

No matter what your family traditions, wishing you a happy holiday season!


Surround Yourself with Christmas Cheer
Make a List, Check it Twice… then get some Help
Culinary Christmas - and the Whole Holiday Season
Hands-on Holiday Experiences


Restoring from Stresses of the Holiday Season
#HappyHolidays

Bordeaux:
The Seine
The Rhone

#StartYourTrip

Bier
Prost
Wurst
Tracht
Gemutlichkeit
#StartYourTrip!


#StartYourTrip!

Ritz-Carlton Turks & Caicos

The Meridian Club on Pine Cay

#StartYourTrip



#StartYourTrip!

Cliffs, Surf, Record-Breaking and Breathtaking Hikes
“Jurassic Park” IRL

The World’s Largest Indoor Rainforest

Legends and Tales
Tropical Escapes on British shores
Local Flavor
#StartYourTrip
#WorldTapasDay
#StartYourTrip

#DreamNowTravelSoon

NEW
Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas
- All-new pool deck to enjoy the sun and stars in style– Two decks, two open-air pools, four whirlpools and Splashaway Bay, anchored by a Quantum Ultra Class first – The Lime & Coconut bar

- Action-packed top deck – Returning guest-favorites include the gravity-defying SkyPad virtual reality bungee trampoline adventure, FlowRidersurf simulator, skydiving with RipCord by iFly, and the iconic North Star all-glass observation capsule that boasts 360-degree views from 300 feet above sea level.
- SeaPlex – The next-generation of a longtime Quantum Class favorite, this SeaPlex is the largest indoor and outdoor activity center at sea.
- One-of-a-kind entertainment –Teched-out venues combine immersive technology, unparalleled special effects and world-leading performers and aerialists take the stage alongside six agile Roboscreens for a multidimensional live show.
- Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar and Teppanyaki – Two Royal Caribbean restaurants new to North America join the many dining options on board.
IMPROVED
Paul Gauguin Cruises’ The Gauguin

COMING SOON
Oceania Vista


#DreamNowCruiseSoon



#DreamNowCruiseSoon

- The return of live music and theater worldwide.
- All the famous races, from the Kentucky Derby by horse, to one of the Grand Prix by car, the Tour de France by bicycle, and the America’s Cup at sea.
- Carnivale. Wimbledon. Day of the Dead.
- Fashion Weeks, Christmas Markets, St. Patrick’s Day parades.
- The Great Migration of Africa’s Wildlife on Safari, Cherry Blossom Festivals, Wine Harvests
Mark Your Calendar
FOMO Tip:
#DreamNowTravelSoon

Ways to Fall in Love in Virginia




Hotel Roanoke’s Fried Oysters with Crab & Caper Beurre Blanc
Enjoy with someone you love, and dream of traveling again soon!

Gluhwein

- 3 cups of white wine (Silvaner or Müller-Thurgau)
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup Franconian plum brandy (optional but recommended, as a little of the alcohol cooks out of the wine)
- 4 slices of orange
- 2 slices of lemon
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 star anise
- 5 allspice seeds
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 pinch of aniseed
- 1 tsp. honey (if you prefer it sweeter, add a bit more)
- Extra slices of fruit for garnish, if desired
- In a medium-sized stock pot with a tight-fitting lid, combine all of the ingredients, except for the honey. Stir to combine.
- Cover and bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer, keeping the lid on, for 10 minutes. Be careful not to let it come to a boil again; if it boils too long all of the alcohol will be cooked out.
- After 10 minutes, immediately remove from the heat. Strain the mixture with a fine mesh sieve; discard the aromatics. Return the mixture to the pot and taste-test. Stir in honey, tasting as you go until you reach your desired sweetness.
- Ladle into desired serving glasses. Garnish with sliced fruit, cinnamon sticks, cloves, or star anise pods, if desired. Serve immediately.
Rompope

