Boon Fly Café | really good local Napa restaurant

Boon Fly Café (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Boon Fly Café is quite popular with the locals, always a good sign for a restaurant. We enjoyed three meals there while guests at Carneros Inn — two breakfasts (Virtuoso guests get a daily breakfast credit, currently $40 per day and going up to $60 per day in 2017) and our Thanksgiving dinner.

If you arrive for breakfast between 8 and 9 a.m., you'll likely have to wait for a table because, as noted above, the place is extremely popular with people who live in and around Napa. Restaurants are usually crowded because they're good, and this is certainly the case with Boon Fly Café. The extensive breakfast menu includes the Boon Fly American Breakfast ($18.40) that includes two eggs any style, sausage or bacon, bread, juice, and tea or coffee. You can also order order a la carte — unique choices such as Bloody Fly's Spicy Bacon Bloody Mary, Poppa Joe's Eggs in a Hole, Green Eggs and Ham, Boon Fly Benedict, or the restaurant's own homemade donuts (which seemed to be quite popular).

Carneros Inn guests can also enjoy breakfast at the guest-only Hilltop Dining Room (open on weekends). While there's no waiting for a table and a more serene setting, I enjoyed the friendliness and bustling energy at Boon Fly Café.

How was the Thanksgiving dinner? Yum ... from soup to turkey to the bourbon pecan pie with vanilla ice cream, one of the best Thanksgiving feasts I've had. 

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Carneros Resort | visit Napa

country road near Carneros Resort (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Carneros Resort and Spa is a resort in the Napa Valley wine country, just one hour north of San Francisco. We just spent two nights over Thanksgiving at Carneros — more about our stay in a later blog post — but yesterday we enjoyed a 4.3 mile walk on country roads near Carneros. The concierge can give you an easy-to-follow map.

Though the harvest is done, we still enjoyed some spectacular scenery — the luxurious curves of hillside planted with vines, red barns, small ponds reflecting trees clad in autumn colors, and the parallel lines so typical of wine country. I always say that travel is my excuse for photography ... and I came back from this trip with half a dozen favorites.

Though the sun was shining and the sky was blue, I decided to turn these photographs into black and white. I hope they give you a taste for what you can expect in the Carneros region of the Napa Valley.

red barn and weather vane (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

a great suite for Thanksgiving at Hualalai

Big Island for Thanksgiving, anyone? A great specialty suite has just become available at Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The Ohana Suite has two bedrooms and a large living room with a 42-inch flat-screen plasma television, Bose entertainment system, as well as a sofa, easy chairs, and a dining table. Designed specifically for families vacationing to Kona, Hawaii, the one- or two- bedroom ‘Ohana Suites are conveniently positioned on the ground level.

Four Seasons Preferred Partner amenities are applicable to all bookings we make, as well as the special Suite amenities that you will receive. Due to contractural restrictions, I can't post our exclusive amenities, but just drop me a note and I'll send you the details. Suffice it to say, you'll receive hundreds of dollars of savings during your vacation at FS Hualalai (or any Four Seasons hotel worldwide).

copyright (c) 2015 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Thanksgiving, Baltimore style

I've spent very little time in Baltimore, despite growing up less than 40 miles away. But my son and daughter-in-law moved to Baltimore a year ago, and they're hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Josh is a partner with Bolster Labs, a web design company located in Baltimore … and Jessica heads the east coast office of Ourisman Travel.

After many years of celebrating Thanksgiving in New York, I'll miss walking through Central Park, catching live glimpses of the Macy's Parade, and making my early morning Black Friday visits to the 5th Avenue Apple Store (reasonable crowds at 5 a.m. - impossible crowds later in the day).

So what awaits me in Baltimore? We'll of course be staying at the Four Seasons Baltimore, located on the inner harbour. Later this week, I'll let you know about the rooms, the service, and what to do in the area. If your plans take you to Baltimore, contact me (or any Four Seasons Preferred Partner travel consultant) to get complimentary breakfast for two, free internet, $100 spa credit, and space available upgrades at the best luxury hotel in Baltimore.

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

New York at Thanksgiving

walking south down Fifth Avenue (Central Park to the right)

Thanksgiving in New York has been a tradition for a number of years, as my sister lives there, my daughter goes to school there (Columbia), and my son and daughter-in-law live on the east coast as well. So I'm preparing to go once again to the Big Apple next week.

Where to stay? I've stayed at a number of different places. As my sister lives on the Upper East Side, I've split time between the Plaza Athenee and The Lowell, two very nice boutique hotels in residential neighborhoods. But this year — as my daughter's apartment is on the Upper West Side, I'm spending three nights at the Mandarin Oriental New York.

