Travelscope / Summer 2011

Travelscope / Summer 2011
Joseph cr
ad
coveted E les the
mmy Aw
ard
at festivit
ies held a
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Greetings!
dedness.
Travel is Fatal to Prejudice, Bigotry and Narrow-min
- Mark Twain
Emmy! Emmy! Emmy!
On June 18 at a ceremony held at the
Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles,
Travelscope won its first – but not last
– Emmy. And, although you tell us, and
we know, that Travelscope is an entertaining and culturally-rich show, we are
thrilled to be honored by our peers! It
feels great to be recognized in this way.
Here are links to pictures on our facebook
page, and our latest blog post, podcast
and press release about the Emmy win.
The category was Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Photography
and the recipient was Zebediah Smith,
our production supervisor and primary
photographer and editor.
Julie and I are grateful to Zeb and
everyone that made this award possible
– including PBS viewers like you.
We currently have 65 episodes airing
on PBS which introduce viewers to the
wonders of the world and the people
who inhabit it. Above all else, we are
grateful to have the opportunity to
touch so many people and continue to
prove the words of Mark Twain that,
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and
narrow-mindedness”.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
We are certain and, therefore, can promise you
wholeheartedly, that the
best of Travelscope is yet
to come! Happy Traveling!
In This Issue:
Getting Around......................... 2
Celebrations U.S.A.................... 2
Destination Hot Spot:
Port Aransas, Texas.................. 3
Dateline: The World................. 3
Whale Watching and Staying
Green in Colombia................... 4
Resorts, Hotels ‘n’ Inns............ 7
Out of the “Comfort Zone
in Cozy Orlando....................... 8
Travel Partner Spotlight:
Taiwan Tea Station................... 10
Bookmarks............................... 11
Travelscope® is published by Travelscope® LLC, PO Box 519, Topanga, CA 90290, (310) 455-7164. Publisher and Executive Producer: Joseph
Rosendo; eMagazine Editor: Barbara Beckley; Marketing Director and Producer: Julie Rosendo. Travelscope is not to be reproduced without written
permission. Subscribe to our podcast, join our blog and follow our television shows at www.travelscope.net.
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Getting Around
Now non-cyclists can take part in the celebrated Tour de France with
VIP Tours from Discover France. Itineraries feature the Opening
Week Brittany Tour, July 2-7, with the best action viewing sites (and
champagne) at a team time trial at the finish at Les Essarts, as well
as a village gathering with teams and tour officials at Olonne Sur Mer.
The Grenoble Time Trial & Paris Finish VIP Tour, July 22-25, includes
finish line grandstand seats in the official tribune “Grand Palais” on
the Champs Elysees. To learn more, visit DiscoverFrance.com.
If you’re going to Italy, consider using Select Italy, a niche tour operator specializing only in Italy. They create customized land and sea
trips providing everything you wish from air and hotels to restaurant
reservations, museum entrance tickets and guided day tours. They
also have vacation packages for travelers who want the freedom of
an unescorted trip, but the convenience and value of a package price.
The 4-night Venice package starts from $617 per person, not including air. For details check out SelectItaly.com. Be sure to cruise the
Mediterranean with Joseph and Select Italy on Regent Cruises’ PTV
at Sea cruise. The cruise show will air on Travelscope TV beginning
June 2012 on PBS.
Book before June 30 and take a friend to Fiji for half price on Air
Pacific. The package special includes roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles to Fiji, 8-nights’ accommodations, daily breakfast and transfers.
The first person pays $2,499 and the second pays $1,899. Good
for travel through March 2012. Check AirPacific.com for additional
deals. Watch Travelscope TV’s Fiji show, running now on PBS.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is waiving the single
supplement charge on select 2011 departures. Solo travelers can enjoy
the 11-day Dovro River Valley Cruise through Spain and Portugal’s
celebrated port wine region beginning at $2,899. Includes visits to
Salamanca, Spain; Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. Visit Uniworld.com.
Leisure cyclers can enjoy Switzerland’s mountain beauty on Ebikes available at Rent a Bike stations throughout the country. The
lightweight electronic bicycles use battery power to help riders climb
hilly inclines and cover twice the distance with half the effort. See
RentABike.ch and MySwitzerland.com for details. Two new Swiss
shows join the four currently running on PBS in June 2012 with a
special Swiss Christmas Markets show scheduled to air during the
2011 holiday season. Don’t miss them!
