At Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, guests are able to learn the secrets of the skilled and experienced bartenders at the famed Le Bar. Whether it is a simple gin drink or a frozen cocktail, favorite beverages will be demystified. Head barman Yann Daniel organizes cocktail classes available to anyone who is interested two Saturdays each month from noon to 2:30pm. Each class has a specific theme or main liquor that is used in all of the drinks that are made during the session. Upcoming themes are Rum, Gin, Champagne, and Whisky.  The choices are endless, with a mix of classic drinks, like mojitos and cosmos, and inspired in-house cocktails, like the award-winning Park Flower or the sweet and creative lemon pie martini. Executive Chef of Michelin-starred Pur’Grill Jean-François Rouquette personally prepares tapas to accompany the long-awaited tasting of the cocktails. This is a fun and exciting way to learn how to make cocktails and mixed drinks for social events!

An exciting new opportunity from Crystal Cruises! The dedicated ComputerUniversity@sea offers extensive computer classes onboard, and new in September will be state-of-the-art iMac workstations with large – 32 inches! – LED screens, operating on both Windows 7 and Mac OSX 10.6 platforms.  Participants eager for knowledge about new Mac technology can choose from a variety of introductory courses. The classes range from ‘Introduction to Computers using iMac and OS X’ to ‘Processing Photos with iPhoto®’. You will never want to take a computer class on land again!

Over Memorial Day weekend, one of the world’s most anticipated literary festivals, Calabash Literary Festival, took place for the 10th year in a row at Jakes, the seaside retreat located in Treasure Beach on Jamaica’s south coast. The quiet fishing town plays host to the annual festival, which attracted over 2000 guests this year. On a stage decked in coconuts and conch shells, guests were entertained by global literary talents including Nigerian-native Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka and U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. The three-day cultural festival features readings, discussions, reggae music, film screenings and yummy authentic Jamaican cuisine (Jerk chicken! Ackee! Salt fish!)

While out of sight and many miles away, the recent turmoil was not out of mind for the festival-goers as the theme of the necessity of arts in a time of crisis was a consistent thread throughout the weekend. The Wall Street Journal perfectly described the event as “all that’s right about Jamaica”.

The festival takes place annually in May. Check back for more information on the 2011 event!

Florence Nightingale just might be the most famous nurse of all time, but does anyone know how she earned herself the nickname of “The Lady with the Lamp”?  Learn this, and more, at Claydon House in Buckinghamshire where for the first time a selection of Nightingale’s personal papers and memorabilia, including letters and journals, are on display.  Members of the Royal Oak Foundation gain free entry to this exhibit, as well as countless other National Trust properties throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Nightingale is no stranger to the Claydon House, as it was formerly the home of Nightingale’s brother-in-law, Sir Harry Verney. Since May 8, aside from the various photographs and documents available for visitor’s perusal, the National Trust has recreated a sitting room in the house using photographs from Nightingale’s archives, allowing visitors to get a tangible feel for how this fearless female lived.

So why “The Lady with the Lamp?”  Nightingale was given this name during the Crimean War because she often made rounds at night with a lamp in hand, tending wounded soldiers. Nightingale then later helped establish professional nursing as a career by starting the world’s first secular nursing school.

A New Year presents a clean slate for penciling in vacations abroad, but often travelers forget that a trip is also an opportunity to appreciate a foreign culture and support the local businesses.

So lace up those sneakers, swap that hunk of fruitcake for a carrot, and read up on some sound travel resolutions from Ethical Traveler’s Jeff Greenwald. In “Thirteen Tips for the Accidental Ambassador,” Greenwald outlines the secrets to making a positive impact overseas.

One of our favorites? Learn – and respect – the traditions and taboos of your host country! Each culture has its own customs, and they’re often taken very seriously. For example, never pat a Thai child on the head, enter a traditional Brahmin’s kitchen, or refuse a cup of kava in Fiji!

For the full list of rules, click here.

Relive the glory of a 1950s and 1960s American road trip with the latest exhibition “Icons of the Highway” from the National Trust.  Starting January 9, 2010, the Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire (also the location for the filming of Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, and The Other Boleyn Girl) will display images by Dorset-based photographers Tony and Eva Worobiec depicting an era of leisure time in post-war middle class America. 

Members of the Royal Photographic Society and lovers of all things contemporary-artsy, the couple has bound these snapshots and others in the book, Icons of the Highway; A Celebration of Small-Town America.

