Wandering With The Enchanted Home

I promised you all some fabulous guest posts while I am away and today you will not be disappointed. I am absolutely thrilled that one of my all time favorite bloggers, Tina, from The Enchanted Home is here today to  share a few of her favorite vacation places.

 

Tina is the pinnacle of good taste, so it is no surprise that her travels have taken her to some pretty amazing places. You will definitely want to take some time with this one...

so sit back, relax and let's go wandering with Tina!

Hi there, I am Tina from The Enchanted Home and I am so happy to be over at one of my favorite blogs helping one of my favorite bloggers out while she is living large in Europe...lucky lady. Please whatever you do Sandy, eat a macaroon and a croissant on me:)

Knowing Sandy's love of travel (and expertise) I tossed and turned over what to talk about and decided to take a walk down memory lane and talk to you about some of my favorite places ever. Places I would go back to in a heartbeat and have in some cases gone back to more than once. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty on my bucket list that have yet to be visited but hopefully I will get to those too:) So here we go, lets go back a bit.......

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. We have been four times.....loved it every single time. We have always rented a villa and have gone with another family and on one trip with three other families....talk about some big tables for dinner!  I cannot say enough about Casa de Campo, a truly world class resort set on some 6000 acres, there is a large hotel and many magnificent villas spread throughout, with an amazing yacht club, tennis, golf, swimming, archery, horseback riding,  spa, the list goes on....there is EVERYTHING here and something for every one. Every villa comes equipped with a golf cart or two...so its the best way to get around the sprawling resort....

A picture of our villas pool house and pool
 

LOVED the open floorplan, who needs walls! All we had was billowy white curtains separating us from the outside.......and even when it rained (all of 15 minutes) it was amazing!

This was the "hallway" leading to the kids bedrooms......pretty neat, huh!
 

The living room done all in white....it was tasteful and so comfortable for two families

PARK CITY, UTAH.....Have been here three times and each time had an absolute blast. A GREAT family trip. It is absolutely beautiful and the downtown of Park City is loaded with tons of amazing restaurants, cute shops and has a lively atmosphere. So this is really a perfect vacation spot, combined with world class skiing (though blues are more than enough for me thank you), incredible dining choices, fun shopping, a lively cultural scene, (after all The famed Sundance Film Festival is held here) all this, makes up one little slice of snowy heaven.  It is honestly one of the best places we have visited as a family...tons to do.

We stayed last time in the Grand Summit which is a fabulous ski on/ski off property, very convenient!

BERMUDA. For about six years, we went to Bermuda every July 4th, normally with another family. Always had the best time. For us here in NY, its a quick 2 hour flight...think about it, I can get to Bermuda faster than I can arrive in the Hamptons, crazy as that sounds! We have traditionally stayed at The Southampton Princess or  Elbow Beach but our next trip we are going to stay at the new Tuckers Point. I have been to many beaches in my lifetime but nowhere rivals the water of Bermuda.
The downtown of Hamilton is utterly charming and a fun way to spend a day when you have had too much sun:)

 

 Yes those pink houses really do exist!
 

As do the Bermuda shorts!
 

MONTAUK. We have spent a lot of time in this wonderful beachside haven.We are there nearly every summer and its just the quintessential beachy, casual oceanside family town. You have the sparkle and glam of East Hampton just a few miles away but this casual and easy going beach enclave is perfect for a family. We have so  many good memories in good ol Montauk! And the lobster rolls are not an urban myth, they really are out of this world!

 I still cannot believe I took this picture with my iPhone, amazing, don't you think?

Yep, they really are that good!!!!!!

PROVENCE AND PARIS. Do I even need to say anything as to why I love both of these places so much? I have been to Paris maybe four times and Provence only once (but more to come) and I have to say it never ever gets old. Each time I arrive, it is like I am seeing the city for the first time.....just a true feast for every one of my senses! We stayed at the George V a few times which is out of this world and Le Meurice when we were last there which was equally incredible!

Exploring the streets of Avignon was like being part of a fairytale......
 

Magnificence was everywhere we turned
 

The magnificent lobby of the George V....ooh la la!
 

Yum...I can almost taste it now:)

SAN MIGUEL DEL ALLENDE, MEXICO. We went after a long plane ride, then a three hour caravan of buses and cars and finally arrived at the most charming, cobblestone clad colonial town I had ever seen. Coupled with such incredibly warm people, this wedding was an absolute fairytale! We went to Punta Mita for a few days after this and it was overall an incredibly memorable vacation!

Pictures from their wedding, it was fabulous!
 

 The mariachi band that serenaded us as we led a parade down the cobblestone streets to the reception

 Loved seeing all the candles all aglow...it set such a beautiful vibe for the evening

 At twilight it was simply magical!
 

 The evening ended with a fabulous fireworks display
 

La Parroquia, the famous pink church in the downtown
 

 The bright vivid colors are a trademark of this beautiful colonial town
 

HAWAII  I simply cannot omit the mention of Hawaii and what's a travel post without mention of this true "heaven on earth"! Believe it or not I was lucky enough to live in this tropical oasis for about 4 years (yes it really is that amazing) so was thrilled to take my own family back starting when our kids were young. We have been back several times and typically go to Maui but on occasion Oahu. We loved the Grand Wailea when they were younger and appreciate the serenity of the Four Seasons now that they are older. We also stayed at the Ritz Carlton which is beautiful but its located on the northern side which is the rainier side so tropical showers every afternoon were de rigueur. There is simply not a bad place in Hawaii. I have been to few places in this world that can match the natural beauty of Hawaii and come to think of it, for sheer natural beauty...no where is as pretty!

 The natural lush beauty of Hawaii is truly unsurpassed

And few places can rival Hawaii's sunsets...they are the stuff of legends

 No trip to Hawaii is complete without the obligatory Hawaiian Luau! It never gets old:)
 

 If you go you must must must take the scenic Hana Highway, one of the most beautiful drives in the world!

Wow, just creating this post and reliving all of those amazing experiences makes me feel so nostalgic for the past and of course for when my kids were young and compliant and HAPPY to do what we wanted to do. When we said we were going on vacation we got cheers and smiles, now we get a rundown of the reasons they are too busy to go:( Oh well,  better to have been able to enjoy it than not at all, right? There are so many other destinations that I could have gone on about, California, St. Thomas, Aruba, Switzerland, Italy.....but I knew I had to stop somewhere:)

And many more I wish to visit, I still haven't been to Greece or Tuscany, two on the top of my list and both places I hope to visit in the next year or so. How about you? What are your most memorable vacations? I want to hear all about them! Thank you for stopping in, wishing everyone a fabulous day and Sandy, thanks for having me...hope you are having a marvelous time!

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Oh wow...I just added a few new places to MY bucket list! Thank you SO much, Tina, for sharing these wonderful places with us!!

 

And if you have not had the pleasure to check out The Enchanted Home, do so immediately...I guarantee you will fall in love with Tina and her blog. (And, be sure to check out her online shop - it is filled with gorgeous home and personal accessories curated by Tina.)