Page 2
Celebrations U.S.A.
Kauai, Hawaii honors its plantation heritage with the fun-filled
Koloa Plantation Days festival, July 22-31. Highlights include
a Ho’olaule’a Paniolo Rodeo and cookout, Hapa Trail walk,
traditional Hawaiian games and fire dancing, a craft fair, cooking
demos, live entertainment and a spectacular parade through
Koloa Town. Visit KoloaPlantationDays.com.
Reba McEntire in concert, canine stunt shows, celebrity milking
contests, key lime pie on a stick, theme park thrill rides, live
stock award-winners and the largest juried art show in Minnesota are just some of the fun at the Minnesota State Fair, Aug.
25 - Sept. 5. It’s the largest 12-day event in North America. For
details, visit MNStateFair.org.
The Roll Out the Barrels Wine Festival kicks off June 23-26
in San Luis Obispo County in Central California wine country.
Enjoy barrel-tastings paired with culinary delights in downtown
San Luis Obispo’s historic Mission Plaza. Vintner dinners at
wineries and restaurants, as well as tastings, food and live
entertainment take place at local wineries throughout the county.
Visit SLOWine.com for details. Look for this exciting region on
Travelscope’s upcoming California Coast show airing on PBS in
2012.
July 11 - 24, marks the 19th annual New York City Restaurant
Week, the world’s first restaurant week. Prices for the prix-fixe
three-course meals are $24.07 for lunch and $35 for dinner (excluding beverages, taxes and gratuities). More than 300 restaurants are participating in this gastronomic extravaganza, which
also features sweepstakes, consumer events and products. To
learn more, go to NYC.com.
Celebrate a star-spangled 4th of July in the historic seaport of
Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard. Festivities include a public
BBQ on the Old Whaling Church lawn, a parade with floats, kiltclad bag pipers, fire trucks, animals and glorious fireworks over
Edgartown Harbor. See MVY.com for more information.
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Destination Hot Spot:
Port Aransas, Texas
Page 3
Dateline: The World
by Barbara Beckley
The Calgary Stampede, billed as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on
Earth” by its organizers, kicks off July 8 - 17 in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada. Bull-riding, bronco busting, championship chuckwagon
races, a dueling chef competition, games, rides, concerts and even
an ice skating show make it a must-see event. Visit CalgaryStampede.com for details, and watch for Travelscope’s Alberta shows
airing now and as part of Season 6 in 2012 on PBS.
Castle building on Port Aransas beach
Texas – island style! That’s how boosters describe the sun-drenched
resort town of Port Aransas, located off the Texas Gulf Coast on
Mustang Island. Bohemian in feel, it’s a beach town with just about
everything: watersports, nature, history, art, great seafood, lively
nightlife and even championship golf. Arnold Palmer’s only seaside
links-style signature course opened here in 2008 – the Newport
Dunes Golf Club, a public course.
As a favorite sport fishing spot for more than a century – President
Franklin Roosevelt fished here in 1937 – visitors also enjoy water
action including kite surfing, kayaking, jet ski touring, parasailing and
surfing. The Port Aransas Museum offers a fascinating look back in
time with historic photos and artifacts from the 1857 lighthouse.
Nature-lovers thrill to the abundance of land and sea creatures at
a myriad of nature preserves, such as the Port Aransas Nature
Preserve, which features miles of hiking and biking trails. Over 300
species of birds either reside or visit seasonally. There is even a
festival each February that celebrates the endangered Whooping
Crane which winters at the Aransas Wildlife Refuge.
It’s the oldest fair in Ireland dating from pagan times – the Puck
Fair – honoring a Billy goat (Puck is Irish for he-goat) Aug. 10-12, in
the river town of Killorglin in County Kerry. Lively street entertainment, concerts, a horse show, parade, fireworks, puppeteers, masquerading, a bonny baby contest and lots of pub-hopping, make this a
fair to remember. To learn more, visit http://www.PuckFair.ie. See
the Puck Fair on Travelscope’s Ireland show airing now on PBS.
