Watch out Dallas; the original maverick has come to town. Today, Virgin America officially kicked off its brand new service from LAX & SFO to Dallas Fort Worth with an inaugural flight & tarmac reception hosted by Sir Richard Branson and Dallas mayor, Tom Leppert.
With live bulls in a pen and a sign that read “Don’t fly like cattle”, Virgin America made their message very clear; they’ve come to Dallas to compete with the big boys and they’re committed to offering high quality service to gain that competitive edge.
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In celebration of the occasion, Virgin America has partnered with Stand Up to Cancer to throw a Texas-sized bash this evening at Dallas’s Winspear Opera House, where Grammy Award winner Willie Nelson will give a special surprise performance.
Gadling is on hand to find out what this launch means for competitors (American Airlines), DFW, and passengers. We’ll be speaking with Virgin America’s CEO, David Cush, to find out where the airline is headed & what their future plans are as they continue to expand with new international & domestic routes.
Stay tuned for an exclusive inside look at the event!
Make like your favorite Real Housewife at one of Virginia’s most elegant resorts, Keswick Hall.
Set just minutes from Jefferson’s Monticello, this intimate 48-room boutique inn and resort at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is offering a special two-night retreat perfect for a girlfriend getaway or a romantic weekend away.
To detox and unwind after a season filled with intense moments (and plenty of Virginia wines), Keswick Hall provides the perfect getaway experience with their “Housewives of DC & Beyond” package.
In true housewife fashion, don the glitz and glam to sit down for a five-course gourmet meal at the Signature Table in a private setting, complete with wine pairings featuring top-quality Virginia wines. Continue the pampering with a trip to Keswick’s spa for a luxe seasonal Organic Brown Sugar Pumpkin Scrub treatment (for two), or for the golf-loving housewife, a spa treatment can be swapped out for one round of golf on the Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course. This two-night package is available November 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011 for $1,020* based on double occupancy.
*Rates do not include taxes or gratuities and are based on double occupancy. Offers are subject to availability and cannot be combined with any other packages. Blackout dates apply. Dinner in the Fossett’s excludes beverages and the treatment and the Spa at Keswick Hall are limited to the value of $120 each, or one spa treatment and one round of golf, per stay and must be used during your stay.
Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.
Spice up your holiday traditions with one of these wacky winter activities in Paris, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and other cities around the world.
Lighted Farm Implement Parade Where: Yakima Valley, WA
Holiday parades are a dime a dozen, but this one can’t help but make you smile. More than 50 farm implements (as in tractors), trucks, and floats participate in this 21-year-old tradition in Sunnyside, WA. Cost: Free When: 6 p.m. Dec. 4, 2010
Roving Snowcat Food Trucks Where: Mammoth Mountain, CA
Starting Dec. 18, Roving Mammoth snowcat food trucks will serve breakfast, lunch, and snacks (including churros, burritos, and calzones) to skiers and snowboarders on Mammoth Mountain. Non-alcoholic beverages will also be sold, but you’ll have to save your après-ski cocktails for after you unstrap your skis and snowboards. Cost: A one-day ski lift ticket is $92 for adults, $69 for teens, and $46 for kids 7-12; kids 6 and under are free.
Snow Bar Where: Paris
The Hilton Arc de Triomphe, about a 10-minute walk from the world’s most famous arch, has transformed its outdoor courtyard into a winter wonderland. Expect snow makers, a cozy chalet bar with cocktails, and hostesses dressed up like Mrs. Claus. When: Dec. 2, 2010-Jan. 1, 2011 Cost: Rooms start at 295 euros ($385) per night in December.
Pool-Turned-Ice Skating Rink Where: Los Angeles
The W Los Angeles-Westwood has once again transformed its pool deck into an ice skating rink. The hybrid ice rink means that if you fall, you won’t feel cold or wet. The Snowy Snack Bar also lets you decorate your own gingerbread men or mini holiday cupcakes (add $10 per person). Cost: $10 for a one-hour session with skate rentals; open to the public When: Until Jan. 2, 2011
Chocolate Carousel Where:Las Vegas, Nevada
A life-size (and fully functional) carousel made with chocolate and sugar is part of the annual Holiday Village at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas. Alas, the drool-worthy carousel isn’t meant for rides, but you can admire the intricate handiwork up close. Cost: Free and open to the public When: Until Dec. 25, 2010
Milan-based industrial designer Emanuele Pizzolorusso centers on themes of sustainability and durability in his work. A 2008 honors graduate of the Politecnico di Milano, Pizzolorusso’s oeuvre includes a waste paper bin made entirely out of recycled paper (designed with Ricardo Nannini and Domenico Orefice) and an award-winning prototype of a map of Rome’s fountains.
It is Pizzolorusso’s crumpled, crushable city maps, however, that are likely to pique the interest of the travel industry. Produced by Florence-headquartered Palomar, these maps are made of tough waterproof material. They weigh around 20 grams (.7 ounces), can be opened and closed in seconds, and include key tourist sites. (Wonder how many if any of the German capital’s famous public toilets have made it onto the Berlin map.)
Maps collapse into a very small configuration for convenient travel and are sold with a pouch for easy transportation. With these crumpled maps, rushed travelers won’t have to obsess over finding the creases in their maps for precise folding.
Thus far, Palomar has produced maps for five cities, New York, Paris, London, Rome, and Berlin. Hamburg is up next, and Pizzolorusso tells me that another five or ten maps, depicting cities in the US and Asia, are on deck. Crumpled maps can be purchased for €12 ($16) on Palomar’s site. In the US, maps are distributed by Ameico, and are currently retailing for $18.
Each night at dusk, the lights are turned on at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It is impossible to take a picture that shows the magnitude of Disney’s dancing lights display. It completely covers the buildings in the theme park’s Streets of America section. So, to try to give you the big picture, here are some of the numbers that go into making this display.
1,000 – The number of lights this display started with when Jennings Osborne put some lights up outside his Little Rock, Arkansas, home at his daughter’s request. When the exhibit grew into millions of lights, it drew too much traffic to his neighborhood and was moved to Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.
16 – The number of years that the spectacle has been lighting up the night at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where it was first displayed in 1995.
5,000,000 – The number of individual lights now in the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights display.
350 – The number of miles the strings of lights would cover if laid end to end.
40 – The approximate number of “hidden Mickeys” in the lights display. Disney designers add Mickey shapes to the display, and many guests try to find them all.
%Gallery-108574%1 – The number of black cats in the Christmas light display. When the Osborne family’s lights were transported to Walt Disney World, a cat from the family’s Halloween display wound up with the Christmas stuff. Each year, the Disney designers put the cat in a different location in the display for guests to find.
66 – The number of machines used to make the “snowflakes” that fall periodically during the display, according to Studios Central.
5 – The number of songs the Christmas lights are programmed to “dance” to. This year’s songs include “Christmas is Starting Now” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and “A Mad Russian’s Christmas” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
3 – The number of “Phineas & Ferb” characters heard in the audio track that plays on the Streets of America. A bit with Phineas, Ferb and Dr. Doofenshmirtz has been added to the Spectacle of Dancing Lights this year.
21,000 – The approximate number of hours that Disney employees work to install the display.
53 – The number of nights that Disney’s dancing lights display can be seen this holiday season. It runs through Jan. 3, 2011.