A Legoland Adventure: So much family fun

Written by Allison Levine on July 25, 2019

Travel Lifestyle

Taking my nephew to Legoland was one of the most memorable of weekends. Watching the joy and excitement in him as he saw his favorite Ninjago characters come to life was priceless. Legoland was a 6-year-old’s fantasy world come true and I wrote about our trip in the Napa Valley Register, which I share here. If you are looking for a fun family activity, make sure Legoland is on your list!

Legoland California, located in Carlsbad, on the north side of San Diego County, just turned 20 years old.

While Legoland may be 20, its biggest fans are between 4 and 10 years old. So, when I went down to Legoland to celebrate its birthday, I had to bring two of Lego’s biggest fans, my 5 3/4-year-old nephew Harrison and his friend, Thomas.

We arrived in the evening, just around bedtime. But when we pulled up to the Legoland Castle Hotel, which opened last year and sits next to the Legoland entrance, bedtime was put on hold.

The 250-room hotel looks like a Lego castle and inside the lobby, a child’s fantasy came to life. A large Lego pit sits in the center of the lobby and there is also a slide. While the adults stood in a long line to check in, the children were running, playing and exploring.

Please The Palate Summer 2019 Newsletter

Written by Allison Levine on July 9, 2019

Travel Lifestyle Food Cocktails Wine

Happy Summer 2019! I hope you had a wonderful, long 4th of July weekend. This summer (specifically June 8th), marks the 8th anniversary of Please The Palate. It is really hard to believe how quickly time has flown. It has been a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun building Please The Palate. When I first launched my business, the idea was to continue planning wine events as I had been doing. I also thought I would start a blog to share my experiences. Never could I have imagined that I would have a weekly wine column in the Napa Valley Register (since 2015) and regularly contribute to other media outlets, such as California Wine Advisory. I also never thought I would host a podcast but have been doing that for the past year for Wine Soundtrack. It has been amazing to watch Please The Palate grow and to be open to opportunities along the way. And, I could not do it without the support of friends and readers such as yourself. Thank you!

Upcoming Events

Drink 728 on 7/28
Spend an afternoon in Santa Barbara enjoying the wines of Fiddlehead Cellars paired with food from the SoHo Restaurant. The Fiddlestix Vineyard sits at mile maker 728 and on July 28, we celebrate! Taste Fiddlestix Vineyard, featuring verticals + horizontals of
728, Lollapalooza, Burtie Baby. Doyle Pinot Noir and more!

Date: Sunday, July 28
Time: 12-4 pm
Address: SoHo,1221 State St #205
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

General Admission Ticket: $100
Designated Driver Ticket: $50
General Admission Couples Price: $180 (for 2 tickets)
Wine Club Member Tickets: $85

Purchase your tickets here.

Read the full Please The Palate July 2019 Newsletter.

When foodies travel: A culinary exploration of Cuba

Written by Allison Levine on July 4, 2019

Travel Lifestyle Food

My favorite way to explore a culture is through the cuisine. It is one of the most interesting, and filling, ways to understand a culture’s history as well as its role today. Cuba is no exception. A country that seemed blocked off from the world, at least the US, for decades, Cuba has a fascinating culinary history. And, despite the new restrictions on traveling to Cuba, a culinary tour with Access Culinary Trips is still permitted! Here is a a recap of my culinary trip to Cuba, which I originally wrote about in the Napa Valley Register.

Despite new restrictions for Americans traveling to Cuba, it is still a top destination for tourists. And rightfully so. The largest country in the Caribbean, Cuba is a semitropical island with a coastline marked by bays, reefs, keys and islets as well as long stretches of lowlands and swamp. Half of the island is mountainous with the Sierra Masetra mountains to the east, the Trinidad mountains in the center and the Sierra de los Organos in the west.

When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Cuba was always off limits to me, somewhere I never thought I would be able to visit. But when restrictions were lifted in 2016, Cuba moved to the top of my list. I did not act on booking a trip right away, but as new restrictions came into place, I decided I could wait no longer. The good news is that is Cuba is still open to Americans and is a place worth visiting.