#HolidayCheers
#SipNowTravelSoon


#DreamNowTravelSoon




#DreamNowTravelSoon

France. Italy. Spain. If you’re imagining traveling again to Europe, you’ll have no problem picturing yourself in any of three independent boutique hotels that have just opened in spectacular historic properties.
All three belong to the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group of over 500 independent and unique hotels in 90 countries. They all have special character and offer themes that are even more relevant in the new world of travel: small size, privacy, and locations that allow guests to get away from crowds of tourists.
Milan, Italy


Loire Valley, France


Matarraña, Spain


We can picture a dream escape in luxury to one of Europe’s most beloved destinations in any of these three new boutique hotels.
#DreamNowTravelSoon

The kids are back to school (whatever that looks like this year for your nearest and dearest), but on the calendar, summer isn’t quite over – yet. The Autumn Equinox – the first day of Fall – arrives this year on Tuesday September 22, so we still have a couple more weekends of ‘summer’.
You may not have done all the traveling you wanted this summer, but you can catch up now in spirit. Serve up an celebration of summer travel with a party in your backyard full of summer flavors from beloved American hot weather destinations.
1. Pensacola, Florida: Grits à Ya Ya
Along Florida’s Northwest Coast, Pensacola is home to The Fish House, the restaurant behind the unique and delicious Grits à Ya Ya, created by Chef Jim Shirley. A combination of grits, a southern staple, heavy cream and lots of smoked gouda cheese, this is comfort food like no other. This delicious dish is sure to be a hit with your guests!
“In 1998 I developed this Fish House favorite during the Mardi Gras season. Mardi Gras, properly celebrated, can sometimes last for days. Recognizing the toll this marathon celebration had on my friends, I created this fare that not only provided sustenance but tasted great, too. Since then we've whomped up hundreds of thousands of dishes of my favorite child. Enjoy it at home with this recipe.”
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
The smoked Gouda Grits
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb Dixie Lily grits
1/4 pound butter
1 lb shredded smoked Gouda cheese
The Ya Ya
8 strips applewood-smoked bacon, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallots
3 tablespoons butter
White wine
1 lb peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced
1/4 cup diced scallions
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups smoked Gouda cheese grits
PREPARATION
*For dietary restrictions or preferences, you can make this recipe shellfish-free if you replace the shrimp with 1½ lbs of an assortment of your favorite mushrooms, chopped.
First, make your grits. Run the chicken stock into a thick-bottomed saucepan and turn on high till it boils. Mix in the grits and stir like crazy. Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream if you need more liquid. Then tumble in the butter, add creamed corn, drizzle in the rest of the cream and stir till it’s all in the family. Then shake in the shredded cheese and stir very well till it’s all nice and smooth.
While your grits cook, bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add bacon and cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic and shallots. Saute and then add butter and a splash of white wine. When butter is half melted, add the shrimp. When the downsides of the shrimp become white, flip them and add mushrooms, scallions and spinach. Saute for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp. Pour in heavy cream and let simmer while stirring. When reduced by 1/3, add salt, pepper and hot sauce. Return shrimp to sauce and combine. Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of cheese grits.
