At the urging of my friend, veteran theater-goer Bruce Bratton, I reserved a ticket to a recent HD simulcast of the National Theater production of Hamlet. The one with Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet. I had seen the production exactly one month ago, live, in London....

The winemakers of Soquel Vineyards joined some choice company when the 2015 Sunset International Wine Competition awards came out in the current (November) issue of Sunset Magazine. From a field of 3000 entries, Soquel Vineyards joined a handful of New World Pinot...

A recent two-week trip to England rewarded me with fine weather —in the 70s practically every day, with one day of drizzle—great countryside walking, and the denouement, a chance to see Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet, live, at the Barbican. My companion and I...

The British fondness for sweets is alive and well, as we quickly discovered. Tea time is not simply something tourists want to experience—it is the national pastime, at all times of day!  Here is a lovely sampling of tea and cakes we enjoyed overlooking the Avon on...

But it wasn't all cakes in Bath, a sophisticated spa town with a University, upscale boutiques, and a history of partying since the 18th century heyday of Beau Nash. On the upper edge of the old city is one of many architectural beauties, a circular park ringed by...