Adventure Travel in Luxury in the Canadian Rockies

by Jamie Rhein on

Usually I equate adventure travel with roughing it. Getting dropped off by helicopter into the wildnerness where there are no paved roads also sounds a bit risky. On the contrary on both accounts. Although heli-hiking vacations do involve helicopters and donning hiking boots for some rigorous activity, there’s no reason to forgo the niceties of pampering if you’re spending the night in the wild.

That’s what I found out when I read Joe Nocera’s first person account of his trip to Canada in the New York Times travel section. He went on a Canadian Mountain Holidays vacation that involved being dropped off on top of a mountain in the morning so he could hike all day with the rest of his group in stunning, hard to reach places before the helicopter came back for them to return them to the lodge. According to him, this experience allows for roughing it travel that is mixed with luxurious slumber in a lodge that also offers massages, wine and hors d’oeuvres. That does sound good BUT. . .

One of the things he mentioned was seeing markings left by grizzly bears, something that might be hard to see if you just hike somewhere. Harumph! The first time I hiked in Glacier National Park in Montana with my husband the spring before we got married, he pointed out two grizzly bears across a field from where we were heading to a lake he thought I should see. I wondered about the fruit in his pack. He said I ought to be more concerned about the salami in mine and all he had to worry about was out-running me. The bears were so far away they looked like small dogs and according to this personal tour guide of mine who spent the summers in college doing laundry at Many Glacier Hotel in East Glacier, we weren’t in any danger. We made it to the lake several miles from the parking lot. I still remember the mountains still capped with snow and the brilliant blue of the water. And at the end of the day, I had the satisfaction of knowing that I got there and back by using my legs to carry me. We didn’t see one person along the way. If a helicopter had shown up, though, I probably wouldn’t have turned down the ride.

One company I found that offers a smaller scale version of Nocera’s experience is Heli-Canada Adventures. You can do a heli-hike for a day if you want to picnic on top of a mountain, for example, and you just don’t want to walk there.

The World’s Most Expensive Cocktails

by Catherine Bodry on

Wine from 1830 — a taste of France’s “zenith of glory.” 125-year-old cognacs poured over rubies. A martini with a sterling-silver pick holding a pair of diamond earrings. A cocktail mixed with a rare African aphrodisiac. You could spends upwards of $500 to be one of a few to enjoy a rare vintage or a cocktail embellished with jewelry (which seems a bit like cheating, don’t you think?). Here, Forbes Traveler describes some of the most expensive cocktails in the world.

The holder of the Guinness Record for most expensive cocktail goes to the Ritz Sidecar, served at the Paris Ritz’s Bar Hemingway. Bartender Colin P. Field follows the classic sidecar recipe: cognac, Cointreau, and a drop of freshly squeezed lemon juice shaken and served in a martini glass. The magic (and cost — $515) lies in the cognac, 1830 Ritz Reserve. The cognac comes from vines that predate the phylloxera plague; in the 1860s, insects from America wiped out many of France’s finest grapevines, and only a handful of bottles of the Ritz Reserve remain.

If you’re considering imbibing, you might also want to check out Gadling’s list of drinks men shouldn’t order, as well as the worst places to be hungover. Both might save you some embarrassment.

The Diamond Cocktail in the Piano Bar at London’s Sheraton Park Tower Hotel combines Charles Heidsieck Vintage 2001 champagne and Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac (which can go for $1,750 a bottle) with three drops of angostura bitters, poured over a sugar cube with the customer’s choice of diamonds or rubies. A 0.6 carat diamond will produce a $4,350 drink, but the price could more than triple if a customer wanted a more expensive gemstone.

Is it worth it? The article doesn’t discuss flavor, but at that price I’d certainly want to taste the alcohol — and it better be good.

Check out Forbes’ slide show of cocktails that break the bank.

Current Issue of New Yorker is a Traveler’s Treat

by Catherine Bodry on

You should approach reading the September 3rd and 10th issue of the New Yorker as you would grocery shopping — don’t do it when you’re hungry. This one is all about food, and travelers generally enjoy eating. One of the greatest joys of traveling is eating local food like a local, whether at a street stall in Asia or off a prix fixe French menu.

This week’s issue of the New Yorker features Calvin Trillin’s exploration of street food in Singapore (street stalls have been corralled into large, clean, and open-air halls — I was salivating just reading the article and imagining all the delicious smells combined under one roof), a look at Claudia Roden’s Egyptian food in London, and John McPhee’s tour of culinary oddities around the world (grizzly bears, lions, and Rocky Mountain oysters, oh my!).

My favorite is the smattering of narratives called “Family Dinner,” in which writers including David Sedaris and recall flavor-infused memories. In one, critical movie reviewer Anthony Lane opens up about learning to eat artichokes — a story that makes Lane seem surprisingly human (as long as you’re not a film director, I suppose).

And just to make this issue even more relevant for Gadling readers, on the financial page in an article titled, “The Unfriendly Skies,” James Surowiecki analyzes the airline industry’s recent lack of customer service. Unfortunately, Surowiecki concludes, there’s not much incentive for airlines to change. Just like Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza wrote, customers will keep buying the tickets that save them money.

Too bad there’s no debate over airline food.

Hot Bartenders and Cool Drinks on Hawaii

by Catherine Bodry on

Forbes Traveler has singled out the cutest bartenders and their signature drinks across the Hawaiian Islands. Aspiring models, blue-eyed hunks, and surfer babes alike move and shake through the balmy Hawaiian evenings, helping customers wind down or pump up, depending on the evening. You can hang out at high-class lounges or low-key joints, but all places reviewed include the beautiful people.

A few of the drinks are staples or twists on old classics: Mai Tais, or Strawberry Long Island Iced Tea. But a few are original, like Berry Berry Drunk, a blueberry lemonade-tasting drink made with Grey Goose Citron, lemon juice, and strawberries.

Check out the full article at here and the slide show at Forbes Traveler.

Russia Gets its First Starbucks

by Catherine Bodry on

While the Forbidden City is forbidding Starbucks, the global coffee chain finally opened its doors in Russia two years after it won a legal battle to protect its brand in the Russian market. It took long enough. McDonald’s has been there since 1990, so I’m surprised it took Starbucks over 10 years to set up shop in Russia.

The shop is located in a Mega shopping mall in Khimki, just north of Moscow. The company plans to open another shop on Moscow’s historic Stary Arbat street before 2007 is up, but is keeping mum on further expansion plans.

My prediction? It won’t be long before Starbucks shops pop up across Russia like pimples on an adolescent’s face.

[via Reuters]