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So far edward has created 26 blog entries.

The Summer Vacation You and Your Family Should Take!

By Laurie Flum | Steamboat Springs I thought Steamboat Springs CO was only a ski village so when work called for me to go in October I thought “what am I going to do in October in Steamboat”. You know the old saying “all work and no play…” So I started by listening to a few people that told me to land at DIA (Denver International Airport) and drive the three hours to Steamboat.  The best drive you will ever take is I70 West and onto US40 – both are gorgeous! This drive takes you through the most unbelievable scenery. Three things you must do: Take 170 during the day (it has been voted the most scenic route in the US multiple times!) Paper, Scissor, Rocks – the loser has to drive. (Views, as stated, are WOW. I had a hard time staying on the road while site seeing. My attention was certainly challenged by mountains majesty and winding, sloping roads.) Rent a car with SYNC and bring your music list (there are no music stations for 80% of the drive). Tip……bring “The Cello Song” by Steven Sharp Nelson and play it after you are 90 or so minutes out [...]

Mad, Mad, Madeline

By Bill Bisanz | Apostle Islands She’s beautiful, mysterious, and elusive. And she would drive most mad if you had to live with her year-round. Madeline Island, the largest and only permanently inhabited of the Apostle islands is a 13-mile island set off the Bayfield peninsula on Lake Superior. My first visit was nearly 10-years ago when I chartered a sailboat just two weeks after receiving my basic certification. It took me two days of what felt-like death defying maneuvers before I was brave enough to take on all three miles of the protected waters of the channel between Bayfield and Madeline. Our sojourn was just one night. We docked at a transient slip in the Madeline Island Yacht Club, walked into town, had dinner at what seemed like only restaurant serving dinner (which is no longer there) and retired to the boat for a night of floating slumber. Even after such a small taste, I had a sense that Madeline could be, if given an appropriate amount of time and attention, a truelove. Little did I know how right I was. This summer I spent two weeks on the island. Oddly, most of that time was without cell-phone coverage. [...]

Talk Fractional with International Architecture & Design Magazine

Culture Club Fractional ownerships let urban tourists put down roots Even the most seasoned of tourists have left a city feeling like they missed something. In a foreign metropolis, a week or two leaves barely enough time to scratch the city’s surface. For a new breed of traveller, there’s a desire to move beyond a brief getaway to the beach and into an extended urban escape. With the unique opportunity to take up residence abroad in some of the world’s most enticing cultural hubs, fractional ownerships pick up where time-shares leave off. Visitors drawn to the bustling streets and infectious energy of cities may find that fractionals serve their needs in a way that a remote, private villa never could. Time-shares can tally upwards of a few dozen buyers who purchase the right to use a property for a week or two a year. Fractionals, on the other hand, offer residents prime ownership over elegant foreign real estate while limiting shares to three to six parties. Fewer buyers mean more time to gain cultural grounding and put down some temporary roots for a fraction of the cost of sole ownership. The properties are rare gems—plush apartments in sought-after downtown neighborhoods. Most put scrupulous effort into interior design and modern renovations while maintaining historic architectural structures within enticing, upscale edifices. Each share of [...]

Elite’s “Villa La Percha” Featured in Ocean Home Magazine

Provo Paradise Melissa C Gillespie | Ocean Home Magazine La Percha is the newest luxury living experience in Turks & Caicos The allure of the British West Indies has entertained the the fantasies of royalty, aristocrates, and celebrities for centuries. Now, Providenciales (or Provo, as it's called by locals) in the Turks & Caicos Islands welcomes La Percha, a new luxury villa, to the prestigious Ocean Point Drive. Villa La Percha, a shared-ownership, resort-style home that sleeps eight guests, boasts four large bedrooms with patio or balcony access and awe-inspiring views, plus indoor and outdoor living space. On-site amenities include access to tennis courts and kayaks, a private dock, and ocean facing hot tub and fire pit, a private pool, a screened porch, an outdoor kitchen with a grill, and a gazebo. Steps from the villa, guests can wade in the shallow waters of Taylor Bay. La Percha's concierge is available at any time to arrange for restaurant reservations, in-villa spa treatments, or for activities like boating excursions and horseback riding. For a one-of-a-kind experience, take a trip to the only conch farm in the world, located right on Providenciales. Though the island has numerous resturants nearby, dining at La Percha is a customized [...]

Mountains and Moose and Bears, Oh My!

By Jeanne Larson | Jackson Hole, WY It was a long October weekend, and we had decided to head to Jackson Hole. My family and I love to ski, so although it wasn’t the season, we viewed this as a good scouting expedition. The car trip from Minnesota across South Dakota was pretty uneventful, until we crossed the Missouri River. The terrain suddenly became more sculpted and hinted of mountains. The four of us arrived in Jackson at night, picked up a few goodies for the next day, and made our way through intermittent fog several miles along the Snake River to Teton Village, the slope-side hamlet of Jackson Hole Mountain. The carved wooden bear at the front door welcomed us and confirmed we had made it to Bear Paw Lodge. When morning came, I was anxious to see the surroundings. I looked out of the floor to ceiling great room windows to a gorgeous view of Sleeping Indian Mountain, when some movement in the foreground caught my eye. A lone moose was munching tall grass about 100 feet away on a neighboring rise. Teton Village was an easy walk from Bear Paw, and the weather was crisp and clear, [...]

