Category: events

Taste Of France In NYC

Le Taste of France logo. Photo credit: PRNewsFoto/French Media Events.

Fancy a taste of France in NYC? Then you’ll want to experience and savor the Le Taste of France Show – New York on September 29-30 at Pier 54.

This two-day exhibition is dedicated to French cuisine and the French way of life in New York City. “In celebration of the “Fete de la Gastronomie,” Le Taste of France Show aims to promote France by highlighting its regions through their different culinary specialties and lifestyle,” say show organizers.

French food personalities and experienced Chefs from New York’s top restaurants will prepare French cuisine: from Crepes and Ciders (Brittany) to the Pastis and Bouillabaisse (Provence). Show guests will sample these dishes with Tasting or Degustation plates.

Le Taste of France Show’s other features will include live, contemporary and signature French Music; Petanque Exhibitions; a French Flea Market and a French Bulldog Dog Show.

Participating Chefs in Le Taste of France Show will include:

Jacques Pepin – Legendary Chef and TV personality;
Marc Murphy – Executive Chef and Owner of Benchmarc Restaurants (Landmarc and Ditch Plains);
Jean-Louis Gerin – “Chopped” Champion 2012 – Food Network;
Jean-Louis Dumonet – Executive Chef of the Union Club;
Claude Godard – Chef/Owner of Bistro Madison and Jeanne et Gaston restaurants;
Ariane Daguin – Food maven and Founder of D’Artagnan and
Members of Les Maitres Cuisiniers de France and l’Academie Culinaire de France, organizations representing the world’s top French chefs.

Le Taste of France Show says the event will benefit Action Against Hunger.

Find out more at LeTasteofFrance.com

Munich’s Beer Gardens

Beer Thirsty: 200 Years of Beer Gardens in Germany. Photo credit: German Travel Centre.

Savor Germany’s beer and beer gardens? Then you may want to head to Munich for its special beer gardens celebrations this summer.

Called the beer capital of Europe, Munich is celebrating 200 years of German beer gardens this year. In the city’s history, 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the law that allowed Munich to open beer gardens.

Back then, beer was brewed during the winter in Munich and stored in cellars along the River Isar. These cellars became popular places for people to come and sample the beer. So in 1812 Kind Max Joseph I passed a law that allowed places to serve both beer and food, which was the birth of the beer garden.

In Munich this summer, travelers can experience city-wide beer garden celebrations at events at the historic city centre, Baroque palace Schloss Nymphenburg and museums, theatres, bars and restaurants.

For UK travelers to Germany, travel company German Travel Centre is offering special summer specials – two-night city breaks to Munich which include return flights from London, Manchester and Birmingham and accommodation in standard class hotels.

The German Travel Centre’s website also features 12 short German city guides (must-sees, attractions) to Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Dresden, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart.

For more info on the 200 Years of Beer Gardens in Munich, go www.200yearsbeergarden.com

Fourth Of July In Washington

A Capitol Fourth, a Fourth Of July celebration coming up in Washington at the U.S. Capitol. Photo credit: Capital Concert.

Dancing With The Stars host Tom Bergeron is set to host A Capitol Fourth, a Fourth of July celebration in Washington.

The celebration, which will be televised on PBS, will feature an all-star cast in a “patriotic evening” of musical performances and fireworks.

Musical performers at the event will include:

American Idol winner Phillip Phillips;
Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara singing hits from the Broadway musical Nice Work If You Can Get It;
Megan Hilty, star of Smash;
Javier Colon, winner of The Voice;
Country music star Josh Turner;
R&B group Kool & The Gang;
Tenor Russell Watson and
The National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Jack Everly.

In addition, Olympic medalist Apolo Anton Ohno and composer John Williams will lead a patriotic send off to Team USA who will be heading to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

There will also be a musical tribute to Gene Kelly, in celebration of his 100th birthday, with the Hollywood classics Singin’ In The Rain and An American In Paris by the National Symphony Orchestra.

A Capitol Fourth will broadcast live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET

Find out more about A Capitol Fourth at PBS.

