A Traveler Doesn't Do A Place --- Can you Do Florence and Be Done with It? No, You Discover and Experience Great Places Again and Again

I cringe when I hear someone say "Oh I've done Rome or I've done London."

But it was only a few weeks ago that someone said to me as I was effusing on Florence...."Oh I've done Florence"....and I finally stopped short and looked straight into her nonchalant eyes and asked what that meant.

"You know I've seen David, the Uffizi.."

I thought for a moment.....well David was a good answer....seeing David in Florence is a very defining moment...a moment a true traveler never forgets.  When I first went to Florence I wandered endlessly around David gawking at his magnificence from every angle...and still I think of that moment when I first caught a glimpse of him with the awe of a child first seeing a snowflake.  The Uffizi wasn't a bad answer either...I thought...as I recalled climbing its magnificent staircase and floating from room to room marveling at the original Botticelli's Birth of Venus, the one I'd seen duplicated everywhere, gaping at the DaVinci's, roaming the Uffizi's sculpture galleries and, from it's windows, beholding one of the most incredible and recognizable sights in the world -- the view of the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio with the fading backdrop of the rooftops of Florence.  Ah perspective!

But doing Florence...is Florence ever done?  Couldn't it's Renaissance streets be wandered for endless hours.  What about the food markets with redder than red tomatoes, more varieties of pasta than I've ever seen anywhere, and the luscious looking meats. And shopping -- window along Tournabuoni and then discovering little shops everywhere with amazing things like incredible paper and leather concoctions and perfumes.  And oh let's not forget the food...and wine.  Tiny little cafes, gelato shops, pizzerias, wine bars abounding.  One night a cheap pizza in a cute bar in the Oltrano on the other size of the Arno....another time, a dish of unspeakable pasta in little cafe on a back street near the Medici Chapels just visited, and then of course, a Florentine steak, reminiscent of the "Old 96er" that  John Candy devoured in the "Great Outdoors" only I am certain much, much better, at one of the many impeccably designed, chique ristoranti.

And Florence has neighborhoods and piazza after piazza with their own distinct charms and interests.   Of course, I personally could explore the art of Florence forever...in its countless churches and tucked away in unexpected places, and the city itself -- a work of art.   Specific places to visit...read my blog...I've already covered some...more to come.   But Florence as any great city in the world is more than about places to see, its about exploration, discovery... it's about being somewhere where great people who contributed much to the way we live and enjoy life today walked and lived their lives.

Would Galileo, daVinci, Michelangelo, the Medici, Fra Angelico, Giotto ever have said "Oh, I've done Florence."  Of course, the realities are you may not have the time or money to spend as much physical time in any one place that you might like to...but realize that even if your time is brief...you need to take it in.. absorb it and experience it again and again through reading, film art whatever.....

And please, don't tell me that you've done Florence.  She is never done, I am sure of that.

Meeting Galileo in Florence Italy and Sarasota Florida

Four Hundred years after,  we were in Florence where Galileo first looked through his telescope and discovered the earth was indeed not the center of the Universe.   And it was there when we took up residence at the Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci that we again learned that traveling is as much and maybe more about the intriguing people met as the places visited.

While having a cocktail on the hotel's pleasant terrace overlooking the domes of Florence, we fell into a conversation with a couple who we learned were staying in Florence for a very targeted reason --- the gentleman was studying for a role as Galileo in an upcoming theatrical production.   Now that production is in its final week at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in  Sarasota, Florida.   "The Life of Galileo" has been lauded in the local press in Florida as well as in the national press .  In fact, Paul Whitworth, the actor playing Galileo, has been noted  as "brilliant"  in the role and "as making you feel the sense of discovery Galileo must have felt".

This was no surprise to us. When we met Paul in Florence he was consumed by the historical figure he currently portrays.  In the mornings during his stay in Florence,  he accompanied Galileo through the same cloisters, where the great scientist could have roamed, repeating over and over again words that Galileo himself might have said.  It was from the actor who visited it many times that we learned about the Galileo exhibit that was then taking place at the Palazzo Strozzi right down the street from our hotel.  It was marvelous and renewed our interest in the physicist whose discoveries unbalanced the Church of Rome.

