Hershey Hotel and Spa

This week's post is a Valentine's Day themed post. When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of the traditional trappings of the holiday...flowers and chocolate. And when I think of chocolate, I think of Hershey, Pennsylvania, specificially the Hershey Hotel and Spa.

Hershey, Pennsylvania, as you may have deduced, is the home of Hershey's Chocolates. And when you got to Hershey, you will see the entire town has been taken over by the chocolate magnate.

As you would hope, all of the Hershey attractions are filled with chocolate. Free candies as far as the eye can see. Decedant desserts at every restaurant. And even people dressed up like chocolate. You have not lived until you have had your picture taken with a giant Hershey's Kiss!

There is Hershey's Chocolate World, an adorable amusement park called Hersheypark and smaller hotels all with a chocolate theme. But the main attraction for the adults is the very posh Hershey Hotel and Spa.

The Hershey Hotel is a four star hotel created in 1933. It is a large hotel decorated in a very old-fashioned way. This is not a place you will find stark surroundings or hip techno music. It is very elegant, though you will notice the little Hershey touches throughout, like a chocolate Disneyworld. It undertook an expansion in 2009 to update the Hotel. Besides the main Hotel, it now features woodside multi-bedroom cottages.  

In the Hotel, the main restaurant is the Circular Dining Room, which an extremely nice restaurant of the type where men have to wear jackets to even walk through the door. It is surrounded in glass and looks out onto the gardens. It is truly lovely and the food is top quality. There is also an Italian restaurant, an American restaurant and a coffee shop. There is also a poolside restaurant and a bar/lounge.

The Spa is also very posh and is well-known for its chocolate treatments. I soaked in a chocolate bath, but you can also get a chocolate massage, a chocolate facial, a Chocolate Bean Polish or a Chocolate Fondue Wrap. It is all extremely decadant.

The Hershey Hotel also offers many recreational acitivities, including golf, a pool, basketball, volleyball, ice-skating, tennis, hiking trails, and a fitness center.

TIP: The Hershey Hotel can be quite expensive, so check out the Hershey Lodge. It is also owned by the Hershey company, but is more reasonably priced. You can still eat at the restaurants at the Hershey Hotel and partake in the Spa.

If you are looking for a get-away with a decadent touch, I would highly recommend travelling to Hershey and immersing yourself in the world of chocolate.

The Hotel Hershey

100 Hotel Road

Hershey, PA 17033

717- 533-2171

Fax 717-534-8887

http://www.thehotelhershey.com/

State Fair of Texas

Like pretty much every American, I spent last Sunday evening watching the Super Bowl. This year it took place in the brand-new stadium in Dallas. While that stadium is certainly impressive, it made me nostalgic for the Dallas stadium I am more familiar with -- the Cotton Bowl! Each year, the University of Texas plays the University of Oklahoma in Dallas for the big Red River Shootout. I attended this every year in college as most UT and OU students did. What makes this game even more fun is that it takes place during the Texas State Fair.

Most states have a state fair that occurs annually. The only one I have ever been to is the Texas State Fair, so I think it is the best! LOL! It has been occurring for over 100 years and it is the largest United States state fair by annual attendance.

Like most state fairs, the Texas State Fair consists of rides, food booths, livestock competitions and musical acts. Unlike most state fairs, it also includes many other different attractions, which are discussed below.

Since everything is bigger in Texas, this fair is huge. Its mascot is a humongous (52-foot) papier-mache cowboy called "Big Tex." Big Tex is awesome and he rocks! His jaw is hinged so it looks like he is making the various fair announcements.

The food is pretty awesome too -- it mostly consists of the fried variety. The State Fair is known as the "fried food capital of Texas!" There is even a food contest that the vendors partake in -- the winner last year was someone who made "fried beer" -- how Texas can you get! Besides all the fried goodies, the big draw are the Flintstone-size turkey drumsticks. Everyone walks around gnawing on them like cave-men! One year, they even had nachos in the shape of the State of Texas.

The fair also has free concerts at an outdoor festival-type venue-- some of the acts are pretty big-name. Some of the other attractions include a light show, a nightly parade, a test track, a greenhouse, and a gondola. It is also the only state fair to have a full-blown auto show. There are also numerous activities targeted at kids. There are even pig races, which I am totally disappointed that I never saw. There are also tons of little booths selling everything from jewelry to mattresses.

