Recently I spent a fun-filled weekend in Toronto. I was there for a cousins’ get together and we stayed in the downtown Entertainment District. With a WalkScore of 97/100 it was within easy walking distance of Queen Street, CN Tower, Kensington Market and many theaters. CN Tower is the major landmark in Toronto’s skyline (kind of the Canadian equivalent to the Space Needle) and helped us get our bearings on more than one occasion.

Exploring the city in July, I saw many beautiful flowers adorning outdoor cafes and pubs. For shopping we headed to Queen Street. Some of our favorite stops included: GetOutside for shoes, Mujamba for an amazing collection of ribbons & shoe laces, and Fashion Crimes for every type of party dress you could imagine. If you’re on Queen Street be sure to stop in at Dufflet, known as the ‘Queen of Cake’ and best baker in Toronto. For lunch or dinner try the secluded patio at the Queen Mother Café which serves Dufflet cakes for dessert.

For more shopping visit Kensington Market to see a collection of funky, local shops and hear live music in the streets.

Take a streetcar or cab to the historic Distillery District to see some beautiful buildings, shop and then relax at Mill Street Pub with some local ale and sweet potato fries. If you have time, catch the short ferry ride to Toronto Island. Walk around the well-groomed park or rent a two or four person carriage bicycle to explore the island. The return ferry ride provides a postcard perfect view of the city.

The Shores Resort & Spa is offering luxury front row seats to the last-ever night launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor on February 7, 2010 at 4:39am. Guests of The Shores Resort, which is located 70 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, will have shoreline seats and enjoy the following perks for the blast off:

• - Overnight deluxe accommodations
• - “Shores Coffee”, a variation on Irish Coffee or “Shores Hot Chocolate”
• - “S’Mores at Four” at oceanside fire pits
• - Breakfast treats, including Tang
• - Champagne toast at launch
• - Memento photo

The “Shuttle Launch” package starts at $169 per room.

To reserve visit The Shores Resort & Spa website.

For a new way of choosing activities based on your interests, try out the Discover South Carolina site. Just choose the style of shoe that you prefer and it will suggest activities that might interest you. And if you haven’t been to Charleston yet, it’s a perfect destination no matter what shoe you wear!

Via: Discover South Carolina

Wondering where to go for Labor Day weekend?  Here’s a round-up of great places to celebrate the end of summer:

(click each place for more info)

Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is an idyllic coastal village, about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles. It’s a postcard-perfect town, surrounded by mist covered mountains and beaches…

Nantucket
Once home to many whaling sea captains, Nantucket is now a popular summer spot for the well to do. Walk along its cobblestone streets…

San Francisco
San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. And it’s easy to see why. It has a spectacular setting, moderate weather, cable cars, great shopping, interesting people and fabulous restaurants. (more…)

Downtown Newport may be small, but there are plenty of choices for eating out.  Our B&B was located a block off of Thames Street, which is filled with shops and restaurants.  Our first night in Newport we walked down brick-laden Thames Street to the Red Parrot.  We shared Mediterranean and Lobster pizzas – both surprisingly good — along with some local ale. 

The following day we had a light dinner at the Black Pearl on Bannister’s Wharf.  They serve excellent clam chowder and it’s a great place to go if you want to see some authentic Newport sailboats.

We also had dinner at Pronto during our stay.  This restaurant has great Italian food, very good service and is perfect for good dinner conversation. 

Scales and Shells is a local Newport favorite and popular enough to take only cash (no chance it will be in a Visa commercial any time soon).  It’s a fun, boisterous place for seafood, but can be a little loud. We had to yell, to hear each other speak.

On our last day in Newport we had Sunday brunch at Castle Hill Inn where lodging ranges from $700 – $1500 per night.  This is a beautiful oceanfront resort with rolling lawns to the water, dotted with adirondack chairs.  Brunch was very nice, and this is also a great place for drinks at sunset, with its western facing views of the water.  If you do go for brunch, make sure and check-out adjoining Brenton Point State Park, where locals love to fly kites on the weekends.

  

Every year my sisters and I pick a beautiful location for our girls getaway and this year our destination was Newport, Rhode Island. We stayed at a quaint B&B called the Spring Street Inn (ranked #1 on TripAdvisor) which was ideally located in the heart of Newport’s walk-able downtown.  Pat, the B&B’s innkeeper, gave us a great overview of Newport, including cultural highlights, some historical side notes and great places for cocktails and dinner.  We didn’t have to worry about breakfast – every morning Pat served us a wonderful gourmet breakfast.  

Newport is where the ultra rich spent their summers at the turn of the 19th century.  Home of the America’s Cup yacht race for many decades, Newport is probably best known for its “summer cottages”.  These Gilded Age mansions were built for the Vanderbilts and Astors during an age when wealth was flaunted with lavish parties and hundreds of guests on sprawling lawns that stretched to the coastline.

The Newport Preservation Society now owns several of the largest mansions and allows the public to tour these summer cottages where the ultra rich once lived.   During our stay we saw the Breakers, The Elms, Rosecliff, Marble House, Kingscote, Isaac Bell and the Topiary garden.  The interiors of the mansions were amazing.  

Tip: we all bought a Preservation membership which included entrance to any property and allowed us to go to the front of the line at any mansion.  It also includes a free Behind the Scenes Elms tour which describes how the servants lived (recommended).

We timed our trip for the end of June to coincide with Newport’s annual Flower Show.  The judged floral arrangements were on display on the first floor of Rosecliff and we could hear seminars on topics like rose selection, orchids, and floral arrangements for lavish parties.  Here are a few of the arrangements from the show.

The Biltmore is one of America’s great estates.  Once home to the super-rich Vanderbilts, it covers 8,000 acres and is located in Asheville, North Carolina.  The mansion, which is the largest private residence in America, is especially beautiful during the holidays. 

Carrying on a long-held tradition since George W. Vanderbilt first welcomed friends and family to Biltmore on Christmas Eve 1895, the estate celebrates Christmas on a grand scale.  When visiting Biltmore from now until January 1st, you’ll see nearly 100 decorated trees with thousands of ornaments, 1,000 wreaths, almost 1,500 poinsettias and miles of evergreen garland.  Live holiday musical performances are also scheduled until the end of December. 

If you’d like to see the mansion lit by candlelight, check out their Christmas Candlelight Evening tours. You can purchase tour tickets on their website - be sure to reserve before your visit.  A tour ticket includes one evening visit as well as an additional visit of the mansion’s gardens, winery and restaurants during the day.  

Here are some suggestions for lodging options.

Links: The Biltmore

Here’s a site that will inspire you visually.  Trey Ratcliff’s gorgeous photo blog, called Stuck in Customs, is packed with photos he’s taken during his travels around the world. Here’s one of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. 

Photo blog:
Stuck in Customs

Baggage heaven?

Ever wonder where all the unclaimed airport luggage goes to?  To Scottsboro, Alabama, of course!  You never know what you’ll find at this store where luggage, clothes and accessories are sold for a fraction of their retail price.   

The Unclaimed Baggage Center

Via  sk-rt.com