Bargain hunters rejoice! The annual Amazing Thailand Grand
Sale Festival, June 15 - Aug. 15, celebrates shopping, with up to
80 percent off on exquisite locally-made and brand-name goods
at department stores, shopping complexes, King Power Duty Free
shops, jewelry stores and retail outlets along designated “shopping
streets” in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, Hat Yai,
Pattaya and Hua Hin. Airlines, hotels, spas, hospitals, golf courses
and online travel agents also offer specials. For more information go
to TourismThailand.org/ThailandGrandSale. Enjoy Travelscope
TV’s four Thailand shows airing now on PBS.
Artists have long been drawn to Port Aransas’ seaside charm. The
Art Center for the Islands showcases many of their best works.
Plan ahead to savor the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival at
the Kowloon Waterfront Promenade on Oct. 27-30. Named by
ForbesTraveler.com as one of the top 10 international food festivals,
visitors enjoy many of the world’s most desirable wines, dishes from
award-winning restaurants, live music and entertainment against a
stellar backdrop of beautiful Victoria Harbor. Visit DiscoverHongKong.com for details. Learn more about all that Hong Kong has to
offer on Season 6 of Travelscope TV in 2012 on PBS.
Restaurants abound, from the casual Crazy Cajun’s boiled crawfish
to Italian-themed dishes at the Venetian Hot Plate to top-rated Roosevelt’s at the Tarpon Inn whose gourmet offerings include grilled quail
and rack of lamb. For drinks and live entertainment, The Back Porch
Bar on the waterfront is the place to hang out.
The Zurich Festival, June 17 - July 10, in Zurich, Switzerland,
offers something for everyone with a bustling lineup of opera, dance,
concerts, theater and art. Visit Zuerich.com for details. Watch for
Travelscope’s Zurich (Sechseläuten) Spring Festival show coming to
PBS next June.
To learn more, visit PortAransas.org, and watch Travelscope’s Port
Aransas and San Antonio, Texas shows airing now on PBS.
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Page 4
Watching Whales and Staying
Green in Colombia
Story and Photos by Ellen Clark
A thermal pool near El Cantileco Lodge
wooden bench seat – don’t even think seat
belts or shocks. “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” ended
with a drive across the sand, stopping in front
of El Almejal, an eco-lodge tucked between
the deep blue sea and the emerald rainforest. “Y
ou’ve got to be kidding,” I said to my airplane
seat mate. “We’re going to land down there?”
I mean, from where I was sitting, all I could
see was a sea of green jungle butting up to
the ocean shoreline. But, wonder of wonders,
a few minutes later the plane was bouncing
down a bumpy runway on its way to a beatup looking building that appeared to be the
Bahia Solano airport terminal.
we piled into a thrashed out Toyota fourwheel-drive vehicle. It had definitely seen
more than its fair share of bad road, and it
was about to see nine miles more.
The seemingly indestructible Toyota crashed
over deep ruts and sunk into water-filled
potholes, while I tried to stay mostly on the
After what the owner, Cesar Vasquez, aptly
described as “the adventure of arriving,” we
assembled in the Common Building. Large,
wooden and open-sided, it served as combination living room, dining room and kitchen.
Vasquez, who with his mother has owned
and run El Almejal for more than 25 years,
gave us a rundown on his philosophy and the
lodge’s programs.
Vasquez is passionate about ecology and his
primary focus is on teaching visitors about
the local flora and fauna, emphasizing sustainable tourism. From the lodge, visitors can
go whale watching, take rain-forest hikes, go
on nature walks and visit waterfalls. Bahia Solano is in the Choco region of
Colombia on the Pacific coast, approximately
155 miles west of Medellin. It’s a sparsely
populated area and one of the rainiest in
South America. I planned to spend eight days
experiencing the natural wonders of the area
while staying in eco-lodges.
Laid back seemed to be the order of the day,
as it took at least an hour for our ground
transportation to appear. No shiny black
airport limo in this neck of the woods. Instead
Our accommodations were
housed in little wooden cottages scattered around the
property. They weren’t fancy,
we’re talking eco-lodge, not a
Four Seasons, but they had
comfortable beds, a proper
bathroom and a hammock on
the porch.