TIP: The dates are slightly different every year -- for 2011, the fair takes place from September 30 through October 23.

If you happen to be in Dallas during the Texas State Fair, I would highly recommend attending. It is really a blast...and if you can get tickets to the Red River Shootout, all the better.  

State Fair of Texas

3921 Martin Luther King Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75210

214-565-9931
http://www.bigtex.com/

Brunch and Shopping in SoHo

One part of my life that I have not yet written about are my years living in New York City. I still have friends and family there, so I try to visit often. One of my favorite things to do in New York, both when I lived there and now when I go back to visit, is to have brunch and go shopping in Soho.

SoHo stands for "South of Houston" and per its name, it is an area of New York south of Houston Street. The neighborhood rose to fame as a neighborhood for artists during the 1960s and 1970s, when the cheap spaces vacated by departing factories were converted by artists into lofts and studios. SoHo's lofts were especially appealing to artists because they could use the wide spaces and tall ceilings that factories and warehouses required to create and store their work.  Now it has been gentrified so it is mostly stores, restaurants and high-end apartments.

When I go shopping in Soho, I always like to start out with brunch. My favorite place to go is Balthazar, a Keith McNally restaurant. It is adorable -- like it was pulled out of the set of a Parisian movie. And the food is fantastic -- croque monsiuer, steak frites, etc. It is always packed, so I would suggest a reservation. It is a fabulous place to go for dinner as well, but I would definitely try it for brunch.

Some other brunch options in the area include Le Pain Quotidien, Dos Caminos or Mercer Kitchen. However, being New York City, the options are really endless. If you really want to get your shop on, you can stop at Dean & Deluca for a quick coffee and a pastry and head out.

There are a few main streets you want to hit on your shopping excursion. I have also highlighted some of the more notable shops on each street.

The most crowded street and really the main thoroughfare is Broadway. You will find a very cool Prada store on Broadway that may be too expensive to actually purchase anything, but certainly worth a stop in for coolness factor alone. There is also a store called Lounge which is a huge, hip store that even contains a DJ and a cafe. Be warned that you may not be cool enough for Lounge (I myself am not). There is a Scoop, which is a chainlet and fairly expensive. Additionally, there are a few more inexpensive stores on Broadway where even normal folks can shop -- Arden B., Guess and H&M. There is also a Sephora if you are in the market for make-up. There is also a store called the Pearl River Mart, which has crazy-cheap asian-inspired goods. It is very fun! Kate's Paperie has adorable, though pricey, stationary. There is also a Bloomingdales, though honestly, I would go to the original Bloomingdales -- it is bigger and an experience in itself.

A few streets aways is West Broadway, which is slightly confusing, but is actually parallel to Broadway. On this street you will find an Anne Klein, Elie Tahari and Emporio Armani. There is also an Anthropologie (which is one of my favorites), a Max Studio, a Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti and a MaxMara. A New York fave is Otto Tootsie Plohound, which is a shoe mecca. This is also a fairly big street.

On Mercer Street (where Mercer Kitchen is located), you will find the very New York Marc Jacobs. There is also a John Varvatos, which is a very cool men's store, and Marni, which has beautiful, though expensive, women's clothes. There is an Agent Provocateur, in case you are into that (I am clearly not).

Greene Street is another popular street. It contains a Louis Vuitton and a Helmut Lang. There is also an Agnes B., an Anna Sui, a Jill Stuart and a Vivienne Tam. There is an Anya Hindmarch in case you are bag shopping and a Jonathan Adler for home goods.

On Prince Street, there is a Nicole Miller, a MiuMiu and a J.Crew. On Wooster Street, there is a Cynthia Rowley, a Design within Reach and a Simon Pearce. On Broome Street, there is a Catherine Malandrino, a Nanette Lepore and a Kate Spade.

Finally, on Spring Street, there is a Chanel and a Salvatore Farragamo. There is also Olive & Bette's, which is a cute, youngish store. There is also a Vosges Chocolates, which makes a fabulous afternoon pit stop, where you can buy decadent chocolates and chocolate drinks.

