Courtyard Hotels In San Diego | "Insider Tips From Hotel G Beijing"

Source        : http://blog.splendia.com/
Category    : Courtyard Hotels In San Diego
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


We’ve all been there…you can’t wait to start discovering a new place, but you don’t know where to start. Beijing is one of the world’s biggest and most vibrant cities, with a rich cultural heritage and masses to explore. Splendia dropped into Hotel G and talked to some of the hotel staff…et voilà! We’ve researched the top insider tips of this buzzing metropolis so you don’t have to.

Courtyard Hotels In San Diego

If I want luxurious boutiques and authentic Chinese goods, where should I go to shop?

Susanna Zhang, Concierge: Beijing, the capital city of the Five Dynasties of China, has thousands of years worth of history. You can find traditional handcrafts with typical Eastern features in the many markets and business streets. For those with an interest in Chinese art and trinkets, Liulichang Street is a must. If you’re looking for world-famous brands, head for Wangfujing Dajie, one of the most well-known shopping streets in the city.

What’s the city’s slickest bar?

Kevin Zheng, Chef: I’d definitely choose the Kerry Hotel’s Centro Bar. It’s sexy and vibrant, with effortlessly sleek decor – all mirror-smooth surfaces and stylish design touches. The lighting is flattering and the atmosphere oozes the sophistication of a classic hotel bar. It’s a great place to start your night, and the bar staff are not only cool and trendy, but know all there is to know about the latest liquid fashions (don’t miss the Cha Chao cocktail).

I want to take my date on a romantic dinner. Where should I go?

Kevin Zheng, Chef: I’d go for the intimate LMPLus restaurant, a low-key cosy Italian eatery only five minutes from Hotel G in the CBD compound of Central Park. It has a classic menu and unfussy decor, a warm and welcoming atmosphere and great service and food.

If you were to move, what would you miss most about Beijing?

Serge Couturiaux, General Manager: The lively street atmosphere: the roads are full of vendors and packed with all kinds of people.

What do you like about people from Beijing?

Serge Couturiaux, General Manager: The Chinese cosmological system puts an emphasis on continuity and the need to fit in with one’s surroundings – people from Beijing have really mastered this art! They are hugely proud of their city and never miss an opportunity to remind each loawai (foreigner) of it.

Is there a quiet place where you can escape the crowds?

Susanna Shang, Concierge: Try Chaoyang Park - Beijing’s largest. It’s not far from the city centre and you can always find a tranquil spot on the grass.

What’s your all-time favourite Beijing dish?

Kevin Zheng, Chef: There is just nothing like a perfectly roasted duck with crispy bronzed skin and tender, succulent meat. Beijing has vast numbers of restaurants serving this famous dish, but Quanjude and Bianyifang are probably the best known.

Give us an experience that is unique to Beijing.

Serge Couturiaux, General Manager: Without a shadow of a doubt, the sunset from the top of the Coal Hill, an artificial mound north of the Forbidden City. It’s Beijing’s highest hill, from which you can enjoy a spectacular view: stretching from the Forbidden City just in front of you to the super modern CBD office towers on the left, to the mountains that tower to your right.

What’s the best time of year to visit?

Susanna Zhang, Concierge: Definitely April and May: the weather is perfect and there are dozens of outdoor music and art festivals. Rooftop terraces are opening and welcoming expats, locals and tourists alike – everyone’s happy to welcome back the sun!

Hotels Near Safari Park San Diego | "How to successfully open a hotel"

Source        : http://www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com
Category    : Hotels Near Safari Park San Diego 
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels

Hotels Near Safari Park San Diego

Martin Soler and his team at WIHP mastermind some of the most successful hotel openings in Europe, such as Hotel Seven. This weekend, I sat down with him in Paris to discuss digital communications in hospitality. Our conversation covered a broad range of topics that we’ll share with you in the weeks ahead, but the focus of this article will be the marketing approach he uses during the crucial months surrounding a hotel opening.

“Know your purpose”

Clarify what you are trying to achieve with your pre-opening marketing. Defining your brand positioning is critical during the early stages of planning. Your brand positioning will affect the messaging and tactics you use at each step.

“Showcase the designer”

Design plays a huge role for the hotels that Martin typically works with. For many hotels, the link between design and revenue is closer than it may appear- which this is a topic we’ll discuss in a separate article. The reality is that if you have a unique product, the chances of people talking about your brand increase dramatically. Great design always generates more buzz.
Martin believes at least 40% of a hotel’s marketing value comes from its design. Because of this, he asks who the designer will be before taking on any hotel opening project.
The bigger concept here is to showcase the inventors, artists, and builders behind the product. What makes your brand unique? Is it the concept? The way in which it was built? Each of these areas can play a role in differentiating your property, making it stand apart from the competition.

“Start early”

It takes time to build an engaged, authentic online community. In order to have a substantial group of fans and followers by the time you open, starting to build this community early is important.
Martin tries to build online pre-opening buzz at least 6 months before opening. With Hotel Seven, this took the form of using Facebook as an exclusive content distribution channel.  The community building approach you use will go back to the positioning goals for the brand, but getting an early start is beneficial regardless of platform.

“Build a next-generation website”

Just as beginning to build an online community early is important, creating a compelling website as early as possible is important as well. For hotels, the website is their professional presentation, while social media acts as the more informal communication channel. Both channels play important roles that complement one another.
A “next-generation” website is comprised of several key elements. Martin believes in the extensive use of photos and rich visuals. At the same time, the website must be fast and accessible on a wide range of devices. The hotel site needs to be “social” – integrated with as many other relevant external networks as possible. And above all, it must sell.

“Guard first impressions”
While some social media agencies have experimented with showing construction in progress as a way to build pre-opening buzz, Martin typically advises against showing the work in progress. Showing an unfinished product could give your community the wrong first impression.
Instead, the primary objective in the pre-opening phase should be to sell the dream of what the property will look like. This is best done through building a prototype of your design or concept, and then releasing previews of that.