While the exhibit is no longer at the Palazzo Strozzi much of the Galileo ephemera that was the core of it can be viewed at the Science Museum one block east of the Uffizi Gallery on the Arno River.   The museum displays Galileo's telescopes (the ones he created based on a model in Holland by putting two magnifying glasses together in a tube), compasses and the like, and one real oddity -- his finger preserved in a jar.   Galileo, we learned from the exhibition, was the first human being to see the moons of Jupiter, which supported the Copernican theory of the universe causing Galileo to fall into disfavor with the Catholic Church.

It was also Paul who urged us to visit Galileo's tomb in the Santa Croce Church.  The remains of hundreds of famous Florentines ended up under the floors or behind the walls of the Church. Among them is the tomb of Galileo.   His tomb is the huge ornamental structure  on the left as you enter San Croce.  

Months after Florence, we were reunited with Paul who again brought Galileo to life for us through his exceptional portrayal of the scientist in Brecht's play.   I was brought back first to the terrace in Florence where we first met Paul and then to the cloisters of San Croce as Paul disappeared and Galileo emerged.  After the play I got to thank Paul for bringing us to Galileo  through the sites in Florence and ultimately on the Asolo Stage in Sarasota.   

"Young Victoria" draws a traveler to reconnect with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London

The new film "The Young Victoria," in which Emily Blunt brings to life the woman who eventually is symbolic with an age that has continued to influence style and design to this day, is a must-view for travel enthusiasts on many levels. Victoria's long reign and prodigy, nine children and forty-two grandchildren, all married into the courts of Europe, created an impact on the world we know and travel in that world which makes knowing a bit more about her imperative for the discerning traveler.

After watching the film I was reminded of one of my favorite museums -- a legacy that Victoria and Albert gave to London and the world-- and free to visit. Unfortunately, the V & A is not typically on the "top" lists created by tour guide writers because London is so chock full of historic sites and places to visit for the whiz-through tourist. But for the more seasoned traveler or second/third time visitor, the Victoria and Albert is definitely worth scheduling some time. It is also a place to explore a particular interest in conjunction with your trip.

Perhaps one of the greatest collections of artifacts of art and design, the Museum houses over 3000 years of items from cultures throughout the world including extensive holdings in architecture, ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, metalwork, painting, photography, sculpture and textiles.

Highlights of the museum of interest to the travel enthusiast include the Architecture gallery featuring selections from collections of drawings, models, photographs and fragments exploring comparative building strategies from around the world and changing styles. The V&A also owns the most comprehensive collection of ceramics in the world, and is current redisplaying for the first time in 100 years the collection spanning from early Chinese pottery dated 3500 BC to contemporary ceramic art. Incorporating a workshop area where pottery techniques are demonstrated, the new ceramic galleries also allow visitors to make and decorate their own ceramics.

Not to be missed is the fashion and jewelry collection which covers dress from the 17th century to the present day and over 3500 jewels reflecting the splendor of courtly life -- a highlight of which are diamonds worn by Catherine the Great of Russia and tiaras worn the Empress Josephine. The V&A's collection of stained glass spanning periods from 1140 through 1960 is particularly strong in medieval and Renaissance church art. Also demonstrating the focus on this period, the museum's new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries opened in December of 2009 to include Gothic altarpieces, notebooks of Da Vinci and sculpture of many Italian Masters.

Part of coming to London is the theatre experience, and a V&A visit is a great adjunct to a theatrically themed journey. The V&A's Theatre Collections hold the UK's national collection on live performance spanning from Shakespeare's time through today including art, costumes, video recordings, posters, puppets and photographs, theatre programs and other ephemera. Among the Theatre Collection's highlights are over 3500 stage costumes and accessories from the mid-18th century onwards.

In addition to displays from permanent collection, the V&A runs programs of changing exhibitions and displays. Admission , as noted above is free, with some special exhibitions having a separate charge. Open from 10 till 5:45 PM daily, selected galleries remain open until late on the last Friday of the month. This is a fun time to go to have a glass of wine, attend a concert or special gallery talk. Check the schedule at events.