Hangin’ in a Hammock at El Almejal
continued on page 5
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Page 5
continued from page 4
instructions to the boat’s driver, and we sped off
toward the horizon. Sure enough, whale fins, backs
and tails broke the water as we all tried to capture
their movements with our cameras.
For the next couple of days I hiked, kayaked, swam,
looked for more whales and visited the local town. I
ate fish, slept in a hammock and generally unwound,
until it was time to head down the coast to another
eco-lodge, El Cantil.
Normally visitors fly into the town of Nuqui and then
take a 35-minute boat ride to El Cantil, but, since
there were a number of people transferring; Vasquez
decided we’d go by boat.
The El Cantileco Lodge
After a full day and a little jet-lag, I was happy to settle down with a local Poker beer in the main building prior to dinner. Meals at El Almejal
are simple and tasty, using local produce, some grown in the lodge’s
gardens, and fish, caught by local fishermen.
Night at El Almejal is a special time. The crashing of the waves and
the mysterious sounds of the rain-forest are better than a lullaby for
putting you to sleep.
Every year between June and October, humpback whales migrate
from feeding areas off Antarctica looking for warm weather to give
birth to their calves. The Pacific Ocean off Colombia is teaming with
these huge mammals and chances to catch a glimpse of them are
excellent. I was anxious to see them in action, so the next morning I
hopped into one of the lodge’s outboards and headed out to sea.
We zipped across the dark blue water while the guide scanned the
ocean for whale activity. Just as it looked like the illusive mammals might not put in an appearance, the eagle-eyed guide shouted
Humpback whales
When I woke up to pouring rain and black skies on
the day we were to depart, I began to question the wisdom of this
idea. But the itinerary was set. So I trudged down the beach wearing
my rain slicker and climbed into one of the outboards.
continued on page 6
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Page 6
continued from page 5
next couple of days I chased whales, hiked, swam and
relaxed on my ocean-front porch reading a trashy novel.
On the last day, it was announced that Guillermo would
be leading a hike into the rain forest to scout for poisonous tree frogs. It was described as an “extreme” hike and
not for the faint of heart or weak of limb. I was having
second thoughts, but my desire to get a glimpse of those
lethal little red polka-dotted frogs won out.
I set off with a hefty walking stick into the thick foliage
that surrounded my cottage. It was wet, muddy, slippery
and steep. Ten minutes into the hike I was drenched in
a combination of beyond belief humidity and sweat. After
Photographing whales from El Almejal’s boat
two-plus hours of serious hiking, we reached tree frog
territory. I had no idea the frogs were so small or hard to
What had been advertised as a two-hour boat ride turned into 3 1/2
find. However Guillermo was expert at uncovering the illusive little
hours. The seas were rough, the wooden bench seats were hard and
creatures, who hide in the foliage around the trees.
the rain was unrelenting. It seemed we were experiencing yet another
To say I wasn’t looking forward to the trek back to the lodge would be
“adventure of arriving.”
a gross understatement. I survived. But I have to admit that I’d have
Thrilled to be back on dry land, I was met by El Cantil owners, Nana
paid a hefty price to have someone carry me the last mile. It was exand Guillermo Gomez, and kitchen workers with a steaming cup of
hausting and murder on the knees, but well worth it and a fitting finale
hot chocolate. Even in the bleak weather, the little wooden red-roofed to my Colombian adventure. For more information, go to Colombia.
cottages that marched up the hillside looked inviting. Overlooking the
travel and TurisColombia.com.
Pacific, with the rain-forest as a backdrop, each one featured a porch
Ellen Clark is an award-winning photographer and adventure journalwith straight-on ocean views.
ist who is based in Los Angeles and is a frequent contributor to
By the next morning the rain had stopped, so I joined some of the
Travelscope.
other guests who were walking down the beach headed for a natural
thermal pool. After about an hour and a half we
arrived at a little village. We talked to the school
teacher and visited the one-room classroom,
before following a dirt path into the forest.
