Mary Charlebois

PUBLISHED 09/25/22 BY TravelAwaits
As we walked up the wide, curved steps, the city traffic faded into the background. Trees lined the entrance. Marble steps led to lofty brass and glass ...

PUBLISHED 09/10/22 BY TravelAwaits
Malta. The Mediterranean’s heart. The archipelago has been coveted, conquered, and overturned many times. But today, Malta is an independent republic and an EU member. Its three inhabited islands — Gozo, Comino, and the main island of Malta — are escape pods for R&R, sun, hook-to-mouth seafood, a Mediterranean diet, and a laid-back way of life with deep roots.
Malta is not a high-cost place to visit; the price of food, accommodations, and transportation is a thrifty traveler’s delight. Moreov...

PUBLISHED 09/09/22 BY TravelAwaits
The highway to Eureka, one of California’s oldest seaports, is lined with giant trees and crossed by wild rivers rushing to the Pacific. Millions of acres of redwood and conifer forest surround Eureka. Most of those acres are...

PUBLISHED 09/09/22 BY TravelAwaits
During a five-week trip to Ireland, I was fortunate to experience Irish hospitality many times. As a result, I experienced a wide variety of accommodations. From a large tourist hotel on one of Dublin’s busiest streets to a castle in remote Donegal, hotels, B&Bs, guest houses,...

PUBLISHED 09/06/22 BY TravelAwaits
In Anderson Valley, there are more than grapes being harvested. Vegetable, fruit, meat, and dairy harvests are also underway. So, it is the best time to visit. The wineries, farms, eateries, and lodging I’ve shared are by no means the only places to experience crush in America’s Greenest Wine Region, Mendocino County.

PUBLISHED 08/20/22 BY TravelAwaits
Whether I’m in an urban park for a couple of hours or spending a few hours trekking through the forest, there are a few items I always have in my day pack.

PUBLISHED BY TravelAwaits 08/17/22
“Yes, I want to live here,” he said. I was over the moon. For me, that decision had been made three years earlier on an extended visit to the archipelago. Malta would be our new home in ...

PUBLISHED 08/16/22 BY TravelAwaits
Santa Rosa is seventh heaven for children from 0 to 199 years old. Ask any Peanuts fan; they’ll tell you all about Charlie Brown’s hometown. In the shadow of the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s sometimes overlooked as a family getaway destination. But for a multigenerational group, it is an ideal place to play, learn, eat, and unwind.

PUBLISHED 08/11/22 BY TravelAwaits

The streets meander, twist, and turn. Ancient churches and chapels dot neighborhoods. Sandstone villas with painted balconies, flower boxes, and laundry hung to dry in the Mediterranean breeze...

PUBLISHED 08/10/22 by TravelAwaits
One of the delightful parts of being a travel writer is being a hotel scout. I love hotels and all the ways hoteliers find to make us comfortable. Checking out a new one...

PUBLISHED 08/02/22 BY TravelAwaits
Galway — Located on the central west coast of Ireland, it’s also an excellent home base for day trips to nearby regions that will immerse you in another side of Irish landscapes and life.

PUBLISHED 07/31/22 BY TravelAwaits
Have you ever used a CityPASS? The pay-one-price discounted bundle of tickets is an excellent way to stretch your travel budget and plan your trip to over 15 cities in the US. You’ll save as much as 45 percent on tickets to attractions of all types. With CityPASS, you pay one price for a selection of the city’s most famous...

PUBLISHED 07/30/22 BY TravelAwaits
Gualala is a Pomo name meaning “where the waters flow down.” Pronounced “wa-LA-la,” it’s a scenic 115 miles from the center of San Francisco, perfect for a budget-friendly road trip.
The name is descriptive of this small northern California coastal town...

PUBLISHED 07/29/22 BY TravelAwaits
One of the great treasures San Francisco can claim is the green space inside and outside the city. In San Francisco, you are never more than 15 minutes from a park. Outside the city, parks and public lands are less than an hour away. Ta...

PUBLISHED 07/15/22 BY TravelAwaits
As I daydreamed and gazed across the blue water, small plates with olives, bread, cheese, sausage, and beans began filling my table. That’s when I fell in love with Maltese food.