Spence Smith

Let’s dream a little shall we?

Let’s say you could leave on a Thursday and return on the following Monday and could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

This would give you all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday to play for the weekend before returning back home. Of course, for some of you this would mean taking off Thursday, Friday and Monday.

But it would mean you would have to go into this knowing that Tuesday morning you would have to jump into work feet first. No excuses.

Where would I go?

I would go to Rome.

My wife, Krissy, has never been and I’ve been twice. It’s my favorite city in the world and you can literally see all the major sites in a couple of days. Being the adventurer that she is, this would be a perfect weekend get a way for us.

Sure we would be stinking tired. But hey… it would be fun!

Leave on an American Airlines flight Thursday evening that would have us in Rome by Friday morning. Stay up all day seeing a few sites, eating at outdoor cafés, stopping off for a crepe or some gelato… what’s not to love! Spend half a day at the Vatican and the rest of the time exploring the other sites and sounds of Rome.

The Colosseum, The Pantheon, Galleria Borghese, The Trevi Fountain or the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps)

Wow!!! I’m ready to go right now!!!

Ok. Where are you going?

If you could go anywhere in the world with a friend for a four day weekend, where would you go and what would you do? Most of my friends have not traveled as much as I have so I might take them to Rome. Travel on Friday, hit the sites Saturday and Sunday, fly home on Monday. Sounds crazy? I would do it. You would be shocked at how cheap you could do something like this.

So tell me… where would you go and what would you do? Bed and breakfast disconnected from the outside world to staying in Times Square for the weekend…Anything… tell me what you would do… and have a great weekend!

For those of you headed to the Aspen, CO area. I was reminded today about The Ultimate Taxi in Aspen, CO owned and driven by Jon Barnes. This picture doesn’t even do it justice so you must take a minute and make your way through his website to see some videos and pictures of this crazy ride.

I was with a dear friend skiing at Snowmass and Aspen back in college. We were out one night and ran across this New York style taxi cab. It’s the only New York style taxi in town. There were fiber optics lighting up the inside and outside and music that sound like you were in a Vegas lounge. We were completely intrigued so we got in. Little did we know what was to happen next.

The driver’s seat is surround by a keyboard, electric drums, micro phone, mini stage lights and stage fog billowing from the floor under the seat. Jon, the driver, sang to us, played for us (including paying an electric sax)and laughed it up all while driving the streets of Aspen. It was the Ultimate Taxi ride to say the least.

Trust me…if you are every in Aspen, CO. This is a must to do. Tons of celebs have taken the ride and sang the tunes. It’s a total blast!

Welcome to my new online game. It’s very complicated and has so many elements to it I seriously doubt anyone will figure this one out. Ready? I will post a picture each day of my travel, which will be for the next 7 days, and you try to guess where in the world I was when I took the photo. For instance…the photo below is of me from a while back, pre-haircut. But I took it where I’m writing this post from right now…

See…I told you it was difficult…I kid!!!!

Do you know where I am?

Check back here for the updates!

If there is one thing I really like to do when I travel is discover new wines…and go to Napa Valley,

California. I’m such a novice at it and I follow this blog for wine novices to learn all the good stuff. But recently I was told about this great article from Conde Nast Traveler about spending so much needed time in California Wine Country.

I love Napa Valley and all it has to offer, so if you are looking to take a well deserved trip to wine Country then below is a great article for just the right occasion for you. I know I will use this article as a reference for my next visit to Napa. In fact…I think I might have to take a balloon ride over Napa. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Click HERE for the article.

Here’s a small preview of the article…

The Challenge

You’ve got less than a week to see Napa Valley, California’s most
famous farm country. But where to start among the roughly 450 wineries?
Although the first commercial Napa grapes were planted by George Yount
in 1838, it wasn’t until 1976 that the region’s winemakers earned
international respect by beating true French Bordeaux and Burgundies in
a blind tasting. Furthermore, you’ll likely be sharing the
30-mile-long, 5-mile-wide valley with more than a few oenophiles: The
more than 5 million annual visitors make Napa the state’s second most
popular tourist destination (after Disneyland). In the peak summer
months, this means crowds running five deep at the most popular tasting
bars, and one-lane highways choked with traffic. Even if you go in the
off-season, don’t plan on leaving things to serendipity: Many of the
best wineries are open by appointment only, so no one will be there to
greet you if you arrive unannounced. Finally, the sequence of your
itinerary can be as problematic as the content: Each wine tasting and
meal has a different stylistic note, and combining them is like
composing a symphony.

The Solution

What you need is a Wine Country Concierge—and that’s where Jackie
Richmond comes in (see “Top Travel Specialists,” August 2007; or go to cntraveler.com/travelagentfinder).
A 22-year resident of the valley, Richmond helped me orchestrate a Napa
itinerary that would delight a first-time visitor as well as a valley
veteran, and a wine neophtye as much as the owner of a thousand-bottle
cellar….CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY.

I went on Safari in Kenya with this company last year.

