By Dina 

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Virginia Woolf   

Love to travel, eat gourmet meals, and drink fine wines?  Why not do all of these while on your next vacation!  This experience is sure to please and excite any traveler and bring long-lasting memories.  Now is NOT the time to think about dieting!  This is the time to think about indulging in all of the pleasures in life. 

Culinary tours can be experienced in almost any country.  There are tours that take you to Monterey and the Napa Valley, and then there are tours that let you experience some of the best wine regions in Australia.  Perhaps you would prefer going to Peru and indulging in fresh local cuisine and outstanding wines amidst the superb natural wonders of Patagonia's acclaimed Torres del Paine National Park?   

Any amateur chefs out there?  Travel to Italy and learn how to cook from Mamma Agata.  She has been the chef for many major Hollywood actors and actresses including Humphrey Bogart, Liz Taylor, Fred Astaire, Jackie Kennedy as well as writers, politicians and international journalists.  

You could also incorporate a culinary or wine festival into your vacation.  For example, the Cincinnati Wine Festival could be part of your vacation to Ohio.  The Cincinnati International Wine Festival is a non-profit, fundraising event that benefits many Cincinnati charities, including Ronald McDonald House, AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati, Alzheimer’s Association, Art Academy of Cincinnati, and many others.  Incorporating this type of event into your vacation is not as expensive or “intense” as a wine and culinary experience, but you will get the opportunity to mingle with famous winemakers, sample hundreds of award-winning wines, learn from leaders in the field and enjoy gourmet treats and live music! 

Then there is always the infamous cruise.  You can have fun on your cruise while also learning about the culinary arts.  For example, while sailing on Holland America, you can learn from and mingle with top chefs, experts in wine, chocolate and cheese, and leading cookbook authors. Holland America has an onboard enrichment program that gives you a firsthand glance at chefs in action through demonstrations, tasting events, and intimate hands-on cooking classes. Clay Conley, chef at Azul at Mandarin Oriental, Miami, shared his expertise with passengers on an Alaskan cruise in July.  But don’t worry…you still have time to learn from Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramis Hearne, authors of “The Cast Iron Skillet” or from many other chefs.