June 2010 Archives

Queen Elizabeth II is set to visit New York on July 6th and it is giving us all a little Royal fever. If her visit to the States doesn't quite satisfy your Royal cravings, fans of Her Majesty can now live like the Queen for a day on their next visit to Britain.

VisitBritain, the national tourist board, has composed a list of the Queen's favorite places to visit, eat and shop to help us all experience the Royal treatment. This summer is an especially good time to visit: it's 30% cheaper than summer 2008.  So, it's easy to zip across the pond and live like a Queen for a few days.

Dine like a queen

The Goring Hotel, London

In London, stop by The Goring for a dinner fit for the Queen. A favorite of the Queen Mother, who was partial to the Eggs Drumkilbo, The Goring has many Royal connections. The Archive Room played a part in Prince Charles' 60th Birthday celebrations and of course the hotel is situated around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Enjoy dinner as the Royals have, and there's always the chance the Queen may be sitting across the room. www.thegoring.com

Fortnum & Mason, Piccadilly Circus, London

For a more casual dining experience, stop by Fortnum & Mason, official grocery suppliers to Her Majesty and enjoy a picnic in Green Park - one of London's Royal Gardens. Some Cadbury chocolate, another favorite of the Queen, would be the perfect finish to your Royal picnic. www.fortnumandmason.com

Dress like a queen

Best British brands, Britain-wide

To live like Her Majesty, your wardrobe would of course have to be fit for a Queen. Some of the queen's favorite - and widely available - British brands include Burberry, Pringle of Scotland, Hunter Boots and Austin Reed - all of which hold Royal Warrants as official suppliers to the Queen.

Rigby and Peller, London

For any woman, what you wear underneath is just as important as what you wear on top. At Rigby and Peller - one of Britain's most exclusive lingerie shops - you can be sure to receive service fit for a Queen. What else would you expect from a company who has held a Royal Warrant as official Corsetieres to H.M. Queen Elizabeth since 1960?

Live like a queen

Castle Hotels, Britain-wide

What could make you feel more regal than staying in a castle? Visitors to Britain will be spoilt for choice and can stay overnight in a variety of castles across the country. Check out www.visitbritain.com for more information.

Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh Scotland

This magnificent ship helped make H.M. The Queen the most traveled monarch the world has ever known. Decommissioned in 1997 and now permanently moored in Edinburgh, Scotland, each room onboard Britannia is furnished to her own personal taste, filled with photographs of her children, treasured family heirlooms and gifts from across the globe. The Queen named Britannia as the one place where she could truly relax.  Britannia was also host to four royal honeymoons, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana as well as Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk

Windsor Castle, Windsor, England

Just a short jaunt by train from London, Windsor Castle is one of the Queen's official residences and where she spends most weekends. Open year-round, your chances for spotting the Queen go up around Easter time, when she takes up residence for a month. www.royalcollection.org.uk

Buckingham Palace, London, England

From the end of July until the beginning of October each year, you can cross the gates of Buckingham Palace and see one of Britain's most famous landmarks for yourself. This year, you won't want to miss the special exhibition, The Queen's Year, which recreates a year in the life of Her Majesty and also includes a collection of ceremonial dress with day and evening wear to reflect the range of events in the royal calendar.  Visits to the Royal Staterooms, garden and the Queen's Gallery are also possible at this time of year. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/thequeensyear/

About VisitBritain

• Americans made three million visits to the UK in 2008 and spent US $3.3 billion (GBP 2.2 billion pounds Sterling) - placing them in the UK's top three most important markets for visitors. Britain remains Americans' favorite long-haul destination.
• VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, is responsible for inspiring the world to explore Britain and for developing the UK's visitor economy. With representatives in 35 countries around the world, we are the international tourism promotional arm for Britain and the nations and regions of Britain.
• Every year 17 million visits are made by international consumers to the 57 websites that make up VisitBritain's global family of websites, www.visitbritain.com, which together provide information in 21 different languages.
• Visitors traveling to Britain can purchase money and time saving local transport, sightseeing, attraction, theatre and tour tickets from www.visitbritainshop.us

SOURCE VisitBritain

The NYC Japan Street Fair is back this summer with a new name: JapanTown! Uniting a diverse array of local Japanese businesses and household brands, JapanTown is a series of three festivals held in the East Village, Midtown, and the Upper East Side, focusing on Japanese "cool" culture, Japanese healthy food, and Japanese soul food, respectively. Introducing distinct Japanese products and attractions, JapanTown welcomes everyone to experience the rich culture of Japan and learn more about the New York Japanese business community.

Starting off JapanTown on July 17th, 2010 is the Cool Japan festival in the East Village, NYC's unofficial Japan Town. Highlighting the popular elements that make Japanese culture "cool," this festival offers Japanese robots to antiques to favorite snacks such as yakimochi and okonomiyaki. Visitors are also invited to participate in a Japanese street fashion contest; winners receive a prize from a JapanTown sponsor.

The Healthy Food & Green festival on August 22nd in Midtown enlightens visitors about select wholesome Japanese foods. Look for macrobiotic specialties from Souen Noodle restaurant, pesticide-free Japanese produce from Suzuki Farm, miso beef from Marukome, and soy products from Kikkoman.

