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Best Wildlife Viewing, Amalfi Hotels, Nola, and More in March Newsletter

As I write this, I can’t help thinking of one client who is currently in the middle of the Australian Outback and another client in remote Khajuraho, India. They know nothing of presidential primary results and probably don’t care. That’s the beauty of travel; we can choose to escape current events or reality, living off the grid if we so desire far away from headlines. I’m in the midst of working on a Power Point presentation for a talk I’m doing in Maine this month on the subject of adventure travel. I discuss why I’ve devoted so much of my career to the outdoors and the reasons for its allure. For me, it’s the rare chance to be in the present thinking of nothing other than climbing that mountain, finishing a long bike ride, or paddling to the next campsite or backcountry lodge. It’s a gift, really, and I don’t take it for granted during these often dizzying times. 

 
There’s no doubt that the opportunity to see wildlife is one of the best reasons to get on a plane and travel. In March’s ActiveTravels newsletter, we pinpoint five of our favorite places to see wildlife and the best form of outdoor recreation to get you there. All of these adventures come from firsthand experience. Lisa divulges her favorite lodgings on the glorious Amalfi Coast and talks about our best tips for getting oriented upon your arrival in a new locale. We also introduce you to a Tanzanian safari outfitter who can work with more moderate budgets, and discuss why March is a great time to visit New Orleans. We plan on doing exactly that with the kids later this month. 
 
 
 

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Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of The Brothers Grimm by Driving the German Fairy Tale Route

Throughout Germany this summer, the country will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the first publication by The Brothers Grimm. There will be concerts, festivals, and readings happening in more than 50 towns and cities, but the best way to truly appreciate the legend of the Brothers Grimm is to drive the Fairy Tale Route. Starting in Hanau, 13 miles east of Frankfurt, you drive 370 miles, ending in Bremen. Spend a week to see the historic town of Steinau, where Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm grew up, and now home to the Museum of the Brothers Grimm. Take a stroll in the deep forest of the Schwalm Region, the setting for Little Red Riding Hood’s misadventure with that big bad wolf. From one of the towers at the medieval castle of Trendelburg, Rapunzel let down her long blonde hair. Even more impressive is the 650-year old Castle Sababurg, where Sleeping Beauty slept for 100 years before that fateful kiss from the prince. In Hamlin, you can visit the Rat Catcher’s House, the same rat catcher in the Pied Piper who lured away all those gullible young children. Then there’s the city of Bremen, home to those shrewd Bremen town musicians, animals who outsmarted the thieves. Be sure to have a copy of the Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales while driving in the car. 
 
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A Great Time to Be in Boston!

Call it justice for a city still healing from the loathsome murder and mayhem committed on one of our celebrated days of the year, the annual running of the Boston Marathon. Or simply pay heed to the remarkable job Red Sox GM Ben Cherington did by dumping the salaries of big name ballplayers like Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and picking up the unheralded Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, and a journeyman 38-year old pitcher named Koji Uehara. After last year’s laughable season, where we ended up in last place, all we wanted was a chance to have fun at the old ballpark again. But when you’re led by a man named Big Papi, the Babe Ruth of our time, anything is possible. As a travel writer, I’m constantly on the road. Fortunately, I had no trips booked these past two weeks so I could enjoy every game of the World Series with my family. This weekend, there’s no place I’d rather be than home watching the duck boats drive by in a well-deserved parade. 

 
Enjoy the weekend and stay active!
 
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Why We Love Rick Steves European Guidebooks

In a May/June 2000 story for Transitions Abroad magazine entitled “The Best and Worst Of Europe—with Apologies to None,” Rick Steves writes “the area south of Edinburgh is so boring the Romans decided to block it off with Hadrian’s Wall.” In another section of the piece (still found online and worthy of a download), Steves notes, “Oxford pales next to Cambridge, and Stratford is little more than Shakespeare’s house—and it’s as dead as he is.” Then there’s this juicy tidbit: “A hundred years ago, Athens was a sleepy town of 8,000 people with a pile of ruins in its backyard. Today, it’s a giant mix of concrete, smog, noise, tourists, and four million Greeks. See the four major attractions (the Acropolis, Agora, Plaka, and great National Archaeological Museum) and get out to the islands or countryside.”

