UNCENSORED TRAVELER

Stylish Travel: Take Advice from Street Fashion Books

2011-08-09T10:24:00.005-04:00

Every time I travel to a different country, I take a notice of how locals dress there - beforehand and in real time. As a matter of fact - I take photos of them, just as many street fashion bloggers out there, who pride themselves not only in taking beautiful street photography, but in discovering new trends, which are very often overlooked by the fashion magazine editors.

I'm going to Italy soon and this book would definitely come in handy, as well as all the street fashion blogs I follow. They give me an idea of both what to not take with me on a trip to Italy and also what to shop for when I'm in Italy...That applies to any other country and continent. The book that I'm now a proud owner of - The Sartorialist by a street fashion blogger Scott Schuman, the author of the blog The Sartorialist, definitely gave me a very good thorough sense of what the European street style has been up...

This is one of the best books on street fashion and style that you can get.

Book Description:

In the beginning, Scott Schuman just wanted to take photographs of people that he met on the streets of New York who he felt looked great. The blog he started, thesartorialist.com, is now an interantionally renowned site and a showcase for the wonderful and varied sartorial tastes of real people across the globe. This book is a beautiful anthology of Scott's favourite images, accompanied by his insightful commentary. Published here as a limited edition hardback, with a hand-signed card from Scott inside, it includes photographs of well-known fashion figures alongside people encountered on the street whose personal style and taste demands a closer look. From the streets of New York to Florence, Stockholm, to Paris, London to Moscow and Milan, these are the men and women who have inspired Scott and the widely diverse readers of his blog.

You might also like Street View, Face Hunter and New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion - at least that's what I was told at the Strand Bookstore in New York City when I was getting my The Sartorialist book.

And here is my take on street fashion - taken in Washington, DC on a very hot summer day.

For full gallery, please go here.

How do you find the street fashion of Washington, DC? What would you change?

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T19:49:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July to all U.S. residents!

DC lights up for 4th of July (Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/micklerlop/182745192/)

I just took my bike around the city of Washington, DC and saw many rooftop BBQ parties happening, which made me feel very cozy about the holiday and the tradition.

This is the time to remember that sausages, red meat, and chicken can taste very good - when it's shared with friends and family. No matter what Daily Beast says, 4th of July is, perhaps, one day, where one can forgo a healthy diet.

Have a great 4th of July celebration! I know I will...

All eyes on amFAR benefit gala at the 64th Cannes Film Festival

2011-05-30T16:14:00.000-04:00

Doutzen Kroes – 2011 amfAR Cinema Against AIDS

Courtney Love, Janet Jackson, and Gwen Stefani 2011 amfAR Cinema Against AIDS

Cannes is not all about films, celebrities, new talent discoveries and film deals, film marketing negotiations, paparazzi, shopping, and partying. Being one of the most influential and known festival in the world, it offers a platform for cause outreaching. With the abundance of influential people from around the world, the festival allows for an opportunity for all the celebrities who care about a certain issue to raise awareness for a cause - whether it's world's poverty, disease, natural disasters, environment, etc.

In 2009, for example, the Hollywood actor George Clooney presented the festival's attendees with an agenda on how to help Darfur. U2's Bono is always in Cannes to support and promote it's ONE organization to fight AIDS. His wife, mind you, is also into charities and causes and she fights human trafficking in Eastern Europe. And Sharon Stone, known as the most "obnoxious" - in a good sense of this word - supporter of the cause has been known for not stopping at anything to raise funds for amfAR - she sings, she dances and she makes fun of herself. And it's all respectful and appreciated, because each time she does it, amfAR organization becomes by a few millions richer...In 2008 the amfAR's live auction raised $7 million.

Sharon Stone at previous amfAR benefit gala in Cannes

amfAR's annual Cinema Against AIDS galas have been important and successful fund-raising events for the Foundation since 1993, generating nearly $44 million for essential AIDS research.Each year the most prominent figures in showbiz come to amfAR to participate in raising the money.

This year, however, Sharon Stone was noticeably absent, as well as her pal Madonna, who along with Elizabeth Taylor, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Sir Elton John chaired past amfAR events. However, the most noticeably - sadly - absent person at the event was Elizabeth Taylor, who the present event attendees paid the tribute. Everyone knows how much Taylor has done for the organization in the past. She's been a vivid supporter of fighting AIDS all her life. She was among the first celebrities to campaign about AIDS and HIV. The Hollywood icon has died on May 23, 2001. She was 79.

"At the very beginning she spoke up when others wouldn't, said things that others hadn't, and she was very bold and brave in stating her conviction," said amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole. "To a large degree we're where we are because of her," he added.

Like the epidemic itself, AIDS research knows no borders. amfAR’s programs have had a global reach since 1986, when the Foundation began awarding international grants. Today, amfAR continues to fund HIV/AIDS researchers worldwide and works to translate that research into effective treatment, prevention, and education programs around the globe.

The gala always includes a formal dinner, along with a world-renowned live auction, all to benefit amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. The gala's main presenters tireless advocate for AIDS research and for amfAR and help conduct the highly anticipated live auction with the assistance of several of the event chairs and other celebrities in attendance.

Looking back: Sharon Stone’s amfAR benefit Gala in 2009

Two years ago, on May 21, 2009 such celebrities and influencers as Stella McCartney, Sophie Coppola, Kenneth Cole, Michelle Yeoh, Annie Lennox, and Donatella Versace donated and participated in live auction, offering personal items of special value. President Bill Clinton was the honored guest at amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS. His work against HIV/AIDS has helped millions of people around the world.

Quentin Tarantino’s much anticipated and wanted “Inglorious Basterds” was one of the auction 'items'. A private screening for 50 of Quentin Tarantino and The Weinstein Company's 'Inglourious Basterds' followed by an exclusive after-party and three-course dinner at Cipriani Wall Street.

Other items that were up for auction that year included President Clinton's Personal Saxophone, personally autographed by Clinton for the winning bidder at the event; a one-of-a-kind Fiat 500 car, custom-designed by Renzo Rosso of Diesel; a pair of private tennis lessons, one with tennis legend Monica Seles and one with Jelena Jankovic, and a Milan Fashion Week package, including access to the most coveted shows: Missoni, Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, Pucci, D Squared, and more, along with two tickets to amfAR's inaugural Milan event.

Today: sans Sharon Stone’s amfAR benefit Gala still reaches the fundraising record of 10 million dollars

Despite the last years turmoil in the economy across the globe, this year's festival proved that everyone is slowing overcoming the financial crisis. The Stars were out in force at this year's film soirees, both on land and out in the sea - where luxury yachts provided a more intimate setting for the pleasures of fine food, wine and music, sans the paparazzi.

The festive mood of the festival has also translated onto the cause events, raising more money than the previous few years. On May 19, the annual amfAR "Cinema Against AIDS" dinner - one of the big dates on the party circuit - was held again this year at the exclusive Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, a short drive from Cannes.

Among those who made the trip were film festival jury president Robert De Niro, Brooke Shields, Gwen Stefani, Donatella Versace, Sean Penn, Kanye West, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, Uma Thurman , Janet Jackson, Kirstin Dunst, Naomi Campbell, Dev Patel, left, Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire), Patrick Dempsey with his wife Jillian Fink , Kiera Chaplin , Courtney Love, Mischa Barton, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Luke Evans, Jane Fonda, and Goldie Hawn, etc.

This year's amfAR torch was taken over by the model and actress Milla Jovovich, who took over the stage and sang sang "I Want to be Loved by You". This year's amfAR gala raised $10 million, the most a single event that has raised in amfAR history. Elizabeth Taylor had "lit the flame, and we must carry the torch in the fight against AIDS," - said Jackson.

During the auction, hundreds of guests were invited to bid for items ranging from rare luxury items to exclusive holidays.

The press in attendance reports that "the top lot on the night was the opportunity to play tennis with Prince Albert II of Monaco, son of the late Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, for which a bidder paid 500,000 euros. While his fiancee, South African former Olympic swimmer and model Charlene Wittstock, raised the same amount with an impromptu offer of a private swimming lesson, taking the couple's total contribution to the night to one million euros. A limited edition Herb Ritts photograph of Taylor sold for 150,000 euros, and a signed and dated lithograph of Andy Warhol's "Liz" went under the hammer for 400,000 euros. Courtney Love gave an impromptu performance as well." - Reuters.

Elsewhere during the festival, dance music thumped late into the night along the narrow beach in Cannes as the invited jostled with gate grashers to get past stern security guards and PR staff with clipboards and guest lists.

Many prominent industry publications from around the world were present at the event to capture every details of amfAR activities, including the guests' fashion and dates. Many fashion and film bloggers reported back on who they saw, what they ate and what they wore.

A French Garance Dore, a well-known fashion photoblogger, came to the event with her man - another famous photoblogger Scott Schuman, whose street fashioin blog The Sartorialist draws millions of viewers from around the world. Dore then wrote on her blog:

“I am seating near Patrick Dempsey. Sean Penn is not far either. Robert de Niro passes in front of me like 12 times. So? Team de Niro.
“Of course I wear Spanx.” “Oooo, you too?!!!” “Oh, come on girls, we’re all wearing Spanx” “Yeah, get over it, we’re all wrapped up like Toutankhamon”.
I’ve never seen so many amazing evening gowns in my life. And never this many fashion faux-pas either, seeing as tricky it is trying to get dressed for an event like this. That said, I have totally figured out a rather mathematical formula: Absolute amazement caused by 1 sublime evening gown divided by the terribleness of 20 terrible outfits = 0. The quotient of amazingness bears far more weight than terribleness therefore this is the best dressed event I’ve ever been to.
You never eat dessert at these kinds of dinners. I’ve never understood why, but you just don’t, and that’s how it is.
Coolest girl of the night : Janet Jackson in Haider Ackerman… Remarkably awesome.
The AmFar toilets… I get there, still a little shaken up after walking through the main room alone with so many people so well dressed. And right there, I stumble across a little gathering of top models in these giant couture gowns. Hilarious and so sublime. I wait my turn. I end up going into a stall right after Naomi Campbell. I know. This anecdote was not necessary."....

Garance Dore

In past years, the Cannes auction has seen legendary impromptu performances by Sir Elton John, Mary J Blige, Kylie Minogue, Robin Williams, Natalie Cole, Liza Minnelli, Sheryl Crow, Ringo Starr, Macy Gray, and Lionel Ritchie. And who can forget every time the very brave Sharon Stone herself, who has helped to energize the crowd every time – be it an impromptu dance or an act of a brave display of sexuality.

Yes, the Cannes Film Festival might be all about business and recognition for some celebrities…and they celebrate their achievements and success of raising a good sum of donations in style - with a bit of French Riviera's tan, champagne and caviar.

Fabulous attendees of the gala

About amfAR

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $290 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.
To learn how you can contribute to amfAR, click here.

More on 64th Cannes Film Festival:

For all the Cannes photo, video and gossip updates, please visit me on Twitter. There, if you missed anything during the festival's activities, you'd be able to find details about parties, celebrities, special events, film screenings, fashion and more of the 64th Cannes Film Festival.

See complete photogallery from the amfAR gala here.

The 64th Cannes Film Festival: films, stars and Croisette

2011-05-27T18:28:00.000-04:00

Today is the fourth day of The Cannes film festival that opened on May 11 and will run until May 22. The Croisette – the long strand of beach walk that generates as much buzz as the festival itself, because of its proximity to bars and restaurants, is filled with famous people and stays active all day and night long.

The famous Croisette waterfront is also the place to see and be seen. It’s the place to see celebrities walk the red carpet, attracting a screaming crowd of fans and it’s the place to observe photographers and reporters in their natural “habitat”.

Photo by Garance Dore.

I’m sure there are a lot of people who walk the Croisette after a movie screening discussing it with their friends and colleagues, but we can’t overhear them. How unfortunate!

However, aside from the glitz life of Cannes, it’s the movies that generate the most buzz - films that most of the people yet to see on the big screens in their countries. Some of them would be available in rental only, as not many European movies play on big screens. So, it’s the mission of the critics and witnesses to tell us what films to keep an eye on.

There are 20 movies in the main competition, but many out-of-competition pictures will generate just as much, if not more, interest. And besides well-done trailers and critics’ reviews, I also trust some of the news sources to tell me what they are.

Following are some of the films that are likely to create a buzz this year.

"Unlawful Killing"

This movie is not something that the British royal family would ever want to see.
The documentary, directed by Keith Allen and backed by Mohammed al-Fayed, deals with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her companion Dodi, al-Fayed's son.
The documentary, that’s already generated much buzz and made many lawyers of UK to unite to request more than 60 cuts to the film, reportedly includes a close-up photo of Diana, taken shortly after the car crash in a Parisian underpass. The documentary contends that the royal family played a role in Diana's death. Most of the materials showed in the movie have never been seen before.

British newspapers have criticized the film, writing that it has a ridiculous premise and that its premiere is ill-timed, coming on the heels of the recent marriage of her son Prince William to Kate Middleton. What’s more surprising – the film comes out just a few days after the Royal Wedding, which, by the way, Mohammed al-Fayed was invited to. (See the trailer here.)

This is one of the movies that I definitely want to see - and I want to see an UNCUT version...

"The Tree of Life"

Directed by U.S. film maker Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life has taken on almost mythical status among European festival regulars due to its long gestation period and the secrecy surrounding its release. (Source: Reuters)

A brief synopsis and trailer is all most have seen of the director's fifth feature, and mysterious cosmic images suggest the narrative may go beyond normal human experience.

Brad Pitt plays the father and Sean Penn his grown-up son Jack, described in the synopsis as a "lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life."

Malick, 67, previously directed movies including "Days of Heaven" and "The Thin Red Line". (See the trailer here.)

However, there are already American critics who say some negative things about the film. So, before you go and see it, read a few reviews from prominent critics.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"

Johnny Depp's fourth outing as Jack Sparrow in the hugely successful pirate franchise may not be to the liking of serious-minded cineastes in Cannes, but Hollywood blockbusters bring the glitz, glamour and buzz that festivals thrive on.

And even though many fans might be disappointed not to see Keira Knightley in the film, the fans of Penelope Cruz – who takes on a role in the sequence - will be happy.

It’s a true phenomena, really. No matter how many parts they’ve already done, it stays popular with both young and adult crowds. Perhaps it helps to have Johnny Depp in the movie, who, equally, appeals to children and adults. I, personally, like his wife’s – Vanessa Paradis - movie choices. Last year I saw the “Heartbreaker”, and I found the movie just a doctor prescribed – light, hearty, optimistic and lovely. I always vote for a movie that makes a day brighter. This I can’t say about last year’s “Antichrist” by Danish director Lars Von Trier. His new film, by the way, is also in the competition this year. Read further. (See the trailer here.)

"La Conquete”/”The Conquest"

Xavier Durringer tells the story of the rise to power of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, focusing on the personal turmoil of marital collapse of his marriage to Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, who left him for another man shortly after Sarkozy's election in 2007.

The official synopsis says in conclusion: "The Conquest is the story of a man gaining power and losing his wife."

The critics write: “Sarkozy is portrayed as having a Napoleonic complex about his height, and Denis Podalydes wears a big, puffed-up wig while playing the president”.

Moreover, according to some French newspapers, the film might be a huge embarrassment for Sarkozy.

I wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Sarkozy would be in attendance. Doubtfully – at least Carla Bruni was a no-show at the premier of her film “Midnight in Paris”. And her absence only added fire to the much speculated gossip that the First Lady of France might be pregnant.

Although, this year, not one but both members of the French political power couple became the subject of the Cannes film festival’s films. (See the trailer here.)

“Midnight in Paris”

Having opened the festival, the latest film by Woody Allen has been already generating buzz in USA a few months prior. The trailer has been up and running in the art movie theatres around the country. So, once it’s back from the French Riviera, it’d be welcomed by the Americans. Its first showing scheduled in New York City on May 20th. (See the film red carpet here.)

“Restless”

U.S. film maker Gus Van Sant won the Palme d'Or for best picture in Cannes in 2003 for "Elephant".

This time around he is not in the main competition, but screenings of Restless, starring Mia Wasikowska as a young patient with terminal cancer, are likely to be packed. Last year Wasikowska has received very good reviews from her role of Alice in “Alice in Wonderland” by Tim Burton.

I tell you more, according to a friend of mine present at the screening of Restless in Cannes, shared with me that most of the audience was crying at the film. But it shouldn’t be surprising, though. The film is about death. The death of a young woman, who falls in love, who wins the audience with her smarts and humor and who is just too adorable to die young. It’s unfair, really. It’s even more devastating to hear her accepting death as unavoidable in this life. (See the trailer here.)

I recall similar reaction of the audience to the films of “Sweet November”, “Steel Magnolias” and “Autumn in New York” – same tragedy of young women dying young.

“This Must Be the Place”

Sean Penn gets his second Cannes outing in Paolo Sorrentino's in-competition film in which he plays a 50-year-old ex-rocker who travels across the United States to avenge his father's death. Another film that shows what a great actor Sean Penn is! When you watch him act in this movie, you kinda tend to forget that he was the reason his marriage in real life fell apart, and you kinda understand, why Scarlett Johansson fell for someone who is twenty years her senior. (See the trailer here.)

WOW!!!!! You've never seen Sean Penn in a such character!

“The Kid with a Bike”

Belgian brothers the Dardennes have a chance to make history with a third Palme d'Or. They previously won with "Rosetta" (1999) and "L'Enfant" (2005). (See the trailer here.)

“Melancholia”

Another “strange” film from the Danish director Lars Von Trier? His 2009 Cannes entry - "Antichrist" – was more than shocking for the audiences. The film’s graphic sex scenes and extreme violence made it one of the most disturbing movies in the history of European films.

