Always On Sunday

As the trip is winding down, some of our travelers are beginning to feel those pains of withdrawal, the same feelings of depression I would get years gone by, everytime vacation was over and it was time to pack and leave this paradise. It was these same feelings that prompted me in 1999 to say “goodbye to the rat race” in Amerika, sell my most prized possessions and move here. So my friends, trust me, I know the feeling all too well.

Sunday is always a big day for the group with the gospel brunch and later in the afternoon, the sometimes wild and crazy sunset cruise. We start off with prayer and fellowship which includes a group of talented musicians and vocalists. Prayer was led by one of our travelers, Brother Charles. This was his first time here with our group and he and his wife were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Our special guest soloist was Travis Williams aka uncle Travis. When I say he brought it…he did just that. It was quite evident that a few in attendance were deeply moved by his selection. Later in the day it was big fun on the boat, cruising out to the reef, snorkeling, swimming into the caves, down to Ricks Cafe and then back as the sun was setting. A good time was had by all. The jerk chicken, salad, fruit and coco bread was on hit. This will be the last post for this trip. I hope you enjoyed trippin with me. Next year: Paris in April, Italy in May, Montreux and North Sea Jazz festivals in July. Inbox me if you are interested.
Until next time,

Sister Kat at Prayer and Fellowship – Sunday Mornin’

Gail Joined Us on This One

A Young Snorkler Ready To Jump In

Party Time! Do We Need A Reason?

Every Saturday, the vivacious, business-savvy,

Enjoying the Mellow sounds of the Band

Kat and Brother J Fox at Managers Cocktail party

Models: Jessica, Quincy and Ms Eddie

Ms Eddie, Gone With The Wind Fabulous

Tree House owner, Ms Gail Jackson, hosts “The Manager’s Cocktail Party”. This is a very festive activity, complete with a live band, her waiters serving complimentary cocktails and other beverages along with the Chef ‘s special hors d’oeurves. This gives the hotel guests from all over an opportunity to mix and mingle with one another. This particular evening, there was a fashion show of some of the hottest island wear imaginable. Our own Ms Eddie was featured as one of the petite sized models and strut her stuff she did. Her 2 baby’s daddy, Travis was wondering where his little wife had disappeared to. The handsome couple will soon celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss. They are truly a shining example for the younger generation.

Next: Gospel Brunch and Sunset Cruise

Negril, Still A Best Kept Secret

This lively group of 50 is here for 9 nights and all are having a wonderful time. California Love is representing and also in the house is Tennessee and Michigan. As Tupac said, “They know how to party”, “They keep it rockin”. And ROCKIN’ they did!
Our host hotel, Negril Tree House Resort has been blessed with the best spot on the 7 mile stretch of white sandy beach. You could not ask for a better location.

Just returning from Italy with only 3 days to rest before flying here; I wasn’t going to blog since my creative energy had suffered a tad bit while in Italy But after several email requests and serious contemplation, I couldn’t disappoint those of you who depend on my blogs to get you through personal sad times, meddlesome and hard task masters on your various “plantations” and just those that live vicariously through yours truly So I will give a brief account.

Even though I’ve been pretty low key on this one; whenever I do walk through the property, I get the following comments: “I’m having the time of my life”, “I’ve never been so relaxed”, “The trip to Mayfield Falls was WILD”, “10 of us had a ball at the Appleton Rum Factory. We turned it up and shut it down”.

The highlight for me was MOVIE NIGHT on the beach, under the stars. The lovely owner, Gail Jackson sets up a 12 ft screen with great sound quality, a few rows of loungers and chairs with waiters taking orders of jerk chicken tacos, jerk chicken pizza and margaritas. You can bet I was front row and center alongside Ms Eddie, uncle Travis, Winfrey’s aunt Becky, Marchelle from Michigan, Juanita McVey and Deborah Washington. Gail provided the freshly popped popcorn and we were ready for the feature film, “Twenty Feet From Stardom”, an award winning documentary about some of the best old school backup singers: Darlene Love, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega, and Merry Clayton—— all powerhouse singers. This experience reminded some of us of going to the Drive-In movies. I loved it!