Disney for Adults - A Mini-Trip around the World at Epcot

While the real trip I would have liked to begin 2010 with wasn't going to happen just now, a miniaturized version was within reach. Where else on the planet could I from one vantage point gaze at what at least appeared to be Paris, London, Venice, and Tokyo -- Epcot.

While frequently passing by on the way to somewhere else, I hadn't been to Epcot in quite awhile. But it didn't take me long to figure out that it was a great destination for grown-ups. While some travel writers find the Worlds of Disney cloying or at least in one writer's case downright "frightening," I still find them delightful. Perhaps because Disney was the first to whisk me away on a magic carpet ride to unfamiliar turf. Whatever, Disney's lands still draw me again and again whether child in hand or as it was this time child in heart.

There was much more to do at Epcot than the time we had alloted to be there permitted. In addition to the World Showcase, our focus the day we visited, there is also Future World. Lines from Mission: Space told the story --- this was something to get a FastPass for next time around. I'm also told that Soarin is a not-to-miss attraction for kids and adults. But I guess that depends on how much exhilaration you are looking for.

But it's the World Showcase that is the real adult draw -- a great place to spend a morning through lunch, or an afternoon through early evening. Some of the pluses: great exercise as you walk around the Lake with lots of eye-candy to distract you from the fact you are working-out, lots of good adult entertainment, shopping opportunities and attractions/shows.

The day we were there we breezed through Canada and caught a Celtic Rock Band, with a lead singer who resembled a younger Mel Gibson, that was quite good in Canada. Canada also has a Circle Vision film that we passed on this time.

Past Canada, the Rose & Crown Pub is available to quench your thirst in the United Kingdom. Then it's a short stroll to France for a large circular-screen film that brings you into the French countryside for a peak at castles, small French towns, Churches, vineyards and more. And while you're in France there are several dining opportunities including a tempting Boulangerie Patisserie.

We moved onto for a quick flight through Morocco because we were getting hungry and sushi was on the menu in Japan. There are three dining choices in Japan, one with teppanyaki, one a yakitori house and the other a more formal restaurant, Tokyo Dining, which we chose for lunch. While waiting for our buzzer to go off, we watched a performance of Epcot's Taiko Drummers -- amazing.






Following lunch we stopped at the American Adventure -- a quick tour through American history with the use of film, animation and animatronics -- well worth the time. Then as time was getting short we sped through Italy, quickly checked out Oktoberfest in Germany, which looked worthy of a return visit at a later time, and passed by China with a Circle-Vision film that we had to miss this time.

Two boat rides ended our day. Norway has a short boat voyage that draws crowds and Mexico's Gran Fiesta Tour is an entertaining diversion after the long walk around the world.

Epcot is definitely worth putting on your agenda if you are planning a trip to Florida or live anywhere in the southeast US and are looking for a weekend getaway. Plan to go, as we will next time, during one of Epcot's major events:

Flower and Garden Festival -- March 3 through May 16.

International Food and Wine Festival -- September 25 through November 8.

Holidays Around the World -- November 27 through December 30.

Other tips for adults:

1. Plan ahead -- check out Disney Epcot's website and decide what you would like to do. Find out what shows and special events are available on the day(s) you want to visit.
2. Use Fastpass for popular attraction. You insert your park ticket into the Fastpass kiosk and receive a ticket with a return time, so you can come back with no wait.
3. If you buy items during your walk around, consider having your packages delivered to the Package Pickup at the Gift Shop at the Main Entrance.
4. Taking pup, there is a kennel located near the Main Entrance.
5. If you want to break up your visit, you can go early in the morning and return later in the day as long as you retain your ticket.
6. Some restaurants in the park are worth reserving in advance: Call 407-939-3463.

Some Common Sense with respect to Travel Security -- It's Not A Joke

Like other travelers I have dutifully removed my shoes , undergone being frisked by security personnel, put items from my purse in a plastic bag to be screened, removed my overcoat, jacket, jewelry etc., and placed it on belt, etc. etc.  And in doing so truly believed at some level that we were being made secure.  That all this inconvenience and depersonalization was worth it.  We were safe.