Melancholia has got critics chattering, with Kirsten Dunst playing a bride at a wedding set against impending disaster -- a planet called Melancholia is on collision course with Earth. Moreover, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the actress who so wonderfully portrayed the psychologically ill person in "Antichrist", is in the new movie as well. (See the trailer here.)

“Sleeping Beauty”

This film is by Australian Julia Leigh - one of four female directors in the main competition.
Sleeping Beauty stars Emily Browning as Lucy, a young university student drawn into a disturbing parallel life as a sedated prostitute who remembers nothing about her encounters with old men who demand absolute submission. (See the trailer here.)

“We need to talk about Kevin”

Directed by Lynne Ramsay, this drama is a second film - out of four in total - from a woman director presented for an Official Selection. (See the trailer here.)

Eva (played by Tilda Swinton” puts her ambitions and career aside to give birth to Kevin. The relationship between mother and son is difficult from the very first years. When Kevin is 15, he does something irrational and unforgiveable in the eyes of the entire community. Eva grapples with her own feelings of grief and responsibility. The director wants the audience to answer the question: Did Eva ever love her son? And how much of what Kevin did was her fault?

And this is just the full feature films. Believing that the young talents of today will be the big names of cinema in the future, the Festival de Cannes created "Cannes Short Film".

Since this is a rather old article. The Cannes Film Festival is over. My Parisian girlfriend is back to Versailles. The red carpet is rolled back. The movie theatres emptied out, so did the oysters' farms and champagne cellars...However, most of these movies are not even playing in USA yet, so it's good to know what to expect, what films were raved on and what countries they are coming from...

To give you a little secret. If you live in Washington, DC - like myself - there are at least two theatres that specialize in award winning / festival entered foreign films:

E Street Cinema and Bethesda Row Cinema. See ya there!

The 64th Cannes Film Festival welcomes Hollywood

2011-05-27T09:55:00.001-04:00

If you happen to travel this month to France, you might want to take a train ride to the south of France - to the French Riviera - to Cannes where each year one of the most popular film festivals in the world takes place each May.

The 64th Cannes Film Festival might be over, but the sights, gossip, and "movie-leftovers" would be still in the air of Cannes for another few months. As a matter of fact, the Red Carpet would still be there, and would stay through the year as many tourists come to Cannes to "experience" the film festival's aura. I did it last year when I came to Cannes in June and the Red Carpet on the Croisette - the waterfront of Cannes where the most festival's action happens - was still there. See below:

Me on the Croisette

Me on the Red Carpet

The hand prints of Roman Polanski in the Alley of the Stars (just as you've seen those on the Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, only here - these hand prints are by the filmmakers and actors from around the world)

A hand print by the British actress Charlotte Rampling

The month of May is pretty special – and, hence, hectic – for all the cinematography, glamour and celebrity lovers in the world. It’s the month when the French Riviera gets over-flown by paparazzi, fashion moguls, local Europeans on yachts and the showbiz crowds. May is when The Cannes Film Festival has been taking place in the south of France for the last 64 years.

This year is no different. The festival has been welcoming the Hollywood stars, as well as the stars from around the world who either came to support their films and/or to enjoy the perks of the French-style glamour hosting, or both.

The festival that opened last Monday started off with a new film “Midnight in Paris” from an acclaimed American director, a New Yorker, Woody Allen. Perhaps this year it’s been especially special for the French as the director who is known to shoot films in his beloved New York, but who has recently moved on to Europe, chose the capital of France for his latest romantic flick. (By the way, the film opens in New York on May 20, and after that - across the U.S.A.)

However, many speculate that the reason French chose to open the festival with Allen’s film was because one of the roles in the movie is played by the First Lady of France – Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Yes, that might be one of the reasons, perhaps – an important one in decision making. On the other hand, Woody Allen is a true darling for the European film makers, and with his latest films shot in UK and Spain, he is winning the hearts of the European film goers.

In his latest movie, Woody Allen tells a story about a young writer, portrayed by Owen Wilson, who comes to Paris with his bride to see the places that his favorite writers – F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway - wrote so much about. And he gets lucky – he gets “transported” to Paris in the 20s, where he meets one of the Parisian’s famous residents – Salvador Dali, portrayed by Adrien Brody.

Adrien Brody as Dali in "Midnight in Paris"

To the surprise of many onlookers in the crowd, while most of the cast with the director were present at the premier of “Midnight in Paris”, the First Lady of France was visibly absent. But again, a film – here, a CD – there, still – there is just so much of “showbiz” a First Lady can do.

Carla Bruni - No promises

Besides the excitement around the opening night, there are other people who generated some ado around them on the first night of the festival. The attendees of the festival met the Grand Jury of the festival that includes Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman and Jude Law – a spectacle of its own.

Besides, not a year is the same. Each year the festival tries to surprise its guests and attendees. This year they are presenting a special guest – or should I say – a special film culture. As a guest, Egyptian and Tunisia film cultures will be represented at the festival – with desire for democracy and freedom, the festival’s organizers wanted to show how cinema moves to the rhythm of world events, even when it’s politics.
And as the director of the festival, Thierry Frémaux, puts it: “Between Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris at the opening of the festival and The Beloved by Christophe Honore closing, Cannes will deploy its charm, its mysteries and traditions. And a lot of music and Croisette activities – the Hollywood style!”
Fifty films in the Official Selection, dozens of guests every day, hundreds of screenings, thousands of film-buffs. There will be also The Carnival of Animals by Camille Saint-Saens.

Moreover, the festival would surprise the lovers of French and Italian cinema with a special guest - Jean-Paul Belmondo, who is back in Cannes to receive an ovation from the world of cinema and the Jury President Robert De Niro had a chance to meet his own hero - to Bernardo Bertolucci who he presented with a Palme d'Or of Honor award at the opening ceremony. So, there were surprises on the first night, and there will be more to come.

Bernardo Bertolucci receives a Palme d'Or of Honor award at the opening ceremony

Stay tuned for more coverage: more on The Cannes Film Festival, the festival’s films not to miss, after-hours events and soirees, food and lodging, and things to do around the festival to come. (And hopefully I will have some of the exclusive photos from the parties, presented by a good friend, and a party insider, directly from Cannes.)

As for me, I can honestly say that even after the festival ends on May 22nd, it’d be still pretty exciting to walk the festival’s red carpet. I know! I did it last June! I’ve made my acquaintance with the Croisette and the red carpet and made the physical connection with some of the famous movie stars handprints in sidewalk outside the festival’s auditorium – or as the locals call it – the Allée des Stars. See my photogallery for more details.


A hand print of the Russian actress Tatijana Samoilova who received an award for her film in "The Cranes are Flying" in 1957


A hand print by Joe Dassin, a very popular French musician - an icon for many women around the world - Who does not know his Salut, A Toi and "Aux Champs Elysées"?


A hand print by a famous French actress and singer Jeanne Moreau

See full photogallery of the festival on the right hand side of the blog.

European and American architecture of DC by a cruise

2010-10-26T12:49:00.009-04:00

And not just any cruise – board the Odyssey by Entertainment Cruises that offers National Harbor cruises for kids and adults.

Of course there will be no full served meal and alcohol on a kids’ boat, but nevertheless, the accommodations offered to the kids on a cruise around DC are more than enough to please both kids and parents – from music and games to fun snacks and “educational” views of the DC sights. And even know I haven’t experienced the kids’ cruise, I’ve been on a boat, I’ve seen the comfortable chairs, decks, tables, Shirley Temple makers and more. But what impresses me the most is that all kinds of kids’ parties could be booked on this cruise: from school related events to bar & bat mitzvahs, although I do like the “wedding option” of the cruise.

This year around though, the cruises are getting to be more tailored to the public because there are quite a few cruise companies in the area of DC that offer similar services and accommodations, and it’s up to every single person to choose the one that serves one’s own specific purpose – be it a special date or a colleagues’ night out.

For example the Odyssey and Spirit of Washington cruises decided to offer new options in the coming season (this season of warm weather that allows to spend more time on a deck, rather than inside the ship, is almost over, unfortunately).

And these options to enhance the experience for guests visiting National Harbor, include: tours open for individual parties sailing from the National Harbor marina on the Spirit of Washington and the Odyssey.

Previously offering cruises solely for groups, the select cruises on the Spirit of Washington and the Odyssey will now allow individuals, couples, families, and small groups of friends to enjoy the three-hour scenic cruise, with the glistening lights of National Harbor as the backdrop. And I can pertain to it that the staff is extremely accommodating on a cruise, there are a lot of smiles and laughter, the servings of silverware are very well arranged. Moreover, the DJs are very good at involving the audience to participate in the music “festivities” of a cruise, giving the last standing applause to a group dance at the end of a cruise.

Both cruises unmatched views of the Potomac, illuminated monuments and bridges of the city it’s so well known for, and, of course - fine dining and drinking.

I must say, it’s perfect not only for a weekend glide, but it makes your Monday worthwhile an early get up and a rush-up of the things at work that accumulated during the weekend of absence.

This Chicago-based Entertainment Cruises, Inc. was formed in 2006 when Spirit Cruises LLC, and Premier Yachts Inc., joined forces. The company serves 1.5 million guests annually with a fleet of 24 ships in nine cities – Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Norfolk, Va.; Philadelphia; National Harbor, MD; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Weehawken, N.J. Entertainment Cruises’ brand portfolio includes dining and entertainment cruises Odyssey Cruises, Spirit Cruises, Mystic Blue Cruises, and Bateaux New York; Elite Yacht Charters, which offers custom private charters; and Baltimore Harbor Cruises. Ships are one-, two- and three-deck vessels, and accommodate from 110 to 850 guests, depending on the individual ship, for lunch, dinner and sightseeing cruises year-round. The company and its products are known for outstanding product quality and service.

As the Vice President of the Entertainment Cruises, Sal Naso, puts it: “The food, drinks and music is as important to us for guests’ satisfaction as are the routes we choose to take our guests around, the staff we hire and the room cabin temperature we keep”. Spoken like a true captain.

Their upcoming Odyssey cruises include Veteran’s Day Lunch Cruise – November 11, Annual Tree Lighting and Fireworks Dinner Cruise – November 26, and New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruise – December 31.

I for myself liked the crowd of guests that ranges from young couples and ladies’ groups to older couples that were all about the old-school satisfaction that, according to my conversation with a few – the Odyssey cruise has achieved that night.

"Eat Pray Love - Unforgettable" - In theaters 8/13

2010-07-27T10:09:00.001-04:00

Eat, Pray, Love...

Just about everything I'd like to do. Can't wait for the film to come out. Opens 8/13/2010 in USA.

To my shame, I've ordered and received a book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert a while ago, but it's been on the book shelf all this time, waiting for a long trip where I get to read the book during the travel. Plus, it never hurts to see Javier Bardem - so easy on an eye - on a big screen (who tied the knot with the no less beautiful Penelope Cruz).

India, Italy, Bali...

The movie is set around India, Italy, Bali - ahh, music to my ears.

So, don't be like me, get the book and ready it by the premier of the movie. It's always nice to know if a film is as good as the book, or the other way around.

Foreign cultures in Washington, DC

2010-02-16T13:27:00.002-05:00

Here are just a few of those that you can choose from, offered by a prominent DC-based cultural organization - The International Club of DC. The club offers throughout the week many events, most of which are hosted by ambassadors and their staff themselves - so you might even get a glimpse of a royal international "import".

Here are a few happening in the rest of the month of February 2010:

Thursday, February 18, 2010. French Embassy Dance Lesson Soiree with French Wine

If you think that French are done with the romantic events, you are far from being right. It’s in the culture – romance, dance, eat and drink and that’s why the Embassy invites you back to learn to dance the Tango and Cha Cha. Anyone can come – especially – the beginners are welcome. In addition – if you are solo, you don’t need to be concerned about having a dance partner. They will show you how to dance the tango, one of the most elegant and passionate ballroom dances, followed by the Cha Cha, one of the most fun Latin dances. The dance lessons will be followed by time to practice what you have learned and meet other ICDC members who love to dance while enjoying French wine. Please click here for tickets and information.

Saturday, February 20, 2010. Fencing Lessons Including Equipment Rentals

This event would give you exciting lessons on swordsmanship and chivalry. The lesson will cover the basics of fencing in a relaxed, fun, and safe setting. All equipment will be provided. After the lesson, practice your fencing skills with other attendees. Fencing lessons frequently sell out. Please reserve your tickets early. Click here for tickets.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010. Viennese Waltz Lessons for Viennese Ball at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Learn the Viennese Waltz, as danced in Vienna on the museum’s exquisite marble dance floor. Whether you plan to attend the Viennese Ball at the National Museum of Women in the Arts or would simply like to learn how to dance the Viennese Waltz, as it is danced in Vienna.

This is a rare opportunity to learn how to dance one of the most timeless dances of all time. The lessons will be taught by Herb and Carol Traxler, who are from Austria, on the exquisite marble dance floor of the grand ballroom of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Please make your reservation online for discounted admission. See photos from our previous Viennese waltz lessons at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Saturday, February 27, 2010. Viennese Ball at the National Museum of Women in the Arts: A Night in Vienna

This event, set at one of the most exquisite venues in Washington DC - the National Museum of Women in the Arts promises an unforgettable Viennese celebration of music, food, wine and dancing featuring the music of The Salon Orchestra of Washington. The museum's grand Renaissance Revival building and the elegant grand ballroom and Mezzanine provide the perfect setting to bring to life the timeless elegance of a Viennese Ball, as experienced in Vienna.

White marble staircases sweep upward to the spacious Mezzanine where you will feast on champagne, world-renowned Austrian wine, dinner, and a lavish dessert buffet in the finest Viennese tradition. As you enjoy your evening, watch the twirling silhouettes on the marble dance floor below move to the sounds of the world’s most beloved waltzes, and other dance music from around the world. Stroll down the sweeping marble stair cases of the museum and dance on the exquisite marble floor to the sounds of the Salon Orchestra of Washington, as they perform the world’s favorite Strauss waltzes, ballroom music from around the world and the famous Radetsky Grand March. Discounted tickets available for a limited time.

This is it for the February events that bring culture from around the world to the steps of your hometown – Washington, DC. In the rather cold winter, these events might be a great way to do it all – stay inside and have a great time – all at the same time.

Donations for Haiti reached new records worldwide

2010-02-16T13:23:00.001-05:00

Red Cross onsite

Photo by IFRC

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On the Martin Luther King the First family in full “membership” – Barak and Michelle Obama with the daughters – took part in the charitable event, feeding the homeless of Washington, DC. However, on that day that was not all on the minds of the White House and the rest of the world’s population – almost a week since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, people around the world have been helping the victims.

Accoding to Chronicle of Philanthropy, in the first few days of the donations, $150 million has been collected for the victims of Haiti, which is a record amount of donation, considering that for the victims of Hurricane Katrina (in 2005) and tsunami in Asia (in 2004) – a sum much less has been collected, or - four times less for the tsunami victims and by $42 less for New Orleans.

Seems as if everyone is helping, solo or in the cooperation of the prominent non-profit groups, such as UNICEF and Red Cross, and some just transfer money online, the “method of donation” that has become quite popular nowadays.

Thousands of Internet users log to the social networks sites (some of the celebrities using their star power to distribute videos online as well), which they use not only to donate money, but to attract more members/donators, as well as to promote across the networks the efforts and updates of the event. Some of the most popular ones appear to be – the “usual suspects” - Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and MySpace. For example, in Facebook alone there are more than 3,300 registered groups to support Haiti, one of which holds as much as 370 000 members (fans and supporters.)

Moreover, one other method for donation transmission has become rather popular – transferring money via SMS-texts. Red Cross even issued a special number to use for donations over the mobile services – “text “Haiti” to 90999”, after which your phone provider would take out from your phone account and donate $10 to Red Cross. This “Haiti texting” has already gathered more than $22 million for Haiti reliefs.

Other Haiti supporters are the charity and philanthropic organizations, such as UNICEF – that gathered more than $18 million, Catholic Relief Services – more than $13 million, and the combined efforts of Oxfam America, World Vision U.S. and Save the Children USA – attracted more than $7 million in donations.

Furthermore, according to the poll, conducted by Zogby International, 64% of Americans will or in the process of making donations, while 33% - have already contributed in the first few days.

In addition, FBI services and the National Center for Disaster Fraud NCDF issued a “hotline” to help with the scammers, who might take advantage of the situation. Their number is: (866) 720-5721, and is open 24/7. You can also email them at: disaster@leo.gov

A Guide To Following The 2010 Winter Olympics Online

2010-02-16T12:57:00.008-05:00

The 2010 Winter Olympics has began, and the fans around the world are spending more and more time listening to and watching the games.

However, if you on a move, or you are at a place where TV or radio are not accessible,you can always catch up with the highlights over Internet or mobile programs. Here are a few:

1. NBC Olympics: NBC, which is covering the Olympics on TV, has also set up a site where you can catch the latest scores, news and select video coverage of the competitions (powered by Microsoft Silverlight). You can also see profiles of athletes and streams of Tweets from athletes on the U.S. Olympic teams. Unfortunately, it appears that NBC is severely limiting the streaming of competitions and the ceremonies to the general public, so video will most probably be comprised of short highlights. But if you are a cable subscriber, you will be able to access 400 hours of live streaming of the events, but will need to prove that you subscribe to premium-cable service to access full and live videos.

2. Vancouver 2010: Sponsored by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the games, this site offers schedule of events, up-to-date results and maps of the various event sites in Vancouver.