“Use social media to get attention offline”

Hotels that generate a lot of buzz in social media tend to be covered by journalists writing stories for offline publications and traditional media. The media is always looking for stories that will interest their audience. If a blog post is generating hundreds of tweets, for example, that indicates strong story potential. For this reason, Martin sees social media playing a key role in obtaining crucial media coverage during a hotel’s opening period.

“Give away lots of rooms.”

Giving away room nights is a key pre-opening strategy that Martin recommends. Letting journalists and bloggers stay in the rooms of a soon-to-be-opened hotel helps them experience the product, which is crucial for building early online buzz and back links.
This strategy is not limited to journalists. The owner of the Seven Hotel even gave away room nights to staff members and other key people involved in the project. Everyone had to experience what it was like to be a guest at the hotel so they could do a better job of selling it and providing service.
Whether you decide to give away rooms or not, the key lesson here is to involve as many media producers as possible in your project at the beginning. Generating some early buzz is crucial for building awareness and your web presence.

“Setup distribution partnerships”

Instead of viewing distributors as adversaries, Martin recommends setting up as many smart reseller partnerships as you can. But there are two things to keep in mind as you set these deals up:
1)     Make sure you only pay a commission on reservations. Avoid websites that charge a large fee up front to list your hotel, unless you know they have the huge potential they are promising.
2)     Make sure you’re generating enough direct bookings through your website. Making 20% of sales through online travel agencies is healthy, but if 80% of bookings are coming through third parties, that could be a danger sign.

“Measure and track everything”

Martin and the team at WIHP make a point of tracking a wide range of numbers: from the website traffic to social media activity to online reputation. Performance metrics are extremely important to guide the direction you take during the hotel opening process. Don’t be afraid to abandon whole sections of your strategy if you see it isn’t bringing qualified visitors that buy room nights.
As the saying goes: If you can’t measure it, you can’t track it, and if you can’t track it, you can’t manage it.

Courtyard Hotels In San Diego | "The Best Travel Books of Spring"

Source        : http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com
Category    : Courtyard Hotels In San Diego
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


Though it might not be quite time to hang up your winter coat for good, a bushel of books have sprouted to inspire a bout of warm-weather wanderlust.

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There’s something here for fans of every genre: memoir, fiction, adventure, natural history, history, even poetry. But what binds each of these books together is a compelling tale and a great sense of place.

Check out our top picks for spring, then let us know what’s on your #TripLit list (or recommend a perennial favorite) by leaving a comment:

Paris Reborn: Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City (Stephanie Kirkland): A vivid historical narrative about how the City of Light got its Second Empire good looks.
Walking Home: A Poet’s Journey (Simon Armitage): A renowned English poet walks 256 miles in 19 days along Britain’s Pennine Way, giving a poetry reading in a different village each evening in exchange for a bed.
Chasing Alaska: A Portrait of the Last Frontier Then and Now (C.B. Bernard): A reporter follows in the footsteps of an explorer ancestor who hiked, boated, and fished his way through Alaska, collecting Native artifacts along the way.

Gold Rush in the Jungle: The Race to Discover and Defend the Rarest Animals of Vietnam’s “Lost World” (Dan Drollette, Jr.): A veteran science writer reports on the Southeast Asian region where scientists fight to protect rare and endangered animals like the barking deer and the Kouprey forest ox from poachers.
The Turk Who Loved Apples: And Other Tales of Losing My Way Around the World (Matt Gross): This collection of never-before-published essays from The New York Times’s former “Frugal Traveler” columnist provides insight into the life and times of a professional travel writer.

Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West (Peter Hessler): An anthology of essays by The New Yorker’s former Beijing correspondent on China, Japan, Nepal, and the U.S.
Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland (Pamela Olson): In this soulful memoir, a Stanford grad who spent two years living in Ramallah takes readers into the mundane, ancient, tragic world behind the news headlines.

Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, The Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure that Took the Victorian World by Storm (Monte Reel): In this true-life adventure tale, gorilla fever grips Victorian England after amateur naturalist Paul du Chaillu brings back the first specimen from his daring expedition to what is now Gabon in West Africa.

New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories (Ted Reinstein): Quirky characters and who-knew attractions throughout New England fill this collection of stories and anecdotes.
The Paradise Guest House (Ellen Sussman): A survivor of Bali’s nightclub bombing returns to the island to attend a one-year memorial ceremony of the tragedy in this descriptively evocative novel about healing and second chances at love.

The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari (Paul Theroux): The master travel writer returns to Africa for what he says is the last time for a journey that takes him from Cape Town, through Namibia, to disheartening Angola.

Courtyard Hotels In San Diego | "The Internet Graveyard"

Source        : http://www.happyhotelier.com
Category    : Courtyard Hotels In San Diego
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


Intro

Sites come and sites go. The longer you blog, the more blogs and internet services you’ll find disappearing or becoming something else, because they stopped, were merged, acquired or simply wanted to start earning some (more) money.

Courtyard Hotels In San Diego

For some time I used to keep track of blogs that passed away in a category Dead TravelBlog Society.

Recently I’ve been confronted with several services being closed down. Services that I used in one way or another for my blogs. Therefore I’ve decided to create a second, broader category “Internet Graveyard“. For the moment I’ll leave the two existing next to each other and sometimes overlapping each other.

How to keep track of all the changes?

Every WordPress Blogger should use the nifty WordPress plugin by the name of Broken Link Checker by Janis Elsts of W-Shadow.com. See for W-Shadow’s blog post regarding the pluging W-Shadow | Broken Link Checker. I’ve been using it a couple of months now and it is a great tool to keep your blog lean and mean with links that work.

From time to time, through this plugin you’ll find out that one or another nifty 3rd party service you are using has stopped.

And Slide.com did Stop

According to its site, Slide.com has closed down as of March 6, 2012 and is not longer available.

Luckily I had to rework just one post where I had used their Slideshow.