2. San Antonio, Texas: Seafood and Quail Paella
This 300-year old city that originated as a Spanish mission and colonial outpost is now the second-largest city in Texas and the Southern US.
It’s one of only two American cities designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy and it’s easy to see why. If you're in the mood for some ‘Tex-Next’ dining, this seafood and quail paella - a twist on the traditional Spanish dish in an ode to the city’s heritage - created by Chef Steve McHugh of Cured should hit the spot.
“Experience the taste of Spain, with a San Antonio flavor in your own kitchen. This paella is meant to be enjoyed with family, friends and good wine.”
Serves 20
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
Healthy pinch of saffron
Healthy pinch of red pepper flakes
Healthy pinch of paprika
2 lbs quail legs
2 lbs smoked Spanish chorizo
4 tablespoons shaved garlic
1 diced & roasted red pepper
1 sliced jalapeño
2 cups Sofrito
3 cups escargot
4 cups mussels
3 cups large shrimp
8 cups Bomba rice
4 quarts chicken stock
Salt
Pepper
Large cooked white beans
Pickled serrano peppers
½ cup preserved lemon rind, sliced thin
½ cup peas
Pea sprouts
PREPARATION
*Although paella traditionally includes and is most delicious with seafood, for dietary restrictions or preferences, you may wish to switch out the shellfish with cubed chicken and chunks of your favorite barbecuing sausage.
Heat your oil in the Paella pan. Sauté the chorizo and the quail. Turn the heat down to medium, add the saffron, red pepper flakes, garlic, red pepper, Sofrito and jalapeño. Sweat the vegetables until they are translucent in color. Add in Bomba rice, mix well. Add mussels, and shrimp. Arrange the ingredients in a nice pattern across your entire paella. Add in chicken stock, and allow to simmer until the rice is cooked, and most liquid is gone. Continue cooking until the bottom of the paella forms a Socarrat, or crust (this is the key to a delicious paella!).
FINISH & SERVE
Garnish the top with preserved lemon, pickled serrano peppers, white beans, peas and pea shoots. Serve hot to your loved ones.
Share your finished product using #TexNext and tag @visitsanantonio!
3. Hawaii: The Mai Tai
Often mistaken as Hawaiian, tiki is actually imaginary, made of a collection of romanticized concepts of Polynesian and South Seas culture, including humanoid teak carvings, coconut shell bikini tops, grass skirts, pineapples… and powerful cocktails featuring pineapple, coconut, rum, and other tropical flavors. Tiki and tiki bars have become shorthand for ‘Pacific Island getaway’ and they abound in Hawaii.
A staple in any tiki bar, the Mai Tai is the perfect Summer drink - or your drink of choice during a visit to America’s Pacific island state. You’ll be carried to Hawaii’s clear blue waters after your first sip of this fruity concoction.
Serves 1
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz spiced rum
1 oz coconut rum
1 tsp grenadine syrup
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz orange juice
PREPARATION
Combine the rums, grenadine, and juices in a cocktail mixer with ice. Shake and strain into a glass of ice. *Party Tip: make these up a pitcher at a time with a bucket of ice and garnish handy.
SERVE
Garnish with wedges of fresh pineapple on a skewer topped with a cherry.
With these 3 recipes delivering up the taste of travel for a late-summer get together, dress in your most festive summer wear, soak up the last of the season’s sun, and enjoy, dreaming of your next summer weather vacation.
#TravelAgainSoon
Recipes and images courtesy of
· And the respective restaurants/chefs referenced.
Copyright BestTrip.TV/Influence Entertainment Group Inc or Rights Holder. All rights reserved. You are welcome to share this material from this page, but it may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

