If you’re in the area, stop by to watch the balloons inflate Saturday night and check out the main event on Sunday!

UBS Parade Spectacular in Stamford, CT

France’s lemon capitol, Menton, holds a festival every year to celebrate their beloved fruit. For several days, the city runs a parade with citrus floats and displays giant sculptures made out of lemons and oranges. Local artisans sell crafts and gourmet foods with an emphasis on edibles made from, what else, lemons!

Next year, the festival runs from February 13 - March 1, 2009 and Menton is located on the French Rivera, not a bad place to be in the winter!

Menton Lemon Festival

This month Will and I will travel to Iceland where we’ll swim in the Blue Lagoon, see the geysers in the Golden Circle and attempt once again to see the ever elusive Northern Lights!

Check out My Adventures to read about our trip to Pittburgh, Pennsylvania and see pictures on my Photos page or by clicking into the album through one of the images posted.

Two more airlines are charging for your first checked bag. Continental began charging $15 last month and Delta will begin imposing the same fee as of December 5th as part of its merger with Northwest.

I suppose we can’t blame them for keeping pace with the new trend but I’ve personally noticed that planes are more crowded than ever due to passengers cramming as much as they can into carry-ons.

As it stands, the only domestic airlines not charging for your first checked bag are Jetblue, Virgin America, Southwest, Midwest, Alaska Airlines and Airtran. How long before another one bites the dust? You can keep up with the latest round of fees on Smarter Living’s Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with art for Will and I as we’ve been checking out some of the “Cool Places” I’ve blogged. I finally have time to catch my breath and post about them!

We spent a few days in Los Angeles where we visited the new BCAM at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. We were thrilled to find one of our favorite pieces, Jeff Koons famous “Rabbit” on display. You may remember that Macy’s did a giant balloon version of it in their Thanksgiving Parade last year. The BCAM is relatively small, but had a nice collection. The LACMA is still undergoing a transformation and I look forward to returning after they complete another new building in 2010.

Back on the East Coast, we headed to Providence, RI to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the new Chace Center at the Rhode Island School of Design. The RISD has such a fabulous museum and it’s easy to see why Chihuly is considered their star alumnus. His beautiful glass work is bold yet delicate and full of unexpected color and shapes.

In New York City, we hit Central Park to tour the Chanel Mobile Art exhibit on its one and only stop in the United States. The structure, designed by famed architect Zaha Hadid, looked like a spaceship and had the security of a government building. Inside, an MP3 player took us on a 45 minute tour of art from around the world inspired by the Chanel handbag. Among the highlights were a giant Chanel bag which carried the light scent of the brand’s perfume. If you missed the exhibit in NY, you still have a chance to catch it in London or Moscow next year or Paris in 2010 if you should find yourself visiting one of those cities.

According to the latest post on the Transportation Security Administration blog, the restrictions regarding liquids, gels and aerosols in your carry-on baggage will soon be relaxed. Within a year, they expect to lift the 3oz rule and allow liquids of all sizes provided you remove them from your bag for scanning. By the end of 2010, they believe technology will enable them to detect threats from within packed luggage and they hope to lift all restrictions completely.

TSA: The Path Forward on Liquids

Now when you check-in for a Continental Airlines flight online, you are given the option to be automatically checked in to your return flight. You can choose to have your boarding pass faxed, e-mailed or sent to your mobile device 24 hours before departure or you can print it out at an airport kiosk.

Continental Online Check-In

Head over My Adventures to read about our trip to Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous house, Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. The experience was very visual, so I hope you will also check out my pictures by clicking on any of the photos posted or visiting my Photos page.

Looks like the rejection letters are out:

Dear Alena Kerins,

Thank you for participating in The Leading Hotels of the World’s 80th anniversary USD 19.28 Sale. We are sorry to inform you that we were unable to fulfill your travel request.

We appreciate your support and interest in our brand, and hope to bring you more celebratory offers in the future. As previously promised, all personal information obtained from you with regard to this promotion will be removed from our database. Should you wish to receive updates and news from The Leading Hotels of the World, please feel free to sign up for our e-newsletter at www.lhw.com.

Thank you again!
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.