On day two of my cruise down the Mekong River, our white yacht eased up to the dock in Luang Prabang. Within seconds, a pack of urchins crawled through the windows and assaulted our luggage . My instincts were not fast enough; before I knew it a disheveled boy barely larger than my bag was … Read more
I stepped from my casita and looked up into a night sky exploding with stars. They swirled and throbbed, so bright that I needed no flashlight to find my way. On the western horizon, Orion’s bow pointed me toward the open-air restaurant at Rancho Pescadero, while the Big Dipper hung low in the eastern sky. … Read more
After dinner, I stopped in the lobby to arrange for a 7:30 a.m wake up call the following morning. “We’ll be happy to do that, Ms. Weibel, and would you like a follow-up call 15 minutes later?” asked the woman behind the front desk. My jaw dropped open. I have always wondered why hotels don’t … Read more
The seeds of my love affair with Chicago’s Palmer House were sown back in 1969. An anxious and giddy teenager, I was thrilled that the famous hotel had been chosen for my senior prom. I vividly recall stepping into the opulent lobby, with its Tiffany 24-karat gold chandeliers, majestic “Winged Angels” (the largest bronze statues … Read more