CC Africa. It was truly and you can see some of the photos from the safari in my side bar.

LUXURY AFRICAN SAFARI

Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa) is  Africa’s leading luxury safari company and one of the most comprehensive  safari operators with exceptional lodges and safaris in Africa’s most breathtaking wilderness locations.

• More than 40 world-renowned and luxurious African safari camps across 16 destinations throughout South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana
• CC
  Africa operates exhilarating luxury safaris including Walking Safaris
  and Expeditions – Africa Under Canvas mobile safaris – and a unique
  range of Specialist Safaris
• Over 35 years of
  tour operating experience in planning exceptional and safe African
  safaris, including specialist golf and family safaris, weddings and
  honeymoons

Why CC Africa for your Luxury  Safari?

Because we are commended time and again on our excellent service and
remarkable people, safari locations across Africa, our CC Africa
trained guides and sustainable conservation ethic.

It’s the day before Christmas and I’m ready to go to a my warm happy place. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and I love being with my family during Christmas. This morning I went went with my brother and sister-in-law to work out at an early hour. It was so early that the moon was shining bright and it was FREEZING and I was in my shorts. I know…it’s my own fault. So to get warm I went to a very happy place in my mind. The beach!!! I’m craving the beach right now!!!

So if you are looking to plan a vacation and you want a great all-inclusive resort then I would suggest two. Sandals is for couples and Beaches is for families. They are both owned by the same company and they do it right. I’ve been to Sandals twice and loved it both times. Once you book it and pay a head of time, you show up and anything you want is at your service. Lots of fun in the sun.  Nice romantic dinners, a relaxing time, and it seems like the whole world stops.  If you are of the drinking variety then as one of my favorite movie line says "it’s where the beer flows like wine".

Sandals
Beaches

For a more private experience, try this sites also owned by the same people that bring you Sandals and Beaches.

Royal Plantation
Royal Plantation Island at Fowl Cay
Unique Villas of the Caribbean

It’s been a pretty smooth day of travel today. I started at 11:15am Rome time on the 18th. It’s still the 18th and I’m here in Chicago delayed because of high winds…imagine that…in Chicago! So…as i got on the plane in Rome this morning, they had to shuttle us on a bus from the terminal to the plane. Picture this, about 90% of the plane is Americans coming home from a vaction of some sort in Italy. I’m following these two older ladies onto the shuttle bus who resemble the Golden Girls. One turns to the other as she is looking right at the shuttle bus and says… "is this the plane?" Oh my…

My flight leaves Chicago at 7:10pm…

Wow…What a day!!! I’m in the airport on my way home to Nashville from Rome. I’m planning on writing about the past couple of days in another post, but for now. Here’s a picture of us in front of St. Peter’s. It is one of the most awesome places to be in Rome. Pictured here are some great friends of mine. Glen Pearce, Jim Daneker, Joey Ciccoline…and me. Time for the plane…Ciao!

Hey Friends!!! Internet has been hard to come by and right now I have just a couple of minutes to say…I will send more later when i can get some real time to blog about the rest of my time in Milan and about today in Naples. Chow!

For those of you just waking up in the west, it’s been a great day here and it’s not even 3pm here yet! I’m back at the hotel for a bit of a rest before the rest of the Michael W. Smith entourage shows up from Denmark. I did what I love to do. I headed towards the center of town to make it to The Duomo. With a map in hand and good shoes on my feet, I walked about two miles before I got to the Duomo. But the journey was half the fun. I walked down the street to this huge park that is much like a very small version of Central Park.
                        

                                 
As I got to the other side of the park, I came upon what I learned to be The Castle of Milan. WOW!!! It was awesome! It dates back to the 1300′s and had been re-modeled and turned into a museum of sorts.
                        

Upon leaving there, I continued my path down a street that was filled with shops and CAFES!!!! I was hungry by this point but I didn’t want to stop just yet so took my time walking down this street…they had an awesome photography exhibit happening right on the street. Fascinating!
                        

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Yesterday, October 13th I flew to Milan. What a day! For starters, I was up a full 40 hours with a couple of naps on planes that day. Don’t ask me why, but it just seemed to make some sort f sense at the time. Today, Sunday, I’m completely rested though and ready for another great day. More to come on that later.


Yesterday, one of my co-worker friends from our Italian office, Emanuela, picked me up at the airport and we headed to Como…as in Lake Como…as in that really cool place in Italy where George Clooney owns a villa. It is an incredible place!!! People every where walking around, sitting in these little outdoor cafes hanging out with each other. Watching life go by in all it’s beauty. The people here have a real sense of style and class.

We walked for a bit around some of the lake, but also spent some time at a cafe talking work and life. The church picture in this post is actually HUGE!!!! and it sits at the edge of a town square with cafes all around. It’s so incredible. I will have better pictures of that another day.


Speaking of another day, today i’m headed to the center of the city of Milan. There’s a huge church there called Duomo. I’m going to check it out, get a bite to eat, enjoy some coffee, have a little gelato…What a great day to be in Italy.