Beat the Heat in Sonoma

[trip style = wine tasting + weekend getaway + sun] {more pics below}

Sipping on a lime- and cucumber-infused water I realize it’s already 6:45pm. Having just returned from a full day of wine tasting, I'm lounging poolside catching the tail-end of the Sonoma sun. {An account of my trip to the Napa Valley over this weekend last summer}

Embracing the Heat Although temperatures in the Napa Valley can reach 40-degrees Celsius during the summer, it's still a worthwhile time to visit the USA’s most famous wine region. With a few minor adjustments to packing and planning, we mild-mannered Vancouverites can beat---and even embrace---the Napa heat.

A Work-Around Because Napa is inland, the temperatures are a little more extreme than Vancouver’s. While the sometimes intense midday heat makes you wish you were sipping an ice-cold mojito, surrounded with spritzers by the pool’s edge, the mornings and evenings provide a cool retreat.

Mild Mornings Embracing morning’s milder temperatures allows you to counterbalance wine tasting and start the day by walking to a local café for breakfast, hiking to perfect picture-taking vistas or biking on Sonoma’s back roads to wineries like Ravenswood, Sebastiani and Gundlach Bundschu.

Save It for the Afternoon Save the wine tasting for the afternoon when you can sip chardonnay to your heart’s content in an air conditioned tasting room. Once you hear the next winery calling your name, dash for the car and amp the air conditioning until the next vineyard’s tasting room. Although this sounds like a bit of a process, you have to love a region where rain isn’t even part of the locals’ summer vocabulary.

More Than a Room If you want to see more than just a tasting room, many wineries offer tours of their production facilities and vines. Being indoors, the production portion of tours is cool, yet walking through the pinot or zinfandel vines is a little more toasty. If you can stand the oven-like conditions for an instant and want to get up close and personal with the grapes, most wineries offer umbrellas while some of the bigger players have roofed, open-air vehicles.

Poolside Retreat Depending on your affinity and tolerance for wine, after a few sequential tastings, you may want a pool break. The poolside scene from 5–7pm offers fewer crowds and soothing, milder rays. And if you’ve been tasting cabernets all day, it’s nice to have a late siesta before another glass at dinner.

Good Parking Spot One night I abandoned my 5-7pm poolside rule and went out for dinner at 6:45pm. I made the mistake of dining outside and later realized why I got parking right in front of the restaurant in high season. Although surrounded by calming water features, grapevines and the allure of open-air dining, I couldn’t enjoy my dinner on the patio because the heat was still intense. Case in point, I’d been at the pool the night before until 7.

Lesson Learned The next night I strapped on my party shoes and went out at 8pm. Being a glutton for punishment, I risked sitting outside. The risk paid off. Dining alfresco at the right time was a perfect way to top off an excellent day in wine country. Oddly, that night I didn’t even want wine with my gastronomic indulgences.

Sonoma Travel Tips Stay – The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa or El Dorado Hotel Eat – The Girl and the Fig and El Dorado Kitchen Do – Consider navigating to wineries near your hotel by bike. Most major hotels rent bikes to guests for $25/day. As of yesterday, guests of Fairmont properties in the USA (and Canada) can use on-site BMW bikes for free. Sonoma's back roads may be off the beaten track, but the wineries are worth a visit.

Trip Styler Tip: Whether biking or driving to wineries, if traveling as a pair, share tastings so you can winery-hop without indulging in too much nectar.

Photos Grape vines

Biking to wineries in Sonoma

Grapes at Beringer Winery, the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley

The courtyard at my favorite winery in Napa: Michel Schlumberger

Wine barrels being aged and stored

Related Content Wine Touring 101

Travel Trends :: The Bees Knees

[Don't miss the sweet recipes below provided by Fairmont]

Making honey is so hot right now, and not just because it's summer.

In a concerted effort to organi-fy, greeni-fy and sustaina-fy themselves, hotels are going back to basics and harvesting some of the ingredients they serve. The current obsession other than herb gardens? On-site honeybee hives. But don't worry, these sweet initiatives are happening far enough away from the hotels' play areas that you needn't worry about being stung by the queen.

Next time you're at these hotels and happen to sweeten your tea with a dollop of honey, it may be freshly made by the queen herself.

Marriott The Chicago Marriott's roof-top garden is home to 200,000 bees that pollinate the on-site garden supplying herbs and vegetables for the property's restaurant.

Four Seasons The Four Seasons Atlanta’s fifth-floor terrace produces honey used in the hotel spa's scrub and massage treatments as well as the restaurant, but not in that order...

Ritz-Carlton The Charlotte Ritz recently added two fully-contained bee hives to the 18th story of its vegetated roof. Lucky guests will be able to satisfy their sweet tooth with the hotel's very own organic honey.

Fairmont The Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver This local property shares its 2,100-square-foot herb garden with six honeybee hives on the hotel’s third-floor terrace. Summer 2010 adds two additional hives, bringing the apiary to just over 390,000 honeybees producing an anticipated 500 lbs of honey. Guests of the hotel can even take part in weekly garden and hive tours conducted by Director of Housekeeping and resident Beekeeper, Graeme Evans.

