There’s no mistaking a Corvette – be it from 1953 or 2010 – with any other car on the road.  For me, the 2010 Corvette Convertible’s silhouette with the top down is the best representation of a true American icon.
Pressing the ignition button gives the driver a taste of what is to come as the engine comes to life with a mighty roar.  After such an auspicious start, it was difficult to just drive on city streets (although the ride was surprising smooth and refined) so I made it a …

Vila Bled, Josip Broz Tito’s former official summer residence and guest house, is on the shore of Lake Bled in the Slovenian Alps. It became a hotel in 1984.
WHERE IS IT?
Vila Bled is 55 km from Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, and 360 km and a little over three hours from Munich, the closest major international gateway airport.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
The hotel’s décor includes lots of local wood and classic mid-twentieth century furnishings.  Our room was a large suite overlooking the lake. Each room has a different layout.  The living room in the suite …

Admittedly, I arrived at London Heathrow’s Terminal One a bit late for my flight, 26 hours late to be exact.  I did have a good excuse, however: the 35 cm of snow at JFK that delayed my initial outbound flight.   London had snow as well, all flights were delayed, and my scheduled flight was not until 8 p.m. (I arrived in London around noon).  Despite the long lines everywhere, I only had to wait ten minutes on the business class line.  The friendly and helpful agent put me on a …

The Charles Hotel is different.  Unlike the typical luxury hotels of Europe, it is new construction (opened in 2007). Its cool white stone exterior nonetheless blends in with its surroundings, such as the 19th-century Justizpalast and the almost secret Alter Botanischer Gärten (Old Botanical Garden).
This neo-classical hotel was built as a monument to Italian-born Charles Forte, who became one of England’s greatest hoteliers.  I arrived at the Charles after a delay-laden 48 hour trip from New York and the hotel’s muted elegance was both calming and reassuring.
WHERE IS IT?
The …

New York City has hotel rooms for every taste and budget and, when it comes to boutique hotels, the city is the epicenter.  The Starwood Hotels W chain is acknowledged as the brand that once epitomized the boutique hotel and the grand-daddy of that chain is the W New York. My decision to stay there was based purely on nostalgia: it had been my home away from home when I traveled regularly to New York on business. The midtown location can’t be beat and it’s within walking …

There are multiple options when it comes to flying from one coast to the other so, when I had the opportunity to check out United’s p.s. service on a recent flight from Los Angeles to New York, I jumped at the chance. I’ve flown United’s business class before, so I wanted to see what was different about the p.s. service.
BOARDING
United offers first and business class passengers priority boarding in a separate lane – with red carpet to boot. Once on board the Boeing 757 aircraft, I was offered …

Vienna, once the capital of an empire of which it was said that the sun never set over it, is now equally as important as the capital of a newly-invigorated Central Europe that bridges East with West.
Spending summer and winter in Vienna, one notices an entirely different, but equally vibrant, energy.  I’ve been spending time each year in Vienna since my youth.  In 2008, I was in Vienna for a week in June during the Euro 2008 football championship.  At the beginning of last year I returned to attend the …

In good weather, the flight from New York (JFK) to Munich via London can take as little as 12 hours. In bad weather, the trip can stretch to perhaps 15 or 20 hours. But the storm that last week buried much of the East Coast of the United States in a blanket of snow shut down major airports, closed thousands of businesses, and left tens of thousands of people stranded at places other where they wanted to be.
In my particular case, the storm, which set new records in …

Just as those of many business travelers, my typical trips are several days long. Fly out, have a day or two of meetings, and return. When it comes to longer trips, especially those mixing business and pleasure, I find that I need to plan my packing strategy far more carefully. And when the trip is in the middle of the holiday season, even more care is required.
Choosing the right luggage is key. In recent years, I’ve settled on several different bags from Tumi, including the Tumi …

By Greek standards (the Parthenon and other main buildings on the Acropolis were built by Pericles in the fifth century B.C.E.), the Grande Bretagne is a relatively newcomer.  Built in the 1840s, its unique architecture makes it a local landmark.  The hotel’s central location is just about perfect.  It’s opposite the Parliament Building, overlooks Syntagma (Constitution) Square, and is within walking distance of shopping areas, restaurants, museums, and the business district.
Despite its age, or lack thereof, the Grande Bretagne nonetheless has played a role in history.  Every visiting head of …