Mandarin Oriental New York is located on Columbus Circle at the southwest corner of Central Park. It's a great venue for seeing Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; you can see it from the hotel's lobby high above the Time Warner Building. I'll post my review right here on Travel Horizons, as well as a review of the new Viceroy New York which I'll be visiting for a site inspection on Thursday morning. The Viceroy is a reasonably priced luxury hotel on W 57th Street at 6th Avenue, so I'm quite interested to see what it's like.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! It's my favorite holiday of the year … still a family holiday that hasn't been overly commercialized.

copyright (c) 2013 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Thanksgiving in New York

Fifth Avenue — Upper East Side

I always go to New York City for Thanksgiving, but not for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which I've never watched in person). Though I've lived in California for twenty years, I'm a transplanted east coast native with the rest of my family back east. My mother lives on the Jersey Shore, my sister and daughter live in Manhattan, and my son and his wife live in Washington, DC ... so Thanksgiving in New York has become an annual tradition.

What to do in New York? Well, basically anything and everything you can imagine. Here are some of the things I've done in past years:

1. Shopping — Need I say more? 5th Avenue has all the brand names, Madison Avenue the boutiques, and downtown the cheap electronics stores. And don't forget the Apple Store (open 24/7) and FAO Schwartz.
2. Museums — the Metropolitan Museum, the MoMA (buy tickets online in advance to avoid long lines), and the Museum of the City of New York.
3. Walking — Central Park (see Strawberry Fields), the High Line.
4. Visit the 9/11 Memorial.
5. See Times Square (it's a mob scene after the Parade).
6. See Grand Central Terminal (which has its own Apple Store).
7. Entertainment — see a movie, go to theater, or see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
8. Explore Chinatown or get pizza in Little Italy.
9. Rooftop bars at the Gansevoort and the Peninsula (ideas suggested by Sarah)
10. Hotel Site Inspections — I don't expect this to be high on most readers' lists!

Where to stay? New York is blessed with lots of great luxury hotels. Here are some recommended hotels in which I've personally stayed: 

• The Lowell
• Plaza Athenee
• Four Seasons New York
• Ritz-Carlton Central Park
• Ritz-Carlton Battery Park
• The Plaza 

Book any of these through your Virtuoso travel consultant for the best prices along with free breakfasts and other valuable amenities you can't get online.

Thanksgiving in New York (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Thanksgiving in New York

I'll be spending Thanksgiving in New York again this year. My sister lives in the Upper East Side, and our whole family will be getting together to celebrate the holidays and my mother's 80th birthday. (Shhh!!! That's a surprise, but as my mom doesn't do the internet, we can keep it a secret among ourselves!)

While in New York, I'll be checking out a couple of hotels that have recently completed total renovations...

The Pierre (whose Rotunda is pictured above) is located on Fifth Avenue at E. 61st Street, just two blocks north of the Apple Store at the southeast corner of Central Park. The Pierre has undergone a $100 million renovation which has created entirely new guest rooms. I've heard that the results are stunning, but I want to see them with my own eyes.

The Plaza Athenee, located on E. 64th Street between Madison and Park Avenue, was closed for renovations this past summer. I saw a mock-up of a renovated room on my last visit, so I'm very interested in seeing the results of the completed project. I am told that the layout of the rooms has been reconfigured making better use of the available space, and the styling has been updated.

I will post a trip report with my impressions of these two properties, so keep watching this space.


Thanksgiving in New York (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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Christmas in Ireland?

Looking for a unique destination to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas vacation? Why not consider Christmas in Ireland? Stay in Dublin with its theater, culture, shopping, and vibrant nightlife — or explore the idyllic Irish countryside. You will treasure the fond memories of this family holiday forever.

The soft economy has led to some amazing luxury travel bargains. Joe Brancatelli's excellent travel website (subscribe at JoeSentMe.com) alerted me to some great Aer Lingus business class fares to Dublin — $1430 from JFK, BOS, or IAD; $1538 from ORD; and $1598 from SFO. These round-trip Holiday Fares before tax are available within two travel windows, Nov. 23-29 and Dec. 30-Jan. 2.

Where to stay in Ireland? Here are two great choices.

The Merrion Hotel is a traditional five star hotel in the center of Dublin. Created from four Georgian Townhouses (with a contemporary Garden Wing), you should book a room in the traditional wing to get the full experience of this traditional property. With a magical Christmas tree in The Front Hall, The Merrion has special plans for Christmas, including a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve with a gift for every child and a glass of champagne for Mum and Dad.

Mount Juliet is a Georgian Mansion on a 1500 acre country estate overlooking the River Nore. Christmas Day is something special with a visit from Santa and a traditional Christmas lunch. There is a superb Virtuoso package including full breakfast daily and a complimentary lunch for two once during your stay — all at the best available rate.

Make your plans early as there is a 30-day advance booking requirement for the Aer Lingus business class sale ... and limited space at the Merrion and Mount Juliet. Contact your Virtuoso luxury travel consultant for more information.



Christmas in Ireland (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2008 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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