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Side trip: St. Augustine shines for the holidays
By Times wires
Published November 11, 2007
More than 2-million tiny white lights will illuminate St. Augustine's ancient streets and historic buildings through December for the city's Night of Lights event.
For the third year, guests of several romantic B&Bs will receive a private ride on the St. Augustine Sightseeing Train with any two-night stay from Nov.25 to Jan.24.
Participating inns include Casablanca Inn, Casa De La Paz, Inn on Charlotte, Bayfront Westcott House, Bayfront Marin House, St. Francis Inn and Casa de Solana Inn.
For information, call toll-free 1-877-616-6444 or go to www.innsofelegance.com.
Take a foodie sea cruise
Upcoming cruises focusing on food and wine:
- Regent Seven Seas, with the Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute, offers food and wine programs and workshops run by the cooking school on Seven Seas Mariner (Jan.16, April7 and 30, May27, Sept.18) and Seven Seas Voyager (June9, Sept.9). During summer in the Mediterranean, Seven Seas Navigator will host former White House executive chef Walter Scheib on June7. Go to www.rssc.com.
- All Holland America trips have cooking programs, but on some voyages passengers might "mingle with top chefs, experts in wine, chocolate and cheese, and leading cookbook authors." Special events include demonstrations, tastings and hands-on cooking classes. For details, visit www.hollandamerica.com.
- MSC Cruises will host food and wine events in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas onboard Lirica, Poesia and Orchestra. Programs include cooking demonstrations on Italian regional dishes and cuisine from stops on the itineraries, wine-pairing workshops and cocktailmaking lessons. For details, go to www.msccruisesusa.com.
- Every year, Crystal organizes a schedule of cruises for its Food & Wine Festival, typically featuring a few culinary rock stars. Details for this year's festival are not available yet, but watch www.crystalcruises.com for details.
Another site aids planning
A spiffy travel Web site that helps you plan trips around the world was launched recently with info from databases previously available only to travel agents for a fee.
Best features of ProfessionalTravelGuide.com:
- The hotels section gives a comprehensive list for a destination, with a photo, basic information and price range for each hotel. Clicking on a choice gets you detailed info, including when the property was last renovated and whether disruptive repairs are under way.
- In addition to a list of attractions and activities by type, the site details things to do nearby.
- A comprehensive restaurant list is broken down by cuisine and price ranges.
Cowboy poetry gatherings
- For the first time, tickets can be bought online (www.westernfolklife) for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev., Jan.26-Feb.2. Prices range from $11 for a yodeling workshop to $151 for a day of ranch tours. Other offerings include dances, films, music, theater and how-to programs on everything from recipes to making a halter for your horse.
- The campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, hosts the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Feb. 9-March 2. Chuckwagon breakfasts, a Saturday night dance, a Sunday morning "Cowboy Church Service" and plenty of "Recitation" events are on the schedule at www.cowboy-poetry.org.
- If you can't wait till 2008 for the Elko or Alpine cowboy events, Monterey, Calif., is hosting a Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival and Western Art & Gear Show Dec. 7-9 at the Monterey Conference Center. The annual event includes poetry, song, dance, history and culture. Tickets for individual events run $15-$35 or $190 for an all-event pass. Details at www.montereycowboy.com.
Keeping the faith on vacation
The tour operator Globus says bookings for its trips focused on religion and spirituality have increased 74 percent this year over last.
The company started a division for religious or faith-based travel in 2004 and is offering a variety of trips next year, including a seven-day "Legacy of Pope John Paul II" trip in Poland, from $1,249; a 10-day trip to Jordan and Egypt exploring the roots of the Bible, from $1,649; and a nine-day trip themed on "Christian England & the World of C.S. Lewis," from $1,889.
Other Globus faith-themed trips visit Greece, Turkey, Italy, and Catholic Germany and the Alps. Details at www.globusfaith.com.
[Last modified November 7, 2007, 17:38:50]
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