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Experience the movies on a Hollywood-themed vacation

- May 9th, 2013
A curator at the “NBCUniversal Experience,” an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood featuring never-before-seen props and priceless Hollywood artifacts from Universal Pictures and Focus Features, works to complete the display of an ensemble worn by Kristin Stewart in Snow White and The Huntsman.

A curator at the “NBCUniversal Experience,” an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood featuring never-before-seen props and priceless Hollywood artifacts from Universal Pictures and Focus Features, works to complete the display of an ensemble worn by Kristin Stewart in Snow White and The Huntsman.

One of my favourite movies of 2012 was Snow White and the Huntsman, starring two actresses who I admire for making bold career film choices, Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart.  Now, visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood can see costumes and props worn and used in the movie by Theron and Stewart on display at the NBCUniversal Experience attraction in California.

Stewart’s Snow White dress and Theron’s Evil Queen scepter are on display, along with props and costumes from other 2012 films, like Anne Hathaway’s tattered Fantine dress from Les Miserables and Kiera Knightley’s elegant Anna Karenina opera gown.

The NBCUniversal Experience also features movie memorabilia from classic films, like drawings from Jaws and Dracula, the 1973 Best Picture Oscar statuette for The Sting and matte paintings from The Birds.

There are many ways tourists can inject a little celebrity-style into their vacation, whether the destination is Universal Studios Hollywood or Ko Phi Phi Leh in Thailand. These slideshows from Canoe.ca Travel are filled with ideas for Hollywood-inspired travel. So grab your bottle of Bling water, have your personal assistant hold your calls and start clicking:

- Some of Earth’s most exotic places have been featured on film, from the sunny shores of Ko Phi Phi Leh, Thailand in The Beach to Abu Dhabi in Sex and the City 2. These are our top 15 exotic destinations in the movies.

- Sometimes it’s not the destination, it’s the journey! These 15 amazing journeys in film will inspire you to embark on your own road trip!

- Get bitten by the travel bug as we count down the top 10 movies that inspire travel. If these 10 epic films don’t inspire wanderlust in you, nothing will!

- Sip a cocktail like Carrie Bradshaw or down an Old Fashioned like Don Draper in one of these 10 destinations known for their cocktails. Plus, discover the connections between iconic movies and TV shows and the drinks!

- If only these places were real! Some of the most fantastic destinations in movies, from Oz to Camelot, aren’t real, but that hasn’t stopped us from counting down our 15 favourite imaginary locales.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains forced to give female staff “bra vouchers” after uniforms deemed too skimpy

- May 8th, 2013
Virgin Trains uniform. (Courtesy Virgin Group)

Virgin Trains uniform. (Courtesy Virgin Group)

Female staff members on Virgin Trains, a branch of the Virgin Group owned by Sir Richard Branson, are being given £20 vouchers to buy new bras and underthings after complaining that their uniform’s red blouses were far too skimpy and revealing.

The red blouses are part of a new uniform for female staff members on Virgin Trains that was set to debut today, but employees had complained that the blouses were too transparent and that darker undergarments could easily be seen through the shirt, according to Britain’s The Telegraph.

The launch of the new uniform has now been pushed back to May 27 to allow for changes in the shirt’s design. Virgin has also given female staff members a £20 voucher to buy undergarments they would feel more comfortable wearing under their uniform.

“It’s important that our people feel comfortable and so we will be issuing vouchers in the next few days for ladies to buy undergarments to wear under their blouses,” Andy Cross, Virgin’s business support director, said, according to The Telegraph. “The other relates to feedback concerning the thickness of the ladies’ blouse material. Female employees concerned about the new blouse will be offered a £20 voucher to buy suitable undergarments.”

The “cover-up” is expected to cost the company thousands of pounds.

Virgin Atlantic, an airline owned by Branson under the Virgin Group, recently unveiled new flight attendant uniforms designed by Vivienne Westwood. To view our gallery of some of the world’s best flight attendant uniforms, click here.

Rosewood Hotels’ top margaritas for Cinco de Mayo

- May 2nd, 2013

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This holiday originated in Mexico’s Puebla region, where the residents use the fifth of May to commemmorate the Mexican army’s victory over the French during the 1862 Battle of Puebla.

