Photo of the Day: The Moire Room at Blantyre

Photo courtesy of Blantyre Resort, Lenox, MA

Voted #1 Small Hotel in the U.S. and #66 in the World in

Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards 2010.

The award-winning Blantyre, a Relais & Chateaux property, is located in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts. The Main House, The Cottages & Carriage House all feature sumptuous furnishings. Click here to view

BLOGWATCH: Caribbean Romance, Travel Tips, Vermont Weddings

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2 gorgeous Summer Weddings at Riverside farm in Vermont. Just lovely!!!
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Maine's Award-winning Chefs

Cayman Arts & Crafts

A Crafting Tradition Revived
 

Photo courtesy of Cayman Airways Skies Magazine

"The islands have changed very rapidly in just a few decades — and it might come as a surprise to visitors today that just a generation or two ago, weaving baskets, hats or lengths of rope from the leaves of the silver thatch palm was a means of survival for everyday life."

Read the full story on Cayman Airways Magazine online. Click here

:: Photo of the Day: Cliff Walk

Take a walk back in time to Newport's gilded age!

Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island

Photo courtesy of Go Newport

Cliff Walk Website 

:: SPOTLIGHT: From A Former Jail to Luxury Hotel

Liberty Hotel, Boston

"Commanding in scale, the original granite edifice was innovative for its day, comprising a beautiful cruciform-shaped structure complete with a 90-foot central rotunda and cupola built in 1851. Today, through meticulous planning reflective of the property’s colorful past, this strong and beautiful building is home to a variety of transcendent public spaces linked by historic catwalks – including lobby and reception areas, restaurant, bar, grand ballroom, and meeting rooms – as well as a limited number of guestrooms. Among the other dramatic features that have been preserved are vestiges of jail cells within the hotel lobby bar and magnificent, oversize windows. A new, adjoining 16-story tower houses the majority of guestrooms with every modern convenience." --Liberty Hotel

Once a destination for notorious criminals, the Liberty Hotel in Boston, is today a destination of luxury and elegance in the heart of Boston.

The former Charles Street Jail was a collaboration between architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, widely considered Boston’s most accomplished architect of the time, and Rev. Louis Dwight, a prominent Yale-educated penologist whose travels shaped his interest in and advocacy for prison reform.

Upon closing its doors in the 90s, the building was acquired by the nearby prestigious Mass General Hospital and proposals sought for its reuse, with the condition that significant elements of the building be preserved. In 2001, Carpenter & Company was designated the developer of the project.

Together, a team of designers, architects, historians and conservationists transformed the property into what is now one of 'The Leading Hotels of the World'.

Take a look inside! Click here

BLOG WATCH: Aboard the Arabella, Sandy Lane's New Chef, Sea Turtles, Moose Moment, Aruba Wine Extravaganza

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:: MUSEUM VISIT: Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum

Craftsmanship

Beautifully, finely woven nantucket baskets are unique to the island of Nantucket. Their design evolved slowly, beginning in the 19th century with the native indians to crewmen aboard their lightships stationed at South Shoals.

Known for numerous shipwrecks, South Shoals was a dangerous place. Lightships were stationed off-shore to function like a lighthouse. It was here that 'basket making' became a hobby for lightship crewmen as well as a source of income. A cottage industry was born.

Production of baskets on these sea vessels ended soon after the turn of the 20th century. Today, scores of craftsmen and women continue the basket making tradition on Nantucket.

The Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum is preserving this rich history. For more information, visit http://www.nantucketlightshipbasketmuseum.org/

Photo Credit: Michael Kane Lightship Baskets

:: Today's Featured Photo

Jade Mountain Resort: A View of the St. Lucia Pitons

Photo Courtesy of Jade Mountain Resort, St. Lucia

The luxurious Jade Mountain Resort is an award-winning hotel featuring bold architecture and stunning views of the Caribbean Sea and twin mountain peaks, the Pitons.

:: SPOTLIGHT

Elliott Erwitt's Puerto Rico

"50 years ago, Elliott Erwitt came to Puerto Rico to photograph the islands and the people who live there. Since then, Elliott went on to become one of the world's most celebrated photographers of contemporary life..."

On his return to see what had changed and what had remained the same, Erwitt captured his story in pictures. His work became the center of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company's $10 million advertising campaign launched last December and seen on networks like Bravo, Food Network, Fine Living, Travel Channel, CNN and CNBC. The campaign also ran in print titles like Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, Food & Wine, In Style, Town & Country, and Travel & Leisure.

Sit back and enjoy the view! Click here

:: BLOG WATCH - Nuts About Southwest, vtravelled Blog, enRoute Blog

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::TODAY IN MUSEUM VISITS

Norman Rockwell Museum

Founded in 1969, the Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA houses the world’s largest and most significant collection of Norman Rockwell’s work, including 574 original paintings and drawings.

For a complete bio of the artist and the museum that bears his name, click here