Jaime Gillin » Travel + Leisure

North Lake Tahoe’s New Look

jaime — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:15:34 +0000

A new Ritz-Carlton and a slew of shops and restaurants are bringing a dose of fresh glamour to this renowned playground.

Surrounded by 18 ski resorts—the densest concentration of slopes anywhere in America—Lake Tahoe is a winter-sports paradise. But despite its abundance of on-mountain thrills, the region has been lacking, somewhat, in off-slope amenities—unless you count the casinos and an all-night bar scene (not to mention attendant bachelor parties) on the lake’s south side. No longer. These days, it’s the northern towns—including Northstar-at-Tahoe and Squaw Valley ski resorts, lakefront Tahoe City, and, farther inland, the vibrant, historic town of Truckee—that have the real energy. Here, a look at the new North Lake Tahoe.

Stay

After much anticipation, the $300 million Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe (doubles from $299) opens this month at the family-friendly Northstar-at-Tahoe resort. The 170-room stone-and-wood lodge has a cavernous 17,000-square-foot spa with earthy treatments, like a crushed pinecone exfoliating scrub and a cedar-oil massage; a buzz-worthy restaurant, Manzanita, where star San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins’s comfort food comes with a French twist (duck meatballs; wine-braised short ribs); and a pampering “mountain valet” who will manage your gear and escort you to the snow. For a more intimate, in-town experience, there’s the three-year-old Cedar House Sport Hotel (doubles from $170), in Truckee, where the 42 rooms are built mostly out of recycled and sustainably harvested wood in an appealing minimalist style, with leather-upholstered platform beds and birch plywood furniture.

Eat and Drink

Twelve miles north of the lake, Truckee resembles a cross between Aspen and a 19th-century railroad town. Built during the boom years of the transcontinental railroad, its two-story wood-and-brick buildings now shelter a surprising number of fantastic restaurants. Before catching the morning lifts, head to Jax at the Tracks (breakfast for two $25), housed in a restored 1940’s dining car; try the aptly named Morning Addiction—layers of hash browns, avocado, bacon, and eggs, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Up the road, the loungelike Drunken Monkey (lunch for two $35) has creative sushi (halibut tempura with chili aioli), Asian tapas (Vietnamese shaking beef; curry mochiko chicken), and 14 types of sake by the glass. In Squaw Valley, home to the 1960 Olympic Winter Games, you’ll find one of North Tahoe’s best restaurants, PlumpJack Café (dinner for two with wine pairing, $120). The café’s new chef, Rick Edge, recently created a series of winemaker dinners, pairing bottles from single northern California wineries with dishes like venison loin and celery root, cocoa, and hibiscus, or seared scallops with roasted chestnuts. If you’re staying in Northstar-at-Tahoe, head to the sultry Baxter’s Bistro & Lounge (drinks for two $18) for artisanal cocktails (try the Alpine Blood Orange Cosmo), house-made charcuterie, and remarkably good live jazz.

Shop

Chic boutiques have also been cropping up in Truckee in recent years. Try Dylan’s Delights, for stylish children’s clothing and toys, and The Pharmacy, an apothecary-like space with tin ceilings and gleaming antique cabinets piled with lacy lingerie, Italian linen sheets, and beauty products from around the world. High Camp Home has luxe cowboy-inspired furniture—just in case you’re in the market for a cowhide-upholstered couch. In the lakeside Tahoe City, Kalifornia Jean Bar stocks dozens of cult denim brands. Head there during Friday happy hour for discount prices and wine tastings—guaranteed to make any jeans fit better. For the latest high-tech skis and outdoor gear, stop in at True North. The store also has a sleek in-house wine and coffee bar where the wine selection changes monthly.

Ski

This season, Squaw Valley celebrates its 60th anniversary with two revamped on-mountain restaurants and new ski and snowboard classes. But the biggest news is at Northstar-at-Tahoe, known for its diverse, beginner-friendly terrain. In the past year, it has unveiled a handful of expanded trails and lifts and North America’s only Burton Snowboard Academy. And the base village—a brand-new $55 million development—has a 9,000-square-foot ice rink and connects to the Ritz-Carlton by an intermountain gondola. The sophisticated après-ski crowd gathers around the fire pit at the Chocolate Bar (drinks for two $20), conveniently located at the base of the high-speed gondola, for spicy hot chocolates, espresso martinis, and a postcard view of the slopes.

T+L’s Guide to Kyoto, Japan

jaime — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:07:54 +0000

Japan’s ancient capital has one foot in the 14th century and the other firmly rooted in the 21st.

While the megalopolis of Tokyo catapults itself into the future, Kyoto—renowned for its temples, shrines, and vibrant geisha culture—has grown cautiously. Two years ago, the government banned rooftop and flashing ads and put a cap on building height to preserve the centuries-old landscape. Now, a surprisingly modern city is emerging as stylish restaurants, shops, and inns pop up in 19th-century machiya, or wooden merchants’ houses. 1. Scene

For a glimpse of the city’s spiritual heritage, head north along the Kamo River to Daitoku-ji, a 685-year-old Zen monastery with 24 temples, and to Okochi-Sanso, the five-acre residential gardens of the late samurai film star Denjiro Okochi. Then fast-forward to the present at the new Iyemon Salon Kyoto, on the lower floors of a kimono company, with a contemporary crafts shop, chic café, and steel-and-glass gallery exhibiting 450-year-old embroidered kimonos. At night, taste rare brews at Sake Bar Yoramu, a low-key bar run by an Israeli expat.

2. Food
The restaurant at Tenryu-ji Temple (lunch for two $60) serves vegetarian meals such as sesame tofu and soup made of dried gourds and sea kelp. Sounds of slurping fill Honke Owariya (lunch for two $38), which has been dishing up handmade soba, udon, and tempura since 1465. If you’re not a guest at the tranquil 208-year-old Kinmata Ryokan (dinner for two $330; doubles from $907, including meals), reserve a table for a seafood kaiseki meal made with ingredients from the nearby Nishiki Market. Check out the envelope-pushing Bassano del Grappa (dinner for two $150), where the sashimi comes with a side of pesto.