I could smell it before I could see it. The big cement pool was adjacent to the river and filled with
steamy, sulfury water. After a soak in the toasty
thermal bath, a dip in the nippy river water was
refreshing. Our local guides gave us facials using
sulfur-infused mud. Thermaled and facialed, I
walked back to El Cantil for an afternoon of whale
watching.
The Gomez’s were the ultimate hosts, and the fact
that both spoke excellent English was a plus for
those of us whose Spanish was limited. For the
Poisonous tree frog
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Page 7
Resorts, Hotels 'n’ Inns
Here are some restful values.
R = resort H = hotel I = inn ♥ = romance, of course.
Enjoy the romance of scenic
Topanga Canyon in the
Santa Monica Mountains outside of
Los Angeles at the luxury bed-andbreakfast Tuscali Mountain Inn.
This two-story Tuscan-style villa
features two guestrooms and a
master suite, beautiful mountain views and deluxe amenities including
cozy robes, Italian linens and flat screen TVs. Sunset hors d’oeuvres
and California wines, gourmet breakfasts, en-suite massages and wine
tasting and vineyard tours at Malibu Wines are among the activities.
Rates begin at $265 per night. Visit TuscaliMountainInn.com. Learn
more about the inn on Travelscope TV’s California Coast show airing on
PBS in 2012.
I
Opened January 2010, the El
Colibri Boutique Hotel & Spa is
the first and only boutique spa property
in the village of Cambria on California’s
Central Coast. A short walk from Moonstone Beach – Joseph said he could
hear the waves at night – each of its 34 rooms features a fireplace and
soaking tub. The full-service spa includes two treatment rooms, two
steam rooms and a rooftop Jacuzzi. In the evening, guests gravitate to
the Lobby Wine Bar for premium vintages from the nearby Paso Robles
wine region, tapas, and on Saturday nights – wine tasting and live
music. Amenities include continental breakfast, free wireless and free
parking. It’s dog friendly and smoke-free. Rates begin at $179 per night,
double occupancy. Go to ElColibriHotel.com for details. Look for it in
Travelscope’s California Coast show.
H
Living the upstairs lifestyle of
“Upstairs Downstairs” – that’s
how Joseph described his stay at the
luxury Ard na Sidhe Country House
Hotel in County Kerry, Ireland. Built
in 1913 by Lady Gordon as the house
of her dreams, the 18-bedroom
H
mansion-turned-hotel sits on Lake Caragh surrounded by gardens.
Guests enjoy tea on the terrace, croquet on the lawn, boating on the
lake and meals in the formal dining room. The sumptuously decorated
bedrooms — 10 in the main house and 8 in the garden house — are
without TV and radio for true relaxation. Rates include a B&B Package
from $125 per night, double occupancy with a full Irish breakfast. Visit
ArdNaSidhe.com for more information. And watch for the Travelscope
TV’s Ireland show airing now on PBS.
Bright minimalist chic surrounds
guests who stay, as Joseph did,
in the heart of Zurich, Switzerland at the
4-star Hotel Glockenhof, a Best Western Premier hotel. Located near Zurich’s
famous Zurcher Bahnhofstrasse shopping street, this 100-year-old charmer just completed a major redo and
features a reconstructed lobby, all the necessary high tech amenities
and three restaurants: the Conrad for cutting edge cuisine, the Glogge
Egge bistro and a garden cafe. Rates begin at $276 a night for a single
room and $396 for a double. For $300 per night the “Shopping Special”
package includes a welcome drink, shopping voucher for $60, dinner at
Conrad’s and champagne breakfast. To book, go to Glockenhof.ch. It
is featured in the Zurich Spring Festival show that will be airing during
Season 6 of Travelscope in 2012 on PBS.
H
The romance of the South
Pacific and a Jimmy
Buffet-style good time mixed
beautifully for Barbara at the
boutique Fiji Hideaway Resort
& Spa on the Coral Coast of
Fiji’s main island of Vatu Levu. Smartly re-styled beach bungalows with
full-on ocean views and indoor and outdoor showers; a lively sunset
cocktail scene at the pool bar, nightly entertainment, Continental and
Fijian cuisine and a friendly, residential feel give this resort a high guest
repeat rate. The full-service spa faces a private lagoon and offers
international and Fiji massage treatments and the unique Aqua Lava
Rocks Fijian sauna. A local artisan sets up shop daily hand-crafting
beautiful pearl jewelry. Snorkeling, kayaking and surfing are off shore,
plus diving, village visits and myriad island adventures. For rates and
packages, go to HideAwayFiji.com. Look for the Travelscope Fiji
show, airing now on PBS TV.
