Pictures of two of my favorite places in San francisco.

Nest is one of my favorite stores in San francisco.

San Francisco has a store like no other stores, " Nest" on Filmore street. I love this store and every time I walk in I feel like I am back in Provence. Nest has a warm feeling and I could feel that two artististic people owned the store. Mother & Daughter own the store and both went to art school. They are truly artistic and the store really reflects who they are... Lots of soul & creativity are part of Nest. I have walked into a lot of stores but not one compare to this one in the city by the bay!.

San Francisco, Iconic restaurant Zuni is my favorite place to go have a roasted chicken!!!.... I love the smells of the brick oven, the breads, the oysters, the food..... My favorite hangout!. I do not go there to be seen but to have a wonderful experience!!!.

The ladies goofing around with Angelique our tour guide.

La Mirande.

High Tea at la Mirande, the staff posing for us!

Day 3. Lunch at the Bastide de Marie.

Day 2. Avignon.

Day Two was in Avignon in Chateau Neuf du pape. Wine tasting & lunch a great day!.

Gordes and the beautiful monastery of Senanque was on the first day and a visit to Le village des Bories where the ladies let loose!.... and Beautiful Gordes in the background!

Our itinerary.

The food was great and I will start with our Chef extraordinaire, Damien Gillon who really spoiled us every day and gave a pastry class our last day.
Day one did not start too well but ended nicely, we tried hard to please everybody. Turned out that not everyone was into L'Isle sur la Sorgue! and its great flea market and antiquity stores. One driver had to borrow one of the vans to go get another person. We were left with one van and many ladies, we all went for a drink while waiting for the other driver - Then we decided to reward our patient ladies and all went to la Fontaine deVaucluse. All drove to the property and had a great meal!

Luxury Tours to Lourmarin. Women group.

Here I am about to take off for Paris and then TGV train to Avignon.
Get to Avignon, go to my hotel, take a shower, have dinner and then go to sleep!. I am jet lagged!
The next day I meet with the drivers/ tour guides and we work on the final itinerary!. Talk with the chef regarding our menus , we have been working together for the past two years!. He is great!!
Saturday, I meet with Marlene and she takes me to the farmers market in Avignon and I get to watch a pastry class, " how to make macaroons", I shop a little bit and then we go out for lunch,as soon as we are done we will head out to the train station where we are picking up Shila, Leslie, Jacqui & Debbie. We then drive to the property and have some wine and some olives, cheese and bread. Later on the other driver Angelique goes to the TGV train station to pick up the other ladies, the East coast group, as we called them since the first group was the California group, me included!. Dinner @ the property, lots of vino, food and conversations.. Everybody is really excited to be there!

Luxury Travel.

What is Luxury Travel?
Luxury has different meanings depending on whom you talk to. Some see it as exclusive and not everybody has access to it, it is in some case a status symbol meaning that you belong to a higher class. the others see it as mindless and inconsequential consumption and very often decadence is unfortunately associated with it.
When we came up with our URL, Luxury Travel Consultant2, we sat down and brained stormed the idea of selling luxury Travel to our clientele and wanted to make sure that we made our marketing message clear to our future travelers.
" Real Pleasure is in contentment, in a comfort level reached by relinquishing rather than relentless consumption". Radju Peddada.
So true, If you are looking for gold faucets in your bathroom or being impressed instead of appreciating the beauty that surrounds you, you have come to the wrong place.
Labeled luxury is everywhere and hopefully it will die a mass- production death and out of the ashes a luxury insider will emerge!.
Our Luxury Tours are our own creations, driven by our own personal experiences and observations and knowledgeable discernment. Our tours are reserved to the self aware and self -confident Insider.
The owner of Luxury Travel Consultant2, insider's preferences are acquired through local knowledge built on personal interests, tastes and her own experiences and supplemented with recommendations of a great networking of friends worldwide.
Time is a key factor to create a great product because price & quality are always part of the time invested in the making of a great product.
" Luxury must be comfortable , otherwise it is not luxury". Coco Chanel.
We need the luxury to escape our daily routines and as Raju Peddada said so well, " It is indeed a great luxury for us to sit back and travel in the fantasies created by others".
Our fantasy is to indulge our clientele in a relaxing vacation, including a stay in a beautiful villa, carefully chosen by our staff as well as choosing drivers, personal chef, sommelier. At times we include a spa day with a masseuse invited to the property offering guests a wonderful rub as the event is being catered by our local chef, with fresh food purchased at the farmers markets.
The villas are beautiful and our staff is professional as well as bilingual!. We want you to spend a week being pampered & free of worries.
Visit us online at, www.luxurytravelconsultant2.com

Luberon in Provence.

The Luberon regional park attracts hordes of hikers
.The mountains between Cavaillon and Manosque are thick with garrigues ( Scrublands) and olive groves, and are dotted with caves, castles, abbeys and picturesque villages with magnificent views. To the south, the Durance waters, a checkboard of fertile fields, and stallholders on the local market proudly peddle some of France's finest fruits & vegetables. To the East, St Michel L'observatoire commands a fine panorama of the sprawling plateau.