 
Best known as the host of the PBS series Rick Steves’ Europe, the man is also a prolific guidebook writer, one who is not in the least bit bashful about sharing his opinion. This is what we want in a travel guidebook, someone with an expert opinion we trust who can break down the destination for us. We don’t want a book the size of Anna Karenina detailing every nook and cranny of that country with little or no judgment (the old Lonely Planet guidebooks come to mind). Most of us have a week or two on vacation, if we’re lucky. We simply want someone to tell us you’d be a fool to miss the Sognefjord fjord in Norway or Burg Eltz castle in Germany, according to Steves. 
 
To see my latest column for Men’s Journal on how to pick a trusted guidebook, click here. 
 
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Don’t Miss the Women Modernists Show at Norton Museum of Art

On our last day in Florida, we made the wise move to drive the convertible to the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach. As luck would have it, a new exhibition had just opened, “Women Modernists in New York,” showcasing the works of four friends from the 1920s and 30s, Marguerite Zorach, Helen Torr, Florine Stettheimer, and the best known of the quartet, Georgia O’Keeffe. I’ve never been a big fan of Zorach’s work, a little too primitive and naïve for me. But the exhibition became intriguing in the next gallery focusing on the works of Helen Torr. Torr was Arthur Dove’s wife, and while the art world was reaping accolades on her adoring husband, they were ridiculing the work of Torr (and, for that matter, most work by women artists at the time). Her charcoals of still lifes are wonderful, but most striking were Torr’s two self-portraits where you can see in those sorrowful eyes the world beating down on her. The next room was a delight, a sampling of works by Florence Stettheimer. On one wall she painted herself and her two sisters wearing garb straight out of a Charleston dance, reclining as if they were sitting on chaise lounge chairs. It’s no wonder one of her works recently sold at auction for $4.5 million. Her joie de vivre and sheer ebullience radiates throughout the room. Thankfully her sister dismissed her request to destroy all her works of art upon her death. 
 
O’Keeffe, of course, is the star of the show. One glance at her vibrant palette in “Red Maple at Lake George” (1926) and I was immediately transported back to my boyhood stomping grounds. But the Norton Museum scored a real coup by getting the National Gallery of Art to part with their series of six Jack-in-the-Pulpit canvases, where O’Keeffe reduces the hyper-sensualized flower down to its abstract parts. I could have stared at this wall for hours, but had to catch a flight back to Boston. If you’re in South Florida at any point until May 15th, do yourself a favor and see this show. If you want to read a manuscript of the story I originally wrote for Art & Antiques Magazine on O’Keeffe’s years in Lake George with her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, please email me at Steve@ActiveTravels.com. 
 
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Five Teen-Worthy Adventures

Once the kids hit their teen years, it’s almost impossible to convince them to go on another family trip that doesn’t include a posse of their friends. To make your offer as appealing as possible, you have to up the ante with a tantalizing mix of adventure and food. The finest family adventure trips escort you into a world of active travel you would probably never attempt on your own. Go beyond your comfort zone and try something new together as a family and the memories will last a lifetime. The five destinations in my latest story for Men’s Journal all feature a bevy of outdoor activity in awe-inspiring settings, including our trip to Switzerland in July. 
 
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San Antonio Week—It’s Fiesta Time

In 1891, the city of San Antonio held a single parade to honor Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and the other heroes of the Alamo and the battle of San Jacinto. Fiesta has since grown to an 11-day event in late April that features live music, art fairs, and a slew of parades including The Texas Cavaliers River Parade, which I’m headed to tonight. As soon as my flight landed yesterday in San Antonio, I took a taxi to Market Square, the largest mercado north of Mexico to take in the festivities with the crowds. There were bands playing, churros and funnel cakes cooking, and a frenzied crowd dancing and drinking margaritas and cervezas under the hot sun. I made my way to Mi Tierra, a beloved Mexican restaurant on the square since 1941. The line was an hour long, but since I was traveling solo, the woman at the desk told me to try and get a seat at the back counter. I found the last seat next to the mariachi band on break and ordered enchiladas with a sweet and spicy mole sauce. One bite and I was happy to be back in town. 

 
I’ll be blogging, tweeting, YouTubing, and Facebooking all week from San Antonio, introducing readers to everything happening in the city. So stick around and we’ll have a fiesta together! 
 

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