TO READ

Escape To Mexico- An Anthology of Great Fiction, Edited by Sara Nickles

Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

The Lacuna: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver

Mayan Cuisine-  Recipes From The Yucatan Region by Daniel Hoyer

Foods of the Maya: A Taste of the Yucatan  by Nancy Gerlach

Mayan Cooking: Recipes From the Sun Kingdoms of Mexico by Cherry Hamman

A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya by Linda Schele

Star Gods of the Maya; Astronomy in Art, Folklore, and Calendars by Susan Milbrath

The Fall of the Ancient Maya; Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse by David L. Webster

Chronicle of the Maya Kinds and Queens; Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya by Simon Martin

Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End-Date by John Major

TO SEE

Apocalypto- Mel Gibson’s take on the fall of the Mayan Civilization

Frida- starring Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina & Antonio Banderas. Directed by Julie Taymor

Like Water For Chocolate, based on the best selling novel of the same name. Critically acclaimed example of Mexican storytelling at it finest.

Be Thankful For What You Got by Massive Attack

Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews

Ventura Highway by America

Just Breathe by Pearl Jam

Life In A Northern Town by Sugarland, Little Big Town & Jake Owen

Why Does My Heart by Moby

All Good Things Come To An End by Nelly Furtado

Silencio by Nelly Furtado & Josh Groban

Sober by Pink

Empire State Of Mind by Jay Z & Alicia Keys

Where Is The Love? by Black Eyed Peas

Halo by Beyonce

Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen

Drums In The Jungle by African Tribal Orchestra

Sweet Thing by Van Morrison

Thank You by  Natalie Merchant

Dr Frankenstein by Jack Savoretti

Long Time Traveller by The Wallin’ Jennys

Songbird by Eva Cassidy

Wendeyaho by Sudha

TO READ

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

A Little Bit One O’clock: Living with a Balinese family  by William Ingram

A House In Bali by Colin McPhee

A Short History Of Bali: Indonesia’s Hindu Realm by Robert Pringle

Night of Purnama  by Anna Mathews

The Last Paradise  by Hickman Powell

Revolt in Paradise  by K’tut Tantri

Dancing Out Of Bali by John Coast

The Painted Alphabet by Diana Darling

Green Mangos & Lemongrass: Southeast Asia’s Best Recipes From Bangkok to Bali by Wendy Hutton

TO SEE

Eat, Pray, Love staring Julia Roberts

Road to Bali starring Bob Hope & Bing Crosby

Ingredients (serves 1):

Directions:

I don’t know how else to describe Escape to Shape other than to say it’s like going to stay with your incredibly cool sister and her boyfriend in an exotic city for a week where they know everyone and every thing that’s worth knowing.  I’ve now done two of their trips (Cartagena and Marrakech) and while each one is different and unique to the location, there are some staples: a beautiful house, amazing food, great yoga, a packed itinerary, and fantastic company.  And despite the fact Erica and Francesco put a ton of effort into making sure each of their trips are flawless and that they’ve secured only the best of the best of everything, you’d never know it as a guest – they make everything seem just that easy.  Looking for a good spa in town?  They’ve been to a great one – should they make you a reservation? Want a hotel recommendation for your extra night?  There is a perfect one right in town and they know the owners.  Decided you want to take the afternoon away from the group and do some shopping?  They’ll get a driver to take you.  Want to do dinner in town one night? They know just the perfect spot – and when you get home, you’ll see it’s given five starts in every magazine.

The locations for Escape to Shape are always a big draw for me, but at the end of the day it is always really important to me who I travel with – after all what good is the location, if your company is aweful?  The only thing I can say is that so far I’ve met a number of incredibly smart, accomplished and adventurous women (yes, both of the trips I did were all women) from all sorts of backgrounds.  I’ve met women in finance, non-profit, law, consulting, design and decorating and each has her own fascinating story to share.  Most of the women come on their own, although the mother/daughter combo seems to be fairly common as well.  Whether you come alone or with a group though, I think the type of person who comes to a trip like this is very inclusive and if you’re on your own, you won’t feel ever feel like it.

Now about the “Shape” part…  this originally scared me – a lot.  I was a afraid I’d spend the entire week starving, so as embarrassed as I am to say this, I’ll admit I snuck a few snacks in my suitcase, just in case…  Luckily for me, Erica’s theme when it comes to the food part seems to be more about moderation and portion control, rather than starvation.  I’m not going to lie, there were definitely a couple of times when I would have killed for a piece of chocolate, but there were always healthy snacks lying around if we were hungry.  Some of the women seem to take the heath part of the trip very seriously, while others much less so.  As with everything else on the trip, it’s up to you which side you fall on…

Speaking of optionality, while every activity on these trips is completely 100% optional, there are some things not to be missed.  In each location Erica and Francesco arrange for the group to enjoy some of the local attractions.  In Cartagena, my favorite day was when we took a lava bath in a volcano followed by a scrub down by some locals in the near-by river.  I’ve never heard so many grown women giggle!  And in Marrakech it was a daylong hike through the Atlas mountains – complete with home-cooked French fries – that did it for me.  But really the stories I remember most were the unplanned things that happened.  There was the boat ride when we got stuck in a storm that left all of us huddled under a small canopy laughing as we tried to keep dry.  There was the rogue masseuse which spurred hours of discussion around the dinner table.  There was the guide who surprised us with a “Happy Congratulations” cake his mom had made for us.   There was an impromptu visit to a school in a small Moroccan village.  Each of these experiences is why I do these trips.