3. Facebook: On Facebook, there is a dedicated page for the Vancouver Games from the Organizing Committee as well as a page from the International Olympics Committee, which will collects Facebook updates from athletes and post up-to-date photos from the various events.

4. Twitter: For real-time updates from the athletes, Twitter has complied a list of verified Olympic athletes. A site called Twitter-Athletes also provides the handles of many of the Olympians at the winter games.

5. Flickr: Flickr has teamed up the International Olympic Committee to create an official photo group on the photo sharing site. The IOC will also use the Flickr group to publish its official event photos, as well as upload images to its own Flickr photo stream.

6. Yahoo Sports: Yahoo Sports has launched a Winter Olympics site that will offer news coverage, photos, videos, medal counts and statistics. This week, Yahoo announced that it has also optimized its search engine for Winter Olympics news and stats.

7. Yahoo Mobile: Yahoo has also rolled out a mobile web site to allow users to news, event schedules, stats and pictures on the go.

8. Google: Google has optimized its mobile search to provide better results for Olympics searches. On Google’s mobile search interface, you can search for the name of your favorite sport, and the engine will give you the latest info about game results, schedules, medal count and more. On Android and iPhone devices, the search engine’s realtime search feature will show you the latest updates related to the games within the same search results. Google has also rolled out a special homepage for Search (see below).

9. iPhone Apps: Apple has recommended several iPhone apps to help you keep up with news, schedules and more, including NBC’s official Olympics App, Canadian TV channel CTV’s Olympics App, push notifications-enabled Vancouver Games, and Olympic Games news aggregatror Winter Games Grub.

10 most common stereotypes about Filipino culture

2009-12-28T09:54:00.003-05:00

Filipino girls

bakitwhy.com

My friend recently shared with me some of the “Filipino” stereotypes her family and she had growing up and living among the Americans. Even though my friend was born here and grew up immersed into the American culture, her family kept traditional Filipino customs and taught her a thing or two.

However, over a long span of life in USA, I’ve met a few “foreign born” citizens who share their cultural backgrounds with the locals – and there are many of such Americans, and that makes this country one of the most diverse countries in the world – because of all the people of various cultures gathered in one place.

Here are some of the stereotypes of the Filipino culture that a friend shared with me:

1) We [Filipinos] drive only Japanese cars, because they are reliable and practical. (Even though it’s not true to all Filipinos, many of us, and them, would agree with this one statement!)

2) Filipinos are always late...to everything. (Even though it’s regarded as a stereotype, my friend did admit the fact that she is usually late, as well.)

3) Someone asked her if she has ever eaten a "dog". In some provinces in the Philippines, they do eat "dogs", but they are the "wild" dogs. Neither her, nor her family, have ever eaten one.

4) Upon entering a Filipino's home, one must remove one’s shoes, and should put on slippers. Filipinos don't like "outside dirt" inside the home. (This is actually a very common thing in Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France – based on my direct experience.)

5) Filipinos loves "rose gardens and orchids", one can tell if you are walking by a house, and you see a plentiful amount of them, it is a "Filipino" home.

6) Most Filipinos like "oriental" furniture, with the "plastic" covers, and "plastic rug runners".

7) Some Filipinos eat with their "hands".

8) Filipino parents would get their attention, by saying, "Psst!" and "Hoy!" You are a true "Filipino", if you turn around.

9) Most Filipinos tend to work in accounting, as physicians or nurses, or electrical engineering. My American Filipino friend knows a lot of Filipino nurses, physicians and accountants, in her immediate and extended family. Filipino parents tend to push “math and science" majors in college.

10) My friend’s Filipino grandfather told her mom: "The Chinese treat the Filipinos, like second-class citizens." On their recent trip to Hong Kong and Macau, they experienced it, since most of the domestics (housekeepers) are Filipino. There are a lot of Chinese-Filipinos in the Philippines, and they are very wealthy.

If you are of a Filipino descent, please tell me if any of these stereotypes have ever been applied to you.

If you have any other stereotypes to share, please drop me a line. Let’s all discuss and break the stereotypes, which would – on one hand – make us more politically correct and culturally aware, but – on the other hand – it would make us boring. Some stereotypes are both healthy and fun, and completely harmless.

Follow travel experts online: social networks for travel writers

2009-12-27T00:47:00.005-05:00

Create your own, or follow a professional travel blog

Templates.com blog

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Are you a Twitter?

Tips for unemployed here and abroad; Activate your professional profile

International job sites - for you, me, and friends who live abroad.

View all »This has been a fascinating topic for me, and I’ve looked into it to understand the effectiveness of its new marketing trend better.

Travel industry players start more and more utilize online social networks to get the word out about their work (and drive traffic to the original publication of an article, which sometimes is the only means to pump up the writer's salary - through online traffic's clicks), as well as generate an alternative pool of customers to buy their products.

In the times of the economic turmoil, many travel industry businesses and writers choose to go online to reach out to their customers via popular social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter and other sites.

Grow and sell your travel passion and trade online

This trend has been becoming a rather happening approach to use and many travel industry players, who used to “sell” their services via traditional means, say that the quantity of brand awareness and sales from their blogs, websites and social network profiles far surpass what they 'make on the street". And this is happening around the world – many members of the travel industry utilize global and local social networks for promoting and selling their works.

Retailing (books, articles, gadgets, gear, etc.) through blogs also grows and reaches the client base as it has not done before: subscribers (or followers and fans of a travel blog, for example) are kept updated about the latest tangible and intangible products through on site previews, inside looks and tips and even samples, as well as through the basic one-on-one correspondence with the site’s owner. This is a true new word-of-mouth “promotion” that strengthens the brand awareness.

Being exposed and open on social networks allows the travel industry professionals to put their new creations online to a selected group of “fans” who can provide their comments and suggestions immediately and in real-time, as well as can place orders and share the links with their friends and other networks.

Take for example one of the largest trade travel magazine Travel and Leisure Magazine – it has its own Twitter profile, one of the last update of which is: ”These trips aren't just self-indulgent retreats. They'll change your life. Which do you want to take? http://bit.ly/5K1PTb” And The Los Angeles Times offers its travel updates on its own Twitter profile as well: “New Year’s Eve at California theme parks: Shortly after Christmas, the same question arises every year: http://bit.ly/7Gwlcv”.

Many young travel industry members especially increasingly start to exploit novel marketing models, made possible by growing Internet communities and social networks, to ‘market’ their creations directly and avoid the overheads of traditional distribution chains.

Internet with all its mobility and constant advancement, offers entrepreneurs around the world to connect with their local and international customers. From promoting of products almost exclusively through social networking websites to offering almost exclusively exhibitions and sample sales – online shops and showrooms on social networks is the next marketing novelty for people around the globe, and travelers take advantage of it as well, subscribing to various social network profiles and fan pages that offer “exclusive” articles, stories, deals and discussion forums of all about travel.

National Geographic Traveler has its own Facebook fan page, Economist offers links to its Business Traveler's articles on Facebook as well, and Bonjour Paris not only offers inside information about everything French, but also encourages its writers to use their own social networks to promote their work (thus - the website) – just to name a few. And these travel “profiles” offer networking, fun and educational events as well and let you in the previews of anything that would be coming up to the general public later in the time (you would know about it first!), which one can learn about by “subscribing” to the online social network profiles.

Downfalls of marketing on social networking sites

However, marketing exclusively on social networking sites has its downsides. It is time-consuming, and online communities expect constant interaction and immediate responses. Twitters, if not updated every so often during a day, become obsolete immediately, and fell of the radar.

There are a lot of travel writers I follow on Twitter, but without constant browsing and digging and following, I loose track of all of their links and updates. The same goes with other social networks, like Facebook and MySpace – most of which are used for personal communication rather than following some stories and trends, and those updates can become obsolete as well unless there are very few friends in your network who update their “statuses” and “profiles” – otherwise, an update from The Economist’s travel reporter, let’s say, is moved down below the threshold by an update from your friend.

Either way, the readership of online news has been growing faster than a traditional media would like it to, but to keep up with the social networks and any other online resources – now almost any self-respected newspaper and magazine offer blogs, Facebook fan pages, Twitter updates and such. It’s all a matter of choosing the ones that matter the most, and make time and place for their online messages and updates.

By the way, most of the travel writers, including myself, have their own travel blogs as well profiles Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks that are so good that they are bad. Addicting - that is.

New Year's celebration means as much for Russians as Christmas does for Americans

2009-12-25T23:29:00.008-05:00

A Russian girl with a Bengal light celebrating a New Year

varvara.wordpress.com

Every year, after year, you worry about spending the New Year’s the right way – with the right group of people, in the right place, in the right outfit and with the right food and drinks. And most of us the New Year turns out to be nothing like we planned or hoped for – sometimes to the best, sometimes to the worst, but never disappointing if it involves least one of those pleasant holiday “ingredients” such as friends or family.

Having grown up in various places of the world, I had a chance to celebrate Christmas and New Year in Russia, France, Germany, and USA – and each of these locations had its own unique way of holiday preparation and celebration, and - holiday meal is one of them.

Just a few days before Christmas and New Year you might wonder what other cultures have for holiday meals (or not, depending on what’s your interest level in other cultures). Either way, I know how some people from other (non-American) cultures incorporate their authentic traditions into American way of holiday celebrations, and I got to appreciate my mom’s cooking of a traditional Christmas and/or New Year’s meal that consists of Russian, American and European cuisines.

This to say, I’d love to share with you a very traditional New Year’s holiday meal that Russian people make, regardless of where they are. Before I start talking about the holiday meal, I'd like to mention that fact that Russians regard New Year’s celebration as the rest of the world regards to Christmas celebration - as one of the most important holidays of a year.

That is – for Russians New Year’s Eve, 31st of December, is the time spent with families and friends who gather around a big table with the dishes prepared out of the best traditional delicatessen that Russians sometimes can’t afford to have on a regular basis, like red and black caviar, champagne, smoked sturgeon, etc. The Christmas tree in Russia is called the New Year’s tree (or 'novogodnaya elka') and is usually set up and decorated no earlier than a week before the New Year's eve, and, usually, it’s kept in the house for about two weeks until the Russian Orthodox Christmas day – January 7th.

The first part of the New Year’s evening celebration is dedicated solely to the family and closed ones – games, holiday televised concerts, toasts, lighting Bengal lights, wishing wishes, boomerangs and sharing a glass of champagne with a next door neighbor over one's apartment balcony - it’s all part of the New Year’s evening.

The second (and the longest part) of the celebration is for the adults to leave kids (if any) with grandparents at home and head to join the friends for some wild adult time of more champagne, games, city walks and rides, toasts, and dancing – some of which are costumed, or masqueraded loud parties, while others prefer to host parties for friends at home the homey-kind of a new year celebration .

The Russian adult New Year’s celebrations last way into the late morning hours, and conclude with a trip to private (if the new year party is at someone's country house with its own sauna) or to any of many city’s saunas and steaming baths, believed by Russians to be exactly what one needs after a long night of drinking, dancing and eating – to sober up, cleanse and relax. And these traditional trips to spas are not limited to Russians in Russia only – I’ve known Eastern Europeans around the USA who keep the traditional Russian celebration as they had it back home in Russia – with family and adult parties, Russian cuisine, and trips to sauna in the morning.

It’s ain't any different in Washington, DC as well. Just ask the service staff at the popular “Russian” hang out Korean spa place, Spa World, in Centreville, Virginia. Open 24/7 spa center has hosted many Russians based in Virginia, Maryland and DC over many morning-after New Year's celebrations.

Here are the most traditional Russian dishes one should expect to see at the Russian New Year’s celebration:

(Photo by EnjoyYourCooking)

Salad Olivier (or as some Russians call it – “winter salad”), as this is the salad that has all the winter seasonal produce that is not specifically grown in winter, but that lasts through winter, such as potato, carrots, etc. and canned pickled vegetables and meat). This salad is by far the most traditional dish for New Year’s celebrations in Russian homes.

Mushroom "Julienne" – is one of the most standard appetizers of any Russian holiday dinners, and it can be found in any Russian restaurants in USA. Baked mushrooms with onions, cheese and some sour cream in a small metal pot that’s used to served it in as well.

(Photo by EnjoyYourCooking)

Herring “Under a Fur Coat” – I can see why this name of a dish might sound strange to someone who has had no exposure to Russian, Finish, Ukrainian and/or some other Eastern European culture. This dish looks as a cake from far, and up close – it’s a layered salad, pickled herring on the bottom, a layer of onion on top of it, a layer of boiled beets on top of the onion, a layer of boiled potatoes on top of the onion, a layer of beets again,and to top it all off with some mayonnaise, spices, greens and shredded cheese. The secret to this dish is to let it "soaked" in for a few hours before it’s served.

Piroshki – or the Russian bite-size empanadas, traditionally filled with either: potatoes and onion, mushrooms, cabbage, grounded beef, or eggs with onion. These are homemade from start to end as well, including the dough.

And not a single New Year’s celebration goes without any pickled vegetables – to pickle vegetables is a very Russian traditional thing to do. Many Russians who own summer houses manage gardens of various produce, some of which they pickle at the end of summer for consumption on various holiday occasions. Vodka, to be said, goes better if it’s accompanied with pickled vegetables, but not only the ones who consumer alcoholic drinks favor pickled food – even children at younger age acquire a preferred taste for a piece of some pickled vegetable. That's just Russians...

As the Russians say to wish you a happy new year: S Novim Godom! S Novim Schastiem! Which means "With the New Year! With the New Happiness!"

Don't tell me you have a snowy winter here...

2009-12-08T08:16:00.006-05:00

Moscow, Russia is one of the places in the world, where winters come early: as in many other parts of Eurasia...But Russians make the best of it:

....snow-balling and snow-skating on Red Square...

...taking a romantic stroll in a snow-covered park...

...and even tremendous amount of snow does not disrupt daily activities, like street sales and crafts...

Activities, which I used to do as well in my teens when I was still living in Moscow.

Scandal around The Beatles: BlueBeat is banned from selling the band's songs

2009-11-13T09:06:00.004-05:00

The Beatles
Alisa Krutovsky

How can that be? With the abundance of sites where one can get any music – eBay, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, etc. – The Beatles are not going to be available now for purchase.

EMI Music has acquired the rights in confirmation with Los Angeles court that from now BlueBeat, an American internet site neither can sell nor play out The Beatles tunes on its site. The site can no longer sell any music by The Beatles.

Representatives of BlueBeat acknowledged the fact that they were selling copied tunes of The Beatles (or in other words – they were selling self-made copies of The Beatles albums).

The Beatles are one out of just a few bands whose records are not sold on Internet. EMI filed a lawsuit against BlueBeat when it found out that the site was selling The Beatles for 25 cents a track. The lawsuit also states that the site had no license to sell The Beatles’ tunes.

However, Hank Risan, the brazen owner of online retailer BlueBeat, contended that he authored the songs using "psycho-acoustic simulations." These simulations "are my synthetic creation of that series of sounds which best expresses the way I believe a particular melody should be heard as a live performance," Risan said.

According to Risan, this technology allows him to sell music, which almost no different from an original and, at the same time, falls within the Copyright Act rights for the compositions that “simulate and/or imitate the music that is protected by copyright.”

This applies to tribute-brands – to the bands, which perform, for example, the songs of The Beatles. In this case – they do not break the copyright laws, but the artists and/or bands must pay for the author’s rights for performing these tracks.

The judge, however, found in favor of EMI and issued an injunction banning BlueBeat the company from streaming or selling tracks from the Beatles and other EMI music artists. The tunes are still visible on the site, though, but once you click on “Buy”, it prompts a message that the tracks aren't available for purchase.

The hearings are scheduled on November 20, 2009.

Meanwhile, EMI, the owner of the original Beatles recordings, has been in longtime talks with Apple Corps. - the company set up by the Beatles to look after their catalog - about arranging some kind of legitimate deal for selling the tunes online.

Still, you can buy The Beatles on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders websites.

The Inspired by Russia Art Project heads to Russia

2009-11-13T09:03:00.002-05:00

The Inspired by Russia Art Project
Poto by InspiredbyRussiaArt

Art exhibit dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Russian Seasons

This art exhibition has already traveled, if not the world, and then at least it made it marks internationally – from Washington, DC to Paris, France. And now it’s on the way to Moscow, Russia to be exhibited at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Emigration.

November 16 through 27 The Inspired by Russia Art Project will acquaint the Russian, and everyone who happened to be in Moscow.

The Inspired by Russia Art Project was created in 2008 with inaugural art exhibits at the Embassy of Russia in the USA and the Russian Cultural Centre in Washington, DC. It received great reviews both from press and public. The art project features paintings and sculpture that represent different styles and mediums, ranging from representational works to abstract forms.

It is a dynamic art project with an intensive schedule of upcoming art exhibits. The events include art shows in Russia, France, Ukraine, Canada, Tanzania, Argentina and India.

For more information, please visit here.

You can watch a video of this exhibit in Paris presented to you by TV-RU here.

Warm up this fall – take a trip to Santa Barbara, California

2009-11-13T07:16:00.006-05:00

Santa Barbara’s gorgeous and very relaxing scenery is easy on an eye. Even South Californians appreciate the subtle aura of a laid back town, surrounded by mountains and wineries to north and Pacific Ocean on west, with a bit of everything in between.

What’s about this town?

Some might say it’s an “old people” town, but that’s because they don’t know that Santa Barbara is the home for about eight various college, institutes and universities, one of which is University of California Santa Barbara, which means – there is enough of night life and college bikini and surfer crowd. And of course, there are families and retirees, not to mention that one of the most powerful women in the country chose to have the estate she calls home in the suburbs of Santa Barbara. That would be Ms. Oprah Winfrey. Montecito is the place she calls home, when she is not filming The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago. Oprah paid $52 million for the 23,000+ sq.ft. Montecito California home in 2001, and it ain't devaluing.