R
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Page 8
Out of the “Comfort Zone” in Cozy Orlando
by Barbara Beckley
walk for unobstructed views of hippopotamus, across
this “rickety” bridge — which thanks to Disney Imagineering is really rock solid and includes safety harnesses — for a birds eye view of the Nile behemoths,
and off-road adventures with elephants, giraffes,
antelopes, lions and leopards. Trekkers also enjoy a
gourmet lunch served in the middle of the Harambe
Wildlife Preserve and one-on-one conversations with
Disney’s wildlife experts. The tour is by reservation
and is not included in the standard admission.
This wasn’t my only wild encounter on the Disney
campus. Bald eagles are making a come back in the
skies above Orlando. I was taking the passenger
ferry that sails between the several Disney hotels on
Mother & Baby Elephant at Disney Wild Africa Trek
Bay Lake, when a bald eagle swooped down onto the
water and grabbed its prey. White tail flared, talons
Clutching the rope railings of the rickety suspension bridge with both
out stretched — it was the real life image of a screaming eagle poster
hands, I peered 60 feet down through the broken boards beneath my
— just 100 feet away.
feet. Nothing but air separated me from 16 giant, black, mean-looking
Surprises of a different nature offered unexpected adventures in Winter
Nile crocodiles sprawled along the Safi River’s muddy banks.
Park, a community 30 minutes outside Orlando. Billed as “Florida’s first
Now I love alligators — the smiley smaller gators one sees floating
planned community,” Winter Park’s moniker turned out to be a good
under lily pads in the Florida Everglades. But these bruisers made
thing for visitors like me, who love looking at multi-million-dollar homes
Florida’s gators look like garden lizards!
and high end boutiques and dining at trendy restaurants.
“Nile crocodiles are bigger, stronger and more aggressive than Florida
alligators,” I heard a guide explain. “Great,” I thought to myself. I still
had about 100 feet of swaying bridge to navigate above these massive
reptiles before I reached solid ground.
Built around three man-made lakes in the late 19th century for wealthy
Easterners, the lake-front homes have continued to grow in size, value
and prestige.
The crock-gator comparison was easy to make because I wasn’t in
Egypt, home to Nile crocodiles. I was in Orlando, Florida, home to
American alligators. My airborne antics were part of the new Wild Africa
Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort.
“The regular bus tour guides love to emphasize how large and vicious
the Nile crocks are when they see people crossing the suspension
bridge,” Geoffrey Pointon, Disney public relations manager, told me
later.
Opened earlier this year, the new adventure takes visitors on a bush-
Barbara Braving the “Crocs”at Wild Africa Trek
continued on page 9
Travelscope/Summer 2011
continued from page 8
Tiffany Wing at the Morse Museum of American Art
Sailing across tranquil Lake Osceola and through the narrow, oakdraped canals that connect the residential lakes, I was in heaven as we
motored passed opulent mansions and gorgeous gardens. “Remember the PBS show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood?” Tom Smith, our
twinkly-eyed captain-tour guide asked. “This was it. Fred Rogers and
his parents lived in that house,” he said, pointing to a colonial-style
mansion. “Rogers graduated from Rollins College,” Smith added, as
we sailed passed the red brick buildings of this private university’s lake
shore campus.
The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour lasted an hour — the residential
lakes are that large. The cruises depart daily beginning at 9:30 a.m.
“It’s best to take the first or second tour,” Smith recommended. “The
lakes get really crowded with private boaters as the day progresses.”
Next, I visited Winter Park’s Morse Museum of American Art
— home of the world’s most comprehensive collection of Louis
Comfort Tiffany art works. I was in awe. Every piece I’d ever seen
in the art books was here.