Paris by Sail

By John Pollack | Paris John Pollack is an accomplished author and journalist who won the 1995 O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships and was a Presidential Speechwriter for Bill Clinton. Earlier, he worked as a foreign correspondent in Spain, as a field assistant in Antarctica, and as a strolling violinist on Mackinac Island. You can learn more about his adventures in his books The Pun Also Rises and Cork Boat. For those hoping to see Paris by boat, there is no shortage of willing vessels. Most common are the Seine’s long, glass-enclosed tour boats that – glittering with the flash of a thousand cameras – slip through nighttime waters past the ancient towers of Notre Dame. For those with a few more sous in their pockets, luxurious private yachts await at the Arsenal Port La Bastille marina, on the Right Bank, not far from the site of the fearsome prison whose storming came to symbolize the French Revolution. And if a more bohemian experience is what you seek, some of the old houseboats that tie up along the Left Bank will even rent you a bunk for a night, though these colorful barges rarely, if ever, leave their stone quais. [...]

Elite’s CEO, Bill Bisanz, Talks With FOXBusiness About Fractional Ownership

Fractional Real Estate Ownership: Getting a Slice of a Vacation Home By Cindy Venegas | Published May 21, 2012 | FOXBusiness A new breed of vacation home ownership is gaining steam that allows individuals to share ownership of a property. Think of it like this: A whole pie may look delicious, but it doesn’t make financial sense to buy the entire dessert if you are just having a few bites. However, if you split the cost among several buyers and ensure that everyone gets a slice, then the purchase makes sense. That’s the theory behind fractional real estate ownership, in which second homes are purchased under a multi-owner structure and cost and access to the home is shared. “It allows you to create a connection between the time you spend in the home and the amount of money you pay for it,” says Andy Sirkin, a fractional homeowner and attorney who specializes in real estate co-ownership at Sirkin & Associates [www.andysirkin.com]. “It causes fewer headaches, costs less money and I still get everything I want.” The concept of fractional ownership may sound similar to a timeshare, however fractionals have fewer buyers which increases the amount of time available to each [...]

Gasping at its beauty

I have just had the pleasure of staying at Casa Tanglewood. The house is incredible, and the setting is breathtaking. I have never stayed in such an elegant yet welcoming house. It really is a very special place and makes me smile just thinking about it. The initial plan was to go to the nearby beaches, waterfalls, and national parks, but we found that we were just so relaxed and happy in the house that we stayed there most of the time. Our days started by eating breakfast outside enjoying a dramatic view of the ocean and mountains, joined by a few little friends...humming birds and colourful frogs! Afternoons were spent in the infinity pool enjoying the sun and the tranquility. Evenings were spent preparing dinner in the spacious, fully equipped kitchen, followed by cocktails made with fruit picked from the trees in the garden. All family and friends comfortably enjoyed films in the living room with surround sound. All details of the house have been thoroughly thought through; everything you could want is there. The gardens are beautifully landscaped. Upon arriving at the property we spent a lot of time gasping at its beauty. I can't do the house [...]

A Zest for Global Living Experiences

By Jeanne Larson | Madrid, Mexico I was lucky to spend three weeks traveling throughout central Mexico with my family as a child. That trip was the beginning of a strong attraction to other cultures and a zest for global living experiences that have transcended my life. I headed to Europe after business school, determined to begin an international career in Spain where I had a rudimentary knowledge of the language and had studied at different points. After a sales career in Madrid, opportunities led me to Buenos Aires, and later Mexico City. When it was logically time to settle down, my husband, who I met in Mexico and who relishes other cultures as much as I do, and I uprooted again to live in Europe for a few years. Our two children were born there, one in Barcelona, the other in Fontainebleau outside of Paris. Now back in Minnesota, and living with my family on the farm where I grew up, I look forward to every opportunity to work with owners who wish to share their special home and its local culture with guests.

Yoga On the Road: Barcelona, Paris & NYC

By Bill Bisanz | Paris, New York On a recent trip to three of my all-time favorite places I practiced yoga…everywhere. Normally my trips, whether for work or pleasure (this was both), are a departure from my normal routine. For sure travel is meant to be a break from the ordinary but why miss out on the extraordinary parts of the ordinary just because we’re on the road. With this in mind I set out to maintain some of the same practices that help me feel happy and balanced when I’m at home in St. Paul, e.g., yoga, exercise, meditation and food. Yoga was the easiest of these to integrate into the jam-packed days of big-city travel and exploration. Waking up at 6 or 7 and going to bed at mid-night or later and in between meandering around these magnificent urban cathedrals, yoga is a great way to stay balanced while integrating so many new experiences. In Barcelona, I practiced yoga in two studios – Yoga Studio Barcelona (www.yogastudio.es) and Happy Yoga (www.happyyoga.com) both located adjacent to the Placa Universitat about a five minute walk from Placa Catalunya. I would very much recommend both of these studios. For those of [...]

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