Much like St. Patrick’s Day, though, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a day honouring Mexican culture and heritage, celebrated by Mexicans — and those who just wish they were Mexican – across North America.

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, three hotels from the Rosewood Hotels & Resorts collection in Santa Fe, Cabo San Lucas and San Martin are sharing their signature margarita recipes. Mix up one of these festive margaritas at your Cinco de Mayo party for the true taste of a Mexican fiesta!

Silver Coin Margarita – by Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
• 1.5 oz El Tesero Platinum Tequila
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• 2.5 oz fresh lime/lemon/sugar mix

Jalapeño Margarita – by Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)
• 1 muddled Jalapeno (no seeds)
• 1.5 oz Tequila
• 3/4 oz Cointreau
• 1 oz lime juice
• 3/4 oz sugar syrup

 

The “Bentley” Margarita – by CordeValle, A Rosewood Resort (San Martin, California)
• Patron Platinum
• Agave Nectar
• Lemon & Lime
• 100 Gran Marnier Float

A Great Gatsby getaway in New York City

- April 30th, 2013
A scene from The Great Gatsby. (Courtesy Warner Bros.)

A scene from The Great Gatsby. (Courtesy Warner Bros.)

The glamour of the Roaring Twenties is back in the spotlight thanks to Baz Lurhmann’s anticipated The Great Gatsby film, opening May 10, and it’s influencing everything from fashion to hotel packages.

If you want to trip the light fantastic like Gatsby and his pal Nick, you’ll first need to make your way to the state of New York, where F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characters spent one crazy summer back in 1922.

The Surrey Hotel, New York City

The Surrey Hotel, New York City.

The Surrey Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side will be your home-away-from-home and will help you dress the part with their Summer of Gatsby package. The hotel has partnered with luxury men’s clothing line ISAIA to help dress men in the distinguised style of the 1920s. The package includes a fitting session with one of ISAIA’s made to measure specialists. Rates start at $995 per night. The package is available through Aug. 31, 2013 to guests staying in suites. Fittings are by appointment.

Once you’ve taken Manhattan by storm, escape the city for Newport, Rhode Island, where the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby was filmed.

Vanderbilt Grace, Rhode Island.

Vanderbilt Grace, Rhode Island.

 The Vanderbilt Grace is your destination in this idyllic playground of the rich and famous. The restored 1909 mansion-turned-hotel is offering a ‘Grace Gatsby’ package that includes a two night stay, two Newport mansion passes so you can check up on the neighbours, sunset sailing for two and champagne breakfast. Also included is an uber elegant five course Vintage Vanderbilt dinner, modelled on the actual dinner menu of the Vanderbilt family in 1912. Rates for this package, available through Sept. 30, 2013, start at $1,100 per couple.

Young royals on Making of Harry Potter tour at Warner Bros. Studios

- April 26th, 2013

Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and brother Prince Harry walk through the set used to depict Hogwarts’ Great Hall in the Harry Potter films during the Inauguration Of Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, north London, on April 26, 2013. AFP PHOTO/POOL/CHRIS JACKSON

Prince William, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry visited Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden near London today, officially opening the studio and taking part in the Making of Harry Potter studio tour.

The trio were joined by 500 adults and children from various charities they support and received a wand lesson, visited Hogwarts’ Great Hall and saw costumes from the movies during their visit.

The three young royals also saw a number of costumes and props from the Batman movies, with Prince William especially excited to ride the Batmobile and Batpod.

To plan your own visit to Warner Bros. Studios and the Making of Harry Potter tour, visit wbstudiotour.co.uk

Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and brother Prince Harry raise their wands on the set used to depict Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films during the Inauguration Of Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, north London, on April 26, 2013. AFP PHOTO/POOL/PAUL ROGERS

Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and her husband Prince William play with magic wands on the set used to depict Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films, during the inauguration of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in London April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Paul Rogers/POOL

Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, laughs as her husband Prince William sits on the ‘Batpod’, from a Batman film, during their visit to the Warner Bros. Studios at Leavesden in southern England April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Jackson/pool