I signed up for my first Escape to Shape on a whim, and I am so happy I did!  So far I have been able to explore two fantastically exotic cities that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the nerve to travel to by myself and I’ve found the perfect balance of luxury, health and adventure that I know will always include a great group of people!

Yoga in the Living Room

Our Pool

Cruising on our private schooner

Samba Lessons!

Indoor Lounge

Following 3 weeks in Buzios we enjoyed ten days in Rio de Janiero, a city that surpasses any other in terms of natural beauty. Around every corner you will find a new breathtaking surprise… mountains and waterfalls, beaches and jungle, chic restaurants, authentic juice bars and of course, the quintessential Brazilian favelas, as Brazil is a country of contrasts. Brazil, which is also a largely self sufficient country due to its vast natural resources, is experiencing tremendous growth and financial success these days. It was a hard city to leave behind….

Sunset in Rio

Now, back in San Francisco with many memories of cherished moments with new friends and old, knowing that one day soon, we will return back to Brazil for other adventures.

For those of you planning a trip, or those of you who would like to reminisce or simply read up on this diverse country, here are a few books (& some music suggestions, as Brazil is all about the dance!) to draw you in or take you back…

TO READ

Stefan Zweig: Brazil, Land of Adventure – 1941 (Poche).

Claude Lévi-Strauss: Sad Tropics – 1955 (Pocket Terres Humaines).

Errol Lincoln Uys: Brazil – 1988 (Presse Pocket).

Hugo Pratt: Under the sign of Capricorn – 1990 (Casterman).

Ray C. Anderson: Mid-Course Correction, Towards a Sustainable Enterprise, 1998 (Peregrinzilla Editions).

Brian Nattrass and Mary Altomare: The Natural Step for Business: Wealth, Ecology and the Evolutionary Corporation – 1999 (Paperback).

Ricardo Semler: Voce esta louco!, Uma vida administrada de outra forma – 2006 (Ed Rocco ltda, Rio de Janeiro).

TO HEAR

Vila-Lobos: A floresta do Amazonas, João Carlos Assis Brasil, Ney Matogrosso, 1987 (Kuarup).

Joao Gilberto – Astrud Gilberto – Stan Getz: Autour de Minuit, 1967 (Polygram France).

Zeca Baleiro: Pet Shop Mundo Cão, 2002 (FIS)

Marisa Monte – Carlinhos Brown – Arnaldo Antunes: Tribalistas, 2002 (Capitol Records).

Barrosinho: o Sopro do Espirito, 2000 (Kalimba Music).

Enjoy….

Literature:

The Godfather- Mario Puzo

Bagheria- Dacia Mariani

The Council of Egypt- Leonardo Sciascia

The Leopard, The Siren- Guiseppe di Lampedusa

Films:

The Godfather

The Big Blue

The Leopard

Il Postino

Cinema Paradiso

Divorce, Italian Style

Reminiscent of the classic Bloody Mary, Diana has provided this simple and delicious recipe, which is a wonderful cleansing treat for your palate and for your body. For more nutrition tips & recipes visit Diana’s site (www.dianastobo.com) or ESCAPE with us to Napa Valley, where Diana will be providing us with easy to follow, delicious & healthy raw food recipes along with nutritional tips!

Directions:

2 large tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1 stalk of celery
1/2 cup spinach
1/4 cup parsley
2 tablespoons yellow onion, diced
2 T lemon juice, freshly squeezed juice of one lemon
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or salt to taste
1 cup purified water

Directions:

Place all ingredients in high speed blender and blend until smooth. If you like it smoother strain through a nut milk bag or strainer. Yummy!

You can prepare a large batch of this soup – freeze & reheat on the stove top when ready to eat!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced

½ large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small ginger root, peeled and minced

2 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth

2 tbsp. of brown sugar

Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Directions:

1. Steam the carrots in a large pot until tender for 25 to 30 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

3. While the carrots cook, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger, stirring frequently for 6 to 8 minutes, or until everything is soft but not browned.

4. Transfer the carrots to a food processor or blender and add the garlic-ginger mixture. Blend for two to three minutes until smooth.

5. Return to the large saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to sweeten to taste.

6. Top with toasted pumpkin seeds.

7. Serve immediately & Enjoy!