Furthermore they seem to have given a nice advanced warning of their plans:

We wanted to give you all advance notice that in the coming months, a number of Slide’s products and applications will be retired. This includes Slide’s products such as Slideshow and SuperPoke! Pets, as well as more recent products such as Photovine, Video Inbox and Pool Party. We created products with the goal of providing a fun way for people to connect, communicate and share. While we are incredibly grateful to our users and for all of the wonderful feedback over the years, many of these products are no longer as active or haven’t caught on as we originally hoped.
Most importantly, we wanted to take this opportunity to reassure you that we’re committed to helping our users preserve their data as easily as possible. We recognize that many of you have stored valuable content with us and want to assure you that, wherever possible, you will have ample time to download that information or transfer it to another service.

For example, on Slide.com, we will enable users to either download their photos or export them to a Picasa account. We are working to release this export feature over the coming weeks and, once added, users will have several months to take advantage of transferring their photos.

Courtyard Hotels In California | "The Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown Completes $5.8 Million Revitalization"

Source        : http://www.island.lk

Category    : Courtyard Hotels In California

By              : Hotels In San Diego

Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels

SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown hotel, located in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, recently completed a $5.8 million renovation of all public spaces, meeting rooms and guest rooms.  As part of this comprehensive revitalization, the hotel is unveiling THE LOBBY, a vibrant and refreshing new space for dining, working and relaxing.  The hotel is owned by affiliates of Wheelock Street Capital, LLC, and managed by Sage Hospitality.

Courtyard Hotels In California

Located in downtown San Diego, the hotel is within walking distance of the central business district and many of the city's premier leisure attractions.  Housed in the historic San Diego Trust and Savings Bank building, this boutique hotel is an iconic San Diego landmark.  The changes to the lobby and public spaces incorporate unique, locally relevant design components which respect the heritage of the building while remaining consistent with Courtyard by Marriott's brand wide design standards. These changes, which include a new business center, media pods, a GoBoard and an expanded "The Market", meet modern travelers' needs while creating a relaxing urban ambience. 

The new theme of the boutique Courtyard hotel is "What You Want, Where You Want". "We call our team 'cultural instigators'," said Jody Blackinton , General Manager of the Courtyard San Diego Downtown.  "They are ready and excited to offer guests an authentic San Diego experience while responding promptly to guest needs. This revitalization has underscored the hotel's local energy and allowed us to further elevate the guest experience.  We're excited to see more San Diego locals in THE LOBBY alongside our hotel guests. It's the perfect place for a beer before a Padres game or a delicious dinner date."
THE LOBBY adds a new flair to the hotel restaurant, taking color hints from the historic hand-painted ceiling and the California sunset.  Separated from the lobby by decorative wood screens, the restaurant has a space of its own while seamlessly connecting to the rest of the hotels public space.  THE LOBBY serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and the redesigned bar features local draft and bottled beers. Dishes offer classic American flavors with a dash of southern California flair.  Coffee service has also been upgraded to a Starbucks Espresso Bar.

Guest rooms have a vibrant color scheme incorporated throughout the new bedding, furniture, carpeting and wall vinyl. Green upgrades include environmentally friendly lights and air conditioning.  Executive king rooms feature a wet bar and sofa bed, while every room now includes refrigerators, microwaves and safes.
Meeting space features new wall vinyl, carpeting, furniture and technology, and also includes the hotel's new art program.  Following an initiative driven by the Sage Hospitality, more than 300 pieces of local San Diego artwork are featured throughout the hotel.  These include two special commissions—an eight foot by eight foot oil painting of a pool scene by emerging San Diego artist Sarah Stieber , and a contemporary, colorful portrait of San Diego Trust and Savings Bank founder J.W. Sefton, Sr. by Los Angeles artist Leia Steingart .
Key historical elements of the San Diego Trust and Savings Bank, built in 1928, were preserved during the renovation. "We wanted to create an interior that celebrates the nostalgia yet has a fresh and contemporary overlay of design elements that honor the historical details," said Brandon Asbury of SERA Architects, who oversaw the renovation design.  "The overall goal was to create a space that welcomes both hotel guests and locals alike, allowing everyone to experience the architectural heritage of the building."

California Vacations Hotels | "Unique, unspoilt, laidbck, will be a soughtafter destination"

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Category    : California Vacations Hotels
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


In an interview with The Traveller the senior and experienced hotelier expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would be a sought after destination as the product was unique and the country was yet relatively unspoilt.

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Sri Lanka’s tourism product was diverse and had a lot to offer with golden beaches, green topped mountains, wild life, a unique culture, nature and adventure all the ingredients needed to woo a guest to return and once they visit the country a couple of times they get hooked and will want to spend their holidays more often in this country as they needed time to discover the beauty of Sri Lanka, she pointed out.

"Sri Lanka is more laid back than Thailand and is the perfect destination for an idyllic holiday, whereas Thailand’s resorts are becoming over crowded," she said adding that the friendliness and the smile of the Sri Lankan people go a long way and they are very helpful and approachable.

Prior to taking up the appointment she had worked in different resorts in Thailand, including Bangkok for five years in leading hotel chains in the capacity of a General Manager and she knows that country like the back of her palm. She has also worked for leading hotel chains in Europe and China.

Stelling said that there was a need for more infrastructure development but said that the country was on the right track where development was concerned with the new expressways, Hambantota International Airport and the Port which are all sine-qua-non for the tourism industry.

With the opening of the new airport at Mattala, the east coast was easily accessible and it augured well for tourism, while with the opening of the new expressway the time taken to reach the south of the country had been more than halved, she said. 

"There are many pluses for the country where the tourism industry is concerned. There aren’t high rise buildings on the beach and they are not overcrowded   and the existing properties blend with nature. The beaches are clean and there are beautiful gardens and a lot of greenery everywhere," the General Manager said.  

"We need to focus on the needs of the guests as the types of holidaymakers and their needs are also ever changing and constant training of industry workers is very important in this aspect," she pointed out.

"What matters is the difference in quality and I am   bringing my international experience to meet the higher expectations in the industry here and the company has laid greater emphasis on career development  as it is on a expansion  programme with exclusive properties on the pipeline, she said.

She is quite impressed by the architecture of Geoffrey Bawa and said that his work had been a great influence on the hospitality industry of the country.