But when a man got on a plane the other day in the Netherlands and flew to the United States with the ability to blow a hole in the door of the plane with explosive material he carried with him,  the illusion of safety on a plane evaporated.  Moreover, the solutions the TSA has presented as further ways to protect flyers has finally tipped the patience of most travelers. While up until now, travelers have dealt with the added regulations with some forebearance, their tolerance has dried up with respect to the additional rules, which seem not only inconvenient and troublesome, but downright silly.

It hasn't taken some of the humor  tweeps long to make comments like:

@antderosa
New TSA regulation requires passengers must hold breath for the final hour of flight while humming “kumbaya”

@badbanana

I sure hope these incidents don’t hold up my wire transfer from Nigeria.

@petrillic
“TSA - Protecting you from yesterday, tomorrow.” #tsaslogans

@wilw
It’s only a matter of time before the TSA decides that passengers simply will not be permitted to board airplanes. You know, for safety.

@AlisonSWellner

I’m personally looking forward to spending the last hour of a flight glaring suspiciously at my fellow

What troubles me in the humor of this is that it's really not funny.  I am traveler.  I want to travel a lot.  I don't want to afraid to get on a plane.  I am willing to do whatever is reasonable to be made safe on my journeys. But I also, like most people,  have common sense.  And I know a pilot's refraining from telling me we are now flying over the Rockies or the Statue of Liberty isn't going to add to my safety.  I am fearful that new knee-jerk regulations will actually cause travelers to be more lax, and make it more difficult for airline personnel to manage basic safety.


I want to believe that many of the regulations that have been put in place have made travel safer. But I also know logically that the key is not enacting more rules about what can be done or not done on a plane.  It's keeping dangerous individuals off  planes to begin with. The individual who recently tried to set off an explosion on the Delta flight had been flagged by his own parent as a possible terrorist.   Why wouldn't he have been more closely scrutinized?  We, as travelers, have to insist that our government agencies develop better ways for screening potential threats and keeping them off planes instead of coming up with rules that just don't make sense.

.. Category: travel issue

The Algonquin - New York's Historic Grand Dame and First Hotel to Welcome Solo Women Travelers

On an afternoon in 1919 Edna Ferber, the novelist, arrived at the Algonquin Hotel in a new suit not unlike the one composer Noel Coward was wearing that day. "You look almost like a man," Noel said to her, "So do you," Ferber quickly retorted.

That story, among the many that tumble through the history of what is claimed to be New York's oldest operating hotel, makes for part of a legend that continues to draw bibliophiles, art and history lovers, and connoisseurs who know what makes life good.

Among the many gems that dot the hotel's quirky past include the follow factoids:

• William Faulkner wrote his 1950 Nobel Prize speech in a suite there


• The Oak Room in the Algonquin launched the careers of Harry Connick, Jr, Diana Krall, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Finestein and many others


• Lerner and Lowe are said to have written My Fair Lady in Lerner's suite at the Algonquin


• Harold Ross secured funding for the New Yorker Magazine at the hotel from a fellow poker player


• Contrary to popular myth, Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and their fellow Round Table members never drank at the Round Table because it was Prohibition


• The Algonquin is the home of the $10,000 martini. It comes with a piece of ice -- a diamond from the in-house jeweler


• The Algonquin was the first leading New York hotel to welcome ladies traveling alone

The Algonquin, opened its Beaux- Arts-inspired main structure in 1902, three-years later adding a cafe and restaurant through a conversion of the nineteenth century stable next door. Throughout its history, it has remained a place to gather, starting with the group that gathered there first and immortalized themselves and the Hotel, the "Round Table, " headed up by regulars Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Robert E. Sherwood. The marketing genius behind molding a hotel into more than a building with rooms was Frank Case, who in 1919 treated a group of young, low-paid, albeit talented writers to free celery and popovers and provided them with their own table and waiter, guaranteeing their daily return. An experiential enterprise was born. These influential people exchanged ideas and gossip that found its way into the New York papers of the day and created a cache that helped draw renowned personalities from throughout the world to the hotel's rooms and dining facilities for years to come.

