I’m sitting on the deck of my tent (an understatement, canvas walls, yes, but also full bed, wood floor, and shower bath) gazing over the savannah grasslands at snow-capped Kilimanjaro, when I hear a rustling. Elephants! Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, located in the savannah grasslands beneath Mount Kilimanjaro, is world renowned for its elephants. It’s … Continue reading
Author Archives: Hilary Nangle
Splurge-worthy five-star art-immersion weekends in Ireland
Save your pennies—or rather, your dollars—and splurge an art-centric weekend in Ireland. Two of the country’s finest properties, the five-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin and the ultra-haute Ballyfin, in County Laois, have teamed to offer Inspiring Irish Art Weekends that showcase each property’s museum-quality art collection. I haven’t stayed at The Merrion, but I have … Continue reading
Postcard from New Hampshire: Inn at Thorn Hill
Where: Inn at Thorn Hill, located in Jackson in New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley. The inn is situated on a hillside, with mountain views, but is just steps from Jackson Village, with its handful of shops and restaurants. What: Two-night getaway package booked through TravelZoo and including lodging, breakfasts, afternoon tea with sweets, one three-course … Continue reading
Postcard from Vienna: Gaststrube Pürstner
Where: Gaststrube Pürstner, Vienna; operated by the Purstner family for three generations. Menu: Traditional, prices from 7.20-23 Euros (most in the 14-16 E range) Dish: Spinatnockerl (Spinach spätzle with ham and blue cheese), came with a side salad for 7.80 Euros. Portion was huge. Why: I asked the concierge at the Palais Hansen Kempinski for … Continue reading
Reasons to return: Two new restaurants debut at Great Fosters
Last spring, I had the good fortune to spend one all-too-brief night at Great Fosters, a four-star country-house hotel with a royal pedigree set amidst 50 acres of gardens in Egham, England. The royal connections for the mid 16th-century main house (converted to Elizabethan design in the early 20th century) are deep—witness the original royal crest … Continue reading
Roaming Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast
I attained enlightenment in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Not the lights-flashing, God-appearing, Hallelujah! type of enlightenment, but rather a far-more-subtle, restorative, all’s-right-with-the-world kind. This enlightenment hit me not while clambering over the Giants Causeway, not while swigging a dram of whiskey at Bushmills, nor while white-knuckling my way across the tightrope known as the Carrick-A-Reed … Continue reading
Ranting & roaring: Skiing Newfoundland’s Marble Mountain
Like every Newfoundland driver I’ve encountered, Ralph MacWhirter zips along the island’s serpentine, snow-packed roads at speeds that mock posted limits and gives merely a passing nod to stop signs. Left hand on the wheel of his Buick Park Avenue Ultra and right hand gesturing, he turns to me, grins and asks: “Where ya to?” … Continue reading
