Marina V

Nick & I live only 90 miles away from the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, a premier destination for wine lovers in California. While not as famous as Napa, Santa Ynez is a home to over 120 wineries, holding its own…

Over the last few years the town of Paso Robles, CA, has become our home away from home.

Nick & I have gotten to know the area well. We have made new friends and have fallen in love with Paso's…

I can't believe it but in all the years Nick & I have been together we'd never gone on a vacation longer than 4 nights. Ever. We'd either been too busy or couldn't afford it. Also, when running your own…

Last month while on vacation on the island of Kauai (Hawaii) Nick & I went ziplining. First time for both of us.

It was an amazing experience! To be honest, I was a bit hesitant/anxious because I'm not really an…

A few years ago while on a vacation in Hawaii I was shocked to learn from the locals that most sunscreen products are extremely harmful to the coral and the marine life, as the components in these sunscreens contribute to…

Here is the recipe for my Russian apple cake. It is so simple and very delicious.

My aunt in Moscow taught me how to make it when I was 11 years old. I must have made it a few hundred…

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

I love love LOVE San Francisco! I've been to (and performed in) this beautiful city dozens of times in the past, but this was my very first time feeling this relaxed. It was due to where…

During our February 2018 tour (with the amazing Beth Hart) Nick & I had one and a half days off in between shows.
Having been to Napa many times before, we couldn't pass up on this chance to spend…

In all the years I've toured (and having performed about 1,000 shows), I can't believe this was my very first time in Boise! We played in Idaho before (the gorgeous Sun Valley), and I am glad we finally made it…

I have always loved Seattle. It is beautiful and classy, with fresh air and lovely people.
This was my 6th or 7th time there (shame on me for forgetting!), but this was the best experience yet!
I think mainly it…

It was so good to be back to Spokane! It was my fourth time in this beautiful town.
The first time Nick & I came here we performed at the Spokane Community College over 10 years ago when I was…

Oh, the beautiful Pacific Northwest!! I love coming here.
This was my 4th time in Portland - such a great city with a million things to do!
We were here for 2 days while on tour with our dear friend/talented…

Nick & I were lucky to have visited Nürnberg twice within a little more than a year. While we didn't perform in this town, we couldn't pass up the chance to see this beautiful historic city. The first time, we…

Nick & I recently performed in Hamburg for the second time, but on this visit we decided to stay in a rural area. And what a treat: we got to experience the busy city and beautiful rural life all in…

While on tour, Nick & I were traveling from Bacharach to Hamburg, and had a free day in between concerts. We had seen many towns in that part of Germany, and decided to take a chance on Bad Salzuflen, a…

While on tour in Europe in October we (Nick & I, not the royal "we") ended up with a day off in South-Eastern Germany and decided to drive to Cesky Krumlov, one of our favorite Czech towns, which we visited…

[This is Part 7 of our September 2017 BORN TO THE STARS USA TOUR blog]

We spent the whole day driving from Lincoln, NE, to Madison, WI. 480 miles, 8 hours, plus a couple of stops.

First, in…

[This is Part 6 of our September 2017 BORN TO THE STARS USA TOUR blog]

Sept 20, 2017

It was extremely nice of our hotel to let us check in super early.  We were able to get a ton of…

[This is Part 5 of our September 2017 BORN TO THE STARS USA TOUR blog]

September 19, 2017

Since we had a few days off in between shows, we decided to find the most relaxing and beautiful place…

[This is Part 4 of our September 2017 BORN TO THE STARS USA TOUR blog]

September 18, 2017

Woke up at 8:50am in Sterling, Colorado, and ran downstairs to bring the free hot breakfast to our room (5 mins before…