The Rose Room, which was the hotel's original main dining room and the restaurant where the original Round Table met was lost to lobby expansion in 1998 during a major renovation of the hotel. But the Round Table remains as the Round Table Restaurant at the rear of the lobby of the hotel. Overlooking the Table today is the "Vicious Circle," a 2002 painting of the group who brought the Algonquin it's landmark status.

There are tours of the hotel available through Algonquin Walking Tours or just pass through by yourself, and for a real treat have lunch with the "Vicious Circle" at the Round Table. And just maybe you'll get a glimpse of the hotel's special guest -- the Algonquin Cat. From the 1930s, one furry traveler has been chosen for this unique position. Female cats have been named Matilda , males, Hamlet, a name insisted upon for the first resident feline by John Barrymore.

Nice Gesture -- Christmas Cards for Recovering Soldiers

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take time to send one to a recovering soldier. Just think how wonderful it will be for these special individuals , who have sacrificed so much, to receive cards from all over the nation. When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

Not to miss -- the Brancacci Chapel and Masaccio part of Florence's Living Art Textbook

Studying art without visiting Florence is like learning to read without a book. Being in Florence is being in a living textbook of art history. At times the amount of beauty and art is so overwhelming that it becomes difficult to focus as you become lost in whirlpool of color, impressions, and texture. That is why it is important if your trip to Italy, and in particularly Florence, is in part to learn about and view the art, and it seems silly to suggest that it wouldn't be, that you decide ahead what art you want to focus on and know the places to find it.

Of course, you will go to the Uffici, but that is a book in it's own right. You may as I did want to explore, in a smaller space, some of the very early Renaissance artists -- the innovators who were the first to start depicting people, not as stiff, flat caricatures, but as living, emotive beings. Masaccio is certainly one of these. And it is because of Masaccio's work there that a little chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence has been well-trodden over centuries by an endless stream of art students, masters and enthusiasts. While gazing at the walls in the Brancacci Chapel, your eyes will see what helped inspire Botticelli, da Vinci, Michelangelo and many others.

We crossed the Arno early in the morning for the short 20-minute pilgrimage through the medieval streets where Masaccio once roamed. We had called the day before for reservations, which are mandatory, and arrived at the Piazza del Carmine about 15 minutes prior to our scheduled appointment. The large, unfinished, stone-faced facade, of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, loomed before us in stark contrast to the dazzling interior of the Chapel, whose entrance is tucked away to the right of the the church.

Prior to visiting the Chapel, we took in the 40-minute film reviewing the history of the church, the chapel and its magnificent frescos. This is well worth the time...the animated view of the panels within the chapel make for a much more enlightened visit of this Renaissance masterpiece.

The Chapel itself is tiny, and for that reason, self-tours are limited to 20 minutes . The works most of which tell the story of St. Peter were created by three artists Masaccio, Masolino and some Filippino Lippi (son of the more famous Filippo Lippo). While all the tableaus are notable, it's the Massaccio frescos that stun, especially if you realize that prior to these creations, the art world was for the most part, flat and emotionless.

You need only study what is viewed by some as the first modern painting, one that places people in a real setting with one station point, the "Tribune Money," to make your trip over the Arno worthwhile. The human beings, Masaccio depicted, using painting techniques novel for the time to create an illusion of three-dimensional space, bring you into the scene. Also, note the painstaking blending of midtones, shadows and highlights to create the flow of the silken garments, important perhaps considering Branacci, Masaccio's patron was a silk merchant. The politics of early 15th century Florence are also reflected in "Tribune Money." A new tax system to help support a war with the duke of Milan was raging, and the story of the painting provided a precedent for the debate on whether the clergy should be taxed.

Below is an outline of the frescos. The red blocks are works by Masaccio, the yellow, Masolino, the purple both Masaccio and Lippi, and the blue Lippi.

1. "Expulsion from Paradise" -- An astonishing depiction of the anguish of the first human beings after being deported from the Garden of Eden.