During the six months she has been in the country, Steller has taken time off to visit some of the key tourist attractions in Sri Lanka by personally driving to those destinations, instead of being chauffer driven. She has visited Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Yala National Park, climbed the Sigiriya rock fortress, and even gone whale watching at Mirissa, where she was able to spot about six of the mammals.

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Weddings Hotels In California | "Luxury Aboard the Celebrity Reflection"

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Category    : Weddings Hotels In California
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Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise in January on Celebrity Cruise’s newest ship, the Reflection. Here are some of my thoughts, impressions and tips from the experience.

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The Ship and the Vibe
The Reflection is the newest in Celebrity’s line of Solstice-class ships, and she’s beautiful. The decor and ambiance is right in line with Celebrity’s tagline of modern luxury–clean lines, elegant but not flowery, fun and playful without crossing the line to garish.
One of the features that distinguishes the Solstice-class ships is the artwork on board, including this fun sculpture in the main elevator lobby, where a live tree has a “reflection” underneath it.

You can even pick up an iPad at the guest services desk that has an art tour of the ship loaded, and take yourself on a self-guided art tour for a couple hours.
My fellow passengers were a good mix of ages. Since I was traveling in mid-January, there weren’t many kids on board, so the mix appeared to be mainly couples and groups of travelers ranging in age from their 20s and 30s up to their 80s or more. While senior travelers were certainly well represented as they are on most cruises, I was struck by how many younger people were on board. Celebrity appears to be doing a good job of appealing to the boomer and younger generations.

The service on board was almost uniformly excellent, a great combination of friendly and helpful. My cabin steward seemed to have a knack for sensing when I was out of the cabin and making sure things were tidied up by the time I got back (and twice a day cabin service is definitely something you can get used to!).

Cabins
Standard cabins on the Reflection are compact but comfortable, with lots of thoughtful touches, like large beach towels to take with you on shore excursions, hooks in the shower to hang your wet bathing suit up, and a TV with great music channel options including 70s and Soul.
I strongly recommend booking at least a balcony cabin or higher category. It’s worth the (usually small) additional cost over an inside or ocean view cabin to have your own outdoor space, especially on sunny sea days when the pool deck can get a little crowded. One of my favorite things was sitting on my balcony watching the water, and it was a great place to have breakfast when I ordered room service.

If you really want to splash out, there’s the Reflection Suite, a 1600 square foot two-bedroom suite with the famous over water shower and a private deck with your own hot tub.

Food/Drink
I am a traditionalist when it comes to dining on a ship; I prefer the late seating in the main dining room over “flexible” dining, because I like having the same group of people and the same wait staff over the course of the week, but Celebrity provides a variety of options to suit any style. I’m also not a fan of the buffet as I like sit down and be served when I’m on vacation, but the few times I went into the buffet for mid-afternoon snack, I was struck by the variety of offerings.
The Reflection has a number of alternative restaurants in addition to the main dining room and the buffet. I didn’t get a chance to try the Lawn Club Grill, where you can grill your own flatbread and steak, or Murano, the romantic continental cuisine restaurant, but I did try:

Qsine ($40 surcharge). It’s hard to describe Qsine–it’s quirky and fun (you order off an iPad), with playful dishes such as the soup in test tubes with souffle combination pictured above. Well worth trying.
Tuscan Grill ($35 surcharge). I loved my dinner at the Tuscan Grill: mozzarella and tomatoes, a pasta Bolognese and a terrific steak. Plus the view of the lighted wake of the ship is mesmerizing.

A Few of My Favorite Things
I cruise to relax, so it’ll come as no surprise that I spent a lot of time in the spa on this cruise, especially the Reflection Lounge, where you can relax and enjoy the view of the sea before or after your treatment.
Another favorite quiet place was the adults-only Solarium Pool, where I came to read but found myself just looking at the changing colored lights of the fountain.
The Sunset Bar at the aft of the top deck is another great place to chill.
Overall, a cruise is a great way to disconnect. Internet access is expensive, so it encourages you to stay off-line (although I did find myself connecting again when we were in port in places where my phone had service.

Courtyard Hotels In California | "Florida's parks welcoming new and exciting attractions"

Source        : http://www.eturbonews.com
Category    : Courtyard Hotels In California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


LONDON, England - Florida's theme parks have been delighting holidaymakers for decades, and Disney World tickets continue to be a hugely popular choice for those in search of fun in the sun. 2013 will see many of Florida's parks welcoming new and exciting attractions. Check out some of the most eagerly anticipated ones below!

Courtyard Hotels In California

SeaWorld Orlando - Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin Opening Spring 2013!

Tickets to Seaworld Orlando have always been a guarantee of a thrilling and educational day out, and now the coolest attraction imaginable is coming to SeaWorld. Take a voyage to the bottom of the world, a place of ice more than 9,000ft thick - to Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin.

Set to open in Spring 2013, this amazing new attraction will surround you with all the sights, sounds and incredible encounters found in this faraway frozen place.

On this first-of-its-kind family ride you'll experience the mystery and wonder of life on the ice through the eyes of a penguin. Witness the beauty and the danger of their habitat, as closer-then-ever animal connections are combined with state-of-the-art ride technology for adventures that are different every time.

Walt Disney World Resort - New Fantasyland Now Open!

In the depths of the Magic Kingdom Park lies a legendary world-the New Fantasyland! A magical place where mermaids sing, beauties tell stories, beasts roar and elephants fly!

New Fantasyland is the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom park. You can now enjoy even more enchanting and interactive experiences, as well as more Disney characters and stories in two new themed areas:

Enchanted Forest

In this enchanted land you'll be immersed in the popular Disney films The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Meet some of your favourite Disney Characters as you venture through lush landscapes, roaring waterfalls and royal castles.

Storybook Circus

This classic American circus is inspired by the Disney animated feature Dumbo! Colourful big-top tents attract audiences from all over with spectacular stunts, majestic animals and astonishing entertainment.

Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center

The recently retired space shuttle Atlantis will be making the Kennedy Space Center its permanent home in 2013. As so many of Atlantis's history-making missions began and ended here, we can't think of a more perfect place!

Atlantis will be the focus of a new attraction which provides a totally unique vantage point from which to observe the complex workings of the vehicle that revolutionised space travel!

Special Packages Hotels In California | "Glorious culture on display across the province"

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Category    : Specials Packages Hotels In California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


They keep boxes of tissue next to the computers in the museum’s Scotiabank Family History Centre. “Not a day goes by when we don’t have people cry,” says Cara MacDonald, the centre’s reference services manager. “Our job is to collect and preserve living memory. We encourage the side-by-side experience. It’s quite moving and overwhelming for many people.”

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And, suddenly, there it is on the screen: my mother’s boarding card on the ship that crossed the ocean, the false papers that enabled her escape from behind the Iron Curtain, her European passport. I knew these existed; I’d just never seen them before. Thank goodness for boxes of tissue.
In addition to the Family History Centre, the National Historic Site is filled with touchstones of the immigration experience—photographs, a waiting area and immigration desk, an actual Canadian Pacific passenger railcar that would have whisked new immigrants to all corners of the country.
Halifax’s role as a port stretches beyond the immigration experience. In the early 20th century it was one of the top five busiest boatyards in the world – thanks to its superb harbour and strategic North Atlantic location. It’s a story at the centre of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic , just a short stroll from Pier 21.

“The museum is a gateway to exploring the marine history of Nova Scotia,” explains Matthew Hughson, a heritage interpreter at the site. “Shipwrecks, Titanic, the Halifax Explosion and Canada’s naval history.”
Visitors make a beeline for touchy-feely blasts from the past: an original deck chair recovered from Titanic; a small clock, found in the rubble of the Halifax Explosion, arms stopped at 9:05, the moment of the massive blast that levelled more than 1,600 buildings and shattered windows 100 kilometres away; hero Vincent Coleman’s telegraph key where he tapped out a warning that stopped incoming trains and saved lives.
For many people, the Halifax Wrecked display is their first exposure to the full story of the 1917 wall of smoke and flame created when ships collided in the harbour. “At the time it was the largest manmade explosion until the dropping of the atomic bomb.”

It’s Titanic that has always drawn the crowds. Halifax was the nearest major port to the sinking and in 1912 became the centre of world attention. Coffins were piled at the Halifax wharf. Local cemeteries are the final resting place for about 150 bodies, many with no names. The grand ship was shy on lifeboat capacity and despite the declaration that “women and children go first,” the survival rate for men travelling first class was higher than for children in the ship’s third class section.
Just up the hill towards the Halifax Citadel is the small Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame , home to the Sidney Crosby Exhibit. The mementoes go waaay back – his baby bottle emblazoned with a Montreal Canadiens logo, jerseys, sticks, skates and pucks that all mark stops along the timeline of Crosby’s success. But it’s the banged and dented clothes dryer that every parent can relate to – it’s the original that sat in the Crosby home’s basement and was at the receiving end of the young star’s blistering slapshot.
While Halifax is the epicentre for the larger museums, galleries and musical venues, a lot more of Nova Scotia’s cultural side is sprinkled across the province.

To the north, on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, picture-perfect and squeaky-clean Annapolis Royal is home to 481 people, a mix of descendants of the once-exiled Acadians, artists and retirees living the good life in rural Nova Scotia.
“From my house I can look down the river and see the exact spot my ancestors built their first homes at Melanson Settlement National Historic Site ,” says Alan Melanson, a recently retired Parks Canada interpreter with Acadian family ties that stretch back to 1657. “It’s a nice feeling. But there are a lot of other Acadians here who can share that feeling. This is the cradle of Acadian settlements.”
Melanson’s knowledge of the Deportation of the Acadians is encyclopedic. “I want people to know this was the birthplace of the movement to preserve Acadian culture.”

Not one to sit still in retirement, Melanson and his wife operate tours of Annapolis Royal – from candlelight graveyard tours that tell the story of the village through the people buried there, to walking tours of the village’s National Historic District (where there are more registered heritage properties per capita than anywhere else in Canada), to an Acadian heritage tour.
Follow scenic Highway 1 ( The Evangeline Trail ) about an hour along the Fundy coast to another touchstone of the Maritime Acadian culture, the Grand Pré National Historic Site . In 1755, Grand Pré was a centre for the Deportation, a tragic event of expulsion that marked Acadian history forever. The quiet fields, memorial church and gardens are the Acadians’ most cherished historic site.
It would be impossible to talk about cultural touchstones without stepping up to Cape Breton for a taste of music (and a dram of single malt whisky).
“I’m a good ol’ Cape Bretoner,” laughs Lauchie MacLean, who owns The Glenora Inn & Distillery Glenora Inn & Distillery on the Ceilidh Trail. “My musical roots go back to when I was born. My mother is related to the Barra MacNeils. My grandfather was a well-respected violin player. I’m more of an amateur musician compared to others in the family.

“ Cape Breton has mainstayed a lot of the Celtic culture. The clan system was able to survive, the Gaelic language has survived, step dancing has survived and Celtic music – including banjo, fiddle and Celtic harp – has flourished to a larger audience.”
According to MacLean, Cape Breton musicians are as esteemed as any in the world. He throws open his doors and practices that world-famous Maritime welcome: “I personally know most of them and have encouraged their music at my home and at the distillery.” Ceilidhs – Celtic gatherings of music, song and dance – are one Nova Scotia cultural touchstone that shouldn’t be missed.

Luxury Hotels California | "Visit Italy And Revel In The History Of The Historic Borgo Storico Panichi"

Source        : http://stupiddope.com
Category    :   Luxury Hotels California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


Old School and vintage homes are always in style. The Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi in Marche, Italy is the perfect example of that. This historic hotel, located on a hill top in Castel di Lama. The structure is an old one, dating back to the f1800′s. the property is a beautiful compound that has all of the original historic design details. Botanist Ludwig Winter created a beautiful historic garden on the property that has been kept and still on the property today.