Getting to Santa Barbara by car:

Santa Barbara is only about two hours away from Los Angeles to the north-west, and you can avoid the hassle of Los Angeles traffic - notorious to be the worst in the country – you don’t have to worry about your work clothes anymore. Santa Barbara is all about very casual outfits – flip flops, shorts and tank-top would do just fine. Even patrons at five-star restaurants overlook the fact that a man could wear no socks and a woman could have her hair loose, wet and sandy from the beach.

Even pedestrians are so relaxed that they don’t feel the need to rush through streets and j-walk on completely empty streets of the town. They just wait for the green light – “whenever it turns green, there is no hurry.”

As I’ve mentioned above, besides the fun crowds of very laid back people of all ages, Santa Barbara is the home of some of the well-known people in the country. Oprah Winfrey has her estate just north of Santa Barbara, in the suburbs – Montecito. If even she chooses to commute to this part of California, then it means the place is worth it.

At first glance the town is not as happening as you would expect, except for a few boutique stores and restaurants, but being the home to the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Santa Barbara offers quite a few entertainment venues.

In the summer it becomes alive and loud during continuous Cinco de Mayo festivities (do not mind that it is officially a May holiday). The bars stay open all night to serve all you can eat tortilla chips with mean salsa and drinks that a chicana is happy to share with a gringo.

During the day, blissfully clean beaches and brave-to-the-point-of-arrogance seagulls are the main attractions for the locals – families with very blond kids, old couples with fancy walkers and students.

Santa Barbara accommodations:

I’d strongly suggest a bed and breakfast place. Check out for the listings here.

Santa Barbara “Must-Dos”:

- Explore the suburbs of Santa Barbara, which offer the views of very private multi-million homes.

- Take a surfing lessons from a local pro.

- Spend an afternoon at one of the local beaches watching seagulls, dolphins and happy families.

- Enjoy a seafood platter at one of the popular local spots - The Hungry Cat. The seafood is so fresh and delicious that it can even make your cat jealous.

- Take a stroll around the town's downtown, and do some window-shopping.

- Play golf.

- Fish, and feed the pelicans, who'd be eagerly watching you catch fish.

- Rent a bike and take a ride along the beach and in the neighborhoods - you won't be alone.

And one more thing – leave stress and all your means to communicate with the civilization – gadgets, at home, and treat this few-day trip as a getaway to a place where people speak the “surfer’s” language.

Российские дизайнеры ищут покупателей в Сети

2009-11-02T07:42:00.003-05:00

Молодому поколению дизайнеров общение в Интернете не в новинку – многие имеют сообщества в Интернете – но до сегодняшнего дня они использовали его только для личного общения с друзьями.

Растущая конкуренция среди начинающих дизайнеров, легкий доступ к Интернету и появление онлайн-магазинов побудили их приобщить такие виртуальные сообщества как «В контакте» и Facebook для раскрутки своих компаний и дизайнов. Сейчас уже представить трудно, как до этого дизайнеры обходились без онлайн – магазинов, чатов, «Твиттера» и СМС, которые, по сути, стали бесплатными каналами продвижения брэнда.

Интернет становится одним из главных пресс – каналов, где креативные люди не только напрямую обмениваются информацией и знакомятся со своими покупателями без посредников, но и арендуют помещения для шоу-показов.

Еще несколько лет назад виртуальное общение без посредников было не только невозможно и недоступно, но и непонятно. Сейчас легко можно «скинуть» СМС на блог или посмотреть дизайнерские модели в виртуальном шоу бесплатно у себя дома или в офисе прежде, чем модель одежды попадет на подиум или появится в магазине. Такой «эксклюзив» позволяет покупателям контролировать ситуацию и информацию без влияния продавцов и посредников.

Интернет сообщества и микроблоги предоставляют благодатную и бесплатную платформу для креативного интернет-маркетинга, тогда как реклама в печатных СМИ может обойтись от 2500 до 500 тыс долларов. С появлением и ростом всевозможных социальных сообществ в Интернете, состоящих из людей со схожими интересами и сферами деятельности, связь осуществляется напрямую и мгновенно.

Только в прошлом году в Twitter («Tвиттере») был зарегистрирован 1 млн пользователей, в том числе, согласно статистике Yandex.ru («Яндекса»), на июль 2009 – более 38 тысяч русскоязычных пользователей. Дизайнеры постоянно обмениваются с коллегами и покупателями короткими сообщениями, ссылками на свои модели и показы мод и приглашают на распродажи.

Теперь дизайнерам необязательно ждать сезонных показов мод, либо рассчитывать на наличие места в магазине или на специальном показе. Чаще всего, объединившись со своими коллегами, молодые дизайнеры приглашают своих поклонников на свои шоу в Интернете. И это ничего не стоит, разве только надо «скинуться» на напитки, закуску, может быть, пригласить ди-джея и заманить перспективную группу покупателей в специально оборудованную комнату квартиры. Собранных средств достаточно, чтобы заплатить за индивидуальный показ.

Многие начинающие дизайнеры создают отдельные сайты-сообщества для того, чтобы помочь творческим людям обмениваться опытом, знакомиться с новыми тенденциями и становиться популярными. Так появились Style Mob, StyleHive, Fadmashion, Fashionising и IQONS.

«У меня сейчас пробная продажа, всего несколько платьев размеров 4-6 (44-46) осталось. Дайте мне знать, если хотите прийти», – пишет дизайнер Инга Богомольная на своей страничке в Facebook.

«Большинство запросов на мои дизайны я получаю на Facebook, – рассказывает Инга,- меня очень часто просят, например, помочь с советом, какие платья из моих коллекции подойдут для свадьбы. Я, в свою очередь, прошу выслать мне фотки и размеры, чтобы я подобрала самое подходящее платье. Сначала один скинет ссылку на мою страничку своим друзьям, потом другой сделает то же. И через какое-то время складывается верная клиентура».

В то время, когда виртуальное общение упрощает связь на расстоянии, оно же, с другой стороны, приводит к зависимости от Интернета: люди начинают меньше общаться в живую.

Согласно совместному исследованию Proximity Worldwide и BBDO Group Russia, проведенному в 18 странах, выяснилось, что хотя в России активных Интернет-пользователей гораздо меньше, чем в развитых странах, их приверженность Сети бьет все рекорды. Российские пользователи больше общаются в Сети, чем в реальности, – 65% против 23% в других странах.

Означает ли это, что, несмотря на удобство Интернета, мы скоро можем оказаться в виртуальной зависимости – перестанем ходить по магазинам, встречаться с друзьями в кафе и читать книги в библиотеке? Уже сейчас в России сайты знакомств в Интернете бьют все рекорды по посещаемости.

В каком-то смысле Интернет – это побег от реальности, хотя одновременно и прорыв в другой мир. 53% утверждают, что посещают Интернет ради того, чтобы развлечься и расслабиться. Только 18% россиян подтверждают, что участники их виртуального общения являются друзьями и в реальной жизни. В других странах этот показатель вдвое больше.

Общение – это жизненная потребность человека, но не случится ли так, что общение в живую постепенно превратится в безликие виртуальные отношения?

Jimmy Choo is coming to H&M

2009-11-02T07:37:00.002-05:00

Jimmy Choo for H&M
H&M

This fall, H&M is bringing Jimmy Choo, an iconic British luxury accessory brand, especially for H&M designed collection to selected stores nationwide. No longer the fashionistas-on-a-budget would be admiring Jimmy Choos collections from far – clothes and accessories in a price range of $49 to $249 will be now sold at H&M, but expect the sell-out as it happened with Matthew Williamson, Kate Moss and Madonna’s collections.

Jimmy Choo is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London who became known for its hand-made women's shoes. Designing shoes has been always in the family – he is coming from a family of shoemakers and made his first shoe when he was just 11 years old. Jimmy Choo's beginnings can be traced back to 1986, and two years later he became famous after Vogue featured his shoe creations in 1988. Princess Diana was one of his earliest customers, further promoting his high-end shoes.

A favorite of celebrities around the world, including most stylish girls in television – the cast of Sex and the City – Jimmy Choo is now making shoes, bags, clothes and accessories for men and women available at a low-end clothing and accessory store line H&M on November 14, 2009.

Cate Blanchett, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez – just to name a few, have chosen Jimmy Choo for red carpet appearances many time before. The H&M collection by Jimmy Choo has been inspired by the punk chick and rock’n’roll glamour of the early 80s. Think Debbie Harry (of Blondie) and Chrissie Hynde (of the Prenteders). And as Tamara Mellon, the label’s Founder and President, points out: “These are going to be perfect party pieces to buy now and wear the same night.”

Electric blue, red, midnight blue, anthracite, black and Jimmy Choo’s signature grey leopard pattern will be the dominating colors of the collection.

A proud owner of 700-something pairs of shoes, Jimmy Choo, who is more known for her shoe designs than clothes and accessories, swears by having both heels and flats, with the perfect shoes that work equally with a pair of jeans or an evening dress.

A un solo trip to Ensenada, Mexico: Fall getaways to beaches

2009-11-02T07:33:00.002-05:00

Jesus Christ gigantic statue greets visitors to Mexico, on border with California
Alisa Krutovsky

If you are looking for an excuse to shoot some tequila at noon and forget about a non-meat non-spice diet – there is a way to do it. Head to Mexico, Hola Amigos!

When first long rains come on down in the fall, there is a way to escape rainy gray weather and head to where the sun is still strong enough for the time on a beach with a frozen drink.

Mexico has been always an inexpensive option for the Americans who can’t afford to go to Caribbean or Hawaii, and there are many places to choose from – from isolated Islands, such as Isla Mujeres, or Cancun – a place that is very much beloved by American college students. But there is also - Ensenada, which is in Baja region and is about 1.5-hours drive from the borders of San Diego (Calif.) And many West Coast residents choose to go there for a weekend or longer due to its very close proximity. However, plans fly there as well.

Ensenada is not the most exciting place to be (no lying here, I don’t get commissions from a tour agent,) but it is charming and it offers all the “Mexican” you might need and – everything is inexpensive: fresh seafood, as Ensenada is the home of one of the largest sea ports in Mexico, delicious high quality rich alcoholic drinks (they are not cheap for extra fruit, extra shot and a larger size of a glass), friendly locals and patrons, restaurant diversity and a few good bars and clubs. This is all one needs for a few days to get away.

Ensenada is attractive for its very down-to-earth cultural flavor; it’s not an obvious touristy place. And the locals are always happy to upgrade you to a better room at a hotel/resort, to a better table at a restaurant and even to a better set of sauces, which did not spend too much time under the sun and, which were not besieged by local insects.

The town of Ensenada does not look as appealing as Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta, let’s just clear this out, but if you opt to drive to Ensenada from San Diego, you pass breathtaking views of Pacific ocean, a gigantic statue of Jesus Christ greeting visitors and locals, colorful colonial homes, country haciendas and adobe ranches and beach houses in hacienda-style and yellowish burnt hills.

Moreover, nothing is as nice as to catch a break from the drive by stopping at a local café, somewhere around Puerto Nuevo in Rosarito – another town close to Ensenada on a way from San Diego, and indulge in the local specialty - La langosta de Puerto Nuevo (local gigantic lobster), sautéed in butter, served with beans and rice served with the most deliciously in-house handmade - and then baked and buttered - soft tortillas. And as you sip your margarita on a terrace overlooking the ocean a brigade of amigos make the best of your meal, playing traditional ranchera and mariachi - a bit loud at time, but charming and entertaining.

Once you are at your final destination of Ensenada and you are about to leave for a walk in the city, don’t forget to fuel with a powerful breakfast of fried eggs with Huevos Rancheros, made out of onions, corn tortillas, scallion, roasted red pepper, black beans, cheese, salsa, garlic and fresh cilantro. This is a must breakfast, even if it is over 100 F / 30 C degrees outside, because nothing would tire you more than making your way through dusty roads of Mexico, crowded with old trucks and uncompromising local drivers and then walking up and down the streets in the heat searching for that perfect sombrero or a handmade wooden Chihuahua at one of the local souvenir stores.

Bargaining is also energy-consuming, and you need to bargain not only on markets, but at the stores as well – at the end of it, the store clerks eventually do give up and the price for a delicate handcrafted dress changes from $40 to $25.

Mexico is not the place to skip lunch. No matter how tired and sweaty you are, walk into a restaurant, all of which have air-conditioning, and order a house-made Guacamole dip, Carpacho mexicano (tender thin slices of marinated beef sirloin,) Empanadas de atún (puff pastry with tuna fish and eggem) for an appetizer and a typical entrée of Paella (Spanish rice with chicken bits, seafood, shrimps, fresh vegetable) or Pato con chile y naranja (chicken legs with chilli and orange sauce, fruit rice.) Don’t forget to flush it all with a Mexican beer (Pina Colada or mean Margarita is an option for the ladies…)

After a quick nap and a dip in the pool and/or in the ocean, check out the local dance clubs, which, to your surprise, might offer some very cool dance beats from very well known popular (in Ibiza and Berlin, for example) International DJs. Either way, you might find the night life in Ensenada very interesting for people watching – Mexican boys and girls do know how to party hard, and the drawback of being in any of the nightlife locations is that they do allow to smoke inside and it gets too intoxicating and stuffy.

Ensenada “Must-Dos”:

Fisherman Market (for lunch…fish tacos and geviche, a raw seafood mixture of mackerel, barracuda, tuna, black drum, tilapia or sea bass, shrimp, octopus and oysters merely mingling with minced veggies that has been “cooked” in lime and other citrus – I pity the ones who have seafood allergies, this dish is to die for!) is a must, served with local hot chili sauces – it is all about the peppers, Cayenne, Jalapeño, Habanero or Chipotles (smoked jalapeños)

Fisherman Market (for dinner…anything from the market – a daily catch of a squid, scallops, shrimp…)

Fisherman Market (for street artists handwork…engrave your name on a handmade thread bracelet)

Shopping for handmade goodies and artwork: from authentic Mexican peasant dresses to sombreros, from tequila leather cases to icons

Water sports: everything for snorkeling to jet skiing

Renting a car for a few hours and taking it for a drive south or north along Pacific Ocean

Ocean sunsets

Ensenada “Must-Brings-With-You”:

1. Friends
2. Swimsuit & sun block (Aloe for burns, which you might not be able to avoid)
3. Pocket money (cash is the most accepted and expected “currency”)
4. Camera
5. Sandals & keds (any flat active sportswear because in some areas it might be healthier and more comforting not to expose too much of your toes to road dust and dirt)

Travel to and from Mexico:

To Mexico by bus

Mexico bus reservations are easy, if you know what you’re doing, of course. They seem tricky at first if if (1) you don't speak / read Spanish, and (2) because Mexico buses may not have websites or accept reservations. Mexico first class buses are usually not full, and you're very likely to be able to get on a bus by showing up at the station; if you're hoping to get on a second class bus, show up at the station an hour or so early and you'll likely get lucky.

Greyhound offers Mexico bus service to Durango, Mexico City, Morelia and Tampico, as well as a host of smaller Mexico towns. Taking Greyhound to a border town in Texas or California and then picking up a bus to Mexico may be a good way to go, too. Check prices - it may cost more first class, but first class Mexico bus arrangements are pretty nice.

Greyhound bus tickets to Mexico - choose Mexico from the "State" pull-down menu. All about taking the bus to Mexico - includes Mexico bus company US pickups and destinations.

To Mexico by air

There are quite a few airlines that offer flights to Mexico:

Aviacsa - Aviacsa's hub is Mexico City and it's got one of the larger destination maps among the budget Mexico airlines. Aviacsa's site has an English section. Aviacsa phone number: 1-800-758-2188 or 54-82-82-80 in Mexico.

Click - Click Mexicana serves many very cool and somewhat less touristy areas, like beach resort Huatulco (south of Oaxaca city).

Interjet – Interjet offers Veracruz, Tampico and Monterrey routes among its cheap Mexico airfares.

vivaAerobus or Viva Aerobus – RyanAir's Mexico airline started offering cheap Mexico airfare in September, 2006 (RyanAir is the cheap European airline champ based in Ireland and it's teaming with Mexico's IAMSA bus company for the Ryanair Mexico airline.)

Volaris – Volaris airline is one of the cheap Mexico airlines with a Bajio Leon (San Miguel de Allende) routes, as well as a Tijuana-Cancun route. Volaris telephone number: 1-800-7VOLARIS.

Getting a passport to Mexico

To return to the US from Mexico by land, sea or air after June 1, 2009, you must now present a passport or PASS card (available to anyone) or Enhanced Driver's License (residents of some US states can get these). You can no longer use just proof of US citizenship, like an embossed birth certificate, with a government issued photo id (more on those below). Regardless of ID choice, you also need a tourist card.

Other acceptable identification includes:
• Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)
• State Issued Enhanced Driver's License (when available)
• Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)
• U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business
• Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
• Form I-872 American Indian Card

One of the US companies that does a great job with visa consultation and issue for any international destination is a Washington, D.C. based VisaHQ. Their friendly and attentive staff is always attentive and efficient.

Discount shopping in Europe: European fashion is now affordable to all

2009-11-02T07:30:00.002-05:00

La Vallée Village, Paris
Photo by Parisvision.com

Perhaps it’s the economy post-effect (or should I say, the lasting effect of the August crash of the economy world wide), but not many people dared to spend home finance on shopping, especially when it came to designer's cloths abroad. Well, I’m happy to tell you that shopping in Europe is now affordable to most of us than it’s used to be.

