This Virtually Deserted Black Sand Beach on Basse-Terre's Southern Shore Is Worth Getting Lost to Find...

...Or, if you happen to miss the early bird ferry to Les Saintes, consider this beach your go-to option for an hour or so spent in paradisal bliss that you'd expect to have to fly thousands and thousands of miles to get to otherwise, it's so delightfully unkempt and unspoiled and often uninhabited. 

From Trois Rivers town, take the road out of town that follows the island's southern shoreline, rather than going back up the giant hill to return to the main road. Keep an eye out for the signs for Grande Anse Plage; it's not too far. The sand is fine and the water can be a bit rough, but for that moment of "where am I actually in the world right now?" this beach has all of that feel. 

A tip: All of the beaches in Guadeloupe are marked with road signs, and any that I've ever turned off to find are worth the detour, whether you stay for lunch, for some splashing and sunning, or simply to admire the view for a few.

On Administrative Professionals Day, Giving Thanks

For your unwavering dedication; all of those overtime nights and weekends; for all of the filing, the phone answering, the errands; and, of course, for your kitty snores and purrs that are the intermittent moments of Zen in my everyday. — Thank You, LS. 

A DELECTABLE FEAST IN SANTIAGO (AKA THE ‘EXPLORING CHILE’S VITICULTURE & SPIRITS’ POST)

What is Chilean cuisine? After spending a week in this South American country, I can answer in confidence: Seafood. Lamb. A riot of color, flavor and freshness. Seriously excellent wine, and Pisco, of course. 

Across the board, everything that we sipped and savored during our week in Chile trumps the Chilean wine that’s being imported (mass market) to the States. It’s readily obvious that Chilean winemakers are onto something great. While it’s difficult to cull from so many moments of excellence, here are a few highlights from my recent time in Santiago ... (continue reading)

THE BRILLIANCE OF GOOD MENU ART (AKA THE “ALWAYS DELIGHTFUL BRUNCHING AT ISA” POST)

Nothing sets the tone of a meal like what’s placed on the table upon seating — the humble menu.

The table setting, the restaurant decor, the waitstaff, the restaurant’s general ambiance — they’re clues to the dining experience to which the menu is the key. Menu in hand, all of the pieces fall into place. Menus tell a restaurant’s story on paper, an introduction to the chapters that will be devoured on the plates that are yet to come.

There are menus — and then there is menu art. Which brings me to Isa, a laid back, rustic-chic restaurant appropriately located in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, serving up fresh, loosely “Mediterranean” fare for which the wood burning oven is the through line. ... (continue reading)