The Fairmont Royal York, Toronto The Toronto Fairmont is home to 300,000 bees in peak season. Since June 2008, the hotel's award-winning honey has been harvested from the 14th story apiary, with much of it going into the hotel’s cocktails and cuisine.

The Fairmont Washington, D.C. The Italians are good at everything, and now the Fairmont DC is importing their stylish honeybees to occupy 3 hives on the property's roof.

Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, Kenya Partnering with local beekeeper Stephen Macharia, the Fairmont Mount Kenya hosts 8 hives, each with approximately 4000 bees.  Producing 66 lbs of high quality honey, guests of the resort can sample the honey as well as learn about bees and honey production.

Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, Quebec Each of the Chateau Frontenac's 4 hives contains about 70,000 bees expected to produce enough honey for the entire hotel, with the extra being sold in the Fairmont Store. The honey is harvested three times a year (spring, summer and fall) and used in special honey-based menus (for banquets) and select dishes in the fine dining restaurant, Le Champlain.

The Fairmont Algonquin, New Brunswick Apparently I missed the memo when I was recently at the Algonquin, because if I'd known about this program at the hotel, I would have talked about it earlier!  Either way, the hotel is said to have a resident queen bee pollinating the hotel's garden as well as nearby Kingsbrae gardens.  The honey is on sale for guests, as well as used for afternoon tea and in dishes at the hotel's restaurants.

The Fairmont Yangcheng Lake, Kunshan China In spring, the hotel's resident bees produce up to 88 lbs of honey used to sweeten the deal for guests.

Fairmont San Francisco, California Earlier this summer, The Fairmont San Fran installed four beehives in its 1,000-square-foot onsite culinary garden. The bees come from a nearby farm and dine on the hotel’s lavender and herbs to create delicious honey, with each hive boasting 50,000 bees when fully mature. Executive Chef jW Foster will use the harvested honey at afternoon tea service and in cocktails, entrees and desserts at the hotel’s three restaurants.

Honey Recipes The Fairmont was kind enough to send these bevvie recipes.  I think the Royal York's festival buzz is my fave.  Enjoy!

The Fairmont Washington, DC Honey Rum Swizzle Bacardi Rum 8 Years, Angostura Bitters, Clover Honey and Fresh Lime Juice

Flight of the Bumble Bee Cutty Sark Whisky, Clover Honey and Half and Half served on the rocks

Bee-tini Belvedere Pomrancza Vodka and Clover Honey, mixed with Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Mint and Grenadine

The Fairmont Royal York Festival Buzz 1oz White Peach Puree, 1/4oz Royal York Honey, 4oz Moet Chandon, served in a flute, serve with sugar-powdered mint.

The Fairmont Algonquin Grapefruit Mojitos Fresh mint leaves, Grapefruit Juice, Honey Muddle mint leaves in the bottom of a tumbler glass and then fill two thirds of it with crushed ice. Stir 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice with the honey until the honey is entirely dissolved. Transfer dissolved honey/grapefruit juice to a cocktail shaker with the remaining juice and shake with ice. Strain into a tumbler glass and serve

Honey Rum Swizzle 1oz Rum, 3 drops Bitters, 1.5 teaspoons Honey, 1 teaspoon Sugar, 1/2oz Lime Juice Half fill glass with crushed ice. Shake ingredients together in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into the glass. Mix in the glass with a muddling spoon until the glass frosts. Garnish with a lime wheel.

[photo by david.nikonvscanon]

Sea Shells by the Seashore

[trip style = beach]

My sister first told me tales of St. Andrews by the Sea when she was stuck in a windowless room at the Fairmont Algonquin while working on the CBC documentary The Week the Women Went.  Other than balancing our sightseeing-intensive get-to-know-Canada-better trip with some relaxation, I'm not really sure why we went to St. Andrews. Maybe it was instinctive, or maybe it was the draw of a quintessential Maritime experience.  Either way, what better place to spend a few days (or weeks) in New Brunswick during summer's hot, lazy days.

Towering over the resort town is the historic Fairmont Algonquin.  In the early 1900's the resort was marketed as a health retreat to city-dwellers promoting a reprise from hay-fever allergies among other things.  Between biking around the picturesque town to spending time along the seashore, St. Andrews' pace of life and enough-but-not-too-many amenities is already making me consipire to return, and not just because my allergies were miraculously kept at bay.  Here are a few hightlights:

St. Andrews by the Sea {The Fairmont Algonquin. See my review here.}

{Town of St. Andrews by the Sea.}

{Cute gift shop find: 'sea glass' lamp base.}

{The Hungry Whale Cafe, a seaside coffee and ice cream place.}

{Whale watching with Fundy Tide Runners.}

{A finback whale!}

{Seals!}

{Watching whales trying not to be seasick...wasn't that bad given I get motion sick on chair-lifts.}

