places is to go there. And don't be put off by the celebrities
who have been guests! If your budget doesn't allow you
to stay in everyone of these luxurious and unique historic places,
then choose to stay one night for the big splurge, stop in for
tea or a glass of wine or a dinner along the route. Or, better
still, plan to return again and again until you have stayed
in all of them!
So here we go!
Arrive in Paris and head directly to Chateau d'Esclimont,
a 150 acre estate. At the beginning of the 6th century a chateau
fortress was built but was destroyed in various wars leaving
only the dungeon. Then, this jewel of the Renaissance period
built in 1543 by the archbishop of Tours. Much has been added
over the years but always in keeping with the elegance, grace
and style of the architecture. While it's less than an
hour's drive from Paris, located 35 minutes from Versailles
and 15 miles from Chartres and its magnificent cathedral, you
can opt to arrive by helicopter in only minutes! You can easily
shed your daily concerns and leave them behind as you enter
and become the queen of your new home! When you make your reservation,
ask about having a massage in your room on the evening of the
day you arrive! Decadent. . . and so necessary! This chateau
was the home of the la Rochefoucauld family. Henri de Rochefoucauld
was the godfather of Francois 1st, King of France who used the
“fleur de lise” as his symbol. While at this chateau,
do everything from simple walks around the gorgeous grounds
and pond, play tennis, swim in the heated outdoor pool, bicycle,
go boating, enjoy evening musical performances, fly over the
region in a plane, helicopter or, in true travelgirl style,
view the area from a hot air balloon! If you're a golfer,
an 18-hole golf course in 9 miles away!
Next, as you move deeper into the Loire Valley region of France,
stay at Chateau d'Artigny. This is a fascinating place!
I'll be your mom or your grandmother had Coty Perfume
products on her vanity table! I know mine did! There's
a wonderful story behind the successful Francois Coty and you've
got an opportunity to live in his grand lifestyle at Chateau
d'Artigny. This is a real-life fairy tale in which, once
upon a time, there was a perfume maker who dreamed of living
in a castle. Francois Coty, credited with being the inventor
of modern perfume-making, hit it big with Coty Perfumes and
decided that he should live in the grand style of the kings
of France. Legend has it that Coty approached the French government
and offered to buy Chambord, a magnificent chateau and home
to Louis XIV and other kings, to purchase as a summer home for
himself. When the government turned him down, he suggested that
they sell him Chenonceaux. This is much like your approaching
the US government with an offer to buy the White House or Camp
David! When Coty was again refused, he decided he must build
his own chateau in the style of 18th century style of the chateaux
in the Loire Valley. I am so pleased that he invested so much
time, money and energy in creating a magnificent chateau filled
with marble, wood paneling, fresco in tromp l'oeil and
everything necessary to provide a gorgeous setting that is now,
due to the efforts of the Rene Traversac and his descendants,
part of the family owned and managed GEFhotels.com group. Only
9 miles from Tours and surrounded by the most important chateaux
in the Loire Valley, if I took you to this chateau hotel, which
is about 80 years old, and told you that it was one of the homes
of the French kings in the 18th century, you'd really
have to do some research to find that this was not true! With
every luxury, fabulous parkland grounds, with the kind of service
that understands your need to step out of your world and into
another time and lifestyle, you'll find Chateau d'Artigny
provides an enriching experience for body, soul and taste buds.
There are over 20,000 bottles of fine wine in the wine cellar,
fabulously delectable cuisine, a private dining room for a romantic
dinner for 2, and a duplex cottage that you can take over for
total privacy. Ron Howard, after the Cannes Film Festival, visited
Chateau D'Artigny, arriving up the drive wearing his signature
red baseball cap. In order to maintain his privacy, Ron chose
to arrive pedaling a bicycle and checking straight-away into
the duplex! While he came into the chateau for dinner during
his stay, I'm told that he was recognized by the other
guests but that, with style and aplomb, he was afforded a peaceful
evening of good food and privacy by the other guests! Bravo
to them!
A wonderfully sweet offering of the Grandes Etapes Francaises
chateau hotel group is the Demeure Le Choiseul. More like a
grand manor house than a chateau, this charming and intimate
lodging is couched next to the exterior wall of Chateau Amboise,
a glorious museum chateau where you find the burial site of
Leonardo Da Vinci. Just outside of Le Choiseul, within a 2 block
charming walk through narrow streets, you find the little village
of Amboise with darling shops, a great chocolatier, bistros,
boutiques, pastry shops and bakeries lining the streets that
look like they have been peeled from the pages of a storybook!