Shopping in Europe is more affordable now than used to be, only one should do the shopping not in major metro cities and/or capitals of Europe, but rather in their suburbs, which are very accessible via public transportation. For example, one can purchase cloths and accessories from last season designer collections on sales for 70 percent off.

Shopping towns and malls, such as Chick Outlet Shopping, are set in very good locales and are planned accordingly so that one could experience a full experience of designer shopping – those sites try to keep the atmosphere of the legend shopping streets and avenues such as Fifth Avenue, and all of those sites hold anywhere from 55 to 100 designer boutiques with discounts. Moreover, those malls (and outlets as we call them in USA) offer discounts year around, so whenever you decide to travel – there would be always discounts.

There are nine shopping “hot spots” in Europe that offer discounts to die for:

1. Bicester Village, London

This shopping location, the town of Bicester Village, has already earned a title of its chick shopping, prominently settling after the famous shopping Bond Street in Engliand. Bicester Village is located about an hour from London, and one can easily reach it by car, bus or train.

One can find outfits for any occasion, be it in homeland, or in England – impress a local British countess with your 60-percet off Mulberry, Pringle of Scotland and Aquascutum outfits.

2. La Vallée Village, Paris

This ‘outlet’ place is a mere 35 minutes away from Paris towards the region of Champagne (which reminds me – one can shop and go to a local village for a glass of bubble). If traveling with kids, one can stop at La Vallee Village on the way from Paris Disneyland, which are very close located to each other.

3. Las Rozas Village, Madrid

Las Rozas Village is just a 30-minutes ride from the center of Madrid. It’s build in Castille architectural style and hosts about 100 elite, designer boutiques with up to 60 percent sales year round.

One can find collections from various seasons from such Spanish designers as Antonio Miro, Andrés Sardá, Pedro del Hierro, Loewe, Hoss Intropia and Roberto Verino, as well as from Carolina Herrera, Versace, Calvin Klein, Hackett, Bimba & Lola, Brooksfield and Gant, Bally, Kipling, and Columbia.

4. La Roca Village, Barcelona

La Roca Village is located on the way to famous beaches of Costa-Brava, about 40 min away from the center of Barcelona. You can find some of the most prominent and beloved Spanish designers such as a leather genius of Farrutx and Loewe, and Petit Bateau, Nanos ad Catimini.

5. Fidenza Village, Italy

Milan is known for one of the best shopping experience in the world, but there is always a “discount” place for the ones who does not want to lag behind the fashion trends. Fidenza Village is located near Milan, and offers about 75 boutiques. And if you’re questioning this season’s trends, check out what is modeled on the runaways of Milan Fashion Weeks.

6. Maasmechelen Village, Brussels

Maasmechelen Village not only offers some of the best worldwide brands, but also offers some of the local “jewels” of Belgian fashion scene – the locals who are set to impress the rest of the world when the times comes. For example, check out Scapa, Rena Lange or Laurèl – something that no one would wear in your home town for a while for sure – dress to impress by Belgian designers.

7. Ingolstadt Village, Munich

Ingolstadt Village offers designers from all around Europe, and other parts of the world. Check out Fred Perry, German’s Strenesse, Aigner, MCM, Féraud, Hanro, and Wolford. Once shopping in Europe, think of all the international shipping fees and taxes you could save, that is if you are traveling light as it is. Always check for your baggage allowance on international flights.

8. Wertheim Village, Frankfurt

Frankfurt is not only known as a financial center, but also as a city which restaurants satisfy a most demanding food gourmet-lover, as well as a city that offers enough shopping to satisfy tastes of a global fashion-trotter. Wertheim Village offers a wide assortment of all brands and styles, from Tommy Hilfiger, Bogner, Puma and Nike Factory Store to Lacoste, Longchamp, Rosenthal and Steiff boutiques.

9. Kildare Village, Dublin

This is the only Irish designer’s retailer center and is located in the center of Dublin. At Kildare Village one can not only find the classics and known global brands, but also designer boutiques of local, Irish talents.

If you know of any other, please let me know. I'd love to hear back from you!

Halloween in Italy: not such a cliche to celebrate an American holiday

2009-11-02T07:27:00.001-05:00

Marsciano Storefront, Italy
Photo by artnbarb, Flickr.com

Just a few years ago not many Italians were celebrating Halloween, if at all. Now, even nearby neighbors join in Italians in with Italians in the celebration of a popular American holiday, because in their motherlands, they do not throw lavish celebrations. Every year we see more and more signs that Halloween is slowly becoming part of Italian culture!

Not such a Cliche in Italy

Forty days before the day of Halloween, Italy is celebrating a very well-known and widely celebrated across the country holiday – “Carnevale,” when kids dress up, go out, throw confetti and play innocent practical jokes on everyone. It runs about one week, during which children in Italy stuff themselves with pumpkin risotto and porcini mushrooms – just like kids do with candies and other sweets in the United States.

However, over the last decade, Halloween has been becoming more popular in Italy, and Italians now look both online and offline for Halloween costumes and decorations, just as they always did in preparation of “Carnevale.”

Although Carnevale is still a much bigger holiday and celebration (traditionally and historically), Halloween is becoming more prominent and anticipated each year, but this draws some controversy into the laps of religious authorities in Southern Italy. Halloween is starting to develop a superior influence over Italy's 'Day for the Dead' on November 2nd. A large majority of Italians would like to see Halloween become a national holiday in Italy, but still many disagree with its meaning and roots.

Even though the holiday is believed to be invented in America, its roots go deeper – they lead to Europe as the first settlers were from Europe. The holidays that came around at that time were more or less created or re-created by Europeans. In the 19th century, immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought their customs with them from their homelands, and kept them alive for years after.

Europeans Always Honored the Dead

It was common in Europe to have a day in celebration to honor the dead. The Romans celebrated the "Feralia" in their honors to the dead.

First - "All Saints Day", Now – Halloween Is As Popular

The holiday that was invented by Pope Boniface IV to replace the pagan holiday with one of Catholic roots, all in respects for the deceased. This could be more or less compared to ‘Halloween’ celebration until the actual Halloween arrived in the 80's. This was when American horror movies earned its popularity in Europe. Halloween celebrations in Italy first started with the adults, and over time moved onto kids’ Halloween parties and parades at schools.

Italians today still recite the fact that Halloween does not have any strong meaning for them. They don't yet take it seriously, could be for reasons of their Catholic beliefs. Slowly though, as masked parties are being held in Italy, and great fun is being had, the holiday continues to grow and become a bigger part of the Italian culture.

Do Italians Go Trick-or-Treat?

Not many Italian children in Italy are familiar with the trick-or-treat tradition. They still do not go door to door. Nevertheless, Halloween has taken to Italy in a positive fashion by many, although there is still many other local traditional holidays that play a more prominent role in the lives of Italians, and it would just some more years (and some more popular Halloween movies) for Halloween to be accepted and practiced also around all regions of Italy.

Celebrating Halloween in Germany

2009-11-02T07:24:00.002-05:00

Dieter Tschorn, a German businessman started promoting the event in 1994 and it took off.
Photo by rezwanul.blogspot.com

Halloween in Germany

In the mid-1990s, few in Germany had ever heard of Halloween, and even fewer celebrated it. Now, it's a $245 million a year industry. Who to “blame” for building such an “industry” around Halloween? Dieter Tschorn - a German businessman, who started promoting the event in 1994 and it took off.

Although Halloween has never been a traditional German celebration, nevertheless, it has become a rather popular celebration in Germany. In 2007 alone, 4,600 pumpkins were sold in Germany. It is now common to see pumpkin (Kürbis) and jack-o'lantern decorations in Austria and Germany.

Hollywood is also to blame for such a spread of Halloween spirit around Europe. Movies and television, showcasing what a fun tradition Halloween is, prompt children and adults in Germany to want to assimilate the holiday in their country.

And even though trick-or-treating is not as common in Germany, the other aspect of Halloween appealed more to Germans – the parties thrown around the holiday by kids and adults with costumes, parades, food, booze and fireworks, and many German-language Halloween sites would advertise Halloween party outfits. One of them is Hamburg's House of Horror.

Many bakeries and stores in Germany now sell Halloween-theme products, such as Halloween bread, Halloween sausage, Halloween candy and even Halloween cocktails. And more and more children now go door to door for trick-or-treat.

While fifteen years ago there was no Halloween celebration in Germany, now it’s a very profitable industry – third in profits after Christmas and Easter. Halloween festivals, parades and pumpkin harvests are now a big part of the celebration.

There is an old traditional German custom that has much in common with Halloween: Martinstag, the observance which on November 11 includes costumes and a lantern procession for children.

So, if you are around in German on Halloween, taping into a foreign celebration of your native holiday might be just another fun and cultural activity for you to experience. You'd definitely have something to share with your friends back home, if not for comparing it to the way your family and friends celebrate it in USA.

Please share with me your Halloween experience in other countries. I'd love to hear from you.

Celebrating Halloween in France

2009-11-02T07:12:00.003-05:00

Halloween in France
Photo by FranceTravelGuide

It’s time you start to be thinking about your costumes, pumpkin carving, and house decorations and, of course, where you are going to be on Halloween this year. And you do have some options – you can opt to walk the same neighborhood, alone or with your “little” ones – kids and siblings, or you can go to France, Germany or Italy and experience “American culture” on a foreign soil.

Celebrating Halloween in France

It might be a cliché to think that French don’t like anyone, especially Americans. Well, this is not true, and celebrating a very American holiday – Halloween, is a living proof that French do take notice of foreign traditions.

Halloween in France is not just happening at a few suburban neighborhoods, some of central streets in metro cities, like Paris, are blocked to allow for decorations and flow of people in costumes. The main event usually happens at the place du marché - in the centre of the town.
The idea apparently is to give the local residents an idea of what Halloween is all about. Except for the patrons of the café and a number of policemen. The residents of the neighborhoods where Halloween parades and parties happen usually wait at home for the afternoon opening of the shops, and rarely you would see kids and adults dressed in “French characters” – most of the costumes resemble traditional American characters from American movies, cartoons, history, culture and fairytales, such as - Batmans and Spidermans.

Meanwhile, French kids usually divide into small groups and are given plastic sacks, which they fill with candy donated by local merchants. Some of towns’ streets, being perfectly narrow in France, are decorated with spider-webs from wall to wall- which makes it an exciting, scary labyrinth not only for kids but also for adults in France. Fireworks usually also play part in Halloween celebrations in France.

Halloween originated among the Celts in Ireland, Britain and France – to your possible surprise - as a pagan Celtic harvest festival. Although other nations continued to observe Halloween throughout the centuries, the original pagan traditions of the Brittany region in France faded into obscurity long ago. Until recently, the mention of Halloween in Paris was quite rare. Parisian children may have heard of the holiday through foreign visitors or expatriates, but for the most part, they never carved pumpkins, dressed up in ghoulish costumes or went 'trick or treating'.

This has changed. Today, partly due to commercialism and the spread of American pop culture, the delightfully spooky holiday has seen resurgence in French popularity. More and more cafes and bars are celebrating it American-style. Teens swarm McDonald's, which by the way is opening (despite the French’s strike) in the underground mall beneath The Louvre, on Hallow's Eve, and Disneyland Paris is also a cool place to be come on October 31.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, costumed people of all ages slowly began to attend Halloween parties at friends' homes, bars, restaurants or clubs. There has been even set up a pumpkin patch at a farm outside of Paris where people can pick their own – just as Americans do at home. Pastry chefs and chocolatiers have hopped on the bandwagon, decorating their shop windows with fiendishly tempting sweets and chocolate masks. For the first time in French culture, candies are being sold in bags of individually wrapped pieces, presumably to encourage trick-or-treating.

On the Halloween day in France, among some of the most popular activities is to visit cemeteries where tombs are lavishly decorated with flowers and personal items. However, some French resist American celebrations, and in some areas they even engage in boycotts, but rarely you’ll see hostility.

See three Halloween commercials played on Disney Channel in France (who says French don't prepare for Halloween?)

And last, but not the least - if you intend to experience Halloween in France, it is best to visit the larger cities like Paris and Nice. Be sure to make your hotel arrangements well in advance, remembering that the day after Halloween (November 1st, All Saints' Day) is a major French holiday. Most shops and public monuments will be closed in observation. All Saints' Day is the day in which the French honor their dead, bringing flowers to cemeteries in remembrance. It is also a day for honoring saints and attending religious ceremonies.

Visit Louvre here.

Stay tuned to learn about Halloween celebrations in Germany and Italy.

Exhibitions at the London's Fashion and Textile Museum: from Little Black Dress to Foale and Tuffin

2009-10-18T02:29:00.003-04:00

"Little Black Dress" exhibition
London's Fashion and Textile Museum

A little black dress has become a cult among the things that one gal should have. Designers mention it, socialites mention it, Hollywood mentions it, and fashionistas around the world swear by it. It’s been always on the mouths of people who consider a little black dress a “must have” in one’s woman’s wardrobe. That’s why it should be a surprise that a museum in one of the leading fashion cities in the world, London, dedicated the whole exhibition to it. The London museum of a fashion presents you with the exhibition of a little black dress. Coco Channel would have been proud of it.

Everyone knows about the little black dress, and what it means for the wardrobe – it’s a must-have for any woman out there. Coco Channel stated it once, and it clinked to the best of minds in fashion world. From now on, any woman knows the ‘magic’ of having a little black dress around. Basically, it’s a dress for any occasion – it’s a savor in any situation when a girl or a woman needs to dress up.

Any gal has at least heard once about a little black dress, and, most likely, owns at least one of them (if not a few.) Having it in one’s closet is as classic as having a pair of good jeans, a cashmere sweater, a white long sleeve shirt and a pair of khaki pants – it’s just a “must-to-have”.

If you have been around in London this summer, you would have been one of the first to see it the exhibition, but don’t loose any hope. A little black dress is never out of fashion, if it’s “out” of the London Museum. What prompted me to write about it past due is the fact that it the exhibition was just another proof that a little black dress is an icon, and it should not be denied the title. "The Little Black Dress" exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum explored the role of this celebrated garment in women's lives and fashion history.

The exhibition showcased the history of a little black dress starting in the 20s, ending with its interpretations of the contemporary designers. The display included little black dresses designed by John Galliano, Amanda Wakeley, Betsy Johnson and dresses worn by some of the most famous celebrities, such as Victoria Bekham. It’s never out of fashion, and myself, I’ve used it quite often, especially iin the situations when I couldn’t decide what to wear – a little black dress always saves one women from the chaos of deciding last minute what to wear.

Trends come and go but for over 90 years the Little Black Dress has remained a powerful fashion icon--a constant on the catwalk, red carpet, and in many women's wardrobes.

Don’t worry if you missed it, you can still catch the “Foale and Tuffin – Made in England” exhibition going from October 23 through February 24, 2010.

The Fashion and Textile Museum is staging a retrospective exhibition of Foale and Tuffin - two influential designers who were at the heart of the cultural explosion in London in the Sixties.
The Foale and Tuffin label was what cool girls wore - colorful, pop-inspired mini-dresses and trend-setting trouser suits were just some of the key pieces that were ahead of their time in developing popular, desirable fashion.

Foale and Tuffin - Made in England will present a vibrant and inspiring representation of two key British fashion designers of the 1960s and the part they played in creating the changing London scene. It will revisit the Sixties vibe by recreating their boutique, showroom and design studio. Welcome back to the world of Twiggy and other fashion trend initiators.

German magazine Brigitte bans thin models

2009-10-18T02:22:00.003-04:00

International fashion is more progressive: it looks up to real women

One of the Germany’s most popular women’s magazine Brigitte announced this week that it is banning professional models from its pages in favor of "real women", explaining that its readers have been complaining about the featured models with “protruding bones” and that they want to see healthy-weight women on the pages of their favorite magazine who represent the real women – just as the readers are themselves. This is not the first time fashion industry publishing players ban thin models.

First it was in Spain – skinny models were banned from the Madrid’s premium runaway during the Madrid Fashion Week in 2006 , and as a protest – a full-figured opened a runaway show, which caused uproar among the fashion industry who have been still refusing to prohibit skinny models from modeling cloths – they know it’s unhealthy, but no cloths looks as good as it does on a clothing “hanger.” Now, to walk on the Spanish catwalk, a model who is 5-feet-9-inches tall has to weigh at least 123 pounds, while before the models not only had to be thin, they had to be super-thin, weighing anything from 100 to 110 pounds at their sky-height of 5-feet-9-inches and taller.

Now – in Germany, a magazine bans thin models because it’s been receiving quite an overwhelming response from its readers that they are simply tired of looking at the models who do not represent the real women – the real audience and consumers. The editor-in-chief of Brigitte told reporters that, starting next year, the magazine will feature a mix of prominent women and regular readers in photo spreads for everything from beauty to fashion to fitness.

(Photo by photobypropagandaIDMI, Flickr)

We see more and more situations when fashion industry players realize that it is unhealthy to put out a super thin (many times over underweight) model in a magazine promoting the “beauty” that women of normal healthy average size of 6-10 cannot identify with – thus, they supposed to feel less “beautiful”? The size 0 has been dominating the fashion industry, and the industry tried to combat the size 0 that has been, according to experts, contributing to eating disorders and poor body image among girls and women of various age. As the recent documentary The September Issue, the film about the creation of Vogue’s largest and most important issue of a year – the September issue, shows – not all who work at Vogue absolutely must look underweight, although this is not what the Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, would like to say.