TIP: Assume you will be taking the subway to and from Soho as it is one of the more difficult places to find a cab. Keep that in mind as you keep accumulating shopping bags.

Obviously, my list above is only the tip of the iceberg, there is a ton more shops opening and closing daily. Even if you buy nothing, walking around Soho is a very New York experience and one I would highly recommend.
Balthazar Restaurant
80 Spring Street

New York, NY 10012

212-965-1414

balthazarny.com

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

So, this is considered my post of January 28th...I think I am almost caught up!!

A few weekends ago, my husband and I went to a charming festival at one of the neatest sites in Miami -- the Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

Fairchild is an 83-acre tropical botanic garden that opened in 1938. It has an extensive collection of rare tropical plants, tropical fruit trees, vines and succulents. The garden includes many collections and displays such as the tropical flower garden, spiny forest of Madagascar, rain forest, vine pergola, Victoria amazonica pool, butterfly garden, palmetum, tropical fruit pavilion, conservatory, Bailey Palm Glade, Jewels of the Caribbean, and the Keys Coastal Habitat. It is located down in South Miami -- a world's away from the craziness of South Beach. It is named after David Fairchild, one of the world's most famous plant explorers.

When you walk in, the sheer vastness of the place is astounding -- there are acres and acres of beautiful gardens as far as the eye can see. There are basically two ways to tackle Fairchild -- one is to walk, which on a beautiful day, is a pure joy and the other way, which is better on a humid South Florida day, is to take the tram tour. There is a free tram tour that leaves periodically that takes you all around the gardens. You can get on and off it as you like in order to stop and take a closer look. There is usually a very cute, sweet volunteer who leads these tours. They are always highly entertaining. There are also guided walking tours on various topics also led by Fairchild volunteers.

Another cool thing about Fairchild is that it presents various art exhibits within the gardens. These art exhibits rotate, so you can see a new one every few months. As you are walking around the gardens, you may run into a Botero or a Chiluly. It really elevates the gardens to the next level and is just gorgeous. When you get to the front desk to buy your ticket, they can provide you with a map of the gardens that shows you where the various pieces of art are located.

There is also a little cafe if you need to stop for a break and a little bookshop that sells cute little garden goodies.

TIP: I referenced the Chocolate Festival that takes place at Fairchild. Besides that festival, Fairchild has a ton of special events throughout the year. I would highly recommend checking their website to see if there are any special events taking place during your trip to Miami.

While most people come to Miami for beach time and partying, I would highly recommend taking a side trip to Fairchild to soak in the beauty of natural world.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
10901 Old Cutler Road
Coral Gables, FL 33156
Phone: 305-667-1651
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/

Paradise and Super Paradise Beach in Mykonos

So, this should have been posted the week of January 21, but now is better than never :)

During the winter months, I am always reminded as to why I chose to live in South Florida -- no snow!! So, this week, I wanted to write about another sunny destination -- Paradise and Super Paradise Beach in Mykonos, Greece -- to give all of my snow-bound readers something to dream about.

Mykonos is one of the Greek islands situated in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a beautiful island with white-washed houses looking over the bright blue sea. It truly looks like a postcard. Many cruise ships stop there or you can take a ferry from one of the other Greek islands. There is even a small airport on Mykonos itself. Once you get to Mykonos, you can get to the beaches by either taxi, bus or even boat.

There are numerous beaches in the various Greek islands, but I found myself most excited about Paradise and Super Paradise. These beaches are next door to each other -- there is basically no way to differentiate between the two except suddenly the signs say "Super Paradise" as opposed to "Paradise." What makes these beaches special is not their beauty, though they are in fact beautiful, but rather their party atmosphere.

The Paradise beaches are party beaches through and through. There are bars scattered through the beaches with loud music and dancing at each one starting as early as people are awake. It creates a Spring Break atmosphere, but with a European twist. Supposedly, Super Paradise is more of a party beach than Paradise, though I think the differences are really negligible.

TIP: The beaches are clothing optional, though it is not such a big deal here as in other beaches. Just make sure you are comfortable with this before arriving.

If you find yourself traveling around the Mediterranean, I would highly recommend making a pit stop to the Paradise Beaches -- you will find a charming mix of relaxing on the beach and partying like a rock star.