In keeping with the GEF Hotels appeal, you'll find intimacy,
warmth, charm, and a memorable experience waiting for you where
you'll leave feeling that you've been torn away
from old friends.
Follow the route to Gilly-les-Citeaux in the heart of the vineyards
of Burgundy. There you'll find Chateau de Gilly, an abbey
whose history dates back to the 6th century when the archbishop
of Paris left all his properties in Gilly in Burgundy to the
Benedictine monks. In his honor, the monks built a priory which
evolved over the years into a country home for the 51st Abbot
of Citeaux in the 16th century. Two hundred years later, the
Chateau de Gilly was sold, became a public theatre, and ultimately
caught the attention of Rene Traversac, credited as the founder
of chateau-hotel concept, after considerable renovation which
protects the style, history and heritage of Chateau de Gilly
combined with the expectations of luxury and comfort of the
most sophisticated traveler, the chateau opened in 1988 for
guests seeking an inspiring visit. The cuisine will make you
understand what is possible in food preparation and service,
the accommodations provide pampered comfort, the historic setting
is amazing, the staff on every level is incredible, and I promise
you that you will be planning your return before you check out!
Each chateau-hotel in the group provides a setting of peace,
tranquility, activity on the grounds, world-class sightseeing
nearby, phenomenal food and wine, the best trained staff I have
ever encountered on a consistent basis, and each makes a unique
impression on your mind and spirit that tugs at you heart as
you leave. There is an incredible warmth and personality at
each of the properties that is very hard to describe. The others
in the GEF Hotels Group that I visited were Chateau De Divonne,
nestled on a hillside in France in Divonnes-les-Bains, overlooking
Geneva, Switzerland and only 15 minutes from Geneva International
Airport, Chateau d'Isenbourg and Chateau de L'Ile,
both in the Alsacian region of France near the Rhine River which
separates this French area from Germany. The similarities of
these chateaux are their elegance, grace and quality of service
one comes quickly to expect from GEF Hotels at these uniquely
different historic properties.
There is one property that is quite young and modern and that
is Le Mas D'Artigny in Saint-Paul-de-Vence . This hotel
is stretches like a hacienda, terracing across the mountain
side facing St. Paul and the Mediterranean Sea. The hotel provides
special private villas each with its own pool as well as accommodations
in the sprawling complex. The spa is well known for its signature
treatments and the hotel's general manager has a passion
for making guests feel that they are at home in a way that home
could never live up to! Only 30 minutes from Nice and Cannes,
and 5 minutes from St. Paul, this is the perfect location to
be near everything without being in the thick of the crowds,
especially during the summer months. Open year ‘round,
this always sunny location is the ideal getaway for the winter
traveler looking for an inspirational destination in a modern
setting.
If your budget allows you to follow this path and spend a night
or two or more in each of the hotels listed above, I promise
you the experience of a lifetime. For everybody else, drop in,
ask for the General Manager and say, “Stephanie Abrams
told me I had to rest my body and spirit here for a bit!”
and head for the lounge area. Order a glass of fine wine and
plate of fruit and cheese to recharge before you continue your
journey. And dream a little dream for me!
•
Be sure to visit my award-winning website, www.sabrams.com
and www.travelingfeet.com
for travel tips, travel news and information and scheduled guests
on my radio shows!
www.travelgirlinc.com
• May 2007
Gotta
Fly Now! sm
Stephanie Abrams
Other
TravelGirl Editorials by Stephanie Abrams:
March
2006, Spring
Time Travel
May 2006,
(coming soon)
September
2006, Castle
Hopping
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Stephanie
Abrams, recognized as a leading radio travel expert and as one
of the "100 Most Powerful Women in /travel," is host of the
weekly Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams, heard coast-to-coast on
the Business Talk Radio Network and appears weekly on radio's
nationally syndicated, "Traveling Feet!" Visit Abrams' award-winning
website www.sabrams.com
and www.travelingfeet.com. Stephanie welcomes travelgirls' travel questions
at stephanie@sabrams.com.
