What do Great Wine, Burritos and the Beach Have In Common?

They are all in BAJA, MEXICO!

Huh?

Yep.  Although not many people are aware, Baja, Mexico is home to some pretty spectacular wineries.  I know… you are all staring at your computer screens in shock at how low our standards have sunk.  But… not true Grasshopper!

When we first came down here, we heard about some of the wine that was being produced out of the Guadalupe Valley.  “Sure, sure,” we said. “Wine is made in all 50 states in the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii, obviously), and much of it is not great.”

So… at our first dinner here, I looked over the table at Don and said, “I’m going to try some.”  The waiter brought me a wine made from Italian Nebbiolo grapes, and my eyes popped out of my head.  This wine was HUGE. I mean BIG.  A little rough, but that’s not a bad thing.  And, I have to say it “yummy.”

Over the past month or so we’ve been soaking up what sun there had been down here, eating burritos, walking the beach and sipping on some great Mexican wine.

Who’da thunk it?

Our Annual “Best of” 2009

Newport Beach Boat Parade, December 2009

Hi, everyone! 

We’ve been sorting and cataloguing to seeing what places and experiences were “naughty” or “nice,” for our “Top Ten” for 2009! 

We don’t think anything will beat last year’s #1 – getting married in Siena, Italy.  That is likely to rule the board for the rest of our lives.  Heck, maybe we’ll do it again, this time in… I don’t know… the top of Kilimanjaro?  Maybe the Dali Lama would be up to blessing us?  

Here are our possibilities for 2009: 

• Sailing on a private 100 ft. yacht around the Big Island, Hawaii with 100 top performers on our team. (June)
• Just living in our fabulous villa on the Cote d’Azur, France (Sept – October)
• Monaco.  That should be it, but we had dinner with millionaires at one of the best restaurants in the world.  WOW! (September)
• Exploring San Francisco from our condo on Nob Hill (March – May)
• Kayaking in the bio-luminescent bay, at night, in Puerto Rico (October)
• An amazing dinner with our best friends on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific in Acapulco (March)
• Making our own perfume in Grasse, France (September)
• Whisking Don to Portugal to eat suckling pig for his birthday (January)
• Summer on the beach in Southern California (June – August)
• Celebrating with our Team Europe colleagues in Malaga and later in the year, Barcelona (February and September)
• Spending day-after-day wandering around the amazing hill-top towns in the south of France (October and November)
• Going to Toledo (NOT Ohio), Spain, TWICE and staying at the beautiful Parador overlooking the city (February and November)
• Celebrating the porcini season with a mushroom FEAST in Italy (September)
• Driving along the Mediterranean from Italy to the South of Spain (October)
• The futile search for paella in Valencia, Spain, where I left my purse in a CHINESE (?!?) restaurant, 30 miles from where we were staying.  Sounds horrible, huh?  It’s all about how you look at it. (October)
• Flying First Class everywhere.  This is not to boast.  We simply love it.

WOW…we are so grateful for everything in our lives… our family, friends, our business and YOU!

Have a fabulous holiday!

Much love,
Don and Karla

Can You Say “World’s Best Burger”???

Ooooo baby … I’ve just finished the consummate burger … and it was in a little place we drove by for 2 months. The name of this gastronomic temple? Hash – common name with a very uncommon burger.

Chef Micah starts with Wagyu beef (American Kobe for those who don’t know) – it is “brought to temperature” by the proper application of hot cast iron – the result is a wondrous and magnificent crust. Additional components include a pretzel bread bun, aioli, tomato and onion relish and cheddar cheese -

Also on the plate … mac ‘n cheese – makes it a double hit.

The Perfect Villa in the South of France!

We’ve had a wonderful time in our spectacular “French Villa” on the Cote d’Azur.  Just look at some of the posts below.

We’ve also decided to return for a few months in the Spring, and thanks to Cote d’Azur Villa Rentals, most especially Meg Burley, we’re in the process looking through all their villas in France to find that “perfect” private villa in the south of France.

Everything was taken care of for us… linens, pool, housekeeping, etc.  Don and I love to be pampered, and we’re looking forward to coming back in March.

We’re off to Spain for a week or so, so stay tuned!

THESE Are the Good Old Days

Have you ever said… “when I have… then I’ll be/do/have….”

Gosh… I’ve said it a million times in my life.

I was reminded recently by a very wise woman, that no matter what’s happening in  our lives, we are living, right now, the “good old days.”

These days are pretty good in fact.

Don and I are so grateful to have found the business that we have.  The flexibility allows us to be able to work our business from anywhere.  Anywhere with a phone and an internet connection, that is.  That’s pretty much anywhere in the world. 

