Jetsettersblog

• New hands-on discovery and visitor centre opens at Jefferson’s Monticello
Hip Happenings
• Flower Power with DC’s Cherry Blossom Festival
• Historic Garden Week in Virginia – America’s largest ‘Open House’
• Virginia Arts Festival – from Liza Minnelli to Ravi Shankar
• Through the garden gate to Maryland’s flower festivals and secret garden tours

New hands-on discovery and visitor centre opens at Jefferson’s Monticello

The official opening of the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center and Smith Education Center takes place on April 15, 2009. On that date, the facility’s major interpretive features – four innovative exhibitions, a new introductory film and a hands-on discovery space – will be unveiled. The new center, the largest capital project in the Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s history, is located on the Monticello grounds, near Charlottesville, Virginia. www.monticello.org

Construction of the 42,000-square foot facility – which will be particularly enjoyed by younger visitors, consists of five pavilions arranged around a central courtyard. There is a new Welcome Pavilion housing Monticello’s ticketing operations and visitor-information services.

The Griffin Discovery Room will give Monticello visitors – especially those aged between 6 and 11 years – the chance to literally get in touch with Jefferson’s life and times through hands-on elements and activities. Three classrooms in the Carl and Hunter Smith Education Center will serve as the venue for workshops and programmes for all age groups.

The Monticello Museum Shop features an expanded collection of retail items, including Virginia wines, posters, prints, gourmet food products and an all-season, indoor-outdoor garden shop. The Café serves light meals and refreshments. www.monticello.org

Flower Power at Washington, DC’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival
March 28 – April 12

The 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival is Washington, DC’s largest and signature springtime celebration. The festival is more than just a showcase for the beautiful flowering trees on the Tidal Basin. The two-week citywide schedule of events features diverse programming incorporating the best of Washington DC’s arts, culinary and recreational attractions complemented by elements of Japanese culture and tradition. More than 3,000 cherry blossom trees are in full bloom, surrounding the tidal basin of Potomac Park, making it ideal for photographs. www.washington.org/visiting
Historic Garden Week in Virginia – America’s largest ‘Open House’ April 18-25

For the 76th year, visitors will be able to step through the gates of more than 250 of Virginia’s most beautiful gardens during ‘America’s Largest Open House’. Ticket prices for tours range from $10 to $35 (US) per event. www.vagardenweek.org

Virginia Arts Festival

Experience great performances from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach this April & May! Ravi Shankar, Patti LuPone, Liza Minnelli, Tokyo String Quartet, the Mark Morris Dance Group performing Romeo & Juliet and the pageantry of the Virginia International Tattoo. Tel. 757-282-2819 www.vafest.org/travel

Through the garden gate to Maryland’s flower festivals and secret garden tours

Flower Mart in Baltimore’s Historic Mount Vernon – May 1-2

Welcome spring in style with the 92nd annual Flower Mart. Enjoy flowers, exotic plants, local and ethnic cuisine, live entertainment and cultural wares. Location: Around the Washington Monument in historic Mount Vernon. Free entry. www.flowermart.org

Beyond the Garden, Frederick – May 16 & 17

Explore the elegant, whimsical and inventive gardens nestling behind the gates of private Frederick homes throughout downtown Frederick. $15 per person www.celebratefrederick.com

Secret Garden Tour at Hammond-Harwood House, Annapolis
Saturday, June 6 – Sunday, June 7

Explore and delight in gardens of colonial era homes throughout Annapolis’ Historic District. The gardens of Maryland’s four signers of the Declaration of Independence featured on this tour exemplify the “Golden Age” of Annapolis. The gardens range from formal, old boxwood to informal perennial; from a truly secret retreat to a quiet park on a busy street. www.hammondharwoodhouse.org

For more information on travel to the Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland visit www.CapitalRegionUSA.co.uk  or call 020 8339 6048.

Born in Morayshire, Scotland, Donald Alexander Smith, First Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, chose Lower Canada as his new homeland at the age of 18.

He spent the next quarter century working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the northern territory of inhabited Quebec and Labrador.

In honour of Lord Strathcona’s contribution to building our nation and his influence on Canada’s military, The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald introduces 10 new signature rooms and one suite in recognition of his efforts.

The signature rooms will feature:

Breakfast

Upscale speaker phones, coffee makers, IPOD clock radios

Desk blotters & Magazine Racks

Lord Strathcona memorabilia including paintings and coffee cups

Haute Cuisine – A Gourmet Experience With A View

TALLINN,– When Swissôtel Tallinn opened a year ago, the Estonian capital gained not only an international five-star hotel, but also a new top-class restaurant. The Horisont, situated on the top floor of the 30-storey building, very soon established itself as one of Tallinn’s most fashionable restaurants.

The Horisont’s appeal lies not only in its unparalleled view and elegant design, but also in its gastronomic extravagance. Against the backdrop of a 360-degree panoramic view of the medieval city of Tallinn and the Baltic Sea, head chef Volker Marecek offers guests imaginative cuisine at its finest. Loving attention to detail, sophisticated creations and superior quality ingredients provide an experience to savour for gourmets and others alike. Classic dishes are given a modern interpretation – the Horisont menu includes dishes such as goose liver terrine with grilled watermelon, served with honey and grapefruit jam and pickled chickpeas, and caramelised scallops with carrot purée and lemon gnocchi.

“We offer modern avant-garde cuisine”, says head chef Volker Marecek of his food philosophy. “In other words we prepare high-calibre products and classic recipes using new, progressive cooking techniques.

As a result our guests are treated to an exciting and unusual meal. We place great emphasis on regional and seasonal products so our menu also changes regularly”.

The German chef has worked at numerous famous hotels in the course of his career, including the Schlosshotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Berlin, the Langham Hilton in London, the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra and the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin.

The Horisont restaurant also has an elegant Cigar Lounge and bar adjoining it.

The sophisticated ambiance, personal service and stylish design of Swissôtel Tallinn have already made it one of the city’s most prestigious establishments.

Its 238 rooms and suites provide every modern luxury. Another attraction of the hotel is the Amrita Spa & Wellness zone featuring a swimming pool, gym, sauna, steam room and several treatment rooms.
Swissôtel Tallinn is situated in Tallinn’s financial district, known as the “Wall Street of Tallinn”.

The Old Town with its typical cobbled streets is a ten-minute walk away.

Sun International has opened a new 140-room hotel, the Federal Palace, on Victoria Island, in Lagos, Nigeria. Rooms offer air conditioning; color television, international direct dial, Internet access, a mini bar and electronic safe, and tea and coffee. The hotel’s facilities include a bar and buffet restaurant, business center, concierge, boardroom facilities, dry cleaning and laundry, fitness center, 24-hour room service and Wi-Fi access.

Additionally, a soft refurbishment of the Palace of the Lost City, in Sun City in South Africa, will begin in July while the Sun City Hotel just completed a major, two-year-long refurbishment project in December.

Also undergoing some soft refurbishments is the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town. For more information, visit www.suninternational.com

Cape Town-based Jenman African Safaris is offering a new seven-day hike from Table Mountain to Cape Point on the Hoerikwaggo Trail in partnership with South African National Parks.

From Cape Town, the itinerary takes travelers to Orange Kloof Forest and then Silvermine, then on to Kommetijie and Cape Point, Simonstown, and again Cape Point, before the trip ends in Cape Town. Rates start at $930 per person, based on double occupancy. A minimum of four people is required to carry out the trip; maximum capacity is 12.

For more information, call 888-219-8162 or visit www.jenmansafaris.com

Museum to re-open with new name, new home

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The new National Museum of Nuclear Science & History will open its doors on April 4, 2009. This “new” museum has served as a national resource through its collections and programming for 40 years. Formerly the National Atomic Museum, which opened in 1969 and was chartered by Congress in 1991, the new museum will continue to serve as a repository and steward of nuclear-related historical items and remain a Smithsonian affiliate.

The new location at 601 Eubank Blvd. SE in Albuquerque, New Mexico, includes a newly constructed 30,000-square-foot building and 12 acres of exterior space. For the first time in more than seven years, the public will be able to view the historic aircraft, nuclear missiles, and other large artifacts belonging to the museum, as those items have been moved from their location on Kirtland Air Force Base to the new site.

A series of grand opening events in early April will celebrate the museum. There will be a black-tie optional reception on April 2, a ribbon-cutting and building dedication on the morning of April 3, a member preview on the afternoon of April 3, and festivities for the public on April 4 and 5, 2009.

“We couldn’t let such a great moment in our museum’s history pass without some fanfare and fun,” said Jim Walther, Director of the Museum for the past 12 years. “We are thrilled about the new facility and outdoor space that will once again allow us to share this fascinating history with the world.”

The interior space will continue to present nuclear history, power, medicine, weapons, uranium mining, energy and radiation in its major exhibits. Also included is Little Albert’s Lab, complete with an animatronic Little Albert, where children of all ages can learn the fundamentals of Albert Einstein’s famous formula of E=mc².

The museum started out in 1969 as the Sandia Base Weapons Museum at its location on Kirtland Air Force Base. After September 11, 2001, the museum was forced to seek an alternative site that would allow visitors from other countries to continue to visit. Space was then rented in Albuquerque’s Old Town, a tourist destination.

The museum’s artifacts range from a minute sample of ekanite, an uncommon gemstone with a high Thorium content, to a B52-B bomber airplane, an item regulated in the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty to this day. The museum’s best-known artifacts are casings used for the Fat Man and Little Boy atomic bombs of World War II.

The Museum has a thriving education effort, designed for life-long learning. The museum’s educational programs include docent-led school tours, summer camps, visits to schools by the “Up n Atom Mobile” and lectures for the public.

The museum is open 361 days a year. The museum’s website is www.nuclearmuseum.org  The phone number will remain the same: 505-245-2137.

Virgin America unveiled a new entertainment line-up on its touch-screen entertainment platform, Red. This spring, travelers on Virgin America will be able to use the Red touch-screen on their seatback to select from a new library of 25 on-demand films, including Oscar-winning and nominated films like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Doubt,” “The Dark Knight” and “Tropic Thunder.”

The airline also announced that Wi-Fi is now available on nearly half of its fleet, with 13 of its new 28 Airbus A320-family planes equipped with Gogo In-flight Internet service.

Guests can now see which Virgin America flights are Gogo-enabled when booking online at www.virginamerica.com