Recently in TRAVEL Category

Ever wonder where the chic-est of the chic go on vaycay?

To the same places we do...well, kind of.

Revered designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (you may pay your respects now) vacationed in spring-break Mecca Cancun this April. But not for the electric-blue body shots at Seňor Frogs, nor the live Girls Gone Wild footage.

They went for the food.

At Mi Casa Restaurant, they delved into Chef Cristian Morales' innovative menu, Cocina Confortable. Some of the ultra-elegant duo's favorites included the huitlacoche (translation: corn fungus), pork ravioli, tuna kivi and fresh clam scallops. For dessert, they feasted on the mixiote of mascarpone cheese with coffee and brown sugar salsa.

Perhaps their Cancun rendezvous will inspire next season's line?

If so, I hope they design their fabulous threads to disguise a full tummy.

Place: Turks and Caicos Islands

Where in the World: In the same Atlantic neighborhood as Dominican and the Bahamas. A little less than 3-hours direct from JFK.

Where to Stay: The Aman-freakin'-yara. (Amanyara) At an auction, my dad's girlfriend scored four nights at one of their most luxurious and largest villas. We had our own little oasis: four sleeping villas connected by walkways over a reflecting pool; one main villa with a dining and living room; our own private reflecting pool with a full-on patio; private beach access; and our own wait staff. (Shout outs Velma, Lota and the rest of the crew-you guys are awesome!) The entire resort is located in the remote and beautiful Northwest Point of the major island... and is also a natural aphrodisiac. Go with a partner.

After paying our rent, cabs & cocktails, sometimes us New Yorkers, just don't have any extra sheckles to spare to go off traveling with. This week at Glamour Cow, we partnered up with our friends @ Good Life Review, who will be sharing some of their most recent wanderlusty tidbits.

Boston Wine Expo

Do you enjoy wine? Is it your preferred beverage with a good meal? If you answered yes to these questions, then you need to make plans to attend the Boston Wine Expo in 2011.

This annual event is a wonderful combination of delights for your senses. At the 2010 expo it was estimated that over 440 wineries would be showcasing more than 1,800 wines in the Grand Tasting. In addition, there are numerous food and wine accessory vendors and cooking demonstrations. Basically, it is THE destination for foodies and oenophiles.

I have been fortunate to attend this event several times, and thus have some tips for newcomers to the Grand Tasting:

Preface: When I travel, I pack like a barbarian --- sort of like Kelly Cutrone (and no offense Kelly, I idolize you). I throw all my shit in a bag & forget tons of stuff. It's also crucial to mention, (particularly regarding work travel), I pack everything black & the last thing that's on my mind is minor beauty products.

So when I heard a whisper that a certain NY hotel is offering complementary clear makeup cases full of beauty emergency items to all guests. I took a deeper whiff & got word on the promo:

Launched on March 1st, All NYC locations of Affinia hotels will provide guests with *free* e.l.f emergency beauty kits (the kit contains - you guessed it - emergency items you probably forgot to pack).

After paying our rent, cabs & cocktails, sometimes us New Yorkers, just don't have any extra sheckles to spare to go off traveling with. This week at Glamour Cow, we partnered up with our friends @ Good Life Review, who will be sharing some of their most recent wanderlusty tidbits.

Today's piece: Vancouver.

Even if you hadn't heard about this city before the Olympic debut, you've certainly heard about it now: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It's a coastal city about as far west and south as you can be in Canada; the Olympic Center is less than 40 minutes on Highway 99 N from the border of Washington, USA.

The 2010 Winter Olympics came and went and, starting on March 12 to March 21, Vancouver will also be hosting the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. You can bet that the city is bustling with many people, specifically near the Olympic Center, but really, it was bustling even before the Winter Olympics came to the city. Vancouver is home to over 500,000 people, and its metropolitan area ranks as the third highest in the country.

Current weather for NYC: absolute crap. Sleet, hurricane-force winds, and I think I may have seen the Abominable Snowman trolling around the boroughs.

It's March, that tricky month when you're jumping to put your heavy-duty winter things into storage after months of cold, but can't because the National Weather Service just issued yet another blizzard to slam the Tri-state area.

So much for spring...

Luckily, not all parts of the globe are stuck in the same succession of hat-hair, dry skin and extra layers that we're in. In some places (dare we dream) it's summer. If you've momentarily forgotten that wonderful season, just envision being in a Corona commercial.

In honor of the lovely weather we've been having, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts is easing up their prices for stays in almost-equatorial Curacao and Aruba.

The deals go until April 8--when the average temperatures range from a low of 77 to a high of 88, and the precipitation is at its annual low (sigh).

Guess what? It's almost Spa Week (April 12 - 18, 2010).

I was just having a sniff at what spas I should be going to, when I popped over to Spa Week Daily and came across this amusing nugget:

Japan's All Nippon Airlines (ANA) is the first major airline carrier to introduce NON co-ed bathrooms inflight. (SpaWeekBlog)

I'm wondering if the women's bathrooms will be outfitted with ANA branded tampons & napkins?

And, will the gents have branded fart spray?

We love this; but, there goes the Mile High Club when flying to Japan.

PS: Yes, that is a picture of a ANA jet back from their Pokemon phase in 99'.

(Central Park, NYC)

Another pic after the jump.

Besides the holidays and an excuse to wear scarves, skiing is one of the only things that gets me through the three-plus months of sub-freezing temperatures, biting wind chills and a laughable amount of sunlight.

Downhill skiing is exhilarating. Strap into your bindings and you get to zoom down a snow-covered mountain with awesome views of the surrounding terrain.

However, what sucks is running into (literally) some douche bag who looks like he answered the casting call for MTV's Jersey Shore.

Let's face it, places near the city get packed during the weekends, turning your idyllic ski trip into one annoyance after another. (E.g.: getting cut off by some guy in jeans; paying $17.65 for chili, fries and water at the cafeteria; waiting 20-plus minutes in line for the chairlift, etc.)

So, to try and save you all some trouble, here is a list of some ski resorts that aren't exactly off the beaten track, but far enough away from the Interstate.

And because of all the snow we've been getting, you may want to start packing now.