Luxury Hotels California

The hotel’s suites are spacious and take advantage of the space on the property. Five of the suites are in the San Pancrazio Cottage while the other six are in the Relais Villa. The accessories are vintage and bleed Italian elegance. From hand crafted armoires to delicate dining tables, the vintage style is surrounded by modern amenities. Television, air conditioning and a mini bar is available in each suite. Take a look at the hotel pictures below and let us know what you think.

Tussen Toscane en Rome in het mooie heuvellandschap van de oude Etrusken en de Romeinen, bevindt zich vakantievilla Mulino di Lavinia.

Ideaal gepositioneerd, tussen Toscane en Rome in het mooie heuvellandschap van de oude Etrusken en de Romeinen, bevindt zich vakantievilla Mulino di Lavinia. Strategisch gelegen in één van de mooiste gebieden die Italië rijk is.
Het sfeervolle vakantiehuis, van oorsprong een watermolen, is met uiterste zorg gerenoveerd tot een gemoedelijk vakantiehuis en ligt op slechts 2 km van het middeleeuwse gehucht Vitorchiano. De antieke watermolen wordt omgeven door de stilte van een weide met vulkanische rotspartijen. De villa is perfect gelegen voor het maken van uitstapjes in de regio’s Umbrië en Lazio.

Hotel With Outdoor Pool | "Hotel El Ganzo San Jose del Cabo, Mexico"

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Category    :   Hotel With Outdoor Pool
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Vacation time is upon us and people are trying to find all kinds of way to spend their down time. Sometimes, a great vacation spot is hard to find. The Hotel el Ganzo in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico is the perfect spot. The Sea of Cortez is surf side and the rooms display it perfectly. This boutique resort is located five minutes from the center of San Jose del Cabo and twenty minutes from the airport. Located at the base of Puerto Los Cabos Marina, fun and relaxation are a tip toe away from prime nearby attractions.

Hotel With Outdoor Pool

The suites boast an intimate charm and accommodations are served up in a beach bungalow style. The presence of white sheets and curtains and open-air room style is the ultimate relaxation tool. The bathrooms have floor to ceiling glass showers that capture the beauty of the harbor through the windows. The stone floors capture the architectural history of Mexico and bring personality to the room. The modernalities include, WiFi and iPads in every room, private terraces and a mini-bar at the guests’ disposal. Check out the specs below and let us know what you think.

Hotel With Outdoor Pool

Hotel El Ganzo has a full-service spa, an outdoor pool, and a fitness facility. Wireless Internet access is complimentary in public areas. There is a 24-hour business center on site. Dining options at this luxury resort include a restaurant and a poolside bar. The staff can provide tour/ticket assistance and wedding services. Additional amenities include a rooftop terrace, spa services, and laundry facilities. Onsite parking is complimentary. This is a smoke-free property.

Rooms have beach, sea, or partial ocean views. The 72 air-conditioned guestrooms at Hotel El Ganzo include computers and minibars. Guests can use the in-room complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access. 42-inch flat-panel televisions are equipped with cable channels and DVD/VCRs. All accommodations provide desks, safes, and cordless phones with voice mail. Bathrooms offer double sinks, scales, makeup/shaving mirrors, and hair dryers. In-room coffee/tea makers and complimentary bottled water are provided. Additional amenities include irons/ironing boards and ceiling fans. In addition, housekeeping is offered daily and amenities available on request include wake-up calls.

Courtyard Hotels In California | "Courtyard San Francisco Airport Completes Major Renovations To Guest Rooms"

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Category    :  Courtyard Hotels In California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


Flexible work spaces, luxurious bedding and spacious bathrooms provide the optimum balance between productivity and relaxation at San Bruno, CA, hotel
San Bruno, CA (PRWEB) April 09, 2013
The 147-room Courtyard San Francisco Airport at 1050 Bayhill Drive in San Bruno, CA, has completed a major renovation of its guest rooms.

Courtyard Hotels In California

With the exciting remodel, the San Bruno, California, hotel now offers a more comfortable and stylish room design. Thoughtfully planned, each room features plush bedding, a functional work space, spacious bathroom, separate seating area and complimentary high-speed Internet access. The ample work space and ergonomic chair enable guests to accomplish their tasks, while the 32-inch flat-screen TV provides a great break and opportunity for downtime enjoyment with 10 high-definition channels. Providing a warm, sophisticated environment, the San Bruno, CA, hotel’s rooms accommodate guests’ desire to stay connected, productive and refreshed during their stay.

“From day one, Courtyard has prided itself as a brand that listens to what travelers want from a hotel,” said Janis Milham, vice president and global brand manager of Courtyard by Marriott. “Guests want to balance between working and relaxing, and our rooms enable them to be productive or unwind when traveling alone or with family.”

The inviting lobby space and friendly associates at the San Francisco airport hotel welcome visitors at all times of the day. Guests can dine in The Bistro - Eat. Drink. Connect., which offers refreshing breakfast choices and a variety of dinner and cocktail options in the evening. Coffee lovers also can enjoy freshly brewed Starbucks coffee in The Bistro. The Market, a 24/7 shop for snacks, beverages and sundries, is always open for late-night cravings or the toothpaste guests may have forgotten to pack.
Throughout the hotel in San Bruno, guests can connect to free Wi-Fi. The business library features several complimentary computers along with a free printer and separate stations dedicated solely to printing airline boarding passes and checking flight statuses.

Green has been Courtyard’s signature color since Marriott launched the brand 25 years ago. Now it is even greener with the introduction of a guest recycling program for the environment. Receptacles for paper, glass, plastic and metal are conveniently located by side exits of the San Francisco airport hotel.

Luxury Hotels California | "California Cities Crack Down on Unlicensed Maternity Hotels"

Source        : http://www.voanews.com
Category    :  Luxury Hotels California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


LOS ANGELES — Unlicensed maternity clinics that cater to women from Asia have sprung up around the United States, especially in California.  Local officials are cracking down on the maternity hotels, which offer the promise of U.S. citizenship to newborn babies.