3. Rooms
Billed as Kyoto’s first design hotel, Screen (doubles from $482) opened in 2007 with 13 unique rooms: No. 201 has a sexy red, black, and white scheme. Super Potato is one of the designers behind the Hyatt Regency Kyoto (doubles from $415), where 189 rooms have cedar tubs and silk headboards. Hotel Monterey (doubles from $190) has spotless guest rooms near shop-filled Sanjo-dori. Opening in December is Hoshinoya Kyoto (doubles from $625), a 25-room ryokan near the Oigawa River with rice-paper screens and intricate woodwork.

4. Shops
On one of the city’s best shopping streets, Ippodo Tea Company resembles an old-fashioned apothecary, with white-jacketed attendants measuring green tea onto scales. The gallery-like Kyoto Design House sells lacquered bamboo boxes and handwoven silk capes by local designers. At Karacho, 11th-generation craftsman Kenkichi Senda creates woodblock-printed washi paper for temple doors, as well as chic handmade pendant lanterns. And at Eitarouya, tailors stitch men’s overcoats from wool, cotton, silk, and hemp.

Sacred Acts

jaime — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:00:38 +0000

As the pace of change quickens in Bhutan, so do efforts to preserve its centuries-old Buddhist art. Jaime Gross heads into the Himalayas to report.

Driving Bhutan’s single highway, a serpentine road hacked precariously into the side of a mountain and perpetually under repair, is an exercise in nerve. It averages 20 curves per mile, and requires honking before every one to warn the overloaded trucks and grazing cows that lurk around each bend.

More than 70 percent of this tiny Buddhist kingdom is forested, and outside our car window scrolled every possible shade of green: emerald rice paddies, thick jungles of wild marijuana, silver fir trees draped in moss, and misty, wooded hills laced with prayer flags and crowned with fortified monasteries, or dzongs. The local radio station provided the sound track, a strange mix that included a traditional Bhutanese folk song, a reading of the daily national astrology report, and Nelly Furtado’s club hit “Promiscuous.” Farther along the road, in even more-remote areas of this already remote country, we’d encounter ruby-robed monks wearing ubiquitous white iPod earbuds—signs of the kingdom’s recent foray into the globalized world.

I was heading out on a weeklong journey through the monasteries of far eastern Bhutan with Eddie Jose, a conservator of Asian paintings for the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and Tsewang Nidup, our guide. Jose was on a mission to find ancient thangkas—sacred scroll paintings used in Buddhist rituals and meditation—in need of repair. The trip was part of an ambitious five-year project helmed by the Honolulu Academy of Arts, which has spent nearly $2 million assembling “The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan,” the first international show focusing exclusively on Bhutanese sacred art and dance—and the first time many of these works have ever left their homeland. The exhibition will travel to New York’s Rubin Museum of Art in September and includes 65 thangkas restored by Jose and his students.

Rendered in mineral pigments using hair-thin brushes, these richly symbolic, intricate paintings depict Buddhist deities and scenes of religious instruction. Their beauty, believed to be a manifestation of the divine, is said to offer viewers protection, healing, and enlightenment. Their existence, meanwhile, represents to scholars of both religion and art a compelling (and as yet unstudied) history of 1,300 years of Tantric Buddhism. And for a conservator like Jose, they embody a number of technical challenges: many of these scrolls are filled with holes from gnawing rats and insects, damaged by smoke from temple lamps, and creased and torn from centuries of rolling and unrolling.

We were traveling almost as far east as the road would take us—nearly to India—because Guru Rinpoche, the Buddha reincarnate who in the eighth century brought Buddhism to Bhutan, passed through the region on his second missionary trip. Jose reasons that the thangkas in the distant area’s monasteries may be among the country’s oldest—and most vulnerable.

“Bhutan is the last frontier—Tibet is gone; Nepal’s culture is a fusion,” Jose had explained before the trip began. We were in his work studio, a performance hall with orange-and-gold walls, in Thimphu, Bhutan’s booming capital (population: 100,000). Jose, a stout Filipino with a predilection for Hawaiian shirts, has seemingly boundless reserves of energy, which is fortunate considering the daunting project he’s assigned himself: to train eight Bhutanese monks in the art of conserving thangkas over the course of 10 years. All around us, monks were hunched over wooden tables, repairing colorful scroll paintings and stitching silk brocade borders onto them. “Things will change in Bhutan—they already have,” Jose continued. “The best we can do now is to help preserve this heritage and art for future generations.”

Famously cloistered and tentative in its approach to the modern world, Bhutan, sandwiched between China and India in the Himalayas, is in the midst of an unprecedented transition. Foreign visitors were not allowed inside the kingdom’s borders until 1974, but in recent years the doors have opened wider. Television and the Internet arrived in 1999, cell phones in 2003, and luxury tourism in 2004, with the development of the high-style Uma Paro hotel and the first of six properties in Bhutan from Amanresorts founder Adrien Zecha. This past March, the country held its first democratic elections, moving from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one with a parliament.

The man behind Bhutan’s unshuttering—as well as its surprising political shift—is the former king himself, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, whose ambition since his 1974 coronation has been to modernize the country without destroying its cultural heritage. The king’s efforts—which include mandating a national costume, the kimono-like gho and kira—can seem a bit awkward. But consider what is at stake: Bhutan is one of only two countries in Asia that have never been colonized, and today it possesses the world’s purest Tantric Buddhist culture, transmitted unbroken from generation to generation since the eighth century. Bhutan also has no tradition of art conservation—an ominous absence, considering the flood of change at its doorstep.