Americans In Florence

Ponte Vecchio, Florence. Photo credit: Italian State Tourist Board.

Italy art lover and traveler? If you’re traveling to Italy this summer, you should definitely make time to wander Florence.

For an authentic travel experience, do your best to live like a local in Florence and savor every moment in this great European art destination.

Actually, until July 15, 2012, you can see the art exhibition Americans In Florence: Sargent and the American Impressionists showing at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.

“America and Florence have always been closely bound by history and affection. Already by the end of the 19th century, Americans considered Florence their own,” says Palazzo Strozzi.

“Florence, Venice and Rome had been at the heart of the grand tour for centuries and had become legendary for all modern artists eager to study the art of the past.”

Americans in Florence showcases American painters who embraced Impressionism, spending time in Italy at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

These American painters included William Morris Hunt, John La Farge and Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Themed itineraries and artistic, historical and literary tours are designed to tie in with Americans in Florence. In Florence and the surrounding countryside, art travelers can also see the places where the American artists lived, worked and met.

At the Palazzo Strozzi’s Centre for Contemporary Culture Strozzina (CCCS), American Dreamers, a second exhibition, examines new trends in American contemporary art.

Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi

p.zza Strozzi 50123 Florence

Website: www.palazzostrozzi.org

San Francisco Icon

Nighttime view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline from Cavallo Point Lodge. Photo credit: Myrtle & Marjoram Photography.

In late May, San Francisco will mark the 75th anniversary of the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge (above).

Cavallo Point Lodge at the Golden Gate is tucked into the Marin headlands just north of San Francisco. The California resort is celebrating the anniversary of this iconic bridge, which is steps from the lodge.

The lodge will host an art exhibit in honor of the Golden Gate Bridge’s anniversary. Spanning past and present, the exhibit will show historical views from the 1935-1937 construction era, taken by W. Gordon Voorhies, land surveyor and photographer. Never before exhibited, his images will be on loan from a private family collection.

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary Art Exhibit. Photo credit: Gordon Voorhies.

The B&W photos will be featured along with contemporary interpretations of the Golden Gate Bridge by Bay Area photographers Robert Campbell, Emil Flock and Chris Honeysett.

“These striking images illustrate why the Golden Gate Bridge is renowned as one of the most beautiful – and photographed – bridges on earth,” says Cavallo Point Lodge.

The lodge is also featuring a special two-night Anniversary Package with tickets to Cavallo Point’s own 75th Anniversary Terrace Party. Another package option includes the Golden Gate Gala Dinner.

With its picturesque view of the Golden Gate Bridge, the lodge will offer guests a perfect spot to view the Golden Gate Bridge anniversary fireworks.

Cavallo Point Lodge

601 Murray Circle

Fort Baker

Sausalito

California

Website: www.cavallopoint.com

London Festival Of Photography

Love London + photography? Then this summer, you might fancy the London Festival of Photography.

Video courtesy of London Festival of Photography.

Green Cake For St. Patrick’s Day

A green St.Patrick’s Day cake by Zaza’ Gelato, London. Photo credit: Zaza’ Gelato.

Will you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in London? If you’ll be entertaining, then you might fancy a green St. Patrick’s Day cake by Italian ice cream boutique Zaza’ Gelato.

Famous for their colorful cakes, the two Zaza’ Gelato shops in London are preparing a special St. Patrick’s ice cream recipe.

At the sweet London shops, Zaza’ staff will prepare four green ice cream flavors: Strong Mint and Green Tea and Kiwi and Pistachio.

The traditional Italian ice cream expert offers gelato lovers 60+ flavors of gelato and every month keeps experimenting with new recipes.

“It is a constant effort to find new and interesting combinations and make all the gelato foodies in London very happy,” says Zaza’ Gelato.

These green St. Patrick’s Zaza ice cream and ice cream cakes are available at Zaza’ Gelato shops in London, Canary Wharf (Canada Place) and Sheperds Bush (First Floor at Westfield).

For more info on the green St. Patrick’s Day cakes, visit www.ZazaGelato.com.