The Soul Food festival on September 26th in the Upper East Side is all about Japanese soul food--the authentic dishes unique to specific regions of Japan. Visitors can sample such eats as Kyushu grilled tonton pork, Japanese curry, fried soba and gyoza, and konjac. The agricultural government of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost island, is to showcase its regional products as well.

JapanTown began in 2009 and was enormously successful, with an estimated 80,000 visitors browsing the wares of 30 vendors, which sold a massive quantity of items and distributed up to 10,000 product samples within six hours and 450 food samples within four hours. It is estimated that 200,000 visitors are to visit the three JapanTown festivals this year.

JapanTown is still accepting vendor and sponsor applications. For more information, please visit www.nyjapantown.org.

STAR TREK LIVE, a new interactive stage show based on the popular science-fiction franchise, debuted to hundreds of guests at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on June 11, 2010, kicking off a summer of fun.  The show takes audiences on an exhilarating 30-minute journey offering an unforgettable live theatrical experience for fans of all ages. The show combines fun special effects, audience interaction and an exploration of real space-age technology.

Produced by Mad Science^® Productions, under a license from CBS Consumer Products, STAR TREK LIVE introduces a world of discovery by combining science with entertainment to teach and encourage scientific literacy. In the show, the audience portrays new Starfleet cadets assembled for the first day at the Starfleet Academy led by its best and brightest. The new cadets will have to learn quickly the intricacies of living and working in space, modern space travel and the latest in communication and technology.  

"We are thrilled to present the worldwide debut of STAR TREK LIVE at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex - only a few miles away from where history was made and mankind's greatest adventure began," said Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Chief Operating Officer Bill Moore. "NASA and Star Trek have a long, parallel history together, and we hope to inspire visiting families with the fun and educational story of space exploration through this engaging stage show. A sense of science has been given to science-fiction through Star Trek, and NASA transforms this incredible journey into reality."

STAR TREK LIVE is presented a minimum of three times daily at the 300-seat Astronaut Encounter Theater. For more information about the live action show, call Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.

Audience members of all ages join Starfleet Academy only to be unexpectedly whisked into an adventure steeped in the grand tradition of Star Trek. STAR TREK LIVE combines fun special effects, audience interaction, cool science and on-screen appearances from Captain Kirk and Spock themselves to create an exhilarating and unforgettable theatrical experience.

Eager to learn from Starfleet's best and brightest, cadets assemble, anxious to prepare for their first day at the Academy. As they are introduced to the Academy, the Earth itself comes under attack from a renegade Romulan, leaving the fate of the future itself in the hands of cadets. Cadets must quickly learn the intricacies of living and working in space, modern space travel and the latest in communication and technology as they draw on the achievements of science in the 21st century. It will require cadets' knowledge, ingenuity, logic and an exploration of science to discover what is happening and how to set things right before it's too late!

NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is located just east of Orlando and is the gateway to a working space center and one of Florida's most popular destinations. It's a 70-acre arena of inspirational, educational and entertaining experiences.  Admission includes the new STAR TREK LIVE, Shuttle Launch Experience, Kennedy Space Center Tour, 3D IMAX^® space films, Astronaut Encounter, all exhibits and shows, and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame^®, featuring historic spacecraft, simulator rides and the world's largest collection of personal astronaut memorabilia. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opens at 9 a.m. Closing times vary by season.  The Visitor Complex is open daily except December 25 and certain launch days.  Admission is $38 + tax for adults and $28 + tax for children ages 3-11. For more information, call 877-313-2610 or visit www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.

Everyone has a travel dream, whether it be cruising down the Nile River in Egypt or visiting Emperor penguins in Antarctica. iExplore is bringing a wide array of dream destinations to life with the re-launch of their website through stunning photography, compelling content and an extensive portfolio of privately guided and small group trips.

Visitors to the new iExplore site will see a clean, fresh design with expanded navigation, new trip search functionality and updated travel guides.  A brand new section will be introduced: iExplore Experiences. The Experiences section provides in-depth content about a particular destination or activity and includes custom articles from leading travel writers, interviews with expedition leaders, top 10 lists and photo galleries. At launch, the Experiences section will feature the following:

• Antarctica
• Peru
• Egypt
• Safaris
• Culinary
• Cruising
• Summer Family Vacations
• America's Best Kept Vacation Secrets

"iExplore's new website is the next step in our evolution as the #1 ranked adventure travel website. We are expanding our product portfolio to include more small group trips--based on feedback from our customers--as well as adding a significant amount of new and unique travel content to our already extensive library," said Dallyce Macas, President and CEO of TUI North American Distribution--iExplore's parent company.

The new website furthers iExplore's position as the essential travel destination website for travelers, or armchair travelers, at every point in their journey.  iExplore's advertising partners will also benefit from increased sponsorship opportunities, custom integration solutions and new media placements.

Founded in 1999, Chicago-based iExplore is the No. 1 ranked website for adventure and experiential travel, with more than 1 million visitors per month.  It is Google's "authority site" in the adventure travel category, and powers adventure tours behind many trusted brands like Expedia, Travelocity, Travel Channel, Fodors, Frommers and Lonely Planet, to name a few.

iExplore is an independently-operated division of TUI TRAVEL PLC, a multi billion plus-dollar international leisure travel business based in the United Kingdom. TUI (TT.L) is a FTSE 100 Company, traded on the London Stock Exchange. TUI's strong financial position and global reach assure safety and security with every holiday planned through its companies.

WEB: www.iexplore.com

SOURCE iExplore