Noon — time for lunch on Park Avenue. Named after New York City’s
ritzy thoroughfare, Winter Park’s main drag is lined with Rodeo Drivestyle shops, where sidewalk sale items are $100 each. Lunch was
delicious — and totally affordable — at the Park Plaza Gardens, a
charming open-air patio and a favorite “insider’s” spot for 30 years.
I enjoyed fried green tomatoes, followed by the smoked turkey, apple,
brie and bacon salad, paired with a crisp pinot grigio.
A perfect ending for a perfectly unexpected day.
To learn more, visit DisneyWorld.Disney.Go.com, CityofWinterPark.org and VisitOrlando.com.
Page 9
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Page 10
Spotlight on
TAIWAN TEA STATION
Jimmy Huang of Tea Station, Inc. and Joseph attend a formal tea
ceremony as part of Travelscope’s Taiwan Tea television show.
Y
ou can have an international experience without leaving the country – or if
you simply like authentically prepared and
poured Chinese tea, sip some of the best – by
visiting one of the many Tea Stations in the
U.S. Joseph covered the formal tea ceremony
while shooting two episodes of Travelscope
in Taiwan, and was delighted to discover an
equally satisfying, authentic tea experience in
California and Las Vegas.
Tea Station is more than a tea shop, the Tea Station has a tea
university in China and at their facility visitors can get a tea education.
As part of the course, students discover the tea biographies which
detail the personalities associated with the five major tea types. For
instance, Green tea is a natural, free spirit; Oolong is enthusiastic and
brave, and Pu-Erh tea is gentle, rich and aromatic.
At U.S. Tea Station locations both straight brewed teas, hot tradi-
tional flavored teas such as Lavender & Pu-Erh and Pearl Jasmine are
poured. In addition they serve traditional blends including the tapioca
milk tea and tea snacks which include sweet toast, tea boiled eggs,
Taiwanese sausages and fried taro balls. A wide variety of teas and accessory products also are for sale.
The Tea Station is an institution in Taiwan and China, with thousands
of shops in both countries. You can find eight shops in Los Angeles and
Orange Counties, one in Northern California, two in San Diego and one
in Las Vegas.
“You can experience a formal tea ceremony, with the traditional etiquette and utensils; find all the best teas and nosh on authentic tea snacks,” Joseph enthused. “It’s
like being in Taiwan or China.”
Be sure to watch Joseph’s Taiwan Tea show which began airing in June
as part of Season 5 of Travelscope TV on PBS. If you’re in the area
sure to stop into one of Tea Station’s shops or visit them anytime at
TeaStation.us
Travelscope/Summer 2011
Book Marks
by Barbara Beckley
If you’re visiting
Southern California
for the first or the
fifth time – or if you
live there – check out
the new first edition
of “Day Trips from
Los Angeles,”
published by Globe
Pequot Press. It’s an
excellent source on everything there is to do
within a two-hour drive of Los Angeles.
Written by local journalists Laura Kath and Pamela Price (I contributed four chapters including those on Marina del Rey, Beverly Hills
and Venice) “Day Trips” offers a fresh perspectives on Southern
California’s legendary hot spots and insider insights on dozens of
little-known places of interest (many free of charge) from Santa
Barbara to San Diego and Santa Monica to Palm Springs. The local
writers insure that readers are getting the genuine scoop on what to
see, where to eat, shop, stay and play.
In addition, the guide’s 232 pages are packed with photos and
itineraries that cover just about everyone’s interests from star-studded
Hollywood and Universal Studios Hollywood to the laid-back water
world of Santa Catalina Island, 26 miles off the LA coast. The book
offers family-fun from Disneyland to apple-picking in the San Bernardino Mountains, and sporting action from golfing in the desert to
wine-tasting in Temecula.
Every carefully planned escape explains how to make the most of
your time, with travel directions, destination highlights, detailed maps
and recommendations on dining, lodging and entertainment.
For more information and to purchase “Day Trips from Los Angeles”
($14.95 in paperback), go to GlobePequot.com.
Page 11
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Joseph Rosendo has been an
award-winning travel, food and wine
journalist for 31 years. His awards
include Canada’s Globe and Mail Travel
Media award and France’s Medaille d’Or
du Tourisme. He lives in Los Angeles
with his wife and producer, Julie, and
their cats, Topanga Jones, Carlito and
Bates.
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