2. "Tribune Money"

3. "Raising of the Son of Theophilous and the Enthronement of St. Peter"

4. "Saint Peter Healing the Sick with his Shadow"

5. "Saint Peter Baptizing Neophytes"

6. "Distribution of Alms and Death of Ananias"

Florence, Italy tweeps I follow:

arttrav

tuscanycious

katerinafiore

tuscanytourism

discovertuscany

abouttuscany

Little Town of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) continues to welcome Christmas travelers

Since 1741, the little town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has welcomed travelers to the town named after the place where Christ was born. Settled by a group of Moravians, who are now recognized as the oldest organized Protestant denomination in the world, Bethlehem received its name on Christmas Eve of that year when Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Saxony, Germany, visited the new settlement. In a two-room log home that housed both man and beast, the story goes, the Count christened the new community "Bethlehem".

But it wasn’t until almost one hundred years later that the town began to commercialize on its namesake. In 1937, the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce decided to make their town of Bethlehem, whose very name was already so strongly tied to Christmas, the Christmas City for the entire country. And it was on December 7 at a grand ceremony, that Mrs. Marion Brown Grace pulled a large switch to light the new Christmas street lights and a large wooden star beginning a new era for Bethlehem. Today Bethlehem is a Christmas tourist destination with a plethora of holiday activities and purchase opportunities including a Chriskindlmarkt, Follies, pageants, first night celebrations, bus tours and more.

If you plan to go, Christmas City’s website has full details www.christmascity.org
Christmas City also has a tweep: artsquest.

To get there it is noted on the Christmas City website, “If you're travelling with a group of wise men, you can always follow the Star of Bethlehem that sits atop South Mountain.” Or, as they recommend, use the directions found on their web page.

Of course, Bethlehem, PA isn’t the only town in the US that shares this Christmas name. Others can be found in New York, New Hampshire, and Connecticut…and I’m sure that are more tucked away. In fact, most Bethlehems in the states have programs to allow you to mail Christmas Cards postmarked with their name.

It's Christmas Time on the Water...The Best Lighted Boat Parades Across the US

Harbors and rivers are ablaze, with mega-yachts, cruisers, sailboats, kayaks, and other flotables sporting every starry decoration imaginable from Christmas trees to naughty Santas. It's Christmas time on the water. And ever since the first little line of boats with lights strung from their masts set sail, holiday lighted-boat parades have become bigger and more extravagant each year.

With the economy still wobbling, it remains to be seen along the shore whether this year's celebrations will be as spectacular as those in more fiscally robust seasons of past years. However, a quick survey of websites dedicated to the parades indicates that, despite the economic climate, the parades will float on as elaborate as ever (boat owners spending as much as $40,000 to deck the halls of their vessels according to one website).

The waterside Christmas celebrations, most of which start showing up next weekend (the first weekend in December) and continue through the month up until the weekend before Christmas, are usually run by Chambers of Commerce, Yacht Clubs or Visitors Bureaus as a draw for communities on the water to not only the parades, but to local restaurants and shops. For example, the Newport Beach, California parade, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, of this type of spectacle (this year is the 101st parade) attracts millions of viewers each year, many of whom reserve tables at waterfront restaurants. Hey when you can't offer a white Christmas, boats with glistening decorations playing strains of Jingle Bells are a great way to make the holiday merry and bright. And Newport Beach, whose holiday regatta sails between Balboa Island and Pennisula, starts the season right with 5 consecutive days of boat parading beginning December 16.

Not to be outdone, the festival of lights for these boating extravagances often extends to shoreline residences and busineses as well. Creating runways of light for the parades, owners throw large parties where canal or harbor front docks are strung with lights and lawns and lanais bedecked with lighted Santas, reindeers and more. In the tiny waterfront town of Punta Gorda in Southwest Florida, for instance, boat parades wind through a maze of canals passing homes elaborately lighted for the procession.

The historic waterfronts of Alexandria, Virgina and Annapolis, Maryland will also sparkle during this holiday season. Alexandria's 10th regatta of lights which launches this Saturday, December 5, will navigate the Potomac from Washington to Alexandria's dock. Appropriately, Annapolis will welcome Santa from his boat rather than a sleigh the following Saturday.

