Ron Phillips Travel

One of the most beautiful resorts in the Caribbean is Jade Mountain in St. Lucia. Architect owner Nick Troubetzkoy has created a bold architectural design that works in harmony with Caribbean nature. To me, what sets this resort apart are the incredible infinity pools. Many resorts may have one infinity pool, or at best two. Jade Mountain has twenty-four infinity pool sanctuaries! Each pool is unique in color, shape and size. The size and shape of a Jade Mountain infinity pool corresponds to the square footage for each room category. Words truly cannot convey the beauty and uniqueness of these infinity pools... so here are some photos!     What makes these infinity pools unique?

All pools feature shallow water lounging areas in addition to a large swimming area

All pools have been surfaced entirely in unique tiles specifically designed for this resort

Each infinity pool has its own tile color scheme which also flows through the room's bathroom. Thus each suite has its own "personality."

Every infinity pool is equipped with fiber optics to illuminate the pool at night.

Each pool receives individually filtered and sterilized water

The water in each pool is filtered and sterilized six times a day

Belgrade was a city we often wanted to visit. We had friends and co-workers from Serbia and they spoke often and wistfully about their country. Belgrade is a city with a very tumultuous history and is also one of the oldest cities in Europe - with historical references of more than 7,000 years. I

n recent times, during the 1999 NATO bombing of Belgrade many targets in the city center were hit. During almost three months of bombing, only a few days and nights passed without an air-raid alarm. Walking through the city - or talking with the residents, we heard individual stories of these events. It was hard to listen to and in some parts of the city the remains of ruined buildings are still visible.

But thankfully, Belgrade and its citizens have rebuilt their city and welcome tourists from all countries! We had a wonderful time exploring a very diverse city - from the prosperous pedestrian walkway of Knez Mihailova Street to the Pijaca Kalenic market in the eastern section of the city.

Kneza Mihalia is a pedestrian walkway in the center of Belgrade. Here you'll find cafe's restaurants and high end shopping!

The Kalemegdan Park combines the park and fortress. The fortress overlooks the merging point of the Danube and Sava rivers. In the daytime there are many activities in the park - including clay court tennis! In the evening, everyone heads to the park to walk, play chess, or just sit and enjoy the views.

Central Belgrade is busy, beautiful, and contains many unique buildings. Parts of the city are sprinkled with parks, government buildings, and monuments - as you would expect in a capitol city.

Skadarlija is a vintage street, located in Stari Grad (Old town) and generally considered the main bohemian quarter of Belgrade. One of the most famous streets in Belgrade, it is less than 400 meters long and worth seeing!

Belgrade also contains numerous markets... like the Pijaca Kalenic and the Farmers' market, Zeleni Venac. The prices are great and there's a huge variety of foods.

And there are plenty of unique restaurants - like "Lorenzo & Kakalamba" - where you can enjoy fantastic food (and a colorful atmosphere). Belgrade at times was intriguing and ... humbling. I spent one morning talking with locals about their history, the impact on their families, the NATO bombings, and their dreams for the future. It was quite moving. Their stories of the changes they - and their country - have been through over the past twenty years were riveting.

5-Star Hotels in Belgrade

There are three 5-star hotels in Belgrade. They are the Hyatt Regency Belgrade, the Hotel Metropol PalaceSquare Nine Hotel Belgrade. The Hyatt Regency is a business-style hotel... located appropriately in the business-section of Belgrade. I prefer to stay near the pedestrian zone, closer to the Hotel Metropol Palace or the Square Nine Hotel Belgrade.

The Hotel Metropol Palace was renovated in 2012 and features 2 restaurants and elegantly decorated accommodations with free Wi-Fi. It's only 400 meters from the heart of Belgrade and overlooks Tasmajdan Park. It's perhaps the most luxurious hotel in Belgrade and has hosted Belgrade's most esteemed guests. Metropol was one of Tito's favorite hotels, where he held many gatherings, attended by A-list guests, ranging from movie stars to leaders of states. With the recent renovations, it has been modernized, but still retains the luxury setting you would expect from this historical hotel.

The Square Nine Hotel Belgrade has perhaps my favorite location - less than 60 meters from the car-free street, Knez Mihailova and only 100 meters from the K alemegdan Fortress. Surrounded by high-end shopping, cafes, and restaurants, this is a wonderful part of town and an impressive hotel! The rooms at the Square Nine Hotel Belgrade are decorated with hardwood floors, paneling, comfortable Treca de Paris beds, linen wallpaper and unique furniture pieces. It is a little modern looking but very comfortable. This is where I'll be staying on my next visit to Belgrade!

         _________________________________________________________

For more photos on our Belgrade trip... head to our Belgrade Pinterest Board.

Strasbourg, France was the first stop on our 2011 Holiday Market tour. We chose Strasbourg as our initial location primarily for convenience - and cost! We were able to purchase one-way flights on easyjet from our starting point in Copenhagen to Strasbourg for less than 20€ each. Even when combined with a train ticket to Stuttgart, the travel costs were still far less expensive than flying into Munich or Stuttgart. We had never been to Strasbourg, knew nothing about the city, so it seemed like a great starting point for our adventure. We were pleasantly surprised as it became our favorite stop on our Holiday market tour.

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. It's located close to the border with Germany and a connection point between Paris and cities in Bavaria, Germany. Upon our arrival we discovered a picturesque city with an Old Town section and a proud, friendly populace.

The old town was charming but what was most surprising were the decorations. We had never seen an entire city decorated like Strasbourg - and on our trip through three countries... Strasbourg was no doubt the prettiest and had the most elaborate decorations!

  And then there were the Holiday Markets. Strasbourg had at least four different markets that we found (and there were more; we just ran out of time!). They were decked with food, candy, specialty gifts, and plenty of Seasonal cheer.

The evenings in Strasbourg were filled with music, locals strolling the markets, children enjoying the candies, ice-skating rink, and rides... and us - reveling in the experience. It was great start to our 2012 Holiday Tour and we will definitely return to Strasbourg, France! _________________________________________________________

For many, many more photos of our trip to Strasbourg, head to our Strasbourg Pinterest board.