Famous Faces, Famous Places and Famous Foods
Weird, Wild & Wonderful; Mind Trips; What's the deal? Cybersites...
Time-pressed travelers can avoid London traffic and get some terrific views of the English countryside when they are guests at historic Amberley Castle in Sussex. The medieval country castle has teamed up with Berkshire-based Elite Helicopters to get you there in 25 minutes from Heathrow Airport, the Battersea Heliport, or White Waltham (Maidenhead). Think of it, you could fly out, get married -- the castle is licensed for civil marriages -- dine in the acclaimed Queens Room Restaurant, spend the night in luxury and put away a full-English breakfast before anyone has noticed you've left the office. Or, if marriage isn't on your mind, whisk a client to the castle for lunch, sign the deal, and be home for dinner. A mid-week Castle Break for two people at Amberley (excluding helicopter flights) costs from £380 (app. US $600), inclusive of VAT. A round trip flight fare to Amberley Castle from Heathrow with an overnight stop is around £1,450 (app. US $2,280), excluding VAT. For further information, contact Amberley Castle, Nr Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9 ND England. Tel: 0ll-44-1-79-883-1992, fax: 011-44-1-79-883-1998.
Winging it with the birds and binoculars set
Anyone who has ever wanted to visit Yellowstone National Park in winter can sign up with Field Guides of Austin, Texas, for the trip of a lifetime. Terry McEneaney, the park's staff ornithologist, will guide the tour. The chance to view loose, undulating flocks of Gray-crowned and Black-crowned rosy finches, bugling Trumpeter Swans, flocks of Bohemian Waxwings and some 40 more species of birds is just part of the adventure in one of the world's most legendary destinations. Picture a landscape of snow-covered mountains, frozen waterfalls and erupting geysers populated by free-roaming bison, elk, Bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, gray wolves and river otter. The 9-day tour is Jan. 7-15 and costs $1,725 from Bozeman, Montana. Field Guides conducts 125 birding tours a year throughout the world. For details of the Yellowstone trip or a current catalogue call: 800-728-4953, fax 512-263-0117, e-mail fgileader@aol.com, or visit their website: www.fieldguides.com.
Revved up and ready
Every October bikers from around the world establish a beachhead in Daytona. Biketoberfest, held this year Oct. 21-24, features championship racing at Daytona International Speedway, concerts, street festivals, motorcycle expos and more. You don't have to be a biker to enjoy people watching, shopping, entertainment, and all the photo ops Daytona Beach has to offer. For more information, call 800-854-1234 or visit the official Biketoberfest website at www.biketoberfest.org.
Scotland's calling --
What better place to sing your last Auld Lang Syne
of the 20th century than in the country where it was written: Bobby Burns'
Scotland? The Scots are in a mood to celebrate now that they have their first Parliament
in 300 years, and they are inviting the rest of the world to enjoy a bonnie wee dram with
them. One of the biggest and longest New Years parties on the planet will be a seven-day,
seven-night affair in Edinburgh. The skirl of bagpipes, the spectacle of fireworks, sounds
of the Scots' burr and dancing feet enjoyed against a backdrop of castles and cobblestones
are bound to scare away the Loch Ness monster and give everyone a fresh start for the new
millennium. For the latest Scotland 2000 information visit www.holiday.scotland.net/y2k or call the British Tourist Authority at 800-462-2748 or 212-986-2200
for a free copy of 'Scotland 2000 -- Now is the Time.'
Whose "fault" is it?
Ever heard an earthquake described as a "tectonic ballet between Mother Earth and the forces of nature?" If you haven't, rumble on out to Palm Springs Desert Resort where geologists conducting tours of California's notorious San Andreas fault get downright poetic. Learn how ancient earthquakes are responsible for much of California's natural beauty and how they have changed the face of the desert over the last 200 million years. For information, call the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Bureau: Tel: 760-770-9000, Fax: 760-770-9001, or visit www.desert-resorts.com.
If you are near the Palm Springs Convention Center Oct. 23 and 24, take in McCormick's 27th Palm Springs Exotic Car Auction and drive (or ship) home a 1955 Thunderbird, a '39 Chevy street rod, or one of the other 300 classic dream machines. Autos to be auctioned can be previewed on the Internet at www.classic-carauction.com.
Mind Trips
St. Francis makes a rare visit to San Francisco
An act of God that was bad news in Assisi, Italy, two
years ago has been a boon for San Francisco art lovers. An earthquake rattled Assisi and
caused major damage to the huge Basilica of St. Francis. While the basilica undergoes
repairs to its frescoes and ceilings, masterpieces from its museum-treasury are on loan to
the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco's Lincoln Park. The
Treasury of St. Francis of Assisi showcases some 70 objects dating back to the 13th
and 14th centuries. Among them are gold and silver ecclesiastical vessels,
panel paintings, processional crosses, sculpture, ceramics and illuminated manuscripts
associated with the life and teachings of St. Francis who lived from 1182 to 1226. The
exhibition ends Nov. 14, 1999.
A totally different kind of spiritual art is the exhibition Spirit Country: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Gantner Myer Collection, on view until Jan. 9, 2000. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket information on both exhibits can be obtained from the museum's 24-hour hotline: 415-863-3330, or visit its website: www.legionofhonor.org.
