Toucan travel for the price of one in Costa Rica

The Art:
14 inch hand-painted ceramic plate from Costa Rica

The Story:
When a 5-star destination comes with a 3-star price, what results is one of the most affordable 'luxury' trips you could ever take. That's Costa Rica. This country offers EVERYTHING you could ever want (beautiful geography, active or soft adventure, eco-diversity, unique accommodations, friendly people) and a price that is nowhere near what you would expect to pay elsewhere.

My research started when my then-fiance suggested we join some type of eco-tour, since he had taken one in Costa Rica many years before. Hoping to access some of the local knowledge and expertise, I began my search online for a local tour operator and found Costa Rican Trails. www.costaricantrails.com

Luxury Tarzan-style at Lapa Rios Eco-Lodge

Turns out my options were not limited to group excursions, and instead we ended up with a private, customized tour that took us to some of the most beautiful properties and locations I have ever seen, allowing us to see the country from the Pacific to the Caribbean in only 2 weeks. Our accommodations ranged from jungle eco-lodges that felt like a Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, to front-row views of an active volcano you could see from your bed. We zip-lined, horseback rode, swam under waterfalls and hiked through nature reserves, tasting local fruit at farms by the road, and dipping our hands into hot spring runoff streams. Mornings we woke to brilliant macaws and toucans perched in the treetops outside our room.

We couldn't bring home Costa Rica's exotic flora or fauna, so I brought home this Fruit Loopy plate instead, having spotted it at a nondescript ceramics shop in a small town off the usual tourist routes where we stopped for gas.

Today it hangs in my kitchen not far from the cereal bowls. And every time I look at its painted toucan, I'm reminded of the natural beauty of Costa Rica and the incredible experience that was 2 blissful weeks of "Pura Vida" (pure life).

The Fact:

Criss-crossing Costa Rica in only 2 weeks meant taking a couple of flights on small planes that only hold about 10 passengers. Be aware there is a strict limit to the amount of luggage you can bring with you (30lbs each - including carryon!) So plan what to bring carefully, pack sparingly and do what we did - always fly wearing your hiking boots since they weigh down your bag and take up a lot of room.

Falling for Fallingwater

The Art:
Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" in Pennsylvania

The Story:
If you've ever read Ayn Rand's book, The Fountainhead, you should visit Fallingwater.
If you haven't, you should still visit Fallingwater.

Really.

I was first introduced to FLW when I was a Fine Art student at university, and I went to Buffalo to tour one of his homes. But I really didn't have much of an appreciation for what I was seeing at the time.
Maybe years give you perspective, or maybe you just become more aware of real vision once you realize how rare it is. In any case, fast forward 30 years or so and I found myself on a road trip to Pennsylvania, having made it my mission to see Fallingwater.


Let's start by saying that if you aren't looking for it, you won't accidentaly stumble onto Fallingwater. Located about 90 minutes south of Pittsburgh, you need to drive through the middle of Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands, a beautifully wooded, very hilly part of the state, before you reach the road to the house. It's not that Wright was purposely trying to hide the house – he was just building where the owners already had their country getaway. The fact that there's nothing much around is what adds to the beauty and peacefulness of Fallingwater.

From the first view of the house, cantilevered over a creek terracing into waterfalls, to the built-in sectional couches, this house has been done Wright (pun intended). Whether you call him a control freak, an obsessive perfectionist or an arrogant megalomaniac, Frank Lloyd Wright executed his vision down to the smallest detail, from the integrated rockface fireplace surround to the choice of colour on the modern/retro furniture.

I'm no expert on architecture but visiting this place can't help but elicit descriptors like 'harmonious', 'tranquil', and 'inspiring'. My husband, a contractor, had a more practical perspective, but there was one word we both agreed on: enviable. Because I couldn't help feeling just a little jealous of the Kaufman family that called this place theirs until 1963.

A dream cottage, a work of art, an architectural game-changer? You can decide. All I know is that like Branjelina when they visited, I am smitten.  Maybe not enough to buy my husband a waterfall of his own like Angelina did for Brad, but that's just as well. Because, as my husband assured me - with building restrictions these days, you couldn't build it "to Code".

Well there goes his birthday surprise.

The Fact:
Getting a little 'alone time' with Fallingwater is near impossible if you're not a celebrity. But you can get ahead of the crowds if you book a brunch tour that gets you into the property first and ends with a brunch on one of the terraces. Just be sure to do it during the summer before it gets too cold for dining 'al fresco'.