In preparation for “The Dragon’s Gift,” the Honolulu Academy of Arts also hired Core of Culture, a Chicago-based dance preservation group, to record and archive the country’s Cham (ritual dances), which are, like the thangkas, at risk of disappearing. Karma Tshering, a Bhutanese filmmaker who is helping document the rarest of the dances step-by-step before the dance masters grow too old to perform them, says the project comes not a moment too soon. For him, it’s personal: “When these things are gone, our identity is lost.” Throughout my visit, the people I spoke with described this sense of accelerated loss, as young Cham dancers and would-be monks leave their villages to seek out tourism jobs in the cities, and modern imports—iPods and conservation techniques alike—blow through society for the first time. The future is inscrutable; the past, suddenly precious. There is a new awareness of the value of preservation.

Until recently, sacred objects in Bhutan were simply used until they fell apart, or repainted when they started to fade. The principle of impermanence, after all, is one of the hallmarks of Buddhism. But the prevailing thinking is shifting. In an interview with His Eminence the Tsugla Lopen, the director of a newly formed cultural preservation branch within the central monastic body, I brought up the apparent contradiction between Buddhism’s embrace of transience and conservation’s quest for permanence. The Lopen, a solemn man in saffron robes, suddenly broke into a grin. “Yes,” he said, while an assistant translated. “If we went strictly by the doctrines, we would let the thangkas deteriorate. But we are clinging to them for the sanctity of all beings—and that is central to Buddhism, too.” He takes a similarly pragmatic approach to the exhibition, which will send some of his country’s most sacred objects around the world for two years. The more people who see them the better, the Lopen believes. But in order to ensure that the objects retain their sacredness, three monks will accompany the exhibition to each city and bless the works every day.

We arrived at Trashigang Dzong, a 17th-century fortress and monastery set high on a cliff above two rivers, after three days on the road. The head lama greeted us in his office, then led us up and down a labyrinth of ladders and dark hallways to the main temple. We sat cross-legged in the dim and incense-filled room as a parade of young monks presented the temple’s 90 thangkas.

There were gold-leafed paintings of the Wheel of Life, images of wild-eyed, wrathful deities dancing on naked corpses, and depictions of serene green taras, the goddesses of universal compassion. With every reveal came gasps—at either the beauty of the work or the depth of the damage (some were literally in shreds). Unnerved by the monks’ rough handling, Jose demonstrated the gentlest way to roll a thangka: Grasp the silk border and keep steady pressure as you roll, taking care to smooth the wrinkles in the silk covering.

The daylight was fading, more lamps were lit, and yak-butter tea was brought around. This ancient temple had cell-phone reception. Its monks likely had e-mail addresses. And yet the modern world felt very, very far away.

Facts: Bhutan

It’s not as difficult to travel to Bhutan as you may think. A registered Bhutanese tour guide can handle all the details, securing the required visa and permits, booking your flight (on Druk Air, the country’s only airline, from Bangkok, Calcutta, Kathmandu, or Delhi), and arranging for payment of the $220 daily minimum tourist fee, which includes basic accommodations, meals, and all transportation. (You’ll pay a premium to stay at one of Bhutan’s new luxury hotels, including the six Amans, Uma Paro, or the new Taj in Thimphu.) You won’t find a more reliable, knowledgeable, or enthusiastic guide to Bhutan than Tsewang Nidrup of Bhutan Expeditions (bhutan-expeditions.com.bt; 97-5/232-6266).

Exhibition Info

“The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan” will be at the Honolulu Academy of Arts through May 23, 2008. Future venues include the Rubin Museum of Art in New York (September 18 to January 5, 2009) and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (February to May, 2009).

Cham Etiquette

If you can’t time your visit to coincide with one of Bhutan’s many annual tsechus (festivals featuring cham, or ritual dances), you can ask your guide to arrange for a demonstration performance at the Royal Academy of Performing Arts in Thimphu. Remember that the Bhutanese do not consider cham or tsechus entertainment. “Generally, they’re religious experiences to be witnessed once a year,” says Karma Tshering, the Bhutanese filmmaker helping document ritual dances for Core of Culture. “The masked dancer is not seen as an entertainer, but as a deity in a state of meditation, there to bless the crowd.” Therefore, it is important for visitors to stay off the ritual dance area, usually a stone or dirt courtyard, which is considered sacred. Also, always ask permission to take photos; if it is granted, stand behind the seated Bhutanese, not in front of or among them.

Stockholm on $250 a Day

jaime — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:19:03 +0000

Stockholm has a reputation for being one of Europe’s most expensive cities. T+L hits the streets of the fashionable capital and proves otherwise.

9:00 A.M.

I plot my day over a complimentary breakfast of homemade yogurt and knäckebröd (crispy bread) at Hotel Anno 1647 (3 Mariagränd; 46-8/442-1680; anno1647.se), housed in a former tobacco and clothing factory in the hip island neighborhood of Södermalm. My room ($170), No. 21, is small and peaceful, with rustic pine floors, an antique crystal chandelier, and, thankfully, blackout drapes—essential in a city that gets 18 hours of sunlight a day in the summer.

10:00 A.M.

The hotel is around the corner from Götgatan, one of Stockholm’s most seductive shopping strips. Though it feels a little early to start spending, I can’t resist a jar of cloudberry honey ($6) from Iris Hantverk (37 Götgatan; 46-8/641-9190), a store that specializes in handmade items by visually impaired artisans. I crave almost everything I see in DesignTorget (31 Götgatan, 46-8/462-3520; designtorget.se), which carries an eclectic range of accessories by Swedish designers, including hand-printed dish towels and colorful kids’ toys. But I force myself to move along.

12:00 P.M.

For lunch, I circle back to busy Slussen square—Stockholm’s answer to Grand Central. The main attraction here (besides a major subway stop) is the humble Nystekt Strömming (fried herring) wagon, encircled by picnic tables crowded with locals on their lunch breaks. I sidle up and order the signature dish ($6.25) topped with a dollop of crème fraîche. From my bench, I can see the silhouette of Gamla Stan, the old section of the city just across the bridge.

