People travel for a number of different reasons: to hike in a different mountain chain they’ve never been to before; to experience, first hand, a different way of life; to eat and drink like a local. The burgeoning craft beer scene in the United States affords the beer enthusiast who likes to travel the opportunity Continue Reading →
Category: Biking
Painting a Picture of Provence
The Provencal region of southeastern France is bathed in sunlight. Van Gogh was inspired by this area’s abundance of sunshine and perfect light; Starry Night, the nighttime impression of the beauty of nature outside the village of Saint-Remy, was created here, among almost 300 other works of art. Looking around the village of Saint-Remy, located Continue Reading →
On the road – Ciao, Puglia!
This first person post comes to you from the Puglia region in southern Italy. Known for its large production of olive oil that actually surpasses that of northern Italy, an increasingly visible wine industry, and a distinctive landscape that combines white washed, Mediterranean style homes and equally white washed beaches. I am here to say Continue Reading →
Crushing It In Oregon – Active Wine Touring, Pacific Northwest Style
The word “crush”, in wine terms, refers to pressing grapes after they have been harvested in order to extract all the lovely qualities out of them for our sipping pleasure. The carbonated beverage, Grape Crush, brings up memories of sweet, candied soda pop…the sticky stuff that makes childhood dreams come true. “Crushing it”, an equally Continue Reading →
Zephyr is Hiring: Four Reasons I Love Being An Adventure Travel Guide
In light of our upcoming search for a new guide for our active wine tours, we asked one of our longtime guides, Kris Thomas, to share her personal favorite aspects of guiding People. Happy People! This is surely the top reason for me. I love people. While I am guiding, I get to see people Continue Reading →
Say "Hola" to Zephyr's Newest Guide!
We met Jenny Siddall last fall at our Wine Tourism Conference in Santa Rosa, California. We were struck first by her outgoing and pleasant personality, and then by the depth of her knowledge of wine. When we learned that she also had ten years’ experience guiding active tours and tours focused on food and wine, Continue Reading →
Self-Guided Travel in Europe: England, Spain, and Italy
For some reason, the secret of self-guided travel has not yet gotten out. We at Zephyr Adventures have been running self-guided tours in Italy for about five years. We have found them so appealing, this past summer we spent the time to add two new destinations to our list of self-guided tours: Hiking tours on Continue Reading →
How to Buy Pottery while Biking through Umbria
Have the pottery shipped home, of course. But if it were that simple I would not be writing about it. There is much more to the experience of buying something fragile that you cannot carry in your panniers. It’s a science, in fact, and I am here to tell you how it is done in Continue Reading →
Tuscan Wine, Pasta, Gelato and More!
I didn’t want to go home. Overseas travel is not something I can often afford. But when Kris from Zephyr contacted me saying that there was space remaining on the upcoming Tuscany/Umbria cycling trip, I had 24 hours to decide. I had just received my tax refund, so it was a no-brainer. I jumped at Continue Reading →
Beer, Meat, Forest Fires, and…BEER!
Beer. Beer, beer, beer. I love beer. I’m not talking about guzzling gallons of light (or LITE) yellow swill, I’m talking about beer of many colors, flavors, and styles. I’m talking about American made (and owned) high quality craft and micro brewed beer. My job title is Beerbarian after all, I’d better like the stuff Continue Reading →