The big daddy of the Lighted Boat Parades, Fort Lauderdale's Winterfest Parade is an entertainment extravaganza, entitled this year "That's Entertainment." The December 12 show, and it is a show, actually includes what the parade sponsors describe as giant showboats with musicians and dancers. Highlighted features of this year's 38th Annual splash of mega-yachts and more are "Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza Showboat," the Clydey Foundations "Cirque" Floating Finale, and a "Phantom of the Opera" show. This year's grand marshals include celebrities Alonzo Mourning and Kim Kardashian.

Here's a rundown on some of the best upcoming Lighted Boat Parades:

Parade	Dates and Times	More Information
Newport Beach, CA	12/16-12/20 6:30 PM	http://www.christmasboatparade.com/
Punta Gorda, FL	12/5 6-9 PM & 12/19 6 PM	http://youbelonginpuntagorda.blogspot.com/2009/11/punta-gorda-lights-up-harbor-and.html
Annapolis, MD	12/12 6-8 PM	http://www.eastportyc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=32
Fort Lauderdale, FL	12/12 6 PM	http://www.winterfestparade.com/winterfest_schedule_of_events.cfm
Marina Del Ray, CA	12/12 6 PM	http://www.mdrboatparade.org/home.htm
Venice, FL	12/5 6-8 PM	http://www.venicechristmasboatparade.com/
Alexandria, VA	12/5 4-6 PM	http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?AttrID=26951
St. Augustine, FL	12/12 6 PM	http://www.sayc2000.com/R_Blair_Maintained/LightsRegatta_2009.html

Top 5 Airports to get Stranded in over the Holidays

Not that anyone, in particularly me, likes to get stuck in an airport at anytime. Nonetheless, we know if does happen. Therefore, I was intrigued by the list that SeatGuru.com released today -- a list of their Top Five Airports to get stranded in over the holidays. Chosen among other things because of amenities like massage spots, play areas for kids, free WiFI, upscale shopping and dining choices, here they are:

San Francisco International Airport (SFO). SFO's highlights include the famous Boudin's Bakery (and their sourdough bread), upscale shopping at Burberry, Coach and Gucci, XpressSpa services including massages and facials, museum exhibits throughout, shower facilities and a play area for children.

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). Among other offerings, SLC offers free Wi-Fi throughout the airport, views of the Wasatch Mountains, numerous restaurants and has won awards in pollution prevention, recycling and as the best on-time airport for departures in the past. --

Portland International Airport (PDX). Named Nation's Best Airport by Conde Nast Traveler three years in a row, PDX is eco-friendly (new solar panels produce electricity and the Best of Nike store is powered by 75% solar energy), has free Wi-Fi, no sales tax and local restaurants have a strong presence with eateries such as Pizza Schmizza, Rose City Cafe and Laurelwood Brewing Company calling it home. --

McCarran International Airport (LAS) (Las Vegas). In addition to countless slot machines, LAS also has aviation museum, massage locations, free Wi-Fi, the Jose Cuervo Tequileria, storage lockers to stash belongings, an oxygen bar, hotel souvenir shops, room check in for the MGM Grand and for long delays, it's just 5 miles from the strip. --

Miami International Airport (MIA). At MIA, travelers can get manicures, pedicures, massages and even spray tanning at the JetSetter Spa, view ongoing art exhibitions, enjoy a hair cut at the salon, rent a mobile phone, and for members of the U.S. military, there's an Armed Services center for personnel that serves food and refreshments. There are also 30 dining choices including cuisine from Cuba, the Caribbean, Japan and more.

These all sound good. But, honestly, I am not into pedicures or massages at airports. But here's what I am looking for:

• Better much more comfortable seating... someplace I can dose off if need be -- pod to rent might be nice
• Solid good restaurant choices and healthier food spots
• Places to walk -- get some exercise (I usually walk back and forth across the terminal..but this doesn't always work in crowded airport)
• Some interesting local cultural displays : exhibitions of local art, history
• Shopping, shopping.... shops where I would really want to buy something or need to

(Free WIFI is a given, and I won't even put this one on the list!)