Paradise and Super Paradise Beach in Mykonos

So, this should have been posted the week of January 21, but now is better than never :)

During the winter months, I am always reminded as to why I chose to live in South Florida -- no snow!! So, this week, I wanted to write about another sunny destination -- Paradise and Super Paradise Beach in Mykonos, Greece -- to give all of my snow-bound readers something to dream about.

Mykonos is one of the Greek islands situated in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a beautiful island with white-washed houses looking over the bright blue sea. It truly looks like a postcard. Many cruise ships stop there or you can take a ferry from one of the other Greek islands. There is even a small airport on Mykonos itself. Once you get to Mykonos, you can get to the beaches by either taxi, bus or even boat.

There are numerous beaches in the various Greek islands, but I found myself most excited about Paradise and Super Paradise. These beaches are next door to each other -- there is basically no way to differentiate between the two except suddenly the signs say "Super Paradise" as opposed to "Paradise." What makes these beaches special is not their beauty, though they are in fact beautiful, but rather their party atmosphere.

The Paradise beaches are party beaches through and through. There are bars scattered through the beaches with loud music and dancing at each one starting as early as people are awake. It creates a Spring Break atmosphere, but with a European twist. Supposedly, Super Paradise is more of a party beach than Paradise, though I think the differences are really negligible.

TIP: The beaches are clothing optional, though it is not such a big deal here as in other beaches. Just make sure you are comfortable with this before arriving.

If you find yourself traveling around the Mediterranean, I would highly recommend making a pit stop to the Paradise Beaches -- you will find a charming mix of relaxing on the beach and partying like a rock star.

Paradise and Super Paradise Beach

Mykonos, Greece

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

Sorry I have not posted in a while -- work has gotten the best of me! But, I am going to try to catch up for the posts I missed in January in the next few weeks. So, this post should have been for the week of January 14th.

When I was in New Orleans the first weekend of January, I was chatting with my husband's uncle, who is a serious world traveler, about his travels and mine. We discovered that we had one "favorite" in common -- L'Ambassade d'Auvergne restaurant in Paris.

L'Ambassade focuses on food from the Auvergne region of France, which is situated pretty much in the middle of France. Its specialty is aligot, which is basically the cheesiest mashed potatoes you will ever eat. When they are served, the waiter pulls them from a big pot and basically stretches them as far as he can and plops them on your plate. It is pretty funny to watch and very delicious to eat. The other food is as hardy and tasty as the aligot -- green lentil salad, sausage, duck and various stews. Not a light meal to say the least!

The highlight of the meal though, especially for chocolate lovers, is the chocolate mousse. This is not the chocolate mousse you think of from Jello boxes and cafeterias. This is basically a giant bowl of chocolate ganache and yes, it is as good and rich as it sounds. It does in fact get served to you in a giant bowl. They bring out The Bowl and serve you a normal portion of mousse. And then...THEY LEAVE THE BOWL! Oh my goodness...it took all of my willpower (not that I have that much to begin with) to not eat the entire bowl. It was that good and that rich. I would go back just for the mousse alone!

The restaurant itself reminds me of a country house. All dark woods and textiles. It feels very homey and comforting just like the food.

One thing you will notice is that this restaurant is spoken of quite a bit in the various tour books, and yes, it is a bit touristy. Like many places in Europe, we sat in the "English-speaking section." But the food is so good and the atmosphere so quaint, that I would still highly recommend stopping by.

TIP: Ok, so I usually try to give a helpful tip here, but my only real tip is, ORDER THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!!

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

22, rue du Grenier Saint-Lazare

75003 Paris

Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 31 22

http://www.ambassade-auvergne.com/

Tea at Windsor Court Hotel

Now that the holiday season is over (sadly), I wanted to do one post related to the holidays to keep the spirit going for just one more week. My favorite Christmas tradition as a child was always going with my mom and her friends (and their children) to Christmas tea at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans.

The Windsor Court Hotel is a luxury hotel near the French Quarter in New Orleans. It was developed in 1984, which for New Orleans is actually pretty new! More than 80% of the hotel rooms are suites, one of which we actually stayed in the weekend of my wedding. It always ends up on all of the "Best of" lists by the various travel publications. The main restaurant in the hotel, the Grill Room, also ends up on all of the "Best of" lists by all of the best foodie publications. The main bar in the hotel, the Polo Club Lounge, is also a swanky affair that is definitely worth a stop for a martini or a glass of champagne.

But, the best reason to go to the Windsor Court is for tea, especially at Christmas, at Le Salon. Tea at Windsor Court is delightfully old-fashioned. All of the women and children get all dressed up -- the women in their dresses and hats and the children with their little patent Mary Janes. There is always wonderful music in the background from a harpist or a string trio -- classical year-round, but Christmas tunes during the holidays. You get to choose from a large variety of different teas and eat cute little tea sandwiches. For those of you looking for a more adult experiences, Le Salon also offers numerous champagne cocktails. After the sandwiches, you are served incredibly delicious scones, yummy little pastries and truffles and chocolate covered strawberries. All of which is just incredibly decadent. If you want to be even more decadent, you can even order smoked salmon and caviar! For children, they have a separate tea service with children's items like peanut butter and jelly. All of this food is served on tiered little platters. Very precious!

TIP: The Windsor Court Hotel has a fantastic art collection. Before or after tea, I would make time to take a tour of the hotel to check out this collection. 

Christmas tea at the Windsor Court Hotel is a really delightful experience. It is a great excuse to get dressed up and celebrate Christmas in style. If you ever spend Christmas in New Orleans, I would highly recommend making a reservation for tea at Windsor Court.

Windsor Court Hotel
300 Gravier Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Telephone: (888) 596-0955/ (504) 523-6000
Email: resv@windsorcourthotel.com