The Paraguayan asado

Barbecuing in Paraguay is a real art. Celebrating a friend's birthday? A religious holiday? Just a regular Friday night? All are perfect excuses for an "asado" (barbecue). A typical Paraguayan asado consists of "chorizo" (sausage), "mandioca" (yuca), salads, sopa Paraguaya (similar to cornbread), and really, really good meat. I also highly recommend the relatively recent asado addition, "chorizo con queso," a sausage filled with salty, melted white cheese. As appetizers, hosts will arrange a "picada," where chorizo and mandioca are cut up into bite-size pieces and guests use toothpicks to pop them in their mouths.

Sebastian and Marcelo putting the chorizo on the grill

Other interesting "delicacies" if you're adventurous consist of "molleja" (cow's cheek), "morcilla" (blood sausage), "corazoncitos de pollo" (chicken hearts - which I actually tried, unknowingly!) or "chinchulin" (small intestines of a cow).

Chorizos on the charcoal grill

The meat is all cooked on a large "parrilla" (charcoal grill) in the host's backyard. Practically every house in Paraguay boasts one of these enormous grills and a patio with a long communal table, just beyond. While the salads and side dishes round out the meal, don't be fooled - the real star of the show is the meat.

Asado at Camilo and Pilu's house

And don't forget a good bottle of Malbec from neighboring Argentina or an ice-cold Paraguayan Pilsen beer - the Paraguayans may know meat, but don't expect a great bottle of domestic wine.

Travel inspiration: Edinburgh

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Counting down to my trip to Europe this summer! It's been two years since I've been across the Atlantic - two years too long. While I'm looking forward to visiting my best friend in England and strolling the streets of Paris with my love, the city I'm most curious about exploring is Edinburgh, Scotland. Anyone have any recommendations for Scotland? I have a few stops planned out, but would love some first-person suggestions!

4th of July

This year, my Independence Day included sleeping in, an afternoon trip out east to Long Island, an ice-cold beer, and watching the fireworks (albeit, on TV, in an air-conditioned apartment). All in all, a pretty standard and fabulous 4th of July. I just can't believe the summer is halfway over! I haven't gotten in enough beach time yet. But with upcoming trips planned to the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore, I'm sure I'll have had my fair share of UV ray exposure come Labor Day.

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Island paradise: Turks & Caicos

A recent public relations press trip took me to Turks & Caicos - my first time in this gorgeous island nation, located just southeast of The Bahamas. I stayed on Providenciales, at The Somerset on Grace Bay, an all-suite hotel located directly on Grace Bay Beach, which is considered one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

And it's easy to see why! On our first night, we were welcomed with The Somerset's weekly Beach BBQ. The party included a buffet featuring chicken, ribs, salads and desert - and tables were set up down on the white sand.

There was even a bonfire, rum bar and a DJ that encouraged everyone to get up and dance after dinner!

I tried to squeeze in a bit of exercise on my trip - rotating between The Somerset's gym, snorkling down the beach, and swimming laps in the pool. It really was a pretty active beach vacation; we spent our afternoons enjoying the resort's water sports - ocean paddle-boarding, kayaking, sailing, and more. The ocean was so calm, perfect for all of the little kids splashing around in the clear turquoise water.

We also explored Provo, visiting Da Conch Shack for some cracked conch and conch salad (my favorite), the world's only conch farm, and the island's cultural center for an overview of the destination's history.

And my suite? All I can say is that the kitchen was bigger than my entire New York City apartment. The accommodations start at a sprawling 1,400 square feet - HUGE!

I must get back to Turks & Caicos soon. It would be great for a weekend getaway, with such short, direct flights from New York. Forget the east coast beaches, I want to relax on Grace Bay Beach.

Past, present and future travels

What a whirlwind few months! I've had some amazing travel experiences thanks to some interesting business trips. I've visited the world's only conch farm in the world in Turks & Caicos, had my makeup done (including false lashes!) at Gee Beauty at the Bal Harbour Shops, learned how to make my own aromatherapeutic bath salts at the Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island and took a food tour around Pike Place Market (home of the original Starbucks!) in Seattle. Details on each of these adventures to come.

The next stops on my travel agenda:

• Atlanta
• London, England
• Paris, France
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

... any recommendations for these cities?

New Year's Inspiration

How did I not know about Polyvore until tonight? It's such a fun fashion site where you can create inspiration boards pulling in images of various styles and trends across the web. According to the site, they get 10 million monthly unique visitors - so apparently I'm a bit late to the game.

My New Year's Eve was a quiet gathering in a friend's apartment, complete with gourmet appetizers, a few touches of sparkles and a champagne toast at midnight.

As we close the chapter of 2011, the things that stand out most in my memories are the celebrations and special quiet moments I had with family and friends, near and far. My new year's resolutions include taking more time to write, mastering the Spanish language and increasing my yoga practice.

Cheers to a happy and healthy 2012!

The Sunshine State

Business travels took me to Florida this fall and Sebastian was able to find a cheap Delta flight ($159 round-trip, can you believe it?) and join me for the weekend. We stayed in chic Bal Harbour - first, at the historic Sea View Hotel and next at the five-star ONE Bal Harbour Resort & Spa. Both lovely with their own charms! I'd stayed at ONE previously, but this was my first time at the Sea View.

Our first night, I enjoyed a great lychee martini at Makoto, Stephen Starr's new Japanese restaurant at the Bal Harbour Shops before sitting down to a late dinner at Carpaccio with Sebastian's friends from Paraguay who were staying in Miami for the weekend. The next day, we woke up early to head to South Beach. We spent the morning walking around Lincoln Road and then relaxed at the beach for a few hours, until Sebastian was stung by a swarm of jellyfish - poor guy.