Each year we have a color scheme for the dinner party with open bar. This year it was take your pick of red, green or gold. The hotel staff outdid themselves on the decorations as did the Head Chef. We dined on fire grilled chicken with orange sauce, pot roasted pork, pasta and vegetable salad, steamed vegetables, rice and peas and Ms Margaret’s famous mouth-watering coco bread which easily reminds one of their grand mamas yeast rolls.

DJ Paul, formerly of Hedonism, was spinning the latest sounds out of control. I made my exit after uncle Travis and I hit the dance floor on R. Kelly’s “Steppin'”. But the next day I got reports on just how hard they all partied.

Stay tuned for the Manager’s Cocktail Party, Cooking Classes, Gospel Brunch and the Sunset Cruise

Tree House Resort Lobby

Dinner Party Time

Kat and Ms Eddie

Lovelies Ready for the Evening

Six Time Repeater, Cheryl Ellis, Always Ready to Party

J’ean Perignon Will Always Find A Pretty Lady–Regina

First Red Purchased in 25 years

The Last Supper – Milano

Buongiorno! We are in Milano for 2 nights and it’s been a nice experience. Things have mellowed out and folks are no longer interfering with my creativity, thanks to my twice a day prayers so I’m writing again. Everybody loves The Uptown Palace. It’s an absolute gem. The management and staff are rated with the best in my book. Even though some did not make it to the out of town outlets they still got in their last minute shopping at the Duomo Mall and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is a short 10 min walk away from our hotel. Six of us got together the first night for a pre birthday celebration for me at BOTINERO’S — an Argentinian steak house, rated #450 out of over 5,000 in this fair city. It’s VIP and you’re subject to see football players and tv celebrities here. The manager was waiting for us and roll out the red carpet he did. It was a fabulous culinary experience as we dined Al Fresco in a party like atmosphere.

One of reasons for the Milan stop was to visit Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at the Cenacolo Vinciano
(Pronounced chee na colo vin chee ahh no). I love the way it rolls off the tongue. This was truly a joint effort getting the group there. I didn’t have time to map this one out and do a dry run so a big thank you to Sandy Redmond for stepping up. Reservations sell out quickly and thanks to our contacts/guides, we had ours for months. You must arrive 20 minutes to check in before your reservation. Security is super tight. Some woman had the nerve to ask me if she and her friends could ease in with our group. Mi Scusi? (Excuse me). I don’t think so. I was told a foreign group last week told a guide they were disappointed at the Last Supper because they didn’t get a meal. For real???

The Last Supper, one of the worlds most famous paintings, the most studied and the most scrutinized. It depicts the next few seconds after Christ dropped the bombshell prediction that 1 disciple would betray him before sunrise and all 12 reacted to the news with different degrees of horror, anger and shock. Peter , the man if action, who didn’t play has the knife. He literally had Christ’s back. Judas with his little bag of coins, his face is in shadow. And the one next to Jesus is not a woman but a very youthful looking St John, the youngest. Andrew the 3rd from the left throws up his hands as if to say, “wait a minute, y’all”. The Last Supper had been painted before Leonardo’s but his was the first to depict real people acting like real people. The painting from the 1400s is stunning and clearly had an emotional effect on
several.
This concludes Kat’s La Dolce Vita tour and yes, there will be another next year. Also 2015 is Paris, Montreux and North Sea Jazz, Greek Isles, possibly Colombia South America and now that things have calmed down a bit, Egypt, will see me again maybe in 2016.

View of the Duomo (cathedral) from my 9th floor room.

Night View from my room.

Cat artwork in hotel lobby

More Cat Artwork in Hotel Lobby

In Milano, Diva Modeling Her Custom-made Leather Fit From Florence

Cenacolo Vinciano Museo—- The Last Supper

Last Supper postcard. Photos not Allowed Inside

Ciao, Ciao!