The Legion of Honor building, recently renovated and expanded, is worth a visit on its own. A replica of the Palais de la Legion d' Honneur in Paris, it sits on a headland overlooking Golden Gate Bridge where the Pacific Ocean spills into San Francisco Bay. It was given to the people of San Francisco by sugar magnate Adolph Spreckels and his wife on Armistice Day in 1924 to honor the Californians who died during World War I.
What's the Deal? Money $avers
What's hot, what's not in Indochina?
Following the opening of its new airport last summer, Krabi is being acclaimed as Thailand's new dream beach destination. Travel there before Oct. 31 and take advantage of The Rayavadee Premier Resort's "Amazing Romances" package... Sofitel in Saigon is operating a daily shuttle between the Sofitel Plaza Hotel Saigon and the Novotel Coralia Resort in Phan Thiet, a popular beach and golf resort. The shuttle takes about four hours…Airfares are rising in Myanmar. Yangon Airways and Air Mandalay have increased the rates for domestic flights by 15 percent and 17 percent… Delta Caravelle Hotel in Saigon has announced a rate increase effective January 1, 2000, the first hotel in that city to raise rates in five years. For more information on travel to Indochina, contact Indochina Services USA in San Francisco, Tel: 415-434-4015, Fax: 415-434-4145, or visit their website at www.indochina-services.com. Indochina Services is a leading ground operator for Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
Turtle time in Costa Rica
Sea turtle biologist Randall Arauz, Central American Director of The Sea
Turtle Restoration Project and president of its sister organization PRETOMA in Costa Rica,
will lead a "Sea Turtle Expedition to Costa Rica" Jan. 26-Feb. 8, 2000. The trip
is planned for the highest probability of witnessing the arribada, when hundreds of
thousands of female olive ridley sea turtles leave the ocean to nest. Of course, Mother
Nature is not wholly predictable, so viewing the arribada is not a guarantee, but
even so, turtles can be viewed swimming or on the nest. Although sea turtles are the focus
of the trip, there will be a chance to view wildlife (monkeys, sloths), bird-watch
(toucans, quetzals), and see the enormous variety of tropical foliage. Among the sites
visited will be the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the Ostional Wildlife Refuge in the
Nicoya Peninsula (to view the nesting ridley), Guanacaste Marine National Park (nesting
grounds for leatherback sea turtles), Arenal Volcano and Selva Verde tropical rain forest.
Accommodations include Hotel Mivia in San Jose, El Bosque Lodge in Monteverde, rustic
cabins in the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, Hotel Pueblo Dorado in Tamarindo, Guanacaste; Los
Lagos Hotel in La Fortuna, Selva Verde Lodge in Sarapiqui. Price of the tour is US$1,700,
double occupancy, which includes a US$250 tax-deductible donation to the Sea Turtle
Restoration Project. Contact Randall Arauz, Tel/Fax: 506-235-0836, email: rarauz@sol.racsa.co.cr, or Mary Arauz, Tel/Fax:
506-260-1168, email: paradisescape@hotmail.com.
It's tempting
Temptress Adventure Cruises has always had an eye for
exotic natural history, but passengers on its New Year's voyages to Panama and Costa Rica
will witness an important event from human history as well. After a century in U.S. hands,
the Panama Canal will be given back to Panama at the turn of the millennium. Two Temptress
ships, the 70-passenger M/V Temptress Voyager and the 100-passenger M/V Temptress Explorer
will pass each other during the historic canal transfer. The template for a Temptress
adventure cruise is built around guided expeditions to remote, natural habitats during the
day, "wildlife" on the dance floor at night, plus opportunities to enjoy water
sports, bird watching, hiking and other activities. During the Millennium Cruise,
passengers will experience such places as Costa Rica's Manuel Antonio National Park, and
Panama's Coiba, the second largest island in the American Pacific Ocean. Prices for the
10-day itinerary ranges from $3,625 to $3,925 per person. For reservations or more
information, call 1-800-336-8423 or visit the website at www.temptresscruises.com.
Cyber Sites
Notting Hill to Hugh Grant's blue door
Remember the blue door to Hugh Grant's flat in the movie Notting Hill? Want to know how to find it? Royal Garden Hotel's young and lively concierge team will point you to this and other hot spots of London's newest trendy neighborhood on their website, www.royalgdn.co.uk/concierge. Located on Kensington High Street, Royal Garden is just a few minutes from the action in Notting Hill. Recent recommendations from the website and newsletter produced by Chief Concierge Simon Thomas include Novelli W8, a cozy bistro at 122 Palace Garden Terrace, where you can "munch with the masses or dine with the refined;" Beach Blanket Babylon, 45 Leadbury Road, a Notting Hill bar with a drawbridge entrance; and the wildly popular Pharmacy, 150 Notting Hill Gate, haunt of movie stars and moguls where cocktails are called names like cough syrup and Prozac fizz.
Get me there quick
Say you've just returned from a family vacation and planning another one is the last thing on your mind. Two weeks of quality time with the kids and you can't wait to get back to work. If that is the case, then don't go surfing www.resortsandlodges.com. We did and nearly called a travel agent to book us into the Hayman Island Resort near the bushlands, beaches, and Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Their Kidz Club is staffed by childcare professionals. More than 6,000 resorts and vacation accommodations are listed on this vacation website. You can search for lodging by geographic location, type of resort or activities. There is a detailed description of each accommodation and a link to its website. Fortunately, before booking Australia we surfed over to Central Asia and realized there were many more places in the world to consider.