In 2004, the Dove issued a few video commercials that deal with body images and false perceptions of “fashionable” beauty. This "Campaign for Real Beauty" included video, print and billboard ads showing "real women," of all shapes and sizes, posing in their underwear, as well as dispelling the actual truth about air-brushing and other tricks that go into making models look flawless in fashion, film and commercial industries.

Dove - True Colors

Dove – Curves

Dove – Evolution

Dove – Pro-Age

Real women do not mind as much the fact that most of the designers’ clothes come in smaller sizes, because not many of those women can afford it anyway, besides – more and more designers are now trying to produce “mainstream size” clothes to accommodate a larger market, since spending, as it is, has been shrinking anyway. But real women do mind looking from pages to pages of thin air-brushed models whose very appearance resemble little of what you and I see on metro, street, store – or any other place around us with some rare exceptions. We’ll be following the developments in the fashion industry for years to come, hoping that other magazines would pick up on this ‘healthy trend.’

Das ist ein phantastisch Fortschritt! That's all I'm gonna say.

China blows away the world with its 60th anniversary of communist celebration

2009-10-18T02:19:00.002-04:00

The Chinese citizens and the government have been preparing for this day for a few months now, starting rehearsals as early as July. China is celebrating its 60th Anniversary of Communism today, or – the forming of the Chinese National Republic, which took place on October 1st, 1949.

For months the city have been swiping the streets, renovating buildings, which then were colored in red – and other Chinese symbolism - present in everything that has got to do with the anniversary. It seems that for this country – celebrating years of communism – is as big of a celebration as the 7th of October celebration of The October Revolution was for Russia up until the moment the communist USSR ceased to exist.

As I look at the photos and description of how local government and state agencies handle the celebrations preparations, I reminiscence of what it was like when I was a teenager attending the communist celebrations with my parents in Russia – months in advance the government would run through parades with military, national athlete teams, and orchestras. Many red flags would be cut out and sewed for the celebrations.

(Chinese kids today)

During the preparations that took place in China this year, some areas of the Chinese capital were blocked at night and in the early morning wee-wee hours for rehearsals of military parade, art representations, music assemblies, athletic shows, fireworks and many other things - all in masses. Chinese, on their end, also made some personal individual preparations – from baking goods to symbolize certain Chinese symbolic achievements and pieces of architecture to people making hairdos to showcase their pride for the regime.

Chinese are known to be proud of their long story, heritage and cultural contributions, thus it does not come as a surprise that the citizens of China spent so many grueling hours decorating, rehearsing, making, fixing and innovating for the 60th Anniversary parades and celebrations around the country.

Spanish Zara to sell clothes online

2009-10-18T02:16:00.001-04:00

Finally, a dream – for some – to come true. Zara, Europe’s largest clothing retailers, is finally going online. That is – now one can buy Zara brand clothes later this year in selected European markets. Whether it’d come to USA, we don’t know yet, but at least now a Zara fashionista would be able to order in Europe, paying a little bit of extra for the international shipping.

Yes, Zara stores do exist in USA, and some of you might ask – why buy online and pay for international shipping if one can go to any of the stores around the country and get the same stuff in person (plus, to try it on before getting.) Well, as much as Zara might be offering a unified assortment, as many believe, around the country, this is far from the truth. I’ve shopped at Zara in Oregon, California, Texas, New York, D.C., Virginia, Illinois, and Washington – and every time there is a unique difference in the assortment a store in one state offered that another store in a different state would carry.

This said, what is offered at Zara stores in Spain and Russia, let’s say, is tailored to the local trends and cultural differences. In Moscow, Russia – Zara offered more “sexy” clothing and accessories. In Spain – at the time I was there in the fall – Zara stores in Barcelona and Madrid offered more knits with colorful embroideries, very tight pants and jeans, flowery loose see-through blouses and many high heal shoes.

As Zara representatives stated, they “will start online sales for the autumn/winter 2010 season, and, initially, the online sales will be launched in Spain, France, Germany, UK, Italy and Portugal, to be followed by the progressive rollout in all Zara markets.”

Sweden's H&M, Europe's second-largest clothing retailer, already sells its products online in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands while the Gap Inc, the largest US group, does the same in its home market.

The move to sell Zara brand cloths only came at a time of declining retail sales in Spain, which accounts for about one-third of the company's sales, amid a rapid rise in unemployment.

Anne Critchlow, analyst at Société Générale, said: “Zara going online will be taken as a strong positive by the market. It had been falling behind in e-commerce.”

The Spanish company, which opened 166 stores in 35 countries in the first half of the year, brought the total to more than 4,400. We hope this online expansion would bring more demand from all the countries around. One market in need that’s longing for it for sure is Russia, at least that’s what my girlfriends tell me, asking me once again to order Victoria Secret and J. Crew online and ship it to them to Russia.

London Fashion Week 2009: the buzz around the new designers

2009-10-18T02:13:00.001-04:00

Katie Eary
One could have described her work vividly, but as Russians say “it’s better to see once than hear one hundred times.” She first was noticed and featured by the American fashion guru magazine – Vogue, but she has not yet become a household name, neither in USA, nor in England. But if you watch it, you’d soon might be investing in some international shipping.

The next British favorite, not new on the scene though, is TopShop that featured its TopShop Unique Exclusive. Being quite a successful, and definitely much-awaited for, British import, TopShop has now a store in New York (we’re still waiting on them coming to other American metro cities, such as D.C.)

Bernard Chandran is another designer who’s been getting attention from the fashionistas and fashion editors in Europe and USA; he’s been already known its native Malasia.

Datuk Bernard Chandran is currently known as Malaysia's 'Prince of Fashion', his talents have earned him many faithful clients among Malaysia's elite most notably the Royal families of Malaysia and Brunei as well as two former Miss Universe.

Bernard Chandran is also a Malaysian television personality. He's known as the chief designer of the reality television show Project Runway Malaysia, since its debut on 8TV on 3 August 2007.
He is also a brand ambassador for the Tiffani By Izen service apartments (to be completed in 2009), developed by Ireka Land Sdn Bhd.

After honing his skills overseas in Paris, he returned to Malaysia to set-up his maiden shop in KL Plaza in 1993. The first 'Bernard Chandran' couture house was a small rented shop with a handful of staff in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. From there, he built up his client base amongst the who's who of Kuala Lumpur, ranging from the rich to royalty. He has now expanded his shop in KL Plaza to take up 4 shop lots and is nearly 300 square meters in area. He was voted Designer of the Year by the Malaysian International Fashion Awards in 2003.

Chandran has also started introducing Europe to his couture with a boutique at swanky Knightsbridge, London.

His creations are drawn from Chinese, Malay, Indian and other eastern cultures. He regularly does shows around the world, although he does tailor his overseas ranges to be more daring than his range for Malaysia.

Last, but not the least, take a note of Sado.

Oktoberfest 2009 events in the USA; don’t have to miss your favorite holiday

2009-10-18T02:11:00.001-04:00

It’s all about the beer in the next two months - some even started it in the summer - and lots of it. Below are a few Oktoberfest events hosted by US-based beer lovers. There are some still going on till the beginning of November:

Oktoberfest Huntington Beach 2009 Sep 6 - Nov 1, 2009
Old World Village
Huntington Beach, CA

Oktoberfest at Alpine Village 2009
Sep 12th - Oct 25th, 2009
Alpine Village - Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA

Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest 2009 Sep 19 - Oct 31
Convention Center at Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake, CA

Tulsa Oktoberfest 2009
Oct 20 - 25 (Thursday-Sunday)
River West Festival Park
Tulsa, OK

And now watch how Munich does it:

About Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 18, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12; the horse race on October 17 — therefore, there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).

The most traditional food served at the Octoberfest is Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstel (sausages) along with Brez'n (Pretzel), Knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Rotkraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a fatty, spiced cheese-butter concoction) and Weisswurst (a white sausage). And when you drink so much, you need some real hearty food to go with it, or at least to keep you a bit on a sober side.

It’s a true fest for world beer appreciators.

Why in Munich?

Munich has a long and robust history with beer. Before Munich was even a full-fledged city, clever monks were brewing especially stout beers to help them through periods of long fasting. In 1516, Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria passed the Purity Law that decreed beer could only be brewed from grain, hops, yeast, and water. The good Duke thus preserved the special flavor of German beer that brings in the beer-thirsty pilgrims every year.

And who ever tried to last all through Munich’s Octoberfest said that after that American beer tastes like water. I guess, unless one truly experiences the beer fest, we wouldn’t be able to make such a statement.

About Oktoberfest beers: make your selection

Helles – this is the standard beer served in a liter stein which brawny beer maids grasp five to six in each hand.

Dunkels – an old-fashioned dark beer served in liter steins as the Helles. Its brewed with toasted malt and has a rich robust taste.

Pils/Pilsner – served in a 1/2 liter glass. Pils is a lightly-toasted malt beer originally hailing from the Czech Republic and is often poorly imitated in other countries, fortunately not so in Munich.
Weissbier – a tasty, strong beer made from wheat and sometimes served with flecks of lemon in the foam. It too is served in a 1/2 glass.

There are many Oktoberfest fans around the world, and most of them learned the hard way how to and not to drink beer without loosing too much of “oneself.”

Dos and Donts of the Oktoberfest beer drinking

1) Don’t drink an entire liter on an empty stomach, and especially don’t follow that first liter with a second one just because someone else is paying.
2) Don’t chug German beer. German beer has a good flavor that is worth taking the time to savor.
3) Don’t play “Quarters” with German beer – or any drinking game for that matter.

Some famous quotes about beer: betold by famous people

"I work until beer o'clock."- Steven King
"Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer." - Henry Lawson
"Fermentation and civilization are inseparable." - John Ciardi
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them real facts, and beer." - Abraham Lincoln
"Wine gentrifies beer unifies." - W. Scott Griffith
"Beer will always have a definite role in the diet of an individual and can be considered a cog in the wheel of nutritional foods." - Bruce Carlton, chemist.
"Bring back beer and you bring back prosperity!"
"Wine is a gift of God, beer is a human tradition." - Martin Luther, son-in-law of a brewer.
"No matter how rich you are, you can still only drink 17 to 18 liters of beer a day." - Anonymous German nobleman.
"Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire." - David Rains Wallace

And lastly, hold your beer high and say: Prost! Gemulichkeit!

Dos and Don’ts on homestays and houseswaps

2009-10-18T02:08:00.001-04:00

In my last article I talked about homestays and houseswap trend that is becoming rather popular among all ages – be it a single traveling, a couple or a family with kids and siblings.

As appealing as it might sound, not many people trust others to stay at their homes. This is not just the territorial situation, it’s a whole concept of someone staying at a place you call home – using your appliances, beds and couches, and hygiene-specific areas such as bathtubs, sinks and toilets. So, to make it easy for you to decide whether you are cut for it at all, here are the Dos and Don’ts of housestays and housewaps.

Dos and Don’ts on Homestays

1. You find an attractive posting

That’s not the end of our search. It all just begins. Try to get as much information about this person/family who is offering a place for swap/stay. In the age of easy access to social networks, connect with them over Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or other social networks that would allow you to see who they are personally and professionally, including their circle of friends and colleagues. Exchanging photos and background info is a big plus. Perhaps you could even chat with them over Skype, SMS or IM.

Pictures and description of the place and people can be deceiving. A scammer would unlikely engage in a long “correspondence” with you.

2. Ask and answer a lot of questions.

Ask them whether they had experience similar to it in the past. You can even ask them for references, and make sure they are legitimate. Call or write to those people, don’t be lazy. Asking a lot of particular questions would tell you if these people are scam (or very close friends who would “testify” anything on behalf of their friends) or not.

3. If you are who lends your house

Organize your place, put away valuables (or rather store it at the place of your relatives or friends you can trust.) Go extra mile and do something special – offer a map of your city, emergency contacts, a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates. You’d be surprised the power of “word-of-mouth” advertising, as well as the return you might get in the same attention and care this or next time you stay at someone’s house.

If you want the people to keep your place clean, leave a small cleaning “kit” of sponges, solution, sprays and paper towels and ask nicely to keep the place clean. You’re the one who’s, ultimately, responsible to make your guests feel responsible. Visiting guests would not want to waste their time on shopping cleaning solutions. If it’s easily available for them, your guests would be more open to cooperate with keeping your apartment/house clean and intact.

4. Don't assume that all experiences will be grand.

As in hotels you choose to stay in, the houses might not leave up to your expectations. So, do not over-expect, take it adequately. Rather expect the worst than the best. Keep up your guard at all times.

5. Homestays and swaps are not for everyone.

Some of us are more “adventurous” than the others, so do not go for it if you are completely not cut up for it. Otherwise, your experience would turn to be a disaster because instead of enjoying your visit at someone’s house, you’d end up worrying for your own place for the rest of your trip.

All in all, if you decide to go for it, go with an open mind and be prepared before, during and after the trip to secure your own well-being.

Here is a video by HouseExchange:

Homestays become the next big thing: accommodations to learn to trust

2009-10-18T01:59:00.001-04:00

Vacation home is the next big thing, or, should I say, it has already moved from the category of “best-kept-secret” to “everyone does it.” At least quite a few people, when you start talking to them, have done it or are planning to do it in the very near future.

Like with everything new, you have to get used to the idea of trusting someone as much as to lend this person your personal home to stay. Those, on their end, must trust you also – it’s not just “one way” street, both parties need to reach a relaxation level to be open for strangers to eat at your table, take shower in your bathtub and sleep on your bed. And there are still many of us who cannot do it, including myself. But at any point in time, we had to get used to an idea of a hostel, where one shares a bathroom with a floor of strangers, and a bedroom with four-to-six strangers. Nevertheless, all of us have tried it and stayed at hostels more than once.

Since I haven’t tried home-stays or home-exchanges myself, I've reached out to those who did do it.

It’s a common knowledge that we consider our homes our fortresses – and it should be this way – home is the place where we feel the safest, not to mention that it’s the place that holds our most valuables.

Based on the research foundings, all of those who did homestays had a great experience – I even thought it was too good to be true. One friend swapped her New York apartment in Manhattan for an apartment in the heart of Paris for a week – the story that got my initial attention to look into this new hot trend - home-staying - as Paris is one of my favorite travel destinations and I wouldn't mind to stay in the heart of it at no cost instead of staying at an expensive, impersonal hotel somewhere off the center. My friend ended up at a cozy, homey and clean apartment of someone who not only left the place for her and her boyfriend intack, but who also left her a welcome chocolates, a guide to the city, and phone numbers of his/her friends to get in touch in case of any questions she might have had – wouldn’t it blow your mind? It did mine. Read further to learn how to conduct such a homestay two-way situation successfully.

So, it takes us a long time - these many stories from someone who knows someone, and who knows someone who swapped their homes with the others in return for a stay at the comfort of not only a bathtub and a clean bedroom, but to be able to cook at a kitchen with the local farmer’s market produce, while at night having a glass of local wine at a balcony overlooking the lights of the City of Lights, Paris. That is if what I’m describing is an apartment in the 13th addorsment in Paris, which does have apartments overlooking the Parisian sites we came to visit – such as the Eiffel Tower.

Pricing for most of the worldwide popular locations costs in hundreds. Long gone years when one could get a deal of $40/night in Rome – and that is if you are traveling alone, what if you are traveling with a family or in couples and you’d like to have more comfort than a piece of toilet paper in your hotel bathroom? In Europe, it became quite popular to swap houses and apartments, often providing a five-star accommodations in the likes of cleanliness, locale, home appliances, space, breakfast, access to local friends, etc. European families often rent out spare rooms and provide a hot breakfast for travelers, who also receive healthy helpings of local advice from natives of the neighborhood. More often, Europeans provide their apartments in return for yours.

(Juliet Kinsman exchanged her Victorian terraced house in north-west London for a 2-bed flat in leafy Brooklyn. Photograph: Anna Schori)

Web sites such as HomeExchange.com advertise that members can travel with no more hotel bills by swapping homes with someone. A membership fee of $100 USD puts you into their database of willing home traders for unlimited usage in a year. The fee is on the high side at $100, but after it's paid, there are no further charges. Other sites will charge a fee with each exchange.

But one should know a different between home exchange and hospitality exchange. The first is when you exchange your home with someone at the relatively same time. Hospitality exchange, on the other hand, is exchanging the “hosting” of foreign guests in return to a promise that at some point you would return the favor and would provide hospitality to this person. Some people prefer this approach, which obviously takes away the element of concern about leaving your home in the hands of strangers.

Finding vacation homes on the Internet is becoming popular:

One Web site alone, HomeAway.com, claims more than 100 million annual traveler visits to browse a database of more than 160,000 vacation rental homes across 100 countries. The Texas-based company has affiliates in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain.

A Miami-based competitor called Rentalo offers both travelers and travel agents vacation and business travel properties in all price ranges in cities and resort areas.

Besides homestay specific websites, other popular all-you-can-find sites started to offer an option for homestays and houseswaps. Craiglist does it now as well - offering vacational rentals and houseswaps ads and requests.

You can also always do a simple search for "vacation home rentals" and your destination and you should find either postings or travel message boards with the information sought.

See more sites here:

HomeLink

HomeForSwap

HomeForExchange

VacationalRentalsByOwners

Watch a homestay story that made it in the CBS news here.

Here are a few tips on how to avoid some basic scams when you house-swap over the CraigsList:

1. When you look for a house to swap, make sure the apartment you are home-staying at is clean, cozy, in a good location, and is available the same dates you want to visit.

2. Make sure the person who would be staying at your place is relatively normal: Facebook be-friending can take care of it (you get to know him/her, their friends, and see photos of them.)