1:00 P.M.

Down along the harbor, a freckled blond girl at a candy cart snips off a sample of her salt licorice (free), a delicious flavor called Häxvrål—“scream of the witch,” she translates. After a short stroll past the steamboats and Baroque mansions of Östermalm, I arrive at the Vasamuseet (14 Galärvarvsvägen; 46-8/5195-4800; vasamuseet.se), a maritime museum built around a meticulously reconstructed boat that was shipwrecked in the 17th century. I buy a ticket ($15) and explore the gigantic ship, feeling a little like an extra on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.

3:30 P.M.

Risking museum burnout, I head to the galleries ($12.50 admission) of the Moderna Museet (Skeppsholmen; 46-8/5195-5200; modernamuseet.se), designed by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, to see its collection of 20th-century European and American art. Here, I discover the contemporary Swedish painter Karin Mamma Andersson, whose lush, layered paintings look like dreamscapes. I also find one of the city’s best photo ops—the panoramic view of the port from the glass-walled museum café.

5:00 P.M.

I forgo a pricey taxi ride across the city in favor of an infinitely more charming and scenic walk toward Gamla Stan, which is touristy but irresistible once I’m weaving through a knot of cobblestoned streets and storybook 17th-century houses. My reward is a hot chocolate ($4.70) at Kaffekoppen (18-20 Stortorget; 46-8/203-170), a candlelit cellar with tea-stained walls and low vaulted ceilings.

7:00 P.M.

While wandering the alleys of Gamla Stan, I stumble upon what may be the city’s top bargain: a classical music concert ($11) at Storkyrkan, Stockholm’s central cathedral (1 Trangsund, Gamla Stan; 46-8/723-3016; stockholmsdomkyrkoforsamling.se). I take a seat in a wooden pew as a local pianist fills the space with the music of Chopin. Dusky evening light filters in through leaded glass windows and shimmers off the golden angels on the high brick ceiling. Divine.

9:30 P.M.

The lingering sunlight has affected my eating schedule, but I’m finally hungry again. On the patio of Babylon (4 Björns Trädgårdsgränd; 46-8/640-8083), surrounded by chattering clusters of young fashion plates and artist types, I wrap myself in one of the restaurant’s green fleece blankets and gobble down a late dinner of potatoes and röding ($25.80), a local fish. From my barstool, I watch skinny blond skateboarders dip and sail around a cement half-pipe in the adjacent park, and revel in a priceless travel high: the giddy feeling of having discovered the coolest place in town.

Total spent:

$251.25

Guide to Affordable Stockholm

When to Visit

Summer weekends are ideal: the days are long, the weather is perfect, and hotel prices are at their annual low.

Bring it Back

Sheep’s-wool slippers ($109) and Sami reindeer hide bracelets (from $47) from the Society for Swedish Handicrafts shop (44 Sveavägen; 46-8/232-115).

Worth the Splurge

The lavish smörgåsbord ($38)—the ultimate Swedish breakfast buffet—at the Grand Hôtel (8 S. Blasieholmshamnen; 46-8/679-3500; grandhotel.se).

Money-Saving Tip

The most economical way to stay in the city: rent an apartment from a local who has decamped for his beach cottage; Stockholmtown.com has listings under “bed and breakfast.”

Rotterdam in the Limelight

jaime — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:35:26 +0000

A showcase for modern architecture and design, Holland’s vibrant and edgy second city is one of Europe’s rising stars.

Sleep

Housed in the iconic brick building that was once the head office of the HollandAmerica line, Hotel New York (1 Koninginnenhoofd; 3110/ 4390500;hotelnewyork.nl; doubles from $309) has 72 loftlike guest rooms and a lively waterfront oyster bar. Each floor at Hotel Bazar (16 Witte de Withstraat; 3110/2065151; hotelbazar.nl; doubles from $100, including breakfast) pays homage to a different part of the globe. (We prefer the colorful African rooms.) Hit the hotel’s restaurant for excellent North African and Middle Eastern fare. The floortoceiling windows and whiteonwhite interiors of Stroom (1 Lloydstraat; 3110/2214060; stroomrotterdam.nl; doubles from $195), set in the burgeoning Lloydkwartier neighborhood, are undeniably beautiful. Our one complaint: a few instances of designhotel folly, such as an unwieldy, highstyle bathtub. The 607-foot-high Euromast (20 Parkhaven; 3110/2411788;euromast.nl; doubles from $518, including breakfast) has a new attraction—two stunning suites nestled far above the city.

See

Destroyed by bombs in World War II, central Rotterdam was rebuilt in a daring, modern style. The architecture hit list: Ben van Berkel’s elegant Erasmus Bridge (the Swan, in local parlance); Piet Blom’s Cube Houses, which look like dice in midtoss (70 Overblaak; 3110/4142285;kubuswoning.nl); and the Kunsthal museum (341 Westzeedijk; 3110/4400301;kunsthal.nl), one of native son Rem Koolhaas’s first big commissions. Explore it all with a walking tour from Rotterdam ArchiGuides (3110/4332231;rotterdamarchiguides.nl; $175 for a private, two-hour tour). Witte de Withstraat, in the city center, is a street of pioneering galleries and worldclass museums. Don’t miss the fine arts museum, Boijmans van Beuningen (18-20 Museumpark; 3110/4419475; boijmans.nl), or the Netherlands Architecture Institute (25 Museumpark; 3110/4401200; nai.nl) and TENT and Witte de With (50 Witte de Withstraat;tentplaza.nl; wdw.nl), a pair of the city’s most groundbreaking contemporary art galleries.

Eat

With its mural of oversize roses at the entrance and a gigantic picture window looking onto the Nieuwe Maas river, the restaurant Blits (701 Boompjes; 3110/2829051; dinner for two $60) is full of eye candy. But chef Glyn Stoker’s imaginative Japanesemeets-North African menu (try the spiced tuna-andtabbouleh salad) keep diners’ attention where it belongs. Lulu (60 Van Vollenhovenstraat; 3110/ 2019394; dinner for two $63) is one of the city’s top restaurants, serving modern Asian food in a seductive room warmed by saffron and chilecolored walls and floortoceiling shoji screens. Welldressed diners, bathed in candlelight, sip sake at low Indonesian tables. For a dayintonight experience, set aside time to explore Westelijk Handelsterrein (15 Van Vollenhovenstraat), a covered warehouse complex dating from 1894 that has been transformed into a warren of galleries, restaurants, bars, and clubs. Watch the transition at Restaurant Rosso (3110/2250705; dinner for two $128), a chic brickwalled restaurant with a Mediterranean menu. After 10 p.m., the dining room turns into a sexy latenight lounge.

Do

Skip the bigbrand shops on Lijnbaan (Europe’s first pedestrian mall) in favor of the smaller, more varied boutiques in the neighborhood around Meent and Pannekoekstraat. Don’t miss the sleek handmade jewelry and accessories at Galerie Puur (50A Botersloot; 3110/2136796). Then head to Delfshaven, an area of picturesque canals that emerged from the war relatively unscathed. Drop by the maritimethemed art and antiques store, known simply as Delfshaven (33 Voorhaven; 3110/4254565), for a selection of maps that date back to the Age of Exploration. After dark, Rotterdam is one of Europe’s hottest club destinations. Sample the scene at Thalia Lounge (31 Kruiskade; 3110/2142547; thaliarotterdam.nl), where a sophisticated crowd congregates at the bar above the dance floor. Cuttingedge DJ’s and multimedia art exhibitions draw a younger set to Off_Corso (22 Kruiskade; 3110/4113897; offcorso.nl). Cocktail hour, however, belongs to Soho (53A Pannekoekstraat; 3110/4118883). Furry white walls and futuristic curves make this bar look like the lair of a very stylish Abominable Snowman.

Guide to Rotterdam

How to Get There Rotterdam is 50 miles southwest of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport; trains connecting the two cities depart every 15 minutes.
Best Times to Visit May through September, for the best weather and backtoback festivals and beach parties along the Nieuwe Maas River (strandaandemaas.nl).
Insider Tip Central Rotterdam is compact and easily explored by metro, tram, bike, or foot—but the most thrilling way to do it is by water taxi (3110/4030303; watertaxirotterdam.nl).

Napa and Sonoma Style

jaime — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:40:04 +0000

T+L scoured California’s wine country to find one-of-a-kind boutiques and charming small-town stores. From Calistoga to Healdsburg, these eight spots are worth a visit.

Napa Valley

Calistoga

The Shop Nearly everything at Ca’Toga Galleria D’Arte (1206 Cedar St.; 707/942-3900) is hand-painted by the prominent trompe l’oeil artist Carlo Marchiori: the folding screens, the ceramic plates—even the barrel-vaulted ceiling, done Michelangelo-style with a celestial mural. T+L Tip Marchiori lives up the road, in a Palladian villa whose seven rooms are covered in frescoes. The shop can arrange a visit ($25 per person; May-October).

The Shop The region’s best source for small-scale artisanal wines, Enoteca Wine Shop (1348-B Lincoln Ave.; 707/942-1117), also carries hard-to-find producers that the proprietress, Margaux Singleton, calls unobtainia. Be sure to check out the glass cases in the back, dedicated to rare 100-point wines, so rated by industry experts like Robert Parker. T+L Tip Singleton is an expert on the area and she’s happy to plot you out a customized tasting tour, gratis.

St. Helena

The Shop Interior designer Erin Martin spotlights an eclectic collection of furniture and objets d’art from around the globe in the loftlike Martin (1350 Main St.; 707/967-8787). A recent visit turned up Moroccan stools made of recycled tires, and vintage leather wrestling mats from Russia (“perfect headboards,” she says). T+L Tip Add your name to Martin’s mailing list for coveted invitations to her private warehouse sales (usually in May and October), where pieces are sold at or below cost.

The Shop With white-gloved shopgirls standing behind the counter and a glittering chandelier dangling from the ceiling, Woodhouse Chocolate (1367 Main St.; 800/966-3468) resembles a fine jewelry shop—and for good reason. Master chocolatier Tracy Anderson’s handmade confections, in exotic flavors like Passion Fruit and Thai Ginger, are edible gems. T+L Tip Ask for a peek at the kitchen, where Belgian machinery whirrs and delicate truffles float down conveyor belts.

The Shop Owner Jan Niemi designed more than 200 variations of the ballet slipper for her tiny boutique Flats (1232 Spring St.; 707/967-0480). An avid traveler who splits her time between California and Italy, Niemi has her shoes handmade in Tuscany (“Chanel-quality,” the shop manager notes). T+L Tip Call to find out when Niemi will return from one of her many scouting trips; her souvenirs (Italian jewelry, Indian printed fabrics) are often for sale at the store.

Sonoma County

Healdsburg

The Shop Lisa Palmer, wife of star chef Charlie Palmer, opened Lime Stone (315 Healdsburg Ave.; 707/433-3080) next to her husband’s Dry Creek Kitchen restaurant in early 2006. In addition to avant-garde pieces (chandeliers made from wine barrels, buffalo-horn bowls), you’ll find basics such as the custom steak knives and table linens used in Palmer’s 10 restaurants. T+L Tip Stock up on shatterproof German titanium-crystal wineglasses—they’re as good as Reidel, at a fraction of the price.

The Shop Marty Murphy has lived all over the world, and her international sensibility informs the aesthetic of M Clothing (381 Healdsburg Ave.; 707/431-8738), which specializes in ethnic-inspired pieces by West Coast designers such as Rozae Nichols and Turk + Taylor. T+L Tip Call ahead and tell Murphy what you’re looking for. She’ll prepare a fitting room full of selections.

Sonoma

The Shop In a restored 1880′s bungalow off Sonoma’s main drag, Être Sonoma (156 E. Napa St.; 707/939-2700) stocks a sophisticated mix of cult items, from wallets by Comme des Garçons to Anichini 450-thread-count hotel linens. Around the corner, sister store Être Beauté (408 First St. E.; 707/939-7010), a small apothecary, has perfumes by Serge Lutens and Parfums Delrae. T+L Tip Être Sonoma displays a limited selection of European antiques. For more, ask to see a catalogue of the complete collection.

Danish Modern

jaime — Tue, 01 May 2007 23:26:28 +0000

Though it has the alphabetical advantage, Aarhus has always been known as Denmark’s second city. Now, with dining and nightlife on par with Copenhagen’s, the city is making an impressive bid for the limelight.

Where to Stay

The 27-room Hotel Guldsmeden Aarhus (40 Guldsmedgade; 45-86/134-550; www.hotelguldsmeden.dk; doubles from $205, including breakfast) is done up in French colonial style (dark woods, white linens, Oriental rugs on hardwood floors) and located in the cobblestoned Latin Quarter—the epicenter of the city’s best shopping and dining. Ask for room No. 47, with a carved Indonesian four-poster bed and a claw-foot tub.

Villa Provence (12 Fredens Torv; 45-86/182-400; www.villaprovence.dk; doubles from $195, including breakfast) brings the south of France to a quiet Danish town square. The 39 rooms are filled with chic Provençal touches: traditional quilts on wrought-iron beds, wide-planked oak floors, and 1940′s French movie posters. An international-style breakfast—Greek yogurt with honey, French cheeses, and Italian charcuterie—is served in the cheerful periwinkle-colored café.

Where to Eat

Twins Jesper and Michael Koch are the gregarious chef-owners behind three-year-old Restaurant Koch (2 Pakkerivej; 45-86/186-400; five-course menu for two $213). Their dining room has gained a reputation as one of Denmark’s best for putting a modern spin on Scandinavian favorites in dishes such as salted celery with truffle oil, potato, and a béchamel cheese sauce.

With Arne Jacobsen chairs and Norwegian stone candleholders, Malling & Schmidt (81 Jægergårdsgade; 45-86/177-088; five-course dinner for two $200) resembles a stylish Danish apartment. But it’s not solely about looks: chef Thorsten Schmidt’s creative Nordic menu includes such unexpected (and surprisingly tasty) combinations as goat-cheese-and-smoked-herring ice cream.

The cheerful coffee shop and restaurant Forlaens & Baglaens (23 Jægergårdsgade; 45-86/760-070; dinner for two $71) serves authentic Spanish tapas below vintage enameled lamps, which dangle from the ceiling like bonbons.

What to Do

The ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum (2 Aros Allé; 45-87/306-600) is one of northern Europe’s largest museums. When its new addition opened in 2004, it put Aarhus on the art-world map. Be sure to check out the “9 Spaces,” a maze of black-walled galleries, each devoted to a single groundbreaking work of video or light art.

History and architecture devotees flock to Den Gamle By (2 Viborgvej; 45-86/123-188), a collection of 75 original Danish buildings dating from 1597 to 1909. They’ve been meticulously reassembled brick by brick to create an open-air museum village.

The warren of lanes around Klostergade street near the Latin Quarter is peppered with boutiques such as Bloomers (34 Volden; 45-86/120-092), which specializes in Scandinavian clothing labels, and LYNfabrikken (49B Vestergade; 45-87/300-075), an art-and-design collective that doubles as both a store and coffee shop. And don’t resist an ogle at the Danish silver in Georg Jensen (1 Søndergade; 45-86/120-100), where a single streamlined teaspoon can set you back as much as $300.

Nightlife

Aarhus’s large student population (almost 15 percent of the 300,000-person city) fuels a lively nightlife. Late nights begin at the adjacent nightclubs Train (6 Toldbodgade; 45-86/134-722; www.train.dk) and Kupé (6 Toldbodgade; 45-86/ 174-722; www.kupe.dk), known for their live music, world-class DJ’s, and see-and-be-seen atmosphere.

For a mellower evening, stroll on Åboulevarden beside the canal, which is crisscrossed by iron and wooden bridges and lined with high-concept nightspots. Our favorite is Castenskiold (32 Åboulevarden; 45-86/552-223; www.castenskiold.net), a dramatic black-and-red space designed by Danish architect Henrik Bønnelycke that turns from a sunny sidewalk café during the day into a buzzing bar on weekend nights. With its sleek design and creative cocktails, it’s become something of a clubhouse for the city’s design and fashion elite. If you really want to make like a local, order the beefed-up Royal Mojito. The secret ingredients: dark rum and a splash of champagne.

Guide to Denmark

Getting There

Aarhus is a quick flight from the international airport in Copenhagen or a 31/2-hour train ride from the city.

Getting Around

To explore Aarhus, which is laced with bike lanes, borrow one of the 400 free bicycles scattered throughout the compact city (see www.aarhusbycykel.dk).

Don’t Miss

For a great photo op, wander down Møllestien, a picturesque street dotted with 19th-century cottages.

Insider Tip

Get up early to hit the stores. Most shops are closed after 2 p.m. on Saturday and all day on Sunday.

Prairie Home Abandon

jaime — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 22:14:30 +0000

Minneapolis’s exuberant Chambers Hotel is taking Midwestern design to a whole new level. T+L pays a visit.

The Look

On the heels of Minneapolis’s remarkable architectural double-shot—Herzog & de Meuron’s Walker Art Center and Jean Nouvel’s Guthrie Theater—comes the David Rockwell-designed Chambers, which has enough art and theatricality to rival them both. Inside, a desiccated bull’s head by Damien Hirst juts out behind the front desk, while a ground-floor gallery showcases emerging and established artists. And in the lobby lounge, a gigantic waxy head by Evan Penny, complete with stubble, hovers over mojito-sipping guests.

The Scene

As much a local haunt as a business hub, the hotel’s airy lobby lures a crowd of twentysomethings in screen-printed T-shirts, glammed-up theatergoers, and after-work suits. Come night, they hit the clubby rooftop bar and courtyard fire pit next to Angus Fairhurst’s one-armed gorilla sculpture.

The Rooms

Minimalist but exceedingly comfortable, with black leather headboards, feather beds topped with buttery white sheets, and the requisite copy of Wallpaper.

The Amenities

In-room plasma televisions, which show a three-hour loop of video art, win points for edginess. But it’s the down-to-earth staff, with their refreshing lack of design-hotel attitude, that had us at hello.

Nice Surprise

The well-priced, Asian-influenced menu at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Chambers Kitchen; the tangy glazed short ribs ($18), braised for four hours, practically melted off the bone. Bonus: a glass-walled kitchen means you can watch the chefs in action.

901 Hennepin Ave.; 877/767-6990 or 612/767-6900; www.chambersminneapolis.com; doubles from $250.

Las Vegas for Less

jaime — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 22:22:39 +0000

You don’t have to be a high roller to travel to Vegas in style. Here, tips for playing your cards right—and saving a bundle—in Sin City.

9 A.M.

I’ve arrived on a Thursday for the low midweek rates at the Luxor (3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 888/777-0188 or 702/262-4000; www.luxor.com), a gigantic glass pyramid with a gaudy Egyptian theme (miles of fake gold and limestone, sphinxes over 100 feet tall). The Strip below is eye-popping, but my renovated west-tower room ($87) is big, clean, and surprisingly unflashy.

9:30 A.M.

“You want to get to the Wynn without a taxi?” a casino worker scoffs when my boyfriend inquires about public transportation. Determined to start our day without a pricey cab ride, we stubbornly traipse through three linked, labyrinthine casinos to board the futuristic monorail ($5). Unfortunately, the free shuttle that’s supposed to link our stop to the Wynn Las Vegas is out of commission, so we end up walking the last mile. Next time, we’re springing for a cab.

10:30 A.M.

There’s plenty to gawk at in the $2.7 billion Wynn casino: the kaleidoscopic mosaics on the marble floor, the trees hung with flower-covered globes, the head-spinning array of luxury shops. At the Terrace Pointe Café (3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/770-7000; www.wynnlasvegas.com), we claim a table overlooking a swimming pool ringed with manicured plants and candy-colored cabanas. I order a strawberry-topped waffle and fresh-squeezed orange juice ($16.50), and feel myself settle into vacation mode.

12 P.M.

We head to the neighboring Venetian Casino for a free blackjack lesson. Our dealer, Mike, has a gravelly Brooklyn accent and good advice for would-be card sharks: “Don’t touch the cards. If you touch the cards we get Guido, and you don’t want to meet Guido.” Suitably intimidated, I bolster the whirlwind lesson with a blackjack strategies card ($2) and promise to give the game an earnest try—later. In the meantime, I feed handfuls of quarters into the slot machines ($5), but luck’s not on my side.

1:15 P.M

Strains of “O Sole Mio” lure us to the Grand Canal, where striped-shirted singing gondoliers propel tourists down the canal. At St. Mark’s Square, I spring for a scoop of hazelnut gelato ($5), then spot a pair of faux- diamond earrings ($15) in a souvenir shop. Bling? On a budget? Onto my ears they go.

2:40 P.M.

Back on the Strip, I buy a coffee mug ($4.30) splashed with the old fabulous las vegas sign from a sidewalk stall. We stop for lunch at Mon Ami Gabi (3655 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/944-4224; www.monamigabi.com), a French bistro that somehow manages to convey an authentic Parisian charm (unlike the Eiffel Tower straddling the adjacent casino). I refuel with a chicken-and-mushroom crêpe and a glass of red wine ($19.70).

4 P.M.

Eager to try my hand again at blackjack (and earn enough money to hit the Wynn shops in earnest), I strut into the luxurious Bellagio Casino like a high roller, “diamond” earrings flashing. I set my cash down on a $10-minimum blackjack table (one hand, $10) and promptly lose. With no play money to wager, I slink back to our hotel for a rest.

6:30 P.M.

To avoid the after-10 p.m. cover charge at Mix Lounge (3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/632-7777), we stroll over for pre-dinner cocktails. Located on the 64th floor of the Hotel at Mandalay Bay, it’s a spectacular space, with curvy black-leather banquettes, glowing round tables, and floor-to-ceiling windows with 360-degree views of the Strip and the valley. I try the citrusy Mixopolitan ($15), and we watch gape-mouthed as a lightning storm rolls in—this is by far the best show in town.

8 P.M.

Eager to check out Vegas’s new breed of “hip buffets” (a contradiction in terms?), we take a cab ($14) to The Buffet at TI (3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/894-7111). The Jeffrey Beers-designed dining room is sleek and modern, with a smorgasbord of dishes ($20). The desserts alone are worth the trip—seven flavors of homemade ice cream and mouthwatering crème brûlée.

9:30 P.M.

We’ve already added our names to the secret guest list at one of the city’s hottest clubs, Pure, at Caesar’s Palace (3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/731-7873) by calling the venue early in the day, so we breeze in past the throngs and avoid the $20 cover charge. We sip gin and tonics ($10), scout the icy, all-white interior, and hit the dance floor.

11:30 P.M.