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In the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, an unlicensed maternity clinic was forced to close recently.  The large home in a residential neighborhood had diapers, clothing and baby supplies sitting in the driveway.  The house was one of many in California that advertises online for pregnant women in Asia who want their children born in the United States.  Under the U.S. Constitution, that makes the child a U.S. citizen.

It is called birth tourism, and while it is not the intent of the law, it's not illegal, says immigration policy expert Karthick Ramakrishnan of the University of California, Riverside.

“The U.S. could pass a law saying that they will not admit someone in the country if their intent is to have a child in the United States.  Right now, there is no law that explicitly says that," said Ramakrishnan.

Local officials say these maternity hotels are unlicensed and illegal in residential neighborhoods.  Women from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea pay from $10,000 to more than $20,000 for their maternity stay.  Local authorities in Chino Hills, near Los Angeles, have been cracking down on one alleged maternity hotel in a hillside neighborhood.

Attorney Rosanna Mitchell heads a group of residents who complained to city officials.

“They saw a lot of luxury cars coming in and out of here.  They also saw seven to eight pregnant women walking down this driveway," said Mitchell.

Local officials say the 17-room home housed up to 30 women, with inadequate sanitation or safety facilities.

Many California cities are ethnically diverse, with many immigrants from Asia and other parts of the world, and Chinese-American Lou Alfonso says the controversy in his city is causing racial divisions.

“Because there are honest and peace-loving residents of the American Chinese community in Chino Hills who are very much against these maternity hotels, and because of the emotion, there's a tendency to generalize," said Alfonso.

Wai-Min Liu of the Chinese American Association of Chino Hills wants the unlicensed clinics closed.

“We feel very bad about this kind of operation, and we sure hope the government does something about it," said Liu.

It is unclear how many maternity hotels are operating around the United States, but local activists count more than a dozen near Chino Hills alone, and others are thought to operate in different sections of Los Angeles.  Some here hope that Congress will clarify the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which grants U.S. citizenship to all born in the country, to prevent the birth tourism that local officials say is spreading.

California Vacations Hotels | "Georges Hotel Galata in Istanbul"

Source        : http://travel.nytimes.com
Category    :  California Vacations Hotels
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels



Doubles start at 186 euros (about $230 at $1.24 to the euro).

Basics
The Georges Hotel Galata may be in Istanbul, but its sensibility lies farther west, from its croissants to its Champagne bar to sea views that draw guests like British fashion designers. Constructed in the 1860s as an apartment building, it was renovated in late 2011, adding a modern glass elevator, rooftop bar and custom furnishings.

California Vacations Hotels

Location
The cobbled street of trendy Turkish dress shops and hipster coffeehouses leads to the landmark Galata Tower just 300 feet from the hotel’s doorstep. There’s no sign outside the hotel, an effort to give it an in-the-know vibe compared with the city’s loudly touted tourist offerings. A short uphill walk takes you to the Tunel night life district and Istiklal Caddesi, the pedestrian shopping avenue that leads to Taksim Square. A 20-minute downhill walk gets you to the Istanbul Modern art museum.

The Room
There’s no front desk here, so a handsome man in a well-tailored suit greets you, dossier in hand, to show you to your room. Except in our case. Instead of being taken to the deluxe sea view room (with views of the Old City and beyond) that we had booked, we were led one flight down to a room with a view of a building. Oops. A call downstairs told us that the room we’d reserved was still occupied by a party that had extended its stay and could not be asked to leave. After repeated apologies from the staff and an offer of a 20-euro discount off the rate of a less-expensive room and a bottle of Champagne, we agreed to a room on the second floor with a partial Old City view. It was spacious, with hardwood parquet floors, high ceilings, brass lighting fixtures and a large, inviting bed furnished with white linens and a goose-down duvet. Two flat-screen televisions and an iPod docking station met our electronics needs. The balcony, with a view of a nearby rooftop and a sliver of Topkapi Palace, was large. For a lively part of town, the room was blissfully quiet.

The Bathroom
A glass and marble cube, it had monogrammed terry cloth towels and robes, L’Occitane toiletries and wooden blinds for privacy. What looked like reproduction antique ceramic floor tiles added a dose of mild color to the earth tones.

Amenities
The hotel’s cozy, exposed-brick bar scene on its ground level and Parisian-inspired Le Fumoir rooftop dining room have become destinations for nonguests. Those spending the night can book a pickup from Ataturk Airport in a Mercedes for 60 euros. There are also in-room yoga sessions for 75 euros, 100 for couples.

Room Service
Breakfast is included in the room price, and the options are plentiful. You can choose a French pastries-jam-juice combo or a bountiful Turkish platter of cheeses, boiled egg, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and honey. Or both. Our order arrived within 15 minutes. For café crème, we turned to the coffret of capsules and Nespresso machine at our minibar.

Bottom Line
The Georges Hotel is a welcome addition to a neighborhood that until recently had been more seedy than chic, fitting right in among the new wine bars and galleries that have been popping up around the tower. A co-founder, Alex Varlik, who is Turkish and French, likes to say his hotel offers the pinnacle of service. Now all he has to do is iron out the reservation wrinkles.

Luxury Hotels in San Diego | "Microsoft Outlook ready to run on Windows RT?"

Source        : http://news.cnet.com
Category    :  Luxury Hotels in San Diego
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels



A fresh rumor out today holds that Microsoft Outlook is coming to Windows RT.
The popular e-mail application is conspicuously absent on Windows RT devices. That is, RT devices -- which run a limited version of Windows 8 on the ARM chip platform -- come with Microsoft Office sans Outlook.
Today there's word that Outlook has been seen running on Surface RT tablets.

 Luxury Hotels in San Diego

And that's not all. SuperSite for Windows claims that an ARM-related firmware issue was causing Outlook to crash. Possibly offering at least one reason for its exclusion until now.

