France is well-known for its gastronomic delights and takes
great pride in producing the most luxurious meals imaginable. This desire for excellence extends to beverages as well, for within the
city of Paris can be found what many will argue is the best hot chocolate in
the world at Cafe Angelina.
Located across from the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre
beneath the Rue de Rivoli archway, Angelina's is something of an institution,
favored by locals and tourists alike. The front of the cafe is where the
impressive pastry cases are located where you'll find treats such as Mont Blanc
and fig tart. But the star of the show at Angelina's is the hot chocolate. Take
a seat inside the cafe at a marble table and admire the gilt mirrored walls,
but ultimately it's the l'Africain, a thick, rich, extremely sweet hot
chocolate that many have likened to melted chocolate bars that will seize your
attention. It is served quaintly in a pitcher alongside a parfait glass filled
whipped cream. Despite the sweetness of the beverage you'll be tempted to order several pastries to accompany it, such as madeleines or maccaroons. It is pure indulgence and those on a diet or trying to limit
their sugar intake might do better with an Angelina salad or perhaps a quiche.
If you think being thousands of miles from the ocean means
you can't dive with fish and sharks, think again. A fun diving adventure can be
had at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
The Downtown Aquarium in Denver is a restaurant and aquarium
that offers a variety of opportunities for you to become involved with the
marine life that is present in the aquarium. A diving with the sharks program
allows certified divers to climb into the Shark Tank and spend thirty to forty
minutes diving with them, all while friends and non-divers watch from behind
the glass walls of the tank. The aquarium provides all of the diving equipment
and divers are given souvenirs to commemorate their experience. If diving with
sharks sounds too intimidating, another option is to dive in the fish tank with
eels and 500 species of fish. Non-divers and children can also participate by
snorkeling in the fish tank or joining one of the aquarium's zoologist
for a day or marine biologist for a day programs which introduce visitors to
the behind the scenes activity that occurs in a major aquarium and wildlife
habitat.
All programs include admission to the aquarium adventure
exhibits, T-shirts, and discounts at the restaurant. Two weeks advanced
reservation is required.
Dinner and a show is a common evening plan, but how about dinner and a murder mystery show onboard a moving vintage train? The next time you're in Michigan you may want to consider checking out the Old Road Dinner Train, North America's longest-operating dinner train.
The company operates out of both Blissfield and Charlotte, but the primary rides originate in Blissfield, 20 minutes north of Toledo. The murder mystery train travels through the countryside while presenting entertainment and dinner over the span of two and a half to three hours. Diners enjoy a five course meal in classic dining car splendor. While the guests dine, actors perform the show which is billed as family friendly and more comical than dramatic. A volunteer is recruited to participate and guests may find themselves interacting with the cast as everyone aboard the train attempts to solve the murder mystery. The Blissfield train may be booked every Saturday night and on select Fridays and Sundays.
In addition to the murder mystery shows The Old Road Dinner Train offers experiences such as moving wine tastings, pizza trains, and Santa trains which are ideal for families with children. A New Year's murder mystery party is also scheduled.
For most people who live in parts of the world where snow is a regular occurrence each winter, the idea is often to get away from the chilly stuff. But since snow is rare in Las Vegas and greeted with fascination when it does fall, the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino decided to bring snow to the city. Inside its themed Qua Baths & Spa, guests can enjoy the winter treat in a luxurious setting unique in the desert.
Qua Baths & Spa boasts a spa experience called Roman Rituals, inspired by ancient Roman bath houses. Guests move between multiple rooms that offer different spa experiences. The Roman Baths consist of three pools heated to varying temperatures. The Laconium Room is an elegant sauna. The tea lounge is where tea sommeliers pair the beverage with spa treatments.
Arguably the most memorable part of the Roman Rituals is the Arctic Ice Room, a beautifully domed room adorned with blue glass tiled walls. The Arctic Room features heated floors and benches to provide comfort for guests as they relax in the chilly 55 degree mint-scented air. Overhead, fake snow descends from special equipment in the ceiling and gently dusts the guests.This artificial snow isn't actually cold; it's similar to the mixture used on movie sets. However bowls of crushed ice are made available throughout the room for guests who would like to follow the ancient tradition of scrubbing themselves with snow to rub away sweat and impurities and invigorate their circulatory systems.
February is your chance to visit one of Japan's largest winter events, the Sapporo Snow Festival. Ice sculptures and snow statues dominate the event which is spread along Odori Park, Satoland, and Susukino. The 2009 event will be held from February 5th to the 11th.
The festival began in 1950 with sculptures created by six high school students. Since then it has grown into one of Hokkaido's largest events, attracting nearly two million visitors from Japan and around the world. Lasting seven days, the event can be found in three main areas: Odori Park, where ice sculptures stretch east to west through downtown Sapporo and music acts perform on snow stages in front of gigantic snow backdrops; Satoland Park, where you can stumble through an ice maze, go snow rafting, or slide down a slippery ice flume; and Susukino, where the Ice Sculpture Contest is held and the Ice Queen is available for photographs. Susukino is also where the opening and closing ceremonies are held and is beautiful for visiting in the evening when the sculptures are illuminated. For seafood fans eager to sample Hokkaido's famous delicacies, the Hokkaido Winter Food Park offers crab and other Hokkaido specialties all day and night. Ice bars also feature liquors and beer 'on ice'.
