Food in the mountains - Detroit Free Press

[Anguillan newsboy]

The Greenbrier Resort in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia is teaming up with Food & Wine magazine to offer A Weekend of Culinary Masters from Oct. 26 to 28. Guests like Arnaud Berthelier (executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, in Atlanta), Gordon Maybury (executive chef at the Peninsula New York) and Peter Timmins (executive chef at the Greenbrier) will address food topics and compete against each other in cook-offs. The package includes a three-night stay, all activities and receptions, lunch and dinner Friday and Saturday and brunch Sunday. Rates are $3,700 a couple or $2,415 for one attendee .


Getting to know the ship's chef

Cruisers interested in fresh ingredients, local flavors and dining with fellow foodies might want to check out the new Chef's Table option offered by Princess Cruises. Available aboard the new Emerald Princess, which will sail the southern Caribbean starting in October, and open to 10 diners a night, the Chef's Table costs an additional $75. The diners will get a meal specially created by the chef from ingredients from local ports and the chef will join the participants for dessert.
The cruise line will start to roll out Chef's Tables aboard its other ships starting this fall. P***engers who are interested should call the dining reservations phone line once they have boarded.


We who vacation in Rome salute you
"I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten and to be killed by the sword" is not the typical oath uttered by tourists visiting Rome these days. But the Rome Cavalieri Hilton aims to change all that with its gladiator training program.
The hotel joined with the Roman Historical Society to offer a two-hour fitness session. Participants don full gladiator garb then start learning combat moves with a rudis, a wooden training sword. Afterward, gladiators forgo death in favor of a m***age.
The program costs 500 euros, or $690 at $1.38 to the euro (plus 200 euros for the m***age). Room rates start at 320 euros, or 295 euros for guests who reserve 21 days in advance.


Nicklaus venture starts in the Bahamas
Royal Island, Bahamas is the first announced location of the new line of Jack Nicklaus Golf Clubs. Major construction is to begin early next year (13 of the 18 holes have been cleared so far), and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009.
Situated 190 miles east of Miami, near Harbor and Eleuthera Islands, Royal Island is a private island accessible by boat or helicopter. It will have a boutique hotel, a spa, a 200-slip marina, retail shops and single-family residences.
For his new line, Nicklaus plans 25 signature golf clubs in countries like Argentina, Anguilla and New Zealand.


A green hotel grows in Greensboro
Greensboro is an apt name for a town that will be home to one of the greenest hotels in the country. The Proximity Hote, in North Carolina's Piedmont region, is striving for gold certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. Only one hotel in the country has the rating so far: the Gaia Napa Valley in California.
To be the second, Proximity is planning to use 100 rooftop solar panels, recycle 75% of its construction waste, capture rainwater to irrigate gardens, grow vegetables on the restaurant's roof and use about half the energy of a conventional hotel through an air-exchange system. The hotel, named after an old cotton mill nearby, will have a warehouse look and loft-style guestrooms. And the windows will actually open.
The hotel will celebrate its Nov. 1 opening with starting rates of $119 on weekends through Jan. 13.


Atypical destination, atypical guide
Lonely Planet has issued its first guide to Afghanistan. It's meant for those visiting the country on business or working there with nongovernmental organizations -- and the few independent people who are up for the challenge.
The book contains an essay about women in Afghanistan and several chapters about history and culture. But the most important section, according to author Paul Clammer, is the safety chapter.
"It's the absolute key to the book," he said.


Washington to Pittsburgh, by bike
Take in the fall foliage by bicycling from Washington to Pittsburgh using more than 300 miles of off-road trails.
In December, the finishing touches were put on a section linking Maryland and Pennsylvania along the Great Allegheny P***age.
The Allegheny trail has an average grade of under 2%, so the average cyclist should be able to complete the route in about a week (two weeks for hikers), trail authorities say. Lodging options range from campsites to hotels.Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, between Mill Run and Ohiopyle, Pa.