3. Also, I would warn you to be careful because unlike with a hotel there are no guarantees - for instance, if the swapee's travel plans change at the last minute. In one of my friend’s situations, after she bought tickets for Paris, the French guy’s girlfriend suddenly couldn't go to USA anymore and they had planned on coming together. Fortunately, he was very cool and instead invited his parents to come with him. So the home-swap did take place, but it could have ended much worse. Your best defense against getting stuck with an airplane ticket and no place to stay is to make sure that you let the other person buy their ticket first. That's what my friends said she’d do next time.

4. And of course there is always “Oh, I can’t imagine anyone staying at my place; I don’t want anyone to touch my things and go in my toilet.” My other friend who also did houseswap was the same way, she never wanted any stranger staying at her place, and then suddenly, just didn't care anymore. So she went on the housing swap section of craiglist.

5. And if house-swapping is too much for you to handle on your own, and you are the only person in the family who is going on a trip, swap couches instead of houses. I’m not joking. Check out CouchSurfing, the site is offering services on finding “couch deals” to swap when you travel solo or in a very laid-back couple who does not need the whole place to yourself, but rather just an overnight bed. So, don’t be shy and share a house with someone else’s family, while the other person stays with yours.

House-swapping is the ultimate credit-crunch holiday - free accommodation and the chance to live like a local in a foreign city. It's not a crazy idea anymore that your friends might have called it once. Today, the desire to be able to travel and stay in some of the best locations in the world without spending a dime, might overcome the personal attitudinal obstacles such as - letting someone use your bathtub and tableware.

Read my next article, where I'll give you Dos and Donts for carrying on homestays.

Many faces of fall festivals: The Apple Festival in West Virginia

2009-10-18T01:54:00.001-04:00

If you think that fall brings fewer activities than the summer, you might be not the only one wrong. Though, the long bright summer days are over, and the rain is crippling on us every day now, we still have the local wonders to keep us entertained when we leave our work offices.

Every year in the fall around the USA there are “farm”-related events, depending on a state and its local crop that make residents of their states. One state celebrates “A Garlic Festival” (California), another – “A Nuts Festival” (as peanuts, chestnuts, almonds, etc.), and a third one celebrates “A Maple Syrup Festival” (Indiana). The Eastern Canada, the likes of Quebec, would be happy to know that USA grows acknowledges and farms the juice of a maple tree as well.

Gilroy Garlic Festival, California, 2009

Virginia, on the other hand, is not like any other state – it is proud of its very diverse and abundant apple farming. And each year, just about this time, West Virginia puts together activities around the Apple Festival, where the locals showcase anything that is possible to do and make with an apple: from games to ciders.

The Apple Festival, West Virginia, 2009

(Video provided by Voice of America Russia News Services. Director: Svetlana Prudovskaya, a proud resident of Bethesda, MD.) For more information, click here.

For Virginia apple festivals and events, please visit here.

Is having In-Flight Wi-Fi important to you that you’re willing to pay for it?

2009-10-18T01:43:00.003-04:00

Travel has never been cheap, but now especially everyone is downsizing – on time to travel, on locations to visit, and extra amenities, or pleasures, to have that don’t come as a complimentary. However, as often as I travel, I always see people with laptops, typing away, for work or pleasure, while others watch movies on computer. And if there was In-Flight Wi-Fi available, I’m sure most of the travelers would not let go of their laptops even on honeymoon.

Nowadays airline executives are working on providing in-flight wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) access (connecting to the Internet in the air generally hasn't been possible before), but keeping up with these Wi-Fi developments within the airline industry is difficult at the moment. Policies and prices are changing constantly, and there is always a concern of whether passengers would be willing to pay for it at all, if there is a cost. While the travelers are already disappointed in onboard snacks, drinks and headphones they have to pay for, more costs associated with a flight would unlikely meet enthusiastically by the travelers who have already cut out the “luxury” out of travel and are trying to fit everything in one 45-inch (the total of the height, width, and depth) bag.

But since it seems there is wide variety in the amount of Wi-Fi service each airline is willing or able to provide, it might become another way to charge passengers who opt to have Wi-Fi on board – potential additional revenue for airlines. However, the executives are having a tough time getting a handle on whether travelers would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi.

While airlines contemplate the idea of making the passengers pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi, most travelers would want to see it free – at least as a free perk to attract more passengers. This is one of the reasons many American travelers prefer international airlines, such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Singapore Airlines because at least they offer more comfort and free food and drinks. Everyone looks for freebies today.

Others say that with all the fees that passengers have to deal now, In-Flight Wi-Fi should be free at least for emails and other basic services, but they could charge extra for VPN access.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article on the ho-hum reception Wi-Fi gets from passengers, an elaborate series of airline price experiments could determine what the market will bear for Wi-Fi in the air. So as airlines figure out how to fully equip the fleets with Wi-Fi capability, would you be willing to pay for it?

Either way, many people I talked to about this matter expressed their general dislike for today’s airline services. While traveling was such a pleasure before, it became a nightmare over the last eight years, starting with the security tightness after 9/11, which made and still makes sense. However – this is one thing – to protect passengers from terrorist attacks, it’s another thing – to impose fees for basic services (food, drinks and bags), and take out the space comfort – leg room, headphones, presence of blankets and pillows, and other such things - out of a pleasant travel experience.

And there are other travelers – frequent travelers on business – who would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi, and not only because they could be productive in the air, but also because they could expense it with the company they are doing the work for. Nervous and anxious passengers would also pay for the Wi-Fi service because they think of it as a way to minimize their fright for flying by occupying themselves with the Internet.

Whatever might be reason for having and paying for In-Flight Wi-Fi, there is still a big question mark of whether it should be charged for. My concern is, though, not that it would or would not cost – I question the “safety” of the service in the air. I guess I need to catch up with my Internet high technology readings.

What do you think, would you pay for it? Join in the discussion here.

Acclaimed Belarus Free Theatre debuts in Washington, D.C.

2009-10-18T01:26:00.004-04:00

“72 percent of Belarussians find it difficult to define the word "democracy."

Belarus holds 186th place out of 195 countries in the degree of freedom of the press. And is on the list of 13 countries - enemies of the Internet.”

From Numbers, the third part of Zone of Silence, by Belarus Free Theatre.

Making a splash around Belarus and Europe, Belarus Free Theatre presents two of its most controversial plays in D.C.

Since its founding in 2005 in Europe's last surviving dictatorship, Belarus Free Theatre has been giving memorable performances in apartments, bars, and other private locations, alerting audiences to the location of performances and time — often the middle of the day — through text messages and e-mail. The husband-and-wife team of Nikolai Khalezin and Natalya Koliada and director Vladimir Scherban created the company as a means to resist government censorship and have garnered praise from around the world for their powerful message and visceral, dynamic aesthetic.

“Drama doesn’t come more urgently political than in the work of the Belarus Free Theatre,” noted The Times. Renowned playwright Tom Stoppard has praised their “marvelous work,” noting that “What I saw in Minsk is much closer to a true theatre, to its sources, to its true objective,” and Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter has said, “They’re bringing back the essence meaning of the theatre.”

The Georgetown University Theater and Performance Studies Program, in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and in cooperation with the We Remember Civil Initiative, brings to the city this underground troupe, banned in its home country of Belarus, that will perform “Generation Jeans” on Sept. 15 and “Discover Love” on Sept. 16. Both “Generation Jeans” and “Discover Love” are underscored by a soundtrack from DJ Laurel (Lavr Berzhanin) and performed in Russian with subtitles.“Generation Jeans” is a play about a freedom fighter’s semi-autobiographical monologue which details growing up as a member of the counterculture that regarded jeans and Western pop music as a symbol of rebellion.

“Discover Love” is a play, based on the true story of Irina Krasovskaya, whose husband Anatoly, a businessman who supported the Belarus opposition movement, was kidnapped and murdered. This performance takes place exactly 10 years after Anatoly and Victor Gonchar, the Vice-Speaker of the Belarusian Parliament, disappeared on Sept. 16, 1999.

("Discover Love")

Described as a love story, “Discover Love” explores the reflections of a woman who finds out her husband has been kidnapped and murdered. Following the initial shock of the tragedy, her thoughts turn to words left unsaid, dreams unrealized. The work intermingles the experience of the widow Krasovskaya with that of similar stories of women from Asia, South America and Latin America.

For “Discover Love” and the troupe’s previous activities, Belarus Free Theatre received the French Republic Human Rights Prize in 2007, marking the first time in the history of the prize that it was awarded to a cultural institution. Collection of materials for the piece took nine years, and the play launched an artistic campaign to support the UN Convention against enforced disappearances in the world.

Ms. Krasovskaya, who is now based in Washington, D.C., co-founded We Remember, a civil initiative that disseminates information about politically motivated disappearances of Belarusisan citizens and informs the world community about the situation. A memorial reception organized by Krasovskya follows the Sept. 16 premiere.

When: Sept. 15-16, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Davis Performing Arts Center, Devine Studio Theatre
(37th and O Streets, NW – Washington, D.C.)
Tickets: $12 general; $10 faculty/staff/senior (65 or older); and $5 student. To order, click here, or call (202) 687-ARTS (2787).

CouchSurfing: International travel through staying free abroad

2009-10-18T01:17:00.005-04:00

Perhaps, it is not news to you, but that was something of novel to me.

Would you rather stay at someone’s hospital house during your vacation, instead of hotels and hostels? I bet, you would, and it became very possible thanks to the couch-surfing, or, in other words, stay through an informal cultural exchange that lets you to see a foreign country from inside in.

What Is Couchsurfing?

It all began when a 29-year old webmaster, Casey Fenton, visited Iceland in 2004 without much money in his pockets, and stayed with the students who he found on the internet. Upon his return still under a deep personal impression from his stay, he created www.couchsurfing.com to spread the word out about this free international tourism, made possible through a friendly free stay at someone’s house.

Are you planning to host your own pen-pals?

If you are thinking of hosting someone you’ve been corresponding with from another country, all you have to do is to visit Fenton’s site, www.couchsurfing.com, to register for free. All you need to include is your name, age, address and hobbies, and to specify how many people you can host at your home, what excursions you can organize for them, and whether you would be open to share a home meal with them. Very personal and approachable, which makes one to wonder how true and legitimate it is, however, it is as simple and real as it looks, and many testimonials on the site are there to prove it to you.

Moreover, the site, being a very easy and visually attractive one (no unnecessary information bulk up the site), it offers more than just requests and locations, it also provides you with the tips on how effortlessly and conveniently find the information you need.

According to the statistics (extracted from the website’s traffic and registrations), there are currently more than 1.3 million registered users, 1.4 million of “couch-surfers” have had, thus – they’ve shared this experience with the other users – successful surf/host experiences, 2.5 million – had positive experiences, and more than more than 1.5 million have made friendships out of their pen-pal traveling experiences.

"I have met and stayed with some incredible people through CouchSurfing.com. These are warm, friendly local people who a regular tourist would never meet, and their travel experience would be far richer if they had. Besides the obvious benefit of not having to pay for accommodation, CouchSurfing allows travelers to experience a country and its culture from within, instead of just as an observer. Inevitably, a CouchSurfing host will introduce you to his or her friends, and take you to the places that they enjoy. Basically, you can become part of their life for the time you're visiting. I promise your life will be richer through your membership to CouchSurfing, " says Steve Savage, a couch-surfer from Australia.

You have 231 countries and 64,728 cities to choose from that are currently represented on the site.

Are you the one who is going away?

Before you contemplate your leave, make sure you understand the goals and needs for your trip – from routes to take, dates of your trips, and what age and hobbies you’d like for your couch-surfer to have. Once you logged it all in, you’d be taken to the page that matches your needs with someone who can offer it all to you at the best compatibility.

Websites to Know, Free Stays and Guides

More and more sites have been popping up as the popularity of free fun trips grew. Here are a few other non-commercial community sites that offer inexpensive (or free) traveling and staying exchanges:

www.intervac.com

www.hospitality.org

www.globalfreeloaders.com

www.bewelcome.org

If you are looking for a local guide, not some commercial tour guide, who does it at his/her own time and way, and who introduces you to the city in unconventional non-standard way – let’s you see and experience the real “best-kept secret” places of his/her home city, try one of those local guide associations, like Big Apple Greeter, who has more than 300 local residents – volunteers to guide you through NYC as they know and grew up with it.

www.bigapplegreeter.org

Now it also offers local guides in the cities of Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Paris and Nantes.

www.warmshowers.org

The site that is a bit older than CouchSurfing, and it is focused on bike travelers.

Is It Safe?

From the beginning of its existence (it’s been around for five years now), CouchSurfing has not experienced any serious incidents of any kind. CouchSurfers could go through a check up by sending a post letter to identify if the name and the address of the other CouchSurfer is legitimate. Moreover, the travelers who used CouchSurfing, leave their comments and feedback, and anyone is free to accept or decline a request for a home stay.

Who Uses The Website?

This site is not for everyone. Especially if you are a cheap person who does not see this experience as bearing any benefits to you as an individual. All the people who participate in couch-surfing love the experience. They find it culturally enriching and fulfilling on personal levels, such as friendships and education. Since no one benefits financially, there is no charge of living at any kind, people who are not sincere in their reaching out to other travelers would just not bother to participate in the first place.

I’d love to hear about your couch-surfing experience.

Run DC, Run: the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon

2009-10-18T01:10:00.003-04:00

On October 25, 2009, men and women of Washington, DC will run 26.2 miles across the city as a part of "Team Fisher House'" in the annual Marine Corps Marathon.

They trained hard for months to be able to express their support to the military families in need and be part of my "Five for Fisher House" fund-raising campaign – of 100 friends who donate $5 each). You can still support this runner online by using the “Make a Contribution” box on this page.

Many of these participators do it for personal reasons as well – to build the strength and endurance, thus, it works both ways – they push themselves as soldiers push themselves. Cheer as they will be crossing the finish line at the Marine Corps "People's Marathon".

Fisher House has provided more than 17,000 airline tickets to hospitalized service members and their families, worth more than $22 million.

Fisher House is supporting America's military by providing 'a home away from home' that enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time -- during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.

Team Fisher House is hosting a team of 300+ runners at the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon. The members of their fourth annual team at the “People’s Marathon” in Arlington, VA have set a Team Contribution Goal of $400,000!

The Fisher House™ Program

The Fisher House™ program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House™ Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times - during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

There is at least one Fisher House™ at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment. Annually, the Fisher House™ program serves more than 12,000 families, and have made available nearly 3 million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990. By law, there is no charge for any family to stay at a Fisher House operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual Fisher Houses operated by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. No family pays to stay at any Fisher House!

Fisher House Costs:
• $10 – cost of one night’s stay
• $50 – airlines fees for a Hero Miles’ ticket
• $3,000,000 to $6,000,000 – cost to build one Fisher House (depending on location and size of home)

In addition to constructing new houses, Fisher House™ Foundation continues to support existing Fisher Houses™ and help individual military families in need. We are also proud to administer and sponsor Scholarships for Military Children, the Hero Miles program, and co-sponsor the Newman's Own Award, http://fisherhouse.org/programs/newmans.shtml.

The Foundation has received the highest possible ratings from the “watch dog” organizations that evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of nonprofit organizations: For every dollar donated to Fisher House™ Foundation, 97 percent goes directly into the Fisher House program.

Online donations are completely safe and the most efficient way of donating (saving time and money), but checks are accepted. Please download and print the 2009 MCM Check Donation Form, and mail the check and completed form to the address on the form.

Fisher House™ Foundation, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.

Donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.

No Federal or Marine Corps endorsement of advertisers or sponsors is implied.

I’ve done my contribution, and one of my friends will be running the marathon. What was amazing about her running is that she has never trained for a marathon, so rain or no rain, heat or no heat – she was devoting her free time to pushing herself to train for this marathon. We, on the other hand, can support endurance-free by just making a contribution online.

The 35th American Film Festival of Deauville is not the only gem of Normandy

2009-08-31T18:54:00.006-04:00

The Annual American Film Festival of Deauville

The festival is not new on the festival scene. Since its inception in 1975, it became next to Cannes Film Festival the next festival to be considered for and be seen at.

Even though it takes place in France, it celebrates cinematographic contribution in American film-making, and celebrities from around the world flee to Deauville for a bit of loving, and it does help that Deauville is not just another European location – it’s one of the most glamorous and relaxing seaside resort places with a long-string of beach that, without a hype, is no less beautiful (if not more) than the Croisette beach in Cannes, minus all the overflow of tourists and paparazzi.

(Deauville, 1985)

This annual festival features all kinds of American film achievements in full-feature and short films, with a first award having been presented in 1995, which means that for two decades the festival bore no pressure for the actors and directors to compete, but rather – to mingle, kick back and relax.

(33rd Annual Deauville American Film Festival - The Assassination Of Jesse James Movie Premiere; September 3, 2007. Deauville, France)

Every September (5-14 of September this year) Hollywood stars come to Normandy, where the season for locals and tourists start in May all through October, but not until the film festival starts, the city comes to live and blossom with activities from sunrise to dawn. Champagne starts to flow, hotels book up and casinos fill up with the eager players.

If you are looking to run into a celebrity in the likes of Brad Pitt or George Clooney, make a reservation at Royal Barierre at L’Etrier hotel, known not only for celebrity sighting, but also for its lobsters and ribs. The hotel displays photos of all the celebrities who stayed there throughout the festivals history.

