Author Archives: gbooks

About gbooks

Our luxury travel service puts the ultimate touch on Journeys reflecting a unique experience of a lifetime; we design Legacy Travel for our clients. Our focus on bespoke Journeys entails more than a creative idea and a few reservations. We hand select our land teams, guides, behind the scenes experts - all who reflect our passion for excellence and personalized service. I’m passionate about travel and unique experiences; interested in meeting local people,studying architecture, discovering and learning as much as possible about every city I visit. I adore Paris, yearn to see more of Africa, a recent visit to Istanbul reminds me that there is much more to see in Turkey. A passage to India allowed me to explore the rich and diverse culture, and I barely scratched the surface of this amazing country. Love to sail, discover music and indigenous food of each region, seek out the best markets and design, and of course dine at the local restaurants. I particularly love roaming Africa, recently explored Argentina and India, which deserve another visit. A devoted Francophile, love all things Parisian, world music, excellent wines & champagne.

Olé The Best of Mexico City & Oaxaca!

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After 20 years of curating Luxury Travel for our select clients, when we receive Grateful Notes of Thanks, it’s a reminder of how much time and determination we’ve devoted into sourcing the best and brightest teams in each pocket of the world. And our teams evolve as we continue to discover the Best of the Best!

Mexico City and Oaxaca are two complimentary cities to combine for extensive art, OTT dining, history and exceptional local experiences. Just a short flight from the United States, Mexico is an often-overlooked destination for rich cultural offerings, a land seemingly familiar but with many unknown secrets simply waiting to be discovered. For many people images of margaritas, maracas, and tacos may be the first to come to mind. Our hope is to show you something more – to connect you with incredible local guides who truly love their country and want to show you the rich layers of its culture and who will bring you to the lesser known, but equally spectacular locations. Mexico City offers excellent contrasts in epic street food tastings to five-star chef driven dining palaces! Cutting edge art museums from folk to dynamic contemporary collections.

The experiences awaiting you in Mexico are plentiful and can be hand-picked to match your interests. With an average of 20 ingredients, you could spend a day in Oaxaca learning how to make mole. Or there is an unbelievable art scene in Mexico – with Mexico City offering more museums than any other city in the world, not to mention the renowned home of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

A recent client note to Benjamin: We had a wonderful memorable vacation and enjoyed Celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary in Oaxaca and Mexico City —both destinations were everything we were hoping they would be and more!

Casa Polanco in Mexico City, again you recommended the best hotel! Fantastic hotel— great service, very comfortable room, good fitness facility, good location. You recommended staying in town in Oaxaca and we unfortunately resisted and stayed outside town, which meant we encountered traffic every time we went into town- next time we listen to you and stay in town as you suggested!

Guides in Oaxaca and Mexico City – all very good, particularly our guide in Mexico City.

Visits Archeological visits— all excellent and very much worth our time. After hours, private tour of Anthropology Museum— so glad we took you up on this, very special to see it in the evening without crowds. Would like more time in there! Xochimilco experience— fantastic. Even though there is a more commercial way to visit here, the personal visit we experienced gave us an insider’s view of the floating farms. Our guide and the lunch they served us were fantastic.

Dining Criollo restaurant— EXCELLENT— one of our favorites. Levadura restaurant— also excellent! Pujol— very good— food was fantastic, the setting was a bit more commercial and filled with American tourists— but still wouldn’t miss dining here! Taco Tour— very well done— Lydia the guide is excellent Em restaurant— another excellent choice. Their food is spectacular, fine Mexican with a good deal of Asian influence.

That’s it! Again, thank you very much for all your help in making this a memorable 40th Wedding Anniversary Celebration, your teams are amazing and they gave us lovely Anniversary gifts as well!

Mexico City A sprawling city simply bursting with energy, a true melting pot of international talent. Known for its incredible range of fine dining options as well as some of the city’s best street food. There are countless ways to spend your days – from visiting nearby ruins, to touring the home of Frida Kahlo, to participating in a cooking class, to catching a local wresting match (lucha libre). Mexico City is an urban jungle with something to offer anyone.

Oaxaca One of Mexico’s most beautiful cities meets its most robust and unique culinary destination. Oaxaca is an excellent destination for anyone interested in gastronomy, from cooking classes to market tours to some of the country’s best restaurants. Oaxaca is also known for its artisan communities that dot the surrounding area – from textiles to pottery there are plenty of reasons to visit.

Gracias to our fine teams and to our gracious clients!

Highly Recommend Mexico City and Oaxaca Journey!

Food For Thought.

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At this moment in time, it might be challenging to summon up a strong sense of Gratitude. The expression gratitude translates to an appreciation for what one has, an acknowledgement of value independent of economic worth.

Spontaneously generated from within, gratitude it is an affirmation of goodness and warmth.  A social sentiment which bolsters relationships, its roots run deep in our evolutionary history, a way of being, stemming from the survival value of helping others and being helped in return. Sharing.

This Thanksgiving, rather than share a long list of appreciative traveler praise, and we recognize our achievements wouldn’t be possible without our valued clients. We encourage generosity, the demand for donations in the bay area has skyrocketed, many food banks have stopped purchasing meat as food prices have surged. Volunteer at a food bank, deliver meals to seniors or donate to a shelter. Second Harvest invests in our community, feeding children contributes to our future and our stability.

It’s not what we say about our blessings. But how we use them,

Is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.

I’m eternally thankful to our energetic, adventurous and grateful clients!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking Up!