Romantic destinations around the world

BORA BORA....

Bora Bora - Unquestionably the most mythical of the Pacific islands remains the island of all dreams.
Honeymooners and romantics from around the world have laid claim to Bora Bora where the castle-like Mount Otemanu pierces the sky above the crystal lagoon with its unique over the water bungalows that offer a magical oneness with this extraordinary environment.
Lush tropical slopes and valleys blossom with hibiscus, while palm-covered motu circle the lagoon like a delicate necklace. Perfect white-sand beaches give way to emerald waters where impossibly colored fish animate the coral gardens. So much has been written about Bora Bora, and yet it is hard to find the right words to describe the magic that emanates from this island.
Seen from the air, Bora Bora has been compared to that of "a tiny emerald in a setting of turquoise, encircled by a sheltering necklace of sparkling pearls".
The airport, built by the US forces in 1942, is located on a palm fringed motu about 20 minutes by boat from the main village of Vaitape.
Some other remnant of the US presence are 2 large cannons hidden in the lush hills overlooking the lagoon.
The view of Bora Bora from the airport is truly breathtaking, and as you travel across the spectacular lagoon you will soon understand why it is the main area of attraction for most visitors.
Bