Budget-friendly summer getaways with Jetta Bates Vasilatos
Summer is peak vacation time but what if you don't have the time or budget for an extravagant trip? Travel and lifestyle expert Jetta Bates Vasilatos, star of Bravo TV's "Tour Group," stopped by with some great ideas.
Visit her website JettaSetting.com
Here are her suggestions:
Napa/Calistoga
Drink
Here are some wineries.
Hestan tasting room: The 2008 Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon, a complex, lightly spicy wine tasting of caramel and currants.
Darioush: Their visitor's center, with the sky-touching columns, mixes Persian golden age glam with modern chic. The portfolio tasting, is a must.
Tamber Bey Winery: The Wild West aesthetic is a fun contrast to other wineries. A custom cookie-and-wine pairing experience is offered. Also, they have beautiful performance horses and the expansive grounds.
Domaine Carneros: Their tasting room is housed in a gorgeous mansion, with a roaring fireplace, on a sweeping estate. The sparkling tasting flight is divine and the vibrant, floral Brut Rose, which gives up wild strawberries and hints of juicy peach is very good.
Eat
1. Gott's Roadside, a gourmet burger joint that uses fresh, local ingredients (The garlic fries!)
2. The chicken and waffles at Boon Fly Cafe
3. The elaborate "chef's choice" Japanese cuisine tasting menu at Morimoto, overseen by the eponymous Chef Masaharu Morimoto of Iron Chef fame.
Stay
Solage Calistoga has that luxe country/vineyard vibe vs a "city" vibe. You feel like you are on vacation. They can check-in guests at the car, drive the car to your accommodations, and unloaded the luggage, allowing you to go straight to a delicious dinner at their Michelin-starred restaurant, Solbar. After, they can pick up guests and drive you back to a spacious, sleek studio with a patio and working fireplace.
Relax
Get a designated driver from Pure Luxury. Their all-inclusive rate starts at around $100 per hour or so for a sedan (three-hour minimum).
Quebec City (and beyond)
Quebec City Summer Festival July 5-15
Passes start at only $100 for 11 days of music - 8 stages
Sample of headline acts: The Weeknd, Future, Shawn Mendes, Foo Fighters
Stay
Auberge Montagne Coupee (quaint and affordable - suites start at $150 per night)
Eat
Rustic Sugar offers classic Canadian comfort dishes, housemade maple syrup and taffy on snow.
Delicious, original jellies and spreads.
The owners have been sheep farmers since 1985. At the farm, they transform the meat and create delicatessen products of 100% lamb: cuts, sausages, merguez, terrines, etc.
The farm F.X. Pichet and has been producing organic milk for over 25 years. Go here for local cheeses made from non-pasteurized organic milk. All of their processing and manufacturing practices follow the tradition of artisanal cheesemaking.
A dynamic and hospitable bison farm offering interpretation, meat and other products directly to consumers. AND you get to meet the bison.
Visit
The Experience tour at BOREALIS is an opportunity to discover the great adventure of pulp and paper in Quebec through themes such as logging, water, factory work, lumberjacks and log drivers, and the emergence of working-class districts. You can also attend a papermaking workshop and go on a scavenger hunt in the museum's underground vaults. An experience not to be missed! (This tour is in English only in the summer)
Roll around in fields of lavender and organic product.
Le Trou Du Diable (the devil's hole)
Here you will have the chance to enjoy unique beer that will satisfy a variety of tastes...and don't miss checking out the brewer in action, and elicit some answers to your questions about the brewing environment.
Canoe Bay Chetek, Wisconsin
Canoe Bay is a Kid-Free Zone
These adults-only cabins are designed for two adults (couples are optimum); so be sure to call the sitter (the same goes for our four-legged babies).
Accommodations start at $350
715.924.4594
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Cool road trip (about 9 hours)
Pro tip: Stop on the way to visit the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green and Mammoth Caves in Kentucky
Things to do
1. Hang gliding - Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding...explore the city by air.
2. Explore Ruby Falls - 1,120 feet below Lookout Mountain is Ruby Falls, a breathtaking 145-foot underground waterfall.
3. Paddling on the Ococee River - Located only an hour away from downtown Chattanooga. It is a beautiful nature escape for paddlers of all levels.
4. Hang in Bluff View Art District, a historic neighborhood in Chattanooga filled with restaurants, Rembrant's Coffee House (for smooth java), art gallery, as well as plenty of gardens to explore and relax in. Chill in The River Gallery Sculpture Garden is the perfect place to spend an afternoon. Admire public artworks or enjoy stunning views of the beautiful Tennessee River.
5. Stay at The Dwell Hotel, which is swanky, bright, hip and new.