All in all, it was a great weekend...

 Drinks at Makoto

Dinner with Tony and Nadhia at Carpaccio

 View from our room at ONE Bal Harbour Resort & Spa 

 Soaking tub at ONE Bal Harbour Resort & Spa

South Beach

 Lunch at Mister Collins

Sentiment of the Day

“Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” – Ernest Hemingway

Traveling with someone can certainly test a relationship. From sharing a cramped hostel room in Rome, Italy with five study abroad friends during college to lounging at a luxury all-inclusive resort in Cozumel, Mexico - I've sought out compatible travel companions along the way who share my sense of adventure.

Flashback: SCRUBS in The Bahamas!

As a travel publicist, I've had some incredible business trips, from Bal Harbour, Florida to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Among some of the surreal experiences: working the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando (a blog post for another time); working in the media center for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada (another upcoming blog post); staffing a Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot in Banff, Canada; and hosting the cast of Scrubs in The Islands of The Bahamas. Tough job, but somebody's gotta do it, right?

One of my first exciting business travels was to the gorgeous Out Islands of The Bahamas. I helped coordinate the logistics for a week-long television shoot throughout Hope Town, a quaint village that's part of the Abaco Islands. Around 100 cast and crew members flew a charter flight from LA to Abaco and the TV shoot resulted in two great episodes featuring a destination wedding and plenty of ice-cold Bahama Mamas. Behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot is posted on YouTube:


The following are some photo highlights of our week with the super-friendly cast and crew:

And my very favorite:

My most memorable meal

It wasn't that the food was better than I've ever tasted (although it was right up there). It was about the atmosphere. This meal with Sebastian lasted about two leisurely hours, on our own private balcony in San Telmo, overlooking Dorrego Square - with faint tango music audible in the background. The sun was shining (resulting in pink shoulders after lunch) as we sipped sparkling water and chilled white wine. At the end of the meal, the waiter brought us two complimentary shots of limoncello. We savored the sweet liquor then pried ourselves away from our balcony, late for an afternoon appointment.

Sadly, our camera had died and I wasn't able to document the meal. If you find yourselves in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I highly recommend a meal at Amici Miei. Apparently, I'm not the only one who loved a meal there - it's ranked #3 out of 820 restaurants in Buenos Aires on TripAdvisor!

Sentiment of the Day

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” -Kerouac

Hurricane tracking

My thoughts go out to The Bahamas today...hope everyone is safe!

 

Next stop for Irene: the east coast. Hold on tight, New Yorkers! This is new territory for many of us...

Beatlemania at Yankee Stadium

According to Klout, one of the things I'm most influential on is Paul McCartney. Now, travel and tourism, public relations, hotels and food.....these topics I understand. But if you want to interact with someone who is truly an expert on Paul McCartney, you need to chat with my Aunt Nancy. A self-proclaimed Beatlemaniac, Nancy is an expert on all things Paul.

When the Fab Four first came to the United States in 1964, my mother and aunt were among the lucky young ladies who got to see them perform live at Ed Sullivan Theater. Those shrieking, crying girls in the video footage? I have yet to spot them, but can only imagine.

Fast forward 47 years and countless concerts, Aunt Nancy finally got to see Sir Paul up close and personal - from the front row at last month's "On the Run" concert at Yankee Stadium. Before the show, we had a big family tailgate and enjoyed a delicious spread of gourmet food (only my mom would bring crisp pinot grigio, homemade salads and organic macadamia and white chocolate cookies for a tailgating dessert).

He opened the show with a joke that resonated with the New York City audience. “Who is this Derek Jeter guy?” he asked. “Somebody said he’s got more hits than me.”

We danced, sang and had a blast during the two hour and 45-minute show. He played favorites from "Jet" to "Hey Jude."

A couple of favorite shots (the close-up is from Aunt Nancy....Paul looked like an ant from my nose-bleed seats!):

Phabulous Philly

New York City to Philadelphia and back in one day? Easy.

An early morning Bolt Bus, cheesesteaks at Jim's, frozen custard at Rita's, a peek at the Liberty Bell, a photo-op on the "Rocky" steps, a quick tour of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an afternoon beer outside at Rittenhouse Square, a bite to eat at a local pub and a bus back to New York City.

DONE.

Dulce de leche and lost in translation

I explored Paraguay and Argentina for 10 days in May, sampling every steak and baked good dripping with dulce de leche along the way. This was by no means a relaxing vacation (aside for a half-day of pampering in Asuncion), but a fabulous whirlwind trip filled with sightseeing, shopping, a birthday celebration, late nights and early mornings. I was lucky enough to be in Paraguay for the 200th anniversary of independence (bicentenario), which meant concerts and fireworks every night and that the city was decorated in their patriotic red, white and blue. A few highlights:

Vive la France!

It has been FAR too long since I've blogged and I have so many stories to tell -- including a weekend in the laid-back Poconos, a weekend at the beach in The Hamptons, running a 5k down the shore, a culinary press trip to Nova Scotia....but first, the highlight of my summer: 12 days in the south of France.

We flew into Nice, stayed at an estate in quiet Mougins, and spent our days either laying by the crystal-blue pool at the house or exploring nearby cities such as Cannes, St. Tropez and Monaco. Two chefs prepared and presented gourmet French cuisine (picture fresh truffles shaved on your filet mignon) and we had access to a tennis court and free-flowing Laurent-Perrier's Cuvée Rosé Brut at happy hour (try it, you'll thank me).

Some photo highlights: