Jetsettersblog

(6 Days, £745pp) – New Tour Launch

Discover the most captivating country in the Middle East – Lebanon – in true off-the-beaten-track style. Having emerged triumphant from its turbulent past, now is the time to explore Lebanon’s remotest corners on foot.

Hike through the verdant and historic Qadisha Valley discovering the stunning nature and fascinating history of this little visited region.

Stay overnight in an 18th Century Maronite monastery, experience a true Lebanese welcome by staying and eating with a local family, visit a hermit, hike through a stunning Cedar forest, experience the dramatic Baatara sinkhole and explore the unique Jeita’s Grotto!

Travel the Unknown’s Hiking the Holy Valleys is a 6-day itinerary that starts and ends in Beirut(www.traveltheunknown.com , tel: 0845 053 0352).

Highlights of the tour include:

- Exploring Jeita’s Grotto, the incredible caves with one of the world’s most impressive collection of stalagmites and stalactites.

- Experience the warmth of Lebanese hospitality by staying overnight with a local family overlooking the Nahr Brahim valley and Adonis river.

- See the curious ‘smoking hole’ where the Adonis River disappears underground for 70m before surging up again forming a high column of water vapour that looks like a forest fire.

- Hike through the dramatic Baatara Sinkhole and the Tannourine gorge.

- Spend the night in an 18th Century Monastery.

- Hike to the heart of the scenic UNESCO-listed Qadisha Valley, the abode of numerous monks and hermits since medieval times.

The price of £745pp includes accommodation, ground transport, most meals, 3 litres of water per day, English speaking guide, drivers, activities, entrance fees to sites and carbon-offsetting fee.

Dates:

30 October – 4 November 2010

26 March – 31 March 2011

For those who prefer a gentler cultural tour, Travel The Unknown also offer the 6-day Crusaders & Caves tour which delves into the ancient history of this fascinating and misunderstood land (£850pp).

Going to sleep by counting sheep is more than possible in the South Lakes, particularly if you have feasted on some of the area’s wonderful farm-fresh food and drink. A wide variety of farm shops allow the visitor to eat in the from-field-to-fork way and get a true taste of the landscape in which they are staying, whether that’s for a picnic, or a self-catering night in.

The number of hill farms and amount of fell pasture in the area make lamb a top choice for the dinner plate and no more so than at Mansergh Hall Farm (www.manserghhall.co.uk), near Kirkby Lonsdale. Its lamb has been described as “the tenderest lamb you’re ever likely to eat” (Sunday Times, 2005) and its mutton has said to be “to die for”.

The farm shop’s acclaimed lamb comes from lambs produced by breeding Texel Cross North Country Cheviot ewes and Texel rams and its taste and texture is outstanding thanks to it being hung for at least 7-10 days.

The shop, open from 9am to 5pm on Fridays, not only sells lamb and mutton, but also retails quality, grass-fed beef, pork from a variety of free-range pigs, sausages, bacon and slow-grown, free-range chicken from Lowther Park Farms. An online shop is available for those unable to visit in person.

The area’s famous Herdwick lamb is the speciality of Yew Tree Farm at Coniston (once owned by Beatrix Potter),which retails its own Herdwick through its Heritage Meats brand (www.yewtree-farm.com/heritagemeats)

Herdwick lamb has a truly unique taste, thanks to the rich diet of berries, heather and grasses that the little sheep enjoy, which makes the meat more flavoursome, tender and succulent.

The cuts of meat are smaller than normal lamb and also contain Omega-3 fatty acids.

A little thinking ahead can enable anyone enjoying a self-catering holiday in the area to order their award winning and acclaimed produce online and arrange delivery at a time to suit their eating-in evening. There are even recipes available online, to provide some inspiration!

The Herdwick Hogget is a whole lamb, but there are also kidneys, mince, Lamb Henry, boned and rolled breasts, leg steaks, mini roasts and other joints from which to choose. A surprise meat hamper enables the shopper to also sample some of the farm’s Belted Galloway beef and a surprise!

If pork is more to your liking, head to the Kitridding Farm Shop (www.kitridding.co.uk ) at Old Town, between Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale.

Home reared pork is available as joints, as cured bacon and as gammon, whilst it also helps to make the farm’s sausages renowned talking points. With home-bred beef and lamb and a variety of other local produce on sale, including Sue Prickett preserves, a visit on either a Friday (10am to 6pm) or a Saturday (10am-5pm), is a great idea.

A few miles away, at Sillfield Farm Shop (www.sillfield.co.uk),  near Endmoor, Kendal, Peter Gott’s wild boar, rare breed pigs, herdwick lambs and pedigree poultry are all free-range animals at the heart of some excellent meats that have wowed fans such as Prince Charles and Jamie Oliver.

As well as selling meats, the farm shop has delicious hand-made pies and sausages available. Pie choices include wild boar, wild game (venison, pheasant, rabbit and wild boar), wild boar and cranberry and huntsman (wild boar, chicken and cranberry sauce, topped with stuffing).

Sausage varieties include pheasant and venison, pork and garlic and wild boar with chianti and shallots, whilst gluten-free options include wild boar chorizo, lamb merguez and Toulouse (pork and beef).

Sillfield Farm Shop is open from 10am-5pm on Fridays and Saturdays and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

At Low Sizergh, near Kendal, the Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop (www.lowsizerghbarn.co.uk) is housed in a seventeenth century Westmorland stone barn and sells everything from its cool, creamy and organic milk, to vegetables delivered by wheelbarrow from its Growing Well social enterprise scheme on Low Sizergh Farm land.

The farm’s milk is also used in its Kendal Crumbly, Kendal Crumbly with Red Onion and Kendal Creamy cheeses, sold on its award-winning cheese counter, offering over 60 choices.

Low Sizergh Barn is a silver ‘Taste of England’ award winner in the 2010 Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, which recognises its approach to sourcing other local products, as well as using its own.

Other award-winners stocked at the farm shop include Kendal Jacksmiths flapjacks, whilst a new local product on the shelves is the Bedrock Gin, made using Lake District spring water. The shop is open every day from 9am to 5.30pm.

The Plumgarths Farm Shop (www.plumgarths.co.uk) offers shoppers its own premium brand lamb and beef, as well as pork from rare breed Saddleback pigs and farm veal from Heaves. With free-range bacon, sausages and other local products, including chutneys and relishes, this shop, located on the Lakeland Food Park, is another place to head to for excellent local produce. The shop opens from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and is online continuously.

Succulent and tasty meat requires suitably fresh and flavour-filled accompaniments – food that is the speciality of Howbarrow Organic (www.howbarroworganic.co.uk)  near Cartmel – an online shop for organic vegetables, herbs and fruit grown on its own land, as well as a variety of other local produce, ranging from shellfish to butter and from mutton to smoked fish.

With special vegetable boxes and welcome packs available, as well as quirky choices such as a de-tox box, this is an online shop that will soon be supported by an offline farm shop once again.

Whilst in the Cartmel area, it would be rude not to pick up some of the famous Sticky Toffee Pudding from the Cartmel Village Shop (www.cartmelvillageshop.co.uk)

The acclaimed Sticky Toffee Pudding comes in a variety of sizes and has sister products – Sticky Ginger Pudding, Sticky Banana Pudding, Sticky Chocolate Pudding and accompanying sauces. Add to this a classic twist on a traditional summer fruit pudding – packed with raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, strawberries and elderflower cordial – and a visit is a must!

Nearby Holker Food Hall (www.holker.co.uk)  is the place to which to head for the famous Holker Saltmarsh Lamb, with its distinctive flavour influenced by the grazing of the sheep on the saltmarshes around Morecambe Bay.

This is joined on the shelves by Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimps and other delicacies such as St James Ewe’s Sheep cheese from the Holker-based dairy of Martin Gott, local apple and damson juice and Holker venison – from a herd with a bloodline stretching back centuries.

The Food Hall opens from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm daily in the high season and to 4pm in winter.

Local producers markets will also be held from 10.30 am to 3.30pm, in the Courtyard at Holker Hall, on July 4, August 8, September 5, November 6 & 7 and December 5, 12 and 19, 2010.

Another farm shop selling meat flavoured by the rich Furness pastures around the Cumbrian coast is the Baycliffe Farm Shop near Ulverston (www.farmshopbaycliffe.co.uk ).

Quality and choice cuts of beef and lamb are sold alongside home-cured bacon and home made sausages, as well as a secret ingredient black pudding.

The innovative farm shop also sells its own Chicken Cushions, Farmhouse Roasties, Lamb and Leek Roast, delicious pies and creamy custard vanilla cake.

It opens from 9am to 3pm Tuesday to Friday and from 9am to 2pm on Saturdays and also sells its produce at nearby Ulverston market.

Foraying into the feast of food available from the South Lakes’s farm shops is a fabulous way to really understand the landscape of the Lakes, so put a shopping spree on your must-do list during your holiday or day trip to a stunningly beautiful area, which produces simply outstanding food.

Make a seamless step from luxury holiday cottages to monastic simplicity when enjoying a break at Pembrokeshire’s Celtic Haven Resort. Wales’ most complete resort is just a short boat trip to the tiny island of Caldey, owned and run by the Reformed Order of Cistercian monks, whose lives were recently documented in the newly released book Caldey Island by Christopher Howells.

Caldey Island captures the daily life of the island’s monks and their religious celebrations, recording the history of the island and its unspoilt wildlife.

Interviews with the monks reveal a former lawyer, a Harrods window dresser and even a racing driver, are amongst their number.

Alongside a small village, the monks live a simple life, farming and producing their own unique range of lavender-scented goods, as well as perfumes and hand lotions derived from the wild flowers growing on the island, plus chocolate, shortbread and clotted cream.

This is just one of the enthralling delights of a stay at Celtic Haven, located inside Pembrokeshire National Park, with its outstanding coastal scenery, and boasting 26 cottages and houses sleeping from two to 12.

Celtic Haven also has the only Elemis Premier Spa in West Wales. Dining options include the resort’s own Waves Italian-influenced bar and restaurant and guests also enjoy use of all the resort’s leisure facilities, including sauna, gym, indoor swimming pool, all-weather tennis courts and the nine-hole headland golf course.

Touring, walking, shopping and enjoying the seafood of the region are other options when staying at Celtic Haven.

Boats to Caldey Island leave Tenby every 15 minutes between 9.30am and 5pm weekdays from mid-May to mid-September.

Regular crossings continue until the end of October, although less frequently.

The 20-minute trip leaves visitors at the landing spot on the enchanting Priory Beach, the only safe bathing spot on the island, which measures 1.5 miles long by less than three-quarters wide.

From the beach it is a short stroll to the village and monastery.

The current monastery dates back to the early 1900s, although the first Celtic monastery was founded on the island in the 6th Century.
Other attractions on the island include a Norman chapel, 12th Century church, 6th Century Ogham cross and Caldey Lighthouse, built in 1828.

At the charming old Post Office, postcards are franked with a unique Caldey Island stamp.

The monks’ produce can now also be bought in a shop in Tenby – as well as online! The island also provides a spiritual retreat throughout the year.

For a copy of Caldey Island, please contact Jenny Groutage at The Saltmarsh Partnership on 020 7928 1600 or email
jenny@saltmarshpr.co.uk

For more information on Celtic Haven, please visit www.celtichaven.co.uk or call 01834 870 000.

France’s Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez opened the Restaurant Colette under the direction of three-star Michelin Chef Pierre Gagnaire.

The chef’s cuisine combines French savoir-vivre with the best, freshest regional ingredients, focusing on Mediterranean cuisine with combined with products sourced from local suppliers.

The restaurant is inspired by French writer Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, one of France’s most important 20th century novelists, who in 1925 settled in St. Tropez, purchasing a house near the hotel.

The hotel has also partnered with Dom Pérignon to create a champagne bar next to the restaurant.

For more information, visit www.designhotels.com/hotel_sezz_st_tropez

Macdonald Hotels opened the Macdonald Windsor Hotel. The hotel has 120 rooms near Windsor Castle on the site of the old Caley’s department store.

The shop had a long heritage within the Windsor community, serving the Royal Family from 1813 and it is a site local residents know well.

The Macdonald Windsor Hotel is also a convenient business location with easy access to London, the M4 corridor, a large number of FTSE100 companies and a transport link via Heathrow airport.

The hotel in Windsor also offers facilities to cater for large conferences and events of up to 150 delegates in the main meeting room which is supported by a second meeting room for up to 70 delegates.

Smaller board meetings will be hosted in two executive boardrooms for 25 delegates each, and an additional two syndicate rooms for 10 will be available to book for breakaway sessions.

Beverley Molmans has been appointed the first manager of Macdonald Windsor Hotel. First established in 1990 by Donald Macdonald and colleagues, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts operates over 40 hotels across the U.K. and 10 resorts throughout the U.K. and Spain, including family hotels in Windsor. Its focus is on developing its strong portfolio of four- and five-star hotels, with each offering its own character and individuality.

For more information, visit www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk

Carmel Valley Ranch Joins Joie De Vivre Hotels Portfolio InterContinental Hotels & Resorts (IHG) expanded its presence in Argentina with the opening of the InterContinental Mendoza, a 15-story, 180-room property featuring 24 suites.

A second tower with an additional 72 rooms will be available shortly, bringing the total number of rooms to 252, including of 36 suites.

The hotel also features 11 meeting rooms totaling 22,500 square feet, including a 12,000-square-foot ballroom and 18,000 square feet of pre-function space, as well as a full-service spa, swimming pool, gym and restaurant.

The InterContinental Mendoza is across the street from Mendoza Plaza, the city’s largest shopping center, 10 minutes from downtown Mendoza and 20 minutes from the city’s international airport.

The region is center of Argentina’s wine country, producing world-class Malbec wines.

The hotel is on the major thoroughfare connecting Mendoza with the nation’s capital, Buenos Aires.

The property is IHG’s second in Argentina, joining with the InterContinental Buenos Aires.

A third InterContinental property, the InterContinental Nordelta Buenos Aires, Residence & Spa, is under construction in the Nordelta area of Buenos Aires.

A new, improved web page for Montana’s 2010 hunting news was launched Aug. 17 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
The new page offers easy access to season outlooks, tips and new opportunities for the upcoming season.

“It’s a whole new look and design for FWP news and one we intend to expand in the future,” said FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim. “We hope this information and new format helps hunters find and use the information they need for a successful hunting season.”

Aasheim said several hunting-related videos will be available on the site.

To explore Montana’s 2010 hunting information online, visit FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov. Click “2010 Hunting News.”

The adults-only, all-inclusive Le Blanc Spa Resort in Cancun was named an Automobile Association of America (AAA) Five Diamond resort for 2011.

The award recognizes “the highest level of excellence in every facet of operation” among major North American hotels.

Properties evaluated for the award must meet 27 requirements to be considered for review based on the members’ expectations for minimum standards.

The Le Blanc Spa Resort is also offering guests up to “1,500 Vacation Dollars for Your Indulgences” that can be used for room upgrades, spa and beauty salon treatments, romantic private dinners, select wedding packages, golf outings and off-site excursions and tours.

The 1,500 Vacation Dollars are available through Dec. 23, 2011; guests staying five nights or more receive $1,500 per room per stay and guests staying three or four nights receive $750 per room, per stay.

For more information, call 877-753-2526 or visit www.leblancsparesort.com

Hot or cold? Green or red? Infinity or plunge?

The swimming pool has come a long way since the ancient Greek and Roman baths. From an urban concrete jungle to a lush hillside in Asia, Design Hotels™ presents four hotel pools ideal for sunbathing, socializing and of course, swimming!

For an eye-catching pool in a vibrant colour Alila Ubud offers an emerald-green infinity pool above a dramatic river valley in Bali.

In Koh Samui The Library’s vivid red pool is the place to see and be seen, with an enviable location next to the popular Chaweng beach.

For a stylish pool party The Standard, Downtown LA’s rooftop hosts weekend pool parties complete with DJs and underwater LED lighting.

Lastly Habita Monterrey in Mexico offers two rooftop pools – one cold, and one hot – so bathers can cool off, or heat up whilst taking in stunning views of the city and the surrounding mountains.

The Library, Koh Samui, Thailand

Just a few steps from Chaweng beach, The Library’s vivid red pool is one admired by guests and passersby alike. Made using mosaic Italian glass tiles in red, yellow and orange, the pool is set on the beachfront and is surrounded by a wooden deck with red mattresses and black bean bags.

Guests are welcome to choose from the poolside menu, or take a book from the hotel’s impressive white library complex adjacent to the pool. At night the underwater lights transform the swimming pool in to a dazzling spectacle and provide the perfect backdrop to dinner or drinks in the restaurant and bar next door. The Library was recently voted as one of the top 10 amazing worldwide hotel pools by TripAdvisor in 2010.

www.designhotels.com/the_library

The Standard, Downtown LA, United States of America

The rooftop pool at The Standard, Downtown LA is part of one of Los Angeles’ most coveted nightlife hotspots.

Situated on the rooftop of the twelve-storey hotel in Downtown LA, the pool has panoramic views of the city.

On the opposite side of the terrace there is sculptured topiary, an open fireplace, dancefloor and bar.

The turquoise heated pool stands out sharply against the deep red Astroturf of the surrounding sundeck, where there are also bright red water-bed canopies for up to ten.

The bar and dancefloor creates a fun and bustling space where nightly international DJs play to a fashionable crowd. The rooftop area can also be hired exclusively for events for up to 240 people, making it ideal for anything from corporate functions to editorial shoots.

www.designhotels.com/the_standard_downtown_la

Alila Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Cited as one of the most beautiful pools in the world, the infinity pool at Alila Ubud boasts a spectacular location perched on a terrace floating above the lush Ayung River valley.

The pool spreads out to form an elongated rectangle until it seems to disappear down the terraced jungle hillside.

A daily afternoon tea of traditional local sweets is served by the pool, where guests can relax on sun beds shaded by large Balinese umbrellas.

In addition to its 58 rooms, the hotel has four Valley Villas on stilts with wooden decks and four Pool Villas providing seclusion with a private pool.

www.designhotels.com/alilaubud

Habita Monterrey, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico

With different views and contrasting temperatures the two pools at Habita Monterrey cater to all tastes and weather conditions.

The hot pool is heated to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, making it ideal for a dip in the winter months.

There is also a cold pool which is great for cooling off during the summer when temperatures rise.

Situated on either side of the eighth floor roof terrace with 360-degree views over the desert metropolis and Sierra Madre, the pools are divided by a chic concrete bar.

The bar can cater to up to 80 people and is open for snacks and cocktails from 10am to 2am. On one side there is a view over Sierra Madre and its eponymous Cerro de la Silla, known as the Chair Mountain, whilst on the opposite side there is a view of the El Obispado, a green mountainous area.

www.designhotels.com/hotel_habita_monterrey

Family vacations in Canada: a listAn antidote to life fatigue—fun trips for you and the kids.

Some of Canada’s best offerings are perfect for pint-sized visitors. No matter which province you opt to visit, you’ll find families just like yours having fantastic experiences that celebrate summer, neighbourhoods and being outdoors.

These five do all of that, plus give you something to write home about (and a reason to do it all again next year.)

•The Beaches International Jazz Festival (Ontario): The Beaches in Toronto are always a family magnet.

Just minutes from the downtown core, kids can swing, slide, build sandcastles, kick a ball or simply sit and eat ice cream on the boardwalk.

Add the annual jazz festival on the beach, and suddenly summer fun has theme music. www.ontariotravel.net

•   Biking in Québec City (Quebec): Kids love bikes and Québec City was made for biking. (Bonus: You get beautiful scenery to look at while the kids have safe, paved routes to travel.) With several routes of varying lengths in and around the 400-year-old cobblestone city, families will find one that suits everyone—from trike rider to mountain biker. www.bonjourquebec.com

•   Calgary Stampede (Alberta): Recipe for instant memories: Give a child a cowboy hat. Show first rodeo. Just try to keep her in her seat as she watches real cowboys and cowgirls do their stuff. Add a midway with Ferris wheels and mini-doughnuts? Hello, Parent of the Year! www.travelalberta.com

•   Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick): Have a child who hates science?

Skip school and take him for a walk on the beaches at the Bay of Fundy; head off to watch the whales, then come back hours later when the moon and high tide make the beach disappear under tons of seawater.

Wait for the questions.

Tell him to ask the teacher.

www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca

•   Anne’s world (PEI): Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables introduced the world to the precocious redhead.

Take your kids back to Green Gables and walk the “Haunted Wood” trail, then hop over to Avonlea Village, where they can sip on Raspberry Cordial and spend time as Anne would.

www.tourismpei.com