Plan a trip across the pond for a window into classic Americana: motels touting electric neon signs for weary travelers, flamboyant over-sized automobiles, aluminum Air-Stream caravans, colorful burger shacks, bustling 24-hour diners, and rich red brocaded cinemas of old Hollywood glamour.

Members of the National Trust’s U.S. affiliate – The Royal Oak Foundation – enjoy free admission to the exhibit and the rest of the museum.  Visitors can also branch out to explore the surrounding Lacock Abbey and village – or overnight in the newly-opened holiday cottage at the heart of the sleepy town.

Make sure to dig into your slice of American nostalgia before the exhibit ends on June 27, 2010.

When a city-wide celebration and an amazing deal collide, it’s the recipe for a perfect getaway. From October 25, 2009 to February 28, 2010, the charming Inn on the Alameda becomes even more enticing. In honor of its 24^th year, guests can get the third consecutive night of their stay for just $24! Located in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, but tucked away behind thick adobe walls, the Inn on the Alameda provides the calm we’re always craving, but is just steps from the action. And there’s action to be had this year, as the city is commemorating its 400 year legacy since being declared a Spanish villa in 1610.

The 400th Anniversary events calendar is full of theater productions, live music, history and children’s programs and an arts and lecture series.  Be immersed in the rich heritage of Santa Fe’s Native American, Spanish, European and African-American cultures while staying at a cozy inn that prides itself on capturing this multi-faceted spirit.

Think you have a dating problem??  Think again!!  The Liwa Date Festival is one event where you are sure not to be singled out!  Held annually just outside of the city of Abu Dhabi, the Liwa Date Festival pays homage to this deliciously sticky fruit and the date palm from which it hails.  This year’s festival runs from July 17 to the 26, drawing thousands of farmers, brokers, and date fanatics alike to see the best of this year’s crop in the largest date festival in the United Arab Emirates.  As part of the festivities, 140 couples are expected to be married in a group wedding on Friday, July 24, in the Liwa wedding hall.

If you can’t make it to Abu Dhabi in time to get hitched at this year’s date festival, be sure to check it out next July!  Etihad Airways offers non-stop service from three North American hubs (New York, Chicago, and Toronto), so getting there will be a breeze.  And, be sure to shack up in the most impressive resort on the block….the soon-to-be-opened Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, just a 90-minute drive from the city of Abu Dhabi.  Featuring the ultimate in luxurious desert living accommodations, you’ll definitely want to check it out.  No dates required.

In celebration of Crystal Cruises 20^th Anniversary in 2010, here is a list of the line’s twenty “firsts” that are making over the concept of luxury cruising:

1. Feng Shui spa

2. EcoHangers

3. WALKVESTS® (Walk-On-Water program)

4. Vintage Room

5. Chef Nobu

6. ComputerUniversity @ Sea

7. Technology Concierge

8. MiG jet

9. Running with the Bulls

10. Mixologist

11. Bhutan overland adventure

12. Cleveland Clinic

13. Creative Learning Institute

14. SeaMobile^TM Cellular Service

15. UCLA Center for East-West Medicine partnership

16. Berlitz® language instruction

17. Yamaha keyboard lessons

18. TaylorMade® demos

19. Pillow menu

20. Trans fat-free policy

21. Certified cheese sommeliers

From Tanglewood in the Berkshires to the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, Americans seem to be wild about classical music festivals.  Soaring sonatas just seem to jive with summertime and fireflies and big open spaces.

Switzerland has its own summertime festival, highly acclaimed within Europe.  Indeed, many aficionados see it as the classical music counterpart to Salzburg’s operatic tradition.  This year, the Lucerne Festival in Summer will last from August 12 to September 19, 2009.  The theme is Nature, and it will open with the “cry of nature” of Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony.  The performances are held in what’s known as the KKL, or Culture and Congress Center.  This strikingly modern building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Jean Nouvel, houses some serious acoustics.

The Palace Luzern is where all the maestros (and divas) stay during their festival run.  This grande dame hotel sits on the bank of Lake Lucerne, across from the concert hall, and guests who book the special festival package are whisked over to and from the concert hall by boat.  This passage is a good time to meditate on the green Alps and blue lake.  Perhaps think about jumping in for a morning swim, or maybe taking a sail tomorrow.

How summery.