We’re grateful that this business is lucrative enough that we don’t have to stay in two-star hotels, or downsize, or look especially hard for budget airfare (although we are smart enough to find great flights!).

This weekend, we went to a dinner party thrown by a friend that is also in our business. Champaign, caviar, great wine, food, conversation, new friends… all in a beautiful home overlooking the Mediterranean!

Saturday we drove to Badalucco, Italy to have lunch at a place that is a temple to all that is Mushrooms.  Two hours later, stuffed to the brim with everything Porcini, we drove home and crashed.

Here’s Don… before… and after!  (I’m laughing hysterically, but not sure if he will be after he sees this post!)

These certainly are the GOOD OLD DAYS.

20HrWorkWeek.com on the Cote d’Azur

Don and Karla, Cap d'Antibes

Living and working on the European Continent has provided us with a wonderful opportunity to spend our days exploring much of what the South of France has to offer. 

Thursday morning, we drove to the highly-popular port town of Antibes, hugging the coastline halfway between Nice and Cannes.  This town has long been one of the most inspirational settings for artists and is home to the largest pleasure port on the Riviera.  Our eyes popped out of our heads at the sight of so many mega-yachts.

 

 

We spent a few hours meandering the busy Thursday morning market in the old town.  You can find everything at these markets – food, and more food, household goods, clothes, jewelry and all the usual Provencal artisan items.  There was so much to buy that we left without buying anything!  We did “invest” in a yummy Socca (Provencal Savory Chickpea Pancake) – here’s Don enjoying himself!

 

Happy Don at Le Bacon

On to lunch in Cap d’Antibes!  Our good friend, Lynne Edwards, had recommended a restaurant called, “Le Bacon.”  You long-time readers will know that Don would never pass up an opportunity to eat at a restaurant with named “BACON,” so we made our way there and… WOW…  there we were, just two average Americans eating among the rich and famous!  The restaurant is perched on a small peninsula and overlooks all of Antibes, Nice, the Maritime-Alpes, etc.  Don had fois gras and boulliabasse and I had little loup de mer foam raviolis and grilled bass.  Another pinch-me moment!

Friday we met with our estate agent in Valbonne to begin the process of finding a suitable villa for next year.  We’ve decided to come back from March to June.  This month has flown by and we feel like we haven’t really been able to really discover this part of the world.

Friday night we hosted a small dinner party for 6 entrepreneurs that we do business with.  Great conversation, great food, great wine… need we say more?

Monaco and Italy!

Saturday afternoon we reconvened with Rhonda and Wendy at their suite at the Majestic Hotel, in Cannes, right on la Croisette, overlooking the sea.  We sipped champagne, nibbled on cheese, and watched the locals, Bentley’s, Mazarattis’s and tourists walk this famous thoroughfare. 

Then, on to MONACO!  We dined famously at the Hermatage Hotel.  What a night!

Sunday, Don and I decided to take a short road trip.  San Remo, Italy was our destination.  A short hour by car and we were there.  The town was mostly closed since it was a Sunday, but we found a little pizzeria and then drove home.  A really, nice day and drive.

Two more countries to add to our list this trip.  All in one 24-hour period!

Long Lunches and Hanging at the Pool – French Riviera

Friday is market day in Valbonne… so guess where we went?  After getting our “exercise” shopping, what did we do?  We collect another 2 Michelin stars and dined at Lou Cigalon.

Great food, great conversation, and a GREAT CHEF.  Here we are with the master himself!

We retired to our villa a soaked up the Mediterranean sun poolside.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Making Perfume in Grasse, Cote d’Azur

The village of Grasse, France has long been known as the “perfume capital of the world.”  The village is surrounded by fields of lavender, jasmine, roses, etc.  The history of the town is pretty cool.   Ever the fashion trend-setter, Catherine de Medici (16th Century Fashionista) grew tired of the “smells” emanating from the streets and the common-folk, and decided to scent her gloves.  The Italian and French aristocracy followed her lead, and voila,  scented gloves were all the rage.  The town of Grasse, known for producing gloves, jumped on the bandwagon and over time (and the eventual decline of the glove industry) it earned it’s nickname as the “Perfume Capital of the World.”

OK, so we’re off to visit Grasse, and guess what we find?  A perfumerie that will teach us how to make our own perfume!  How cool is that?  We learned all about the three levels of perfume.  The base notes, the mid-notes and the high notes.  We smelled, sampled, chose, debated for a couple of hours, finally coming up with individual perfumes that we completely tailored to each of us.

Bonjour From Our New Digs on the Cote d’Azur!

Our House on the French Riviera

Life is good.  We’ve landed on our latest stop on the “Don and Karla World Tour.”  We’ll be hanging out in Southern France until we leave for Puerto Rico in early October. 

Watch for updates soon.