Reaching Deauville at Cheap

(Normandy countryside - happy Normandy cows, the pride of the locals)

Instead of hoping on connecting flights (as no direct flights from USA are offered), fly to Paris and take a car. With only 195 km to go and a 8,80 Euro toll, you’ll reach out Deauville in a mere 2 hours, which is not that bad, considering the fact that you’ll be passing some of the best parts of France. Stop by a local village and inquire about a Normandy specific liquor that is made out of local caramel, which reminds of Bailey’s, only it’s smoother – a true delicious local gem!

(At one of such local spirit stores you can get a local caramel liquor)

For the local map, check here.

Your other alternative is, obviously, to take a train. Leaving from Saint Lazare train terminal, it also takes about 2 hours of an easy ride. (By the way, you can rent a car at the train station as well, check here for more information. For train tickets click here.

Deauville Is the Answer to Cannes

Even though September is not the best month to take advantage of La Manche’s waters, you do have an option to stop by Britain by taking a ferry across the canal. However, if it’s not in your plans, and the time of your visit has limits, take a stroll on the beach, where one of the romantic films of all times was filmed – A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme (1966)):

You can also go horse-riding on the beach, they do offer this option. It’s especially romantic at dawn, and there is just about the right place that offers – rue Reynaldo-Hahn horse-riding school.

The best way to see the city is by a bike, which is not an unlike transportation in European cities (just think of Amsterdam.) By bike you won’t miss local villas in a truly Normandy architectural style, stop by a local city market, open on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday only, or bike to the nearby town – Trouville, a fishing village with bustling quays and equally impressive beach.

Many seashore bistros offer outside seating to sit down for a quick bite of escargot and soupe à l'oignon gratinée and to watch the local bohemian crowd. One of the other local specialties - Boulard Calvados, a brendy, produced in the region Calvados, offers a harmonic blend between the fruit (apple) – because instead of using grapes as in cognac production, they use apples - and the delicate hint of vanilla (wood) and dried fruit with a hint of tannin from the Le Tronçay oak. Its taste is powerful and intense and aged between 10 and 20 years.

(Calvados Boulard)

This Is Not the Time To Diet

French cuisine is known for its exquisite and indulgent in butter dishes, and Normandy cuisine is very rich in its essence as it is. That’s when Calvados comes in the game – a true fetish among the Normandy residents who serve it as an aperitif, or as a side to a desert. There are three Calvados producers in Deauville region, who offer tastings of this absolutely addictive drink - Pere Magloire, Boulard and Lecompte.

Pere Magloire
Pont-l’Eveque, +33 (0)2 31 643031

Calvados Boulard
Coquainvilliers, +33 (0)2 31 626054

Lecompte
Notre Dame de Courson, +33 (0)2 31 482408

And if you think you've spent enough time in Deauville and its suburbs, two other towns worth to see in Normandy are Étretat and Honfleur.

Travel through countries and cultures without leaving home

2009-08-21T18:12:00.003-04:00

With more than 170 foreign embassies, DC is proud of its sophisticated International scene. And I’ve been at least at the seven events organized by International Club of DC, and I’m proud of this organization’s efforts to throw themselves out there on behalf of many international organizations, embassies and clubs to provide both entertaining and cultural events.

Travel through countries and cultures, international foods and customs, and through national costumes and dances. Here are a few events that you might find interesting for end of August and September:

Wednesday, Aug. 26
Ethiopian Cooking Class with Dinner and Dessert:
Take an exotic journey to Ethiopia to discover traditional Ethiopian cooking methods including homemade blends of spices, slow stewing methods and authentic ingredients. All dishes served for dinner will be served with "injera," a flat bread made of "Teff", a fine grain unique to Ethiopia. Included in this demonstration cooking class will be the famous Ethiopian coffee service, a real treat!

Tickets for the cooking class with dinner and dessert: $49. Scroll down to online reservation.

Thursday, Aug. 27
An Evening in Germany:
Travel to Germany for a reception and photo exhibit of young German photographers. The International Club of DC invites you to join it after work for an evening of friendly company as we travel to Germany to commemorate the nine winners of the German completion for graduate photography students. The evening starts with a reception of appetizers, wine, and German beer served at the cash bar.

You will have the opportunity to meet and socialize with Germans in town as well as and other internationally-minded professionals in town.

Tickets: $15 and includes light appetizers. Scroll down to online reservation.

Friday, Aug. 28
An Evening in Bahrain: Ramdan Celebration
Travel to Kingdom of Bahrain to experience Ramadan Celebration, music, photos, and traditional attire from Bahrain.

The International Club of DC, with the cooperation of the Embassy of Kingdom Bahrain cordially requests the pleasure of your company for an enchanting evening of music, culture, art, and cuisine at the Embassy of Kingdom of Bahrain. This is a wonderful opportunity to discover Kingdom of Bahrain through all your senses.

The evening begins with a short presentation about Celebrating Ramadan as well as Kingdom of Bahrain culture, geography, trade, and tourism. Afterwards enjoy wonderful celebration of Bahraini music with outstanding artists Shawkat Sayyad. After the concert you will be invited to feast on a buffet of traditional Bahrain delicacies prepared by the embassy chef. The evening also provides you with the opportunity to meet diplomatic personnel at the embassy as well as International Club of DC members in attendance. Please reserve your tickets soon, as space is limited. Scroll down to online reservation.

Saturday, Sept. 5
Mimosa's in Paris with Chanel:
Breakfast and 2009 Fall Fashion Seminar at the Tyson's Saks Fifth Avenue. Just in time for the fall, the International Club of DC is pleased to present to you a fashion seminar at Saks Fifth Avenue featuring the hottest looks for 2009.

Your afternoon starts with a continental breakfast with mimosas and the opportunity to meet other fashionable ICDC members. Afterwards, let us take you on a journey to Paris where you will discover color and fashion that is a part of Channel's upcoming fall lineup.

They conclude the afternoon with a Q&A session and you will take home a special gift bag from Saks Fifth Avenue. Space is limited to only 25 attendees. Please reserve your tickets soon, as the event is expected to sell out.

Tickets: $35. Scroll down to online reservation.

Saturday, Sept. 12
Discover Treasures of Russian Ballet:
The Russian Cultural Center present art show "Ballet: Color in Motion," an exhibition of the work of Moscow photographer Yury Barykin, accompanied with wine and hors d'oeuvres.

The evening starts with warm and friendly reception with Russian caviar, spirits, and champagne served at the cash bar along with hors d'oeuvres. Conclude your evening enjoying the company of other attendees and relaxing amidst Russian art and culture.

Come alone or bring your friends for a friendly soiree of Russian cuisine, art, and culture.

Tickets: $15. Scroll down to online reservation.

Wednesday, Sept. 16
Lebanese Taverna Hands-on Cooking class with reception and dinner with wine:
This hands-on cooking class at Lebanese Taverna completes with a brief reception at the beginning and dinner with wine after the lesson.

Would you like to recreate your favorite Lebanese Taverna dish at home? Whether you are a recreational chef or a beginner, join in on the fun and learn from the Chef at Lebanese Taverna.

Scroll down to online reservation.

Thursday, Sept. 17
Dinner Reception at the Royal Norwegian Ambassador's Residence:
Come to celebrate Norwegian architecture, music, culture, art, and cuisine at the residence of the Ambassador of Norway. This is a rare opportunity to meet the Ambassador, as well as enjoy traditional food and drinks from Norway.

You will also have the opportunity to learn about Norway, its people, geography, history, and culture. The evening begins with welcome remarks by the Ambassador about Norway's culture, geography, trade, and tourism. Afterwards, we will present a tribute to Norwegian architecture: "From Nature to Ecology: Norwegian Architecture Now" by Peter MacKeith. Afterwards you will be invited to feast on a buffet of traditional Norwegian's delicacies prepared by the ambassador's chef along with wine served at the open bar.

Scroll down to online reservation.

Sunday, Sept. 20
Indian cooking class with lunch and dessert at Georgetown:
Join your ICDC friends for an Indian cooking class followed by lunch at one of the most celebrated Indian restaurants in town. Learn about exotic spices and discover how you can prepare an Indian meal at your own home.

Following the cooking class, enjoy an Indian lunch while enjoying the company of other attendees.

Go to ICDC to reserve your tickets.

Virgin America's personal approach to targeting its audience via social media

2009-08-18T15:28:00.001-04:00

This is not new, if you’ve at least once flew Virgin America, most likely you were left very satisfied with the experience – on-board entertainment, right there and in front of you to choose from many TV shows, series, movies and newest movies-on-demand; on-board healthy choices of foods (and not as expensive as you’d expect from an airline), friendly staff, clean and enough of leg room, as well as personal ‘concierge’ service not only in business, but in economy class when with a press of a button on the screen one can select food and drink up to one’s taste (e.g. a tea with/without sugar, with/without lemon…)

But this time Virgin America took a step further – with personalized emails that give flight deals with a bit of a personal touch. One can Tweet, Facebook and YouTube Virgin America flight deals. Way to go in social media marketing for the airlines!

So, here is a snapshot of an email - a picture speaks a thousand words. Three words to describe this marketing effort – appropriate, effective and spreadable. And you don’t even have to leave your email inbox to pick, book and pay for the flight.

What do you think? Let's talk about it.

Vacation like a star? Ask Virginia Holidays

2009-08-18T15:25:00.002-04:00

One of the popular British tour operators “Virginia Holidays” introduced its new services – “Vacation Like a Celebrity.”

If you’ve ever wondered how celebrities vacation, what services they receive, how their hotel rooms look, and what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner – wonder no more. Virginia Holidays offers to play it all out for you so that for a day, two or a few you’d feel like - what’s that hot British power couple’s name again – David and Victoria Bekham.

(Photo: Jonathan Hodie, Rox Features; fotobank.com)

In its series of promotions for this beyond-the-luxury new tour accommodation, the tour group used doubles of David and Victoria Bekham and also a woman who looked very much like Kylie Minogue. However, the other props – such as Louis Vuitton accessories (such as travel suitcases), autos and hallways of hotels – these are all authentic.

(Photo: Jonathan Hodie, Rox Features; fotobank.com)

Virgin Holidays has become the UK’s leading scheduled tour operator to the Caribbean and the USA. It offers an extensive holiday programme across the world with comprehensive brochures throughout USA, Canada, the Caribbean (St Lucia, Antigua, Barbados and other Caribbean islands), the Far East, South Africa, the Middle East, Indian Ocean, Mauritius, New Zealand and Australia.

You can call them directly at 0808-178-5250 to find out about your destination.

A worldwide product, the tour operator now takes more than 400,000 customers on holiday each year and consistently receives a stream of awards throughout the industry.

A girl's weekend in New York

2009-08-17T18:02:00.003-04:00

While most of the New Yorkers go away to countryside or beach, visitors come to the Big Apple, not minding the 90-degree heat. It's not easy to be in New York during summer, nevertheless, it's one of the most exciting seasons to visit - open cafes and bars, parks and fountains, and European leather goods sales.

To and From New York by Bus

Take a bus to New York, serviced by Bolt and MegaBus from most big East Coast cities, such as Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, DC. Arrive in style with a little bit of sweat from all the standing in the lane to load the bus under direct sun, and carrying your weekend attire (including your New York stilettos.) Ticket prices range from $12.00 to $25.00, but some serious in-advance planners score one-dollar tickets on Megabus, or at least that's what I hear. Urban legend? I'll never know because I, personally, more of one-day-before-I-have-to-leave kind of planner when it comes to traveling locally.

New York Places and Walks

Make sure your boyfriend booked a nice hotel in the city, such as W Hotel Union Square on Union Square - in our case. Take a shower and head to Noodle Republic, a local Asian fusion spot right next to infamous Coffee Shop (open 24/7). A wide array of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes to choose from - opt for glass noodles with chicken and organic beet/carrot juice if sitting outside (only eight tables available for outside seating) or a bowl of beef noodle soup, if seating inside. Enjoy a rather alive crowd of the regulars at this spot that is sometimes overlooked by the guidebooks, but that would never go out of business as on any day, they are full. The turnover of people is fast, but the service is friendly and they never hurry you out of the restaurant - just kick back, relax and people watch all you want.

(Beef Satay, another delicious dish, and only $7)

Then head down the University Place towards Soho and lower west side for shopping and more people watch. New York University's many departments and dorms occupy the area, along with many unique boutiques, shops, eateries and bars - not to mention ice-cream and frozen yogurt parlors.

Farmer's Market on Union Square is at full action on Saturday, pretty much through 5 or 6:00 p.m., and offers a wide array of vegetables, fruits, baked goodies and home-made home-squeezed lemonade. Many locals would browse through, and it doesn't matter if they live in Queens or Brooklyn - the farmer's market offers organic foods that you won't find at many local grocery stores; and it wont' be that fresh and organic any way.

Street artists, along with homeless and freaks, occupy the south side of the park, sometimes taking it as far as protesting for various agendas.

(Union Square, a view from the top)

In and around Thompson Street, there are many steps to sit at and gaze at people walking by, as well as many cafes and bars where a cold beer won't hurt on a 90-degree New York heat.

Night on New York

At night, opt for Sway Lounge, which is not bearing the name Sway from outside, but rather McGovern Bar - go figure, but a local would know that once inside, DJ spins a mix of 80's and 00's, from Michael Jackson's Billy Jean to Lady GaGa's Just Dance while you sip a cocktail on one of the red plush couches the Moroccan style.

For dinner (a special occasion, I might add) our friends picked Kittichai, an Asian fusion restaurant on 60 Thompson. And even though we've already had our share of Asian fusion food during lunch, we agreed to the place as we had no other choice but agree. The place is very dark inside, romantic, but it takes a while to make sense out of the menu as it's very dark to read it. Floating candles in a little pond-aquarium in the middle of the floor is a nice touch, but I can't say the same about the prices. Overpriced small dishes are tasty, but too small to really enjoy. This is how three couples ended up paying $200 per couple for a small appetizer, a small main dish, two deserts split between six people, and a couple of signature drinks. (Although, my Baked Chilean Sea Bass marinated in salted yellow beans was pretty good.) But that's "New York". Surprised to see full restaurant, I thought hard about the current state of the recession. Is it really happening? If so, then people are still willing to pay big bucks to fill out their tummies. This - on top of an apartment rental that takes up to 70 percent of one's pay check. Go, figure.

(Coffee Shop at Union Square, open 24/7. Burgers never looked so good at 3 a.m.)

Sunday Brunch and More Walks

On Sunday, there is nothing like a long brunch with friends at a local place where they serve specials and $3 Mimosas and Bloody Marys. Egg Benedicts over crabcakes with homemade frittes is a working recipe for a hang-over! Try Jack Bistro on 11th and University Place. We, former New Y ork residents, were pretty happy to pick a local spot for our friends, although on any given name I'd opt for a local bagel shop - New York bagels are out of this world!

If you only have a weekend of New York time, intermixed with times spent over beer, wine and food with friends out of town, then opt to stay in the nearby area (unless it's Harlem), and invest the most of time walking around the nearby neighborhoods, which in our case were Lower East Side, Lower West Side, Soho, Noho, and Union Square.

(Soho, NYC)

Local Entertainment and Bibliofilia

Got a few extra bucks, stop by the Strand Bookstore around the corner from Union Square (on the corner of 12th and Broadway), a huge warehouse of books of all your soul and mind wants and cheaper than anywhere else, including Amazon.com. My buys this time were Secret by Rhonda Byrne and one of many Sigmund Freud's genuis books. And if you are, like many (including myself) who just saw Julie & Julia movie about Julia Child, a woman who brought French cooking to American housewives, then you are out of luck. Last week - they had the first masterpiece by Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, this week - they're out of stock, as many other stores. Though, Amazon still has a few left, but who would pay $299.99 dollars for a two-volume cookbook? Definitely, not me. At least - not now. I'll wait till the buzz dies out.

My other favorite section in the store is, of course, travel. A few months ago I stumbled over a rare book A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union picture book with photos of the Soviet times that I remember so well, and which images are still so dear to me - from uniform school pupils to the October 7th Red Square parade. And while some of the images are long gone with the Moscow's Putch in 1991, some of the images still pertain to today's life in Russia, such as ice-cream parlors operated by Russian women in white robes. This book is available on Amazon, and Strand Bookstore still hold one copy of the book (as of August 15, 2009.)

A Very Local New York Treat

Of course, a stay in New York would not have been complete if I haven't had at least a bag of street roasted sweet nuts. These, along with New York street pretzels and hot dogs, would never go away. At least not until people like me stop buying them two bags at a time. My favorite locations for "nuts vendors" are Soho (on the corner of Prince and Broadway), Union Square (on the Corner of 13th and University Place), and Midtown East (on the corner of Lexington Ave and 60th). The criteria by which I rate "best nuts vendor" in New York is simple - the nuts should be fresh, crispy (not chewy), and the bags should be filled up (not just some lazy 8 nuts in the bag.) $2.50 a bag - and I guarantee you are coming back for them next time!

(New York 'Nuts' street vendors)

Bus Tips To and From New York

A few tips you might want to know for taking the bus to / from New York:

1. Make sure you print out the confirmation number, which is your ticket to get on bus;

2. Make sure you get to the bus pick-up location at least 30 min. in advance as the lines of passengers form quickly, and with many buses leaving for different locations - you want to make sure you are standing in the right lane, with a confirmation number (either text it to your phone, or email it to yourself when using iPhone, print it out, or write it down if you can't print it out;)

3. And if you show up earlier and there is a free seat on the bus, you might be lucky to leave on an early bus. And lastly - have some food and drink with you, as a 4 hour ride might turn into six hours (you can't never predict the traffic to and from New York.)

You still have a few summer-ly weekends to visit New York. Drop me a line if you'd like me to help you plan it.

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