For two weeks in August, Western Europe, for the most part, takes a collective holiday. The streets are much quieter than usual and the atmosphere at night buzzes with the laissez-faire attitude that comes with not having to worry about reporting to work the next morning. So I fit right in. Many restaurants and boutiques take the holiday too – as they should – but that gives those that choose to holiday in Paris (me!) a limited set of choices. Luckily, Molly (This Yuppie Life) and I did our homework and can now pass along our wisdom on where to eat and drink … and chill out in between.      Fat Pants: Home base was Hotel Bachaumont — it’s always my go-to because the neighborhood is full of café’s, wine bars and locals. I always start and end a trip with a meal at either Bianco for pizza, Café Compas...

Since I don’t live in a state where the leaves change color, for me, fall is the season for wine. I’m spending next weekend in Napa Valley and before I get there, my wine shipment from Willamette Valley will have arrived. As a lover of good wine, I’ve been around the world tasting vino from Old World vintages in Bordeaux and Douro Valley to New World varietals in Sonoma, Napa and Santa Barbara. This past spring, I had to try my hand at the famous Willamette Valley Pinots and the incredible scenery I’ve heard so much about. Here is my recipe for a perfect fall getaway to Oregon wine country. PJ Pants: THE place to stay in Willamette Valley, The Allison Inn & Spa manages to achieve the luxuriousness of a resort and the coziness of a mountain cabin. The rooms are comfy enough for a post-wine tasting nap; the...

You know those friends you have where no matter how much time has passed since you’ve last seen each other, it seems like no time has gone by? (Or, at least I hope you do.) That’s how it is when I get together with Molly and Christine — we’ve been friends for over a decade when we all left our homes in the South for the glamour of life in LA. Since then, our lives have definitely changed and we don’t all live in LA anymore, but we still manage to rendezvous for long weekends when we can. The list includes Napa, Charleston and New Orleans … and now Coronado. Coronado Island is a small, quaint island community just outside of San Diego. It’s a place where you can leisurely walk or bike and decompress from city life or the intense heat that afflicts most parts of the country during...

When I first heard about MissTravel.com, I was admittedly skeptical. It’s basically Tinder for travelers – a matching service for people who want a travel partner, but also wouldn’t mind if they found love in the process. First dates take place everywhere from the Maldives to Bolivia to Sweden … and come with no strings attached? Seems too good to be true. Approximately 600,000 members (who go through a strict approval process) are giving MissTravel a go and we caught up with one of them to discuss why she joined, what really happens on dates and how she’s loving her new life in London. Meet Chelsea.  How did you find out about MissTravel and what made you join? I saw an ad for it on a different dating website, with a question like “Young and want to travel?” I was instantly sucked in. Are you on the site to find...

by Monica Rohleder I am the child of a flight attendant and by the time I was 10, I had been to Hawaii a dozen times. My mother formed a love affair with the Hawaiian Islands through her travels there, so I followed suit and found my home away from home on the raw, magical and spiritual Big Island. The Earth begins and ends on this Island every day. At the North end of the Island, you see the lush green vegetation, flowers, waterfalls and life that came from the volcanoes, now quietly sleeping. But on the South side, experience a completely different landscape that resembles the surface of the moon. Black lava canvases the land, sporting varying colors and textures, all markings the dates when the flow began. As the sun shines down on the black rock, rainbows of colors sparkle and dance on the surface, as the crashing...

Napa is basically what happens when you blend a bit of Tuscany, with a dash of the scenery and overall loveliness from “The Sound of Music,” and mix in a healthy dose of every fairy tale land you’ve ever read about.  Except the castles in this fantastical kingdom are surrounded by vineyards, and the gold at the end of the rainbow is this magical thing called wine.  Now let’s get to it. PAJAMA PANTS …where to crash and get some R&R Andaz Napa I stayed here in its previous life as the Avia Napa Hotel and I have an inkling this iteration is even better. What’s best about this hotel is the location in the heart of downtown Napa, which means easy access to local tasting rooms and brunch spots when you just want to walk somewhere. Plus, there’s a huge bathtub in the middle of the room – perfect...

photo: Robert Stark The Lincoln sits on an unfussy, unpretentious stretch of Lincoln Boulevard in Venice where it is fitting that you’ll find a straightforward “man’s man” kind of bar.  Cool without even trying, The Lincoln is basically what would happen if Steve McQueen and Jon Hamm (two of my favorite man’s men) had a baby together in the form of a vintage cocktail joint.  Founders Jeffrey Best and Kenneth Jones, along with designer Matt Winter and head bartender Cameron Dodge-White created a concept that celebrates classic drinks as well as classic cars and, man, do those things ever work well together.   The Lincoln boasts a spacious front patio where on Sundays they’ll run promos on magnums of rosé (!) and an interior bar that feels like you’ve been transported to a legit 1940’s body shop (in a good way) complete with a vintage 1927 Model-T Roadster.  But let’s...

by: Tracey DeFrancesco Australia is synonymous with sun, adventure, and laid-back locals with sexy accents. I’ve long dreamed of traveling Down Under to cuddle koalas and box with kangaroos (let’s not get hung up on the fact that neither of those things is legal). So when TWS Tennis Tours invited me to join their trip to the 2016 Australian Open, I packed my summer clothes and tons of sunscreen and hopped on a plane for the fifteen-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. Melbourne is a city known for experiencing four seasons in a day: a rainy morning turns into a scorching hot afternoon followed by a chilly evening. But it’s also a mysterious city whose best offerings can only be found by exploring alleyways and ducking into arcades to see what hidden gems lie just around the corner. If you’ve also been longing to see the other side of the...

The Holidays are here and while it is still upwards of 70 degrees in Los Angeles, we do love to embrace the spirit of the season- we just have to work a bit harder to feel the vibe as we walk around in our flip-flops and tank tops. One way we Angelenos compensate for our lack of frigid temps and snow is to get festive with our food and alcohol. Of all the Wanderpants editors, I’m admittedly the worst cook despite the fact that I do love food.  This also does not mean I don’t love entertaining, it just means I have to keep things simple when it comes to food preparation and distract people with good wine, music, and conversation.  I recently discovered Can Bech’s “Just for Cheese” line of 100% natural sauces, created to complement and enhance a variety of cheeses by using internationally sourced fruit, nuts, and spices.    At a recent “Wine and Cheese “ get-together...