What to see.
Fontaine de Vaucluse.
from deep in a circular hollow, springs one of the most powerful water sources in the world. In the 7th century, the torrent suddenly emerged , watering the big fig trees above the chasm and feeding the river Sorgue.
Lisle sur la Sorgue. An antique mecca for collectors all over the world. On sunday mornings you can go to the farmers markets and buy fresh fruits & vegetables, just picked by farmers the day before. The afternoon is for Antique lovers, just stroll through the antique market and find some deals.
Gordes.
I took a couple of groups to Gordes , this is a beautiful hamlet perched on top of a steep cliff with a cascade of multi colored houses. Gordes has inspired many painters.
L'Abbaye de Senanque.
built in 1148, this is one of a trio of primitive abbayes known as the "Cisterian sisters of Provence". Monks live in simplicity and cannot be distracted by the Outside world.
Village des Bories.
A hamlet consisting of restored bories ( dry-stoned igloos) where inhabitants of the Vaucluse & Luberon lived from Ligurian times ( 6 century BC).
Chateau de Lourmarin.
Built between 1495 and 1525. The castles has spacious rooms, floors paved with hexagonal , red renaissance tiles and is filled with provencal furnitures and chinese musical instruments.
Chateau d' Ansouis.
built in the 11th century and remodeled at various times , the castle is still owned by the Duc of Sabran & his family. A medieval kitchen and great views over the boxwood trees in the" paradise Garden"
The Prieure de Saignon.
Built in the middle ages on a Gallo- roman site continued to expand until the 19th century. The church contains medieval frescoes, and the excavations of a first century- villa are seen through a grille in the floor. The gardens are devoted to historic and scented plants.

Beautiful Provence & Tours to this beautiful region.

Provence is a place I use to go to with my family when I was a child......

Wonderful memories of summer spent in the Provencal sun, I loved everything about it, the warmth of its inhabitants, their smiles & their easiness and it seemed like no one was really stressed out like the Parisians can be at times, I guess big cities offer a lot in terms of cultural manifestations but can be restrictive when it comes to enjoying life fully....

Moving to California is one reason why I wanted to move to a place where life is easier and people smile more than New yorkers, Don't get me wrong I love Paris & New York...

When I started designing Tours I decided that I would design tours to Provence & decided that I would rent a beautiful Villa with Pool and a staff of drivers, Private Chef, Sommelier & a Masseuse ( if we had a spa day). I did 3 tours to provence & have more tours planned for August & September 2009.

The August Tour will take place in Gordes , a beautiful hilltop village in the Luberon !. I took a group there last year & you can see some pictures that I took of my guests!.

The dates are: August 1, 2009 - August 8, 2009.( 8 days/7 nights)

The tour is reserved to a group of 12 guests. ( Couples would be the best).

Villa Accommodation, Pool & Tennis Court.

Drivers ( Transfers from/ to airport) & Touring the region & the wineries and visits to L'Abbaye de Senanque, Avignon, Aix en Provence and more....

Cooking Class & Strolling the farmers markets and a visit to the famous L'isle Sur la Sorgue.

$ 3, 400 per person. All inclusive ( except Air Fare).

* we can rent this villa at a later date!.

Provence Tours in September.

9/12/2009 - 9/19/2009.

17th/ 18th century Provencal house nestled in 70 ha of ecologic land.

This tour is dedicated to organic farming.

Double occupancy ( perfect for couples & good friends).

Drivers ( Transfers & touring the region).

Private Chef , cooking class, farmers markets. Organic wines will be served.

A great Tour at a very affordable price!.

$ 3,300 per person ( 12 guests ) are invited. Book by July 30, 2009.

Wine & Culinary Tours of Provence.

Single travelers, Women or Couples.

Two dates for this tour.

9/5/2009 to 9/12/2009

9 /19/2009 to 9/26/2009

The tour was originally priced at $ 2,900 & got discounted to $ 2,700 per person.

After we were able to get a deal we decided to include TGV train ride, 1st Class ( Comfort).

Drivers, Transfers, touring.

Private Chef& Sommelier.

This is a great deal and tell your friends about it! . Book by July 30, 2009.

Travel- Planning & Concierge Services.

Luxury Travel Consultant2 is a travel-planning company & Offers concierge services as well .We work very hard behind the scene & will look for the best Villa to rent & hire you a staff at a very affordable price.

The owner, American ( French born) loves to travel and she invites small groups & Singles to join her in France , Italy & Spain. She recently started to design tours to Northern California, ( Sonoma, Point Reyes and Russian River).

Luxury Travel Consultant2 is a trip planning company and they design & deliver special tours to Provence, Paris, Bordeaux, Tuscany & the Amalfi Coast.

Small groups & Single travelers are what the company specializes into.