'HOME SWEET HIVE'



WILD BEE 'HOTELS'
CANADA
- Fairmont Royal York - Toronto
- Fairmont Waterfront -Vancouver
- Fairmont Chateau Whistler
- Fairmont Empress - Victoria
- Fairmont Vancouver Airport
- Fairmont Le Château Frontenac - Québec City
- Fairmont Palliser - Calgary
- Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth - Montréal
USA
- Fairmont San Francisco - San Francisco
- Fairmont Washington D.C.
- Fairmont Copley Plaza- Boston
- Fairmont San Jose
- Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa - Sonoma, USA
- Fairmont Dallas
- Fairmont Olympic Hotel – Seattle
- Fairmont Orchid - Hawaii
INTERNATIONAL
- Fairmont Southampton, Bermuda
- Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club - Mount Kenya, Kenya
- Fairmont Mayakoba - Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
- Fairmont Le Montreux Palace - Montreux, Switzerland
- Fairmont Yangcheng - LakeSuzhou, China
- Fairmont Beijing - China


BEE SUSTAINABLE

#DREAMNOWTRAVELSOON


Gin for Art Conservation

Drink like the Queen
#DreamNowTravelSoon

Texas

Idaho

Washington State

Oregon

British Columbia, Canada
Michigan

Ontario, Canada
#PlanNowTravelSoon

Wishing you a Happy 4th of July and Canada Day!
LOBSTER ROLLS

CUBANO SANDWICH

BEIGNETS

- 4 oz unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- vegetable shortening, for deep frying
- confectioner's sugar
BUTTER TARTS

#DreamNowTravelSoon
Do You Miss Cruising? This Recipe Will Let You Re-Create an Iconic Cruise Experience at Home
There may be no dish that evokes cruising more than Baked Alaska.
A miracle dessert of warm, caramelized meringue on the outside, still magically full of layers of frozen ice cream on the inside. No one really knows why, but somewhere along the way, it became a classic of traditional cruise culture.
Regent Seven Seas Mariner's pastry chef showed BestTrip.TV his tips and tricks to perfect Baked Alaska… and shared his recipe here for you.
Until we can sail again to Alaska – or anywhere – this Baked Alaska recipe can help re-create the fun ceremonies of cruise ship dining.

- 250 grams French Meringue (see recipe below)
- 150 grams Raspberry Coulis (Sauce)
- 100 grams Vanilla Sauce
- 160 grams Vanilla Ice Cream (or a combination of your choice of ice creams)
- 160 grams Chocolate Ice Cream
- 160 grams Strawberry Ice Cream
- assorted berries
- mint leafs
- 62.5 grams water
- 31 grams sugar
- 6.5 grams kirsch liqueur
- 78 grams whole milk
- 23.5 grams butter
- 23.5 grams flour
- 5 fresh egg yolks
- 6 fresh egg whites
- 15.5 grams sugar
- grated zest of 1/3 of a clean orange
- 6 mL Grand Marnier liquor
- 9 fresh egg whites
- 170 grams sugar
- 1.25 grams vanilla extract
- Start whisking the egg whites by incorporating one quarter of the sugar little by little.
- Once the egg whites have doubled in volume, add another quarter of the sugar and the vanilla.
- Keep whisking until firm and shiny, then add the remaining sugar and whisk for another minute.
- Combine milk and butter and bring to a boil.
- Pour the flour into the milk, keep on stirring over the heat until it starts to become a paste.
- Put mixture into mixing bowl, at low speed add the egg yolks, grated orange skin and Grand Marnier.
- Keep beating on fast speed for 10 seconds.
- Meanwhile whip the egg whites to a meringue with sugar.
- Mix a little meringue into the batter until obtaining a homogenized paste; then gently fold the meringue into the batter.
- Line sheet pans with pan liners, spread the mix onto it and make a fine layer of ½ cm in height.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 10 minutes and until the sponge is baked properly, cool down to room temperature, then before using in Baked Alaska, sprinkle the syrup over the sponge cake.
- For each serving, use a 6 cm ramekin, lined with plastic wrap.
- Cut a round disk of the sponge to fit the inner part of the bottom. Fill with chocolate first, then vanilla then strawberry ice cream.
- Cut a round disk out of the sponge fitting the inner part of the top, press gently down and freeze immediately
- Meanwhile prepare the meringue.
- Place your serving plate over top of the frozen ramekin, turn over and remove plastic wrap. Spread the meringue all over, using piping technique or a spatula. Mimic a mountain landscape.
- Turn on your blowtorch and brown the edges of the meringue. Decorate the plate with raspberry coulis and vanilla sauce, berries and a spring of mint.
- Serve instantly.
#DreamNowTravelLater

Challenging times call for fresh-baked cookies. For your COVID-19 #StaySafeStayHome pleasure, a cookie recipe for all the home baking and snacking we hear everyone is enjoying during lock down.
Not just any cookie recipe. These are cookies of legend.
DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe
- Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.
- With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix.
- Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.
- Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.
#DreamNowTravelLater
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Places we've blogged about
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- Antarctica
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