Paradise and Super Paradise Beach

Mykonos, Greece

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

Sorry I have not posted in a while -- work has gotten the best of me! But, I am going to try to catch up for the posts I missed in January in the next few weeks. So, this post should have been for the week of January 14th.

When I was in New Orleans the first weekend of January, I was chatting with my husband's uncle, who is a serious world traveler, about his travels and mine. We discovered that we had one "favorite" in common -- L'Ambassade d'Auvergne restaurant in Paris.

L'Ambassade focuses on food from the Auvergne region of France, which is situated pretty much in the middle of France. Its specialty is aligot, which is basically the cheesiest mashed potatoes you will ever eat. When they are served, the waiter pulls them from a big pot and basically stretches them as far as he can and plops them on your plate. It is pretty funny to watch and very delicious to eat. The other food is as hardy and tasty as the aligot -- green lentil salad, sausage, duck and various stews. Not a light meal to say the least!

The highlight of the meal though, especially for chocolate lovers, is the chocolate mousse. This is not the chocolate mousse you think of from Jello boxes and cafeterias. This is basically a giant bowl of chocolate ganache and yes, it is as good and rich as it sounds. It does in fact get served to you in a giant bowl. They bring out The Bowl and serve you a normal portion of mousse. And then...THEY LEAVE THE BOWL! Oh my goodness...it took all of my willpower (not that I have that much to begin with) to not eat the entire bowl. It was that good and that rich. I would go back just for the mousse alone!

The restaurant itself reminds me of a country house. All dark woods and textiles. It feels very homey and comforting just like the food.

One thing you will notice is that this restaurant is spoken of quite a bit in the various tour books, and yes, it is a bit touristy. Like many places in Europe, we sat in the "English-speaking section." But the food is so good and the atmosphere so quaint, that I would still highly recommend stopping by.

TIP: Ok, so I usually try to give a helpful tip here, but my only real tip is, ORDER THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!!

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

22, rue du Grenier Saint-Lazare

75003 Paris

Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 31 22

http://www.ambassade-auvergne.com/

Tea at Windsor Court Hotel

Now that the holiday season is over (sadly), I wanted to do one post related to the holidays to keep the spirit going for just one more week. My favorite Christmas tradition as a child was always going with my mom and her friends (and their children) to Christmas tea at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans.

The Windsor Court Hotel is a luxury hotel near the French Quarter in New Orleans. It was developed in 1984, which for New Orleans is actually pretty new! More than 80% of the hotel rooms are suites, one of which we actually stayed in the weekend of my wedding. It always ends up on all of the "Best of" lists by the various travel publications. The main restaurant in the hotel, the Grill Room, also ends up on all of the "Best of" lists by all of the best foodie publications. The main bar in the hotel, the Polo Club Lounge, is also a swanky affair that is definitely worth a stop for a martini or a glass of champagne.

But, the best reason to go to the Windsor Court is for tea, especially at Christmas, at Le Salon. Tea at Windsor Court is delightfully old-fashioned. All of the women and children get all dressed up -- the women in their dresses and hats and the children with their little patent Mary Janes. There is always wonderful music in the background from a harpist or a string trio -- classical year-round, but Christmas tunes during the holidays. You get to choose from a large variety of different teas and eat cute little tea sandwiches. For those of you looking for a more adult experiences, Le Salon also offers numerous champagne cocktails. After the sandwiches, you are served incredibly delicious scones, yummy little pastries and truffles and chocolate covered strawberries. All of which is just incredibly decadent. If you want to be even more decadent, you can even order smoked salmon and caviar! For children, they have a separate tea service with children's items like peanut butter and jelly. All of this food is served on tiered little platters. Very precious!

TIP: The Windsor Court Hotel has a fantastic art collection. Before or after tea, I would make time to take a tour of the hotel to check out this collection. 

Christmas tea at the Windsor Court Hotel is a really delightful experience. It is a great excuse to get dressed up and celebrate Christmas in style. If you ever spend Christmas in New Orleans, I would highly recommend making a reservation for tea at Windsor Court.

Windsor Court Hotel
300 Gravier Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Telephone: (888) 596-0955/ (504) 523-6000
Email: resv@windsorcourthotel.com