Adding Outlook certainly wouldn't hurt, said Craig Stice, an analyst at IHS iSuppli. "Consumers can find this frustrating. They think they're getting a Windows 8 system but there's no Outlook," he said.
And that's a larger ongoing problem for RT. "They don't know what they're getting into when they buy an RT device," he said. Consumers buy an RT device because it's less expensive than a full-blown Windows 8 system but miss the fact that it's incompatible with older "legacy" Windows software, Stice explained.
Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, whose ARM chip powers the Microsoft Surface RT tablet, said in no uncertain terms last month that Outlook is necessary for RT's success. "Outlook god, please," Huang said at that time, pleading for Microsoft to add Outlook.
(Note that RT products come preloaded with Word 2013 RT, Excel 2013 RT, PowerPoint 2013 RT and OneNote 2013 RT.)

Courtyard Hotels California | "A good fit at Boot & Shoe Service"

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Category    : Courtyard Hotels California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels


A friend who had joined us for a Ms. Barstool adventure several months ago recommended the cocktails at Boot & Shoe Service on Grand Avenue in Oakland. We welcome such suggestions, and decided to see for ourselves what the bar had to offer. While we have been to known to order and appreciate the pizza and other dining options at Boot & Shoe, we had somehow missed the fact that there is a bar in the back. Such oversights must be remedied, and so one recent evening, we walked down the high-ceilinged brick-walled corridor on the left and made a beeline for the bar.

Courtyard Hotels California

Like the weather in the East Bay these days, the cocktail menu at Boot & Shoe changes weekly. We like this idea, since we can anticipate new choices on subsequent visits. On the evening we visited, the featured cocktails were the Monk’s Garden (gin, lime, grapefruit, St. Germain, yellow chartreuse, and Peychaud’s bitters) and the Diablo Cocktail (tequila, ginger, lime and crème de cassis). We were tempted by the Deadly Sin (bourbon, carpano antica, maraschino liqueur and orange bitters) and braced ourselves for the possibility of a Gunpowder Punch (Navy strength rum, lime, cane syrup and Angostura bitters).


Boot & Shoe’s Long Summer has rye, lemon, cane syrup, Benedictine, spiced cordial and tonic. Photo: Risa Nye
In the end, though the choice was a difficult one, we opted for a taste of the season to come: the Long Summer (rye, lemon, cane syrup, Benedictine, spiced cordial and tonic). As promised, the drink arrived sunny and light, with a refreshing blend of flavors and an effervescence that made us wish for those late summer days when the fog lifts by noon. Later on, we also sampled the Monk’s Garden, which brought back pleasant memories of gin and lime on warm autumn evenings, but with an added citrus kick from the grapefruit. We chose wisely.

Laura, the manager, stops by to chat and we learn about the Boot & Shoe family tree and its relation to another Bay Area favorite restaurant, Pizzaiolo at Telegraph and 51st. We also learn how the collaborative creative powers involved come up with some of their ideas for the bar program. We try to ask John a few probing questions about life behind the bar, but he politely suggests — between pouring, shaking and mixing cocktails for a thirsty crowd — that we should stick with talking to Laura, “since she’s better with words.”

As we enjoyed our cocktails, the bar area filled up quickly with a lively mixture of singles, couples, small groups, and families. According to Laura, this is a typical crowd: folks from the neighborhood and a diverse group of all ages who enjoy sharing a drink or a meal together.

Specials Packages Hotels In California | "Flower festivals, gardens in bloom March 10"

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Category    : Specials Packages Hotels In California
By              : Hotels In San Diego
Posted By   : San Diego Rancho Bernardo CA Hotels

Specials Packages Hotels In California

Snow is still in the forecast for some northern locales, but other places are getting ready for spring. And the season's beauty will be on display with festivals and flower shows around the country, from events showcasing cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn, N.Y., to celebrations of dogwoods, camellias and azaleas in the South, to apple blossom and tulip festivals in the Northwest.
Here are some of the best and biggest festivals and flower shows around the U.S. this spring, along with some notable botanical gardens where something is always in bloom.

EVENTS

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Atlanta Dogwood Festival, April 19-21, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, www.dogwood.org/
Biltmore Blooms Festival of Flowers, March 21-May 31, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, N.C.,
Boston Flower & Garden Show, March 13-17, Seaport World Trade Center, Boston,
Camellia Walks, through March 23, Middleton Place, Charleston, S.C.
Celebrate Spring, March 1-April 30, Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga.
Chicago Flower & Garden Show, March 9-17, Navy Pier, Chicago
Daffodil Days, April 6-28, Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, Bristol, R.I.
Daffodil Festival, April 26-28, Nantucket, Mass.
Dallas Blooms, March 2-April 7, Dallas Arboretum
Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, March 6-May 19, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.,
Festival of Flowers, March 21-24, Bellingrath Gardens, Theodore, Ala. (near Mobile)
Garden Conservancy's Open Days (more than 300 private gardens in 18 states open to public on select dates March-November)
Hatsume Fair, March 23-24, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, Fla.,
Garden Club of Virginia's Historic Garden Week, tours at various sites April 20-27
Lilac Festival, May 10-19, Rochester, N.Y.
National Cherry Blossom Festival, March 20-April 14, Washington, D.C.,
Philadelphia Flower Show, March 2-10, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia,
Sakura Matsuri Festival, April 27-28, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, N.Y., www.bbg.org
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, March 20-24, San Mateo Event Center, San Mateo, Calif.,
Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, April 26-May 5, Winchester, Va
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, April 1-30, Mount Vernon, Wash.
Tulip Time Festival, Holland, Mich., May 4-11
Tulip Time, May 2-4, Pella, Iowa
Washington State Apple Blossom Festival, April 25-May 5, Wenatchee, Wash.
Wisteria Festival, March 17, Sierra Madre, Calif.

PLACES

Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix
Dumbarton Oaks Gardens, Washington D.C.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables, Fla.
Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass.
Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, Ohio,
International Rose Test Garden, Washington Park, Portland, Ore.
Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, Calif.
Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland, Ore.
Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, S.C.
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Mo.
New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York,
San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco,
U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory, Washington, D.C.
Wave Hill, Bronx, N.Y.
Winterthur Garden, Winterthur, Del.