Your parents may have entertained you with simple puppets when you were a child or perhaps you fell in love with the story of Pinocchio, the puppet who wished he was a little boy. The art of puppetry has existed for centuries as a means of passing along stories, culture and for entertaining people of all ages. Thanks to schools around the world, you can try some puppetry of your own and share this joyful art with others.
One such school, Juniper Tree School of Story and Puppetry Arts, is located on Vancouver Island, B.C. Programs include part-time courses which are spread out over the summer, or full-time six week apprenticeship/training certifications. While both the part-time and full-time courses teach students how to use puppetry for educational, therapeutic, and artistic purposes, the full-time apprenticeship allows for a deeper concentration. Students learn how to develop stories specific for their audiences; to understand the psychology of storytelling and puppetry and how they can be used for healing and to explore the human condition; and they learn how to create their own puppets and stages. Puppets ranging from felted finger puppets all the way to more complex rod marionettes are studied and created by the student.
The school also offers a variety of workshops and professional development courses including the Art of Therapeutic Puppetry, as well as weekend events for puppet lovers. Courses are held at the Vancouver campus and in cities throughout the West and Southwest U.S.
For wine lovers -- and those who want to learn more about wine -- trying new producers and varietals brings never-ending enjoyment. If the choices seem daunting, however, next time you're in the market looking over the wine selections, consider holding a blind tasting.
Blind tasting wine is a good way to educate yourself about the characteristics of grape varietals and the effects that region and producer have on the final product. You can start with only two wines or several. Try comparing producers by buying a single varietal from them, e.g., which winemaker makes your preferred style of merlot? Compare regions: can you tell the difference between Santa Barbara pinot noirs and those from Carneros? What about comparing prices -- is there much difference between a seven dollar bottle of cabernet versus one that costs thirty? Or maybe you'd like to try to differentiate between wines using the same varietal of grape produced in different countries, such as a syrah made in the Rhone Valley of France compared to a shiraz made in Australia?
When comparing your anonymous wines make notes. Compare color, clarity, body, the bouquets (how they smell), mouth feel, how 'hot' the wine is (the higher the alcohol content, the 'hotter' it tastes), and your plain simple enjoyment of the wines. Obviously the more you know about the characteristics of a varietal, the better you'll be at identifying it, e.g., the cat spray smell of some sauvignon blancs, or the musty, manure-like aroma in French burgundies. Practice will sharpen your nose and your palate and you'll soon not only be able to recognize what you're tasting, but appreciate all the subtle nuances you missed when you knew exactly what wine was in your glass before you tasted it.
On the way to Yosemite National Park is Jamestown, and located there is the 1849 Mining Camp created and maintained by Gold Prospecting Adventures. It's a historical re-creation of a genuine gold camp and a fun opportunity for individuals and families to learn history and get their hands dirty while searching for real gold.
The objective of the camp is to provide an experience similar to that of the Great California Gold Rush. Participants learn the history of the area, how traditional gold panning equipment works, and then search for gold themselves. The camp provides several prospecting packages, ranging from two hour goldpanning and sluice box sessions to 3-5 hour expeditions in which the already panned earth is dug out to allow you to get to the 'fresh' bedrock beneath. Overnight camping packages are also available. Participants are allowed to keep all the gold they find and should reasonably expect to find some on the two hour or longer courses. For those who are caught up in the excitement of the gold rush, professional prospecting courses are available which show you how to hunt for gold with the latest technology available and how to stake your claim if you find a hotspot.
The traditional children's game of hide and seek has been reincarnated into a worldwide quest that people of all ages can play. Geocaching requires your feet, a GPS device, and your natural curiosity to find objects that have been hidden by other people all over the world.
Geocaching relies on a GPS unit. It's a handheld electronic device that can be purchased in outdoor and electronic stores. It can determine your location on the planet within 6-20 feet via latitude and longitude. It's most often used to pinpoint where you are (such as in emergency situations). But in geocaching you also use it to locate an object (cache) that has been hidden and whose coordinates you know. The hidden cache can be a logbook, a memento, a picture -- anything that isn't perishable or dangerous. Cache owners often hide their caches in locations that they find particularly beautiful or meaningful, wanting to share it with the searchers. Once found, the searchers either replace the cache for other searchers to find, or take it along with them to deposit somewhere else per the cache owner's request. The results of the find are then recorded on the geocaching.com website, which is where further geocache hunts can be selected.
While finding treasures via GPS seems to take some of the fun out of the hunt, you'd be surprised by how difficult it can be. The GPS doesn't lead you exactly to the cache. Often you can't reach the coordinates in a straight line: rivers, buildings, and other barriers may stand in your way. When it comes down to it, you still end up hunting around just like a pirate searching for the hidden X.