A Stop in Florence, Then on to Bellagio

Silvio, our quaint 3 star hotel in Bellagio—- a 5 star in this town can break the bank

Outside of our Bellagio hotel

The Main Stairway in The Town of Bellagio

Posted Map of Bellagio in the Town

Siena was wonderful but the time has come to move on. Siena, I will see you again…maybe next year…We shall see. After breakfast, the drive was about an hour. We checked into the 4 star Grand Hotel Minerva. There was a buzz about the rooftop pool but let’s see if there will be more sunbathers or shoppers? My apologies for not snapping any photos here.
Everyone was free to do their own thing until dinner time. Some chose to hire a driver to go to Pisa—an hour away. The next day a few surprised themselves by taking the inexpensive train trip to Pisa.
Florence is the capital of the region called Tuscany. Florence’s museums, palaces and churches house some of the most artistic treasures in the world. It is here the group visited Michelangelo’s “David” at the Academia Gallery. After that it was shop til they dropped. They purchased designer bags from the high end stores, purchased leather shawls, had leather outfits tailor-made and delivered to the hotel. The list is endless. You can believe several of them out-shopped themselves and had to buy an extra suitcase. Our hotel is in a great location, overlooking Santa Maria Novella Square which made it easy for everyone to easily navigate the city.
After 2 nights in Florence, our expert driver, Fernando who couldn’t speak a bit of English but could drive the hell out of our 50 passenger Mercedes Benz bus drove us the 4.5 hrs to Bellagio on Lake Como. Lake Como, such a beautiful place. It borders Switzerland, as does Germany, France, Austria and Lichtenstein.
This may be the last blog on this trip, we’ll see. Those of you that know me well, know my writing skills are truly a gift from God but when outside forces interfere it zaps my creativity and the words and thought process just won’t come. That’s where I am right now.

On The Way to Bellagio. One of my best road trips, ever……So mentally relaxing

Bellagio, Lake Como

I realize I can’t please everyone but I do try. Its just me, 1 humble travel agent, Kat St Thomas.
Now if any of you that live vicariously through me want to experience this Italian countryside experience next year, inbox me. Until later Ciao Ciao!

San Gimignano, Oh What A Day!

This morning after breakfast we drove 40 minutes from Siena to San Gimignano (Jim ee yah no). The local guide met us as we stepped off the bus. The town is a small medieval hill town in the province of Siena and about 56 km south of Florence. It took about 10 minutes to walk uphill to the city center, passing shop after shop and outdoor cafes. It dates back to 450BC, once had 72 Bell Towers, now down to 14. It is also known as the town of beautiful towers and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As the group continued up the hill to check out bell towers, I found an outdoor cafe with wifi, ordered tonic water, thought about you and worked on my blog as I did what I love to do—–soak up local color and people watch.
After their tour, they had a little time to shop —-some picking up handsomely designed leather items. We then made our way back to the bus with Nicoletta and Julian but saying arrividerci to our knowledgeable local guide.

Next stop was the Pietraserena Winery. It’s owned by the Arrigoni family who has been in the wine business for 4 generations. The major players seem to be the young Andrea and his lovely and bubbly wife who greeted us upon arrival. This region is known for its white wine produced from the vernaccia grape. While the group embarked on a tour of the vineyards, I was introduced to Chef Francisco in the open air kitchen area, snapped a few pics and waited for the group. We would wine taste as we cooked. Yes, this turned out to be a very different experience, but wonderful from start to finish.

Before we began, everyone received a tee shirt to wear. We had 5 tables of 6 participants. Some had those with a love for cooking while others were stuck with those that didn’t have a cooking clue. I was lucky to be at the table with Patricia and her husband Michael. He a former sous-chef and she loves to bake. The menu was: Antipasto- Crostino Toscano. Salad was a Summer salad with melon, mozzarella and fresh basil. It was drizzled with olive oil, Russian honey and balsamic vinegar. The Pasta was homemade tagliatelle with zucchini in a lemon sauce. Patricia rolled the dough perfectly and by the way and Michael did his chopping thing with the zucchini, garlic and sweet peppers. Would you believe mostly everyone said that was the best pasta they had in Italy.
Dessert was a vanilla-caramel Panna Cotta and all you could hear were oohs and ahhs. Laughter filled the air as the red and white wines never stopped. The weather was gorgeous as participants snapped photos throughout the afternoon. We ended the day with sparkling wine and then shots of Grappa (a very very strong liqueur). We couldn’t have asked for better company. This experience gave us all an opportunity to see the difference between a commercially

View From My Balcony in Siena

Entrance to the Old Town of San Gimignano

Me and Chef Francisco

Fabulous View From The Cooking Class/Wine Tasting

Another View From the Class

We Prepared Our Lunch

He’s got My Undivided Attention

Twayna, Denise, Julian, Alicia and Nicoletta

run winery vs family owned and operated. We all hated to say goodbye but our time was up and what a wonderful day it was.