{Captain 'McGee' posing with my husband Nathan...}

{I turned into a purple people eater in front of the local sweet shop.}

{The Lobster chair, or waiting area, at The Gables Restaurant.}

Travel Apps :: Top 6 Free Camping Apps

[trip styler = camping]

Camping already requires loading gear, driving to your destination and setting up camp; wouldn't it be nice to consolidate a few items and bring one or two less things?  Be more prepared and informed with the following apps:

Top 6 Free Camping Apps Nurse Jackie The App: 05 min: First Aid The Details:  Although not totally comprehensive, this quick first aid refresher will help you treat wounds or burns, or assist with fainting or fractures.  It takes 2 seconds to download and could be prove invaluable in the wilderness, or at your highly populated campground. FREE

Buh-Bye Mosquitoes The App: Bug Spray The Details: Yep, there's even an app to repel bugs.  Play cards around the coleman light late into the night, and turn this baby on to make sure your skin isn't ransacked by nature's little bloodsuckers. FREE

Let There be Light The App: Flashlight The Details: Who knew that making shadow puppets with your smartphone could be so fun?  Also use this app to light your way to the potty for those late-night when nature calls moments. With multiple flashlight colours to choose from, how could you not want to light your path with this snazzy app. FREE

Stings Attached The App: Knots Free The Details: No one likes a runaway campsite, so make sure all your tent and tarp strings are secured tightly to pegs and surrounding trees with this knotting app. FREE

Cook in Style The App: Coleman's Cookout Cookbook and Meal Planner The Details: It's amazing how many incredible meals can be made over a campfire--or a dutch oven (what? you'll have to download to app to see those details).  From cooking muffins in an orange shell to beer can-gilled chicken, you too can cook like Jamie Oliver on your next camping trip. FREE

Be Like Survivorman The App: SAS Survival Guide Lite The Details: If your scout or girl guides lessons fail you when it counts, revert to the SAS Survival Guide to refresh your skookum survival skills. Remind yourself how to build a fire, navigate by the stars and send distress codes. FREE

Other Travel Apps we’ve Reviewed

• enRouteDG (Dining Guide)
• Epicurious
• BorderWait
• OpenWays
• TripIt
• Trip Advisor
• StayHIP
• Trip Journal
• Bug Spray
• CameraBag
• Convert Everything
• GateGuru
• Kindle for iPhone
• Packing Pro
• Skype
• World Fact Book
• AAA/CAA Savings
• Royal Caribbean
• Medical Concierge
• Tourism British Columbia :: Near Me BC
• Postman Postcard
• 2010 Guide
• Nat’l Geo World Atlas
• hostelworld.com
• kayak first class
• flight control (game)

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Europe's Craziest Celebrations

[trip style = adventure + sightseeing]

Ever wanted to take part in the world's largest food fight, outrun bulls in the streets of Spain or drink beer wearing lederhosen? Visiting the following European festivals takes sightseeing to a whole new level. Forget museums, participating in these traditions is a cultural tour in and of itself. I can think of no better tourist activity than attending a local celebration---you see the sights, interact with locals and learn about the destination's traditions. Done and done, and added to my bucketlist.

Running with the Bulls (San Fermin) Where: Pamplona, Spain When: July 6 - July 14, 2010 Attire: White from head-to-toe with a red scarf and sash As one of the most internationally renowned Spanish fiestas, the 9-day San Fermin festival draws 1,000,000 people each year. The most famous event is encierro, or running of the bulls, attracting adventurors, observers and locals alike to watch and/or participate in the 800 meter dash through the cobblestone streets of Pamplona. Reading an article in The Globe and Mail about a Whistler tour guide who runs tours to Pamplona each year, he said his biggest clients are 40-something hockey dads seeking a thrill.  His advice if you fall or trip during the 2-3 minute run? Stay down and roll to the side.

Tomatina Where: Bunol, Spain When: Last Wednesday of August Attire: Bathing suit and googles Some natural skin remedies say toning the skin with pure, fresh tomato juice helps to minimze pores and sooth acne, if that's the case, your skin is bound to glow after taking part in the famed Tomatina festival. Each year some 20,000+ people storm the small town of Bueno, Spain to madly throw overripe tomatoes in every direction.  The world's biggest food fight is wild, red and may even provide a little stress relief!

Oktoberfest Where: Munich, Germany When: September 18 - October 4 Attire: Lederhosen and Dirndl Some people actively participate in this beer-drinking festival for all 16-days, whereas others can only handle a short stint. Every year at the beginning of fall, some six million people descend upon Munich in search of pints and pretzels. When I visited Munich, I saw the area used for Oktoberfest and I was blown away by its gargantuan size--big enough to hold the festival's estimated 6 million attendees. While in Munich, our host told us how good Oktoberfest servers can carry 8 or more overflowing beers in each hand. Their biceps must be so toned. I wonder if Calgary's Stampede servers could challenge this?  [Tip for the ladies...my fave beer drink in Munich was a Raddler (mix of beer and lemonade)].

[photos by SubtlePanda, John Yavuz Can, Viajar24h.com, Ethan Prater]