We’re not ready for bed, so we catch a ride on a double-decker Deuce bus ($2) to Peppermill’s Fireside Lounge (2985 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702/735-4177), a 1970’s throwback with low couches and a fire pit, mirrored ceilings, and genteel cocktail waitresses in long black gowns. Martinis ($8.50) in hand, we toast our good luck: we’ve still got enough cash for a cab ride back to our pyramid.

TOTAL SPENT: $239

Sonoma’s New Star

jaime — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 01:52:19 +0000

With a mix of chic hotels, creative chefs, and stylish boutiques, Healdsburg, California, has emerged as a cosmopolitan hub that still pays homage to its rural Sonoma roots.

SLEEP Healdsburg’s transformation began in 2001 with the opening of the Hotel Healdsburg (25 Matheson St.; 800/889-7188 or 707/431-2800; www.hotelhealdsburg.com; doubles from $325, including breakfast), co-owned by chef Charlie Palmer. The 55-room hotel is done up in an earthy palette inspired by its surrounding landscape: olive- and leaf-green walls, pecan-wood plank floors, and teak headboards that crown the downiest bed you’ll ever sleep on. • The 16 over-the-top rooms at the new Les Mars Hôtel (27 North St.; 877/431-1700 or 707/433-4211; www.lesmarshotel.com; doubles from $525), which is modeled after a French château, are decked out with four-poster canopy beds and 17th- and 18th-century antiques. • Duchamp (421 Foss St.; 800/431-9341 or 707/431-1300; www.duchamphotel.com; doubles from $325, including breakfast) is a minimalist’s dream come true: six bungalows with polished concrete floors warmed by sheepskin throws, cavernous white-and-black bathrooms, and clean-lined custom blond-wood furniture. Breakfast is served poolside, at café tables shaded by olive trees. • Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza (112 Matheson St.; 800/431-8663 or 707/433-6991; www.healdsburginn.com; doubles from $225, including breakfast) is the town’s latest arrival. Rooms are sunny, with high ceilings, bay windows, fireplaces, and claw-foot bathtubs. For maximum privacy, we like the carriage house, which comes with a full kitchen and its own patio.

EAT “Eat local” is a rallying cry throughout northern California; in Healdsburg, many chefs are putting their menus where their mouths are. At Dry Creek Kitchen (317 Healdsburg Ave.; 707/431-0330; dinner for two $110), chef Palmer serves only Sonoma County wines—650 of them—and spotlights regional purveyors in dishes like chestnut-glazed squab. • Light-flooded and tranquil by day, Barndiva (231 Center St.; 707/431-0100; dinner for two $70) roars to life at night, when locals and in-the-know visitors descend on the big red barn for late-night meals, creative cocktails, and the hippest scene in town. • Newcomer Cyrus (29 North St.; 707/433-3311; dinner for two $116) amps up the glamour with dramatic vaulted ceilings and a theatrical reception: the maître d’ phones the chef to announce your arrival, cueing the tableside champagne-and-caviar cart. Warm, intuitive service and exquisite dishes (truffled red-wine risotto, Thai marinated lobster) by rising chef Douglas Keane save the place from feeling pretentious. • The rustic Oakville Grocery (124 Matheson St.; 707/433-3200; www.oakvillegrocery.com) is a one-stop shop for discriminating picnickers. Call ahead for a gourmet packed lunch, or assemble your own from its selection of handmade cheeses, charcuterie, wine, and freshly baked bread.

SHOP The pea-sized 21 Arrondissement (309 Healdsburg Ave.; 707/433-2166) showcases interior designer Myra Hoefer’s best French flea-market and estate-sale finds: a pair of gilt-and-velvet armchairs, a giant papier-mâché pinecone (formerly a Paris Opéra prop), and jewel-toned silk-screened pillows. • Scout (125 Matheson St.; 707/431-0903) is a mash-up of beach cottage and kaleidoscope, where gingerbread- trimmed shelves brim with kids’ clothes in a riot of colors and patterns. • Baksheesh (106B Matheson St.; 707/473-0880) focuses on fair-trade, handcrafted gifts from the developing world, including carved beechwood bowls from Haiti and djembe drums from Burkina Faso. • Scoop up Sonoma County’s best artisanal goodies at Plaza Farms (106 Matheson St.; www.plazafarms.com). Here’s your cheat sheet: DaVero’s Meyer-lemon olive oil, sheep’s-milk cheese from Bellwether Artisan Creamery, and homemade salumi from Bovolo. • M Clothing (381 Healdsburg Ave.; 707/431-8738) is stocked with women’s designs from both established and emerging labels. This season, look for eyelet tunic dresses by Burning Torch, straight-leg jeans by Notify, and sexy habotai (Chinese silk) shirts by Rozae Nichols. • Overseen by Lisa Palmer (Charlie’s wife), Lime Stone (315 Healdsburg Ave.; 707/ 433-3080) sells restaurant-quality dining furniture and tabletop accessories (durable slipcovered chairs, affordable crystal stemware) alongside a global assortment of antiques.

DO There are more than 12 tasting rooms located within a square mile of the plaza; among our favorites are Thumbprint Cellars (36 North St.; 707/433-2393; www.thumbprintcellars.com), for its loungelike ambience and small-lot wines, and Toad Hollow (409A Healdsburg Ave.; 707/431-8667; www.toadhollow.com), for its unstuffy atmosphere and intriguing no-oak Chardonnay. • For a scenic drive through hillside vineyards and wineries, head west out of town on Dry Creek Road. Double back when you hit Lake Sonoma and return south on Yoakim Bridge Road, to link up with the winding West Dry Creek Road, peppered with a handful of small family-owned wineries.

GETTING THERE Healdsburg is an hour’s drive north from San Francisco or northwest from Napa. WHEN TO VISIT High season runs from May through September; better deals are available midweek, or in October, when grape crushing is winding down. RESOURCE For an introduction to the town, book a walking tour with expert Darla Meeker (www.healdsburgwalkingtours.com).