After getting back to the hotel we only had a short time to chill and prepare for dinner. Everyone was on their own. Five of my friends/cousins joined me at one of the nicest restaurants in Siena —Da Divo. It was top notch, class in the truest sense of the word. I started with steamed lobster with red onions and balsamic. My main course was Duck Breast with Vin Santo sauce (holy wine again) served with braised rolled vegetables. Others chose what I could not decide on: Sea Bass fillet encrusted with Rosemary, Rack of Lamb and the Rolled Pork filled with flavored spinach, pecorino cheese and truffle sauce. By the way, Da Divo is rated #3 out of 452 restaurants. My kinda place! Tomorrow, we say arrividerci Siena and Move on to Firenze (Florence).

Under The Tuscan Sky, Sun & Moon

Lovely Countryside on the Way to Siena

Garden Area at Santa Caterina Hotel

Quaint Breakfast Room in Siena

Altesino Winery in Montelcino

Oak Barrels at Winery

The Lovely Ms Denise

After breakfast we were met with Nicoletta, our driver, Fernando and a special guest; Julian who is an Art Professor and wine expert at the University here. He happens to be from San Diego and definitely held a captive audience with his wealth of information. We spent a full day in the Montalcino (mont el chino) area. The drive through the countryside was breathtaking as we made our way to the Altesino Winery. We were given a full tour which was most informative followed by yes, more wine tasting. Included lunch was at the Grappolo Blu Restaurant. It was wonderful and again, the wine never stopped. The group had time to shop before a visit to the San Antimo Abbey after which, a visit to the Poggio Antico Winery and yes, more wine tasting. Everyone in the group hit the streets after this very full day, in search of a good restaurant,however, yours truly, stayed in and enjoyed vegetable soup and listened to her playlist.
The next morning was nice and easy breezy. There was no rush because our bus wasn’t leaving until noon en route to Siena which was an hour and a half away. Hotel Santa Caterina is a very small hotel but operated most efficiently. Check in was a snap and the 2 Bellmen delivered all luggage in record time. I soon found out the location of a very good restaurant in the city center so 6 of us took taxis to La Sosta Violante and it did not disappoint. We all ordered the grilled chicken –which was a quarter chicken each and the sautéed spinach —both seasoned very well.
Several hours later the group was taken to Castello Di Leonina, located high on a hilltop. The group was thoroughly surprised as they entered the outdoor setting at sunset, amidst beautifully set tables, under open white tents.
Our waiters served us 4 wonderful courses and the delectable dessert had everybody talking about how good it was. It was Semifreddo with Vin Santo. Semifreddo is a decadent, frozen Italian dessert and it’s made with Vin Santo, also known as “holy wine” (the same wine used in the preparation of that tender lamb dish the other evening, traditional in the Tuscany region. They say the name came from the old days when it was used during holy communion. Today was a great day, tomorrow will be even better when we go to San Gimignano (Jim ee yan oh).

A Little Time in Umbria

Duomo in Orvieto

Lunchtime in Orvieto

Enjoying wine at Enoteca La Stella

Chillin’ at La Stella

Dinner fit for Royalty, Course After Course After Course

DinnerTime

Queen Kat & Diva Sue

After breakfast, we were met by guide, Nicoletta and our same driver, Fernando, who is an excellent and safe driver. We drive 83 miles to Orvieto, one of the most dramatic hill towns in Italy, with it’s stunning Duomo (cathedral), construction took 3 centuries. Not far from Orvieto lies Perugia, home of one of the greatest jazz festivals in the world — Umbria Jazz Fest. After a short stroll in the city center we walked to the Restaurant Duca Di Orvieto for lunch. The Chef was introduced to the group. She explained the menu and introduced our servers who were dressed in traditional costumes. It was a very interesting afternoon. Again, the flow of wine was never-ending and even though, I no longer indulge in fermented spirits, my wineaux’s were overjoyed. After our long leisurely lunch We continued on our journey. It was a 32 mile picturesque drive through the rolling countryside to Pienza. After reaching Pienza, we checked into our hotel, chilled a bit and later we were driven to the old town of Radicofani where we were welcomed by the owner of Enoteca La Stella with wine and snacks. The weather was perfect as some sat outdoors and others inside the small bar. This was a nice prelude to dinner which was several miles away at Le Ginestre.

Once we reached the restaurant, all were in for a grand surprise. Tables with candles and umbrellas were set up for us. We were served at least a 6 course meal, capped off with braised lamb with holy wine; This lamb is slow cooked for 9 hours This was before the dessert of Demi tasse of cream with white chocolate and black cherry, followed by coffee. Did I mention again, the wine never stopped flowing. Everything served to us was oh so heavenly. If nothing else, we’ve learned the main staples on an Italian family’s table are oil, vinegar, bread and wine. Photo link not working, will try later. Tomorrow: Under the Tuscan Sun, Sky and Moon.

Kattrax Reunion —Italy Here We Come

We’ve got a great group of 30, most of whom have travelled with me in the past to Paris, South Africa, South America, Greek Isles, Egypt and Dubai. Some arrived in NY a day or two ahead to hang out and some, like myself needed that down time to rest and relax before the international flight. Pride was written all over my face as the group gathered at the gate, the next evening, greeting familiar faces from previous trips and anxious to meet the newcomers to the Kattrax family. The excitement that filled the air was electrifying. We were all prepared for our short nonstop United flight to Rome.

This is going to be a very different tour, unlike any other I’ve conducted, simply because this will be a tour of the beautiful Italian countryside by air conditioned motorcoach filled with positive minded friends, family ready for the adventure. We will begin in Rome covering the usual touristic sites on day 1, followed by the Vatican
tour on day 2 —St Peters Basillica, Sistine Chapel,and the Vatican museum. After arriving early, we got the city sightseeing out of the way and then we made our way to the 5 star Regina Baglioni, located on the famous and chic Via Veneto, where the group was dazzled by her stately opulence. We stayed here last year before our Greek Isles cruise and everyone loved this property. It truly has the “Wow” factor. I’m in negotiations with sales for my cruise group next year. We will be here possibly 2 nights.
Hours before dinner, Sue and I had a light snack near by at Il Fellini. This Trattoria is rated #140 in this town out of over 8,000 restaurants. They were just opening for dinner, the young staff was most accommodating, they had soft jazz playing and the subdued lighting made the ambiance on point. We were served a complimentary aperitif of champagne and before dinner the chef presented us with a gift of a taste of Cod with chopped onions, tomatoes and parsley — just to show us what he was working with. Our mixed green salad was twice the size of what we expected and so delicious. My main course was spaghetti with clams, tossed in Gallic and crushed pistachios.

Dinner this night was a short 5 minute walk from the hotel. The weather was just perfect for the evening walk. I split the group in 2 and I started first, then Sue helped me bringing up the other half. The restaurant was cool, folks had choices, the owner was very nice and accommodating and my wineaux’s were in heaven because he kept the wine flowing. I later found out a handful stayed behind finishing off the remaining bottles before they made their way to a bar that had live music and dancing.

I didn’t go on the Vatican tour but the group came back raving about what a wonderful tour it was and that the guide was one of the most knowledgeable. This came from a few who had done the Vatican tour on other occasions.

There was no question where I would be going for dinner, yes back to Il Fellini. A few joined me, we had reservations for 7p, walked in and of course was recognized and welcomed by the staff. Again service was impeccable, as was the preparation and presentation. The owner and I chatted and he is willing to host my group next year for dinner or lunch —even though they are not open for lunch , he will open for Kattrax. What a dining experience this evening was.

Tomorrow after breakfast, we will say goodbye to Rome and the gorgeous Regina Baglioni as we roll out on our private bus headed to Pienza, two hours from Rome.

Sitting room at the Baglioni

Kat’s Suite

Desk in Kat’s Suite