TRAVEL TALES

Young Chang

Glenda and Leslie Bell have been to Rome and Venice and most other

major European cities.

For their vacation last month, they wanted the opposite of a hectic

tour.

They chose, instead, a trip that involved relaxing in beautiful hotels

and enjoying good breads, good wines and good company.

“We were just kind of lazy,” said Glenda Bell, who still has a

Southern drawl from her years in Texas even though she now lives on Lido

Isle. “We went to the pool, we read a lot, we ate a lot.”

Bell presented the trip to her daughter Leslie last Christmas as a

present. The two hotels they were going to -- the Grand Hotel Quisisana

in Capri, Italy, and La Residencia in Mallorca, Spain -- required booking

in advance.

“I was thrilled,” said Leslie Bell, 28. “I think our favorite thing to

do is travel together, and our favorite place to go is Europe. We’re very

close. She’s a great friend.”

The mother had read about the cities in issues of Travel and Leisure

-- which she admits to poring through -- and learned that both were

coastal destinations.

“I kind of always gravitate toward the coastal areas,” the 54-year-old

said.

The two left May 30 and returned in mid-June. They arrived in

Barcelona and took a smaller shuttle plane to the island of Mallorca.

Their hotel was in a small village called Deia. It was there that they

spent much time lounging in beautiful pools.

The hotel’s grounds included citrus groves. The interiors were rich in

candle holders.

“And we tried to do some of the things that locals do,” Bell said. “Go

back in the village and see how they live. I think Deia is an artists’

colony. I would compare it to Laguna Beach.”

Leslie Bell, a paralegal in Newport Beach who always meets her mom for

breakfast at Plum’s restaurant on Saturdays, said she most enjoyed the

pace of their trip.

“I have a really busy job, so just having room service for breakfast

and sitting by the pool in Spain where everything was so beautiful

physically, I think that was probably my favorite thing,” she said.

In Capri -- Glenda Bell warns that you say it like “cap-pri,” not like

the word that means a style of pants -- the mother and daughter were

treated like royalty the minute they stepped off their boat.

“It’s like a big paparazzi kind of thing,” the mother said. “You feel

like a movie star.”

The Grand Hotel Quisisana was even decorated with photos of famous

celebrity guests, including Mariah Carey, Ivana Trump and Jackie Onassis.

Bell and her daughter bought sandals while in Capri from a man known

to create the sandal you want, after you’ve chosen a style and design, in

just an hour. The mother got a thong-like pair in red leather.

“In both places, we went on narrated boat cruises,” Glenda Bell said.

“It’s quiet and indulgent.”

* Have you, or someone you know, gone on an interesting vacation

recently? Tell us your adventures. Drop us a line to Travel Tales, 330 W.

Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; e-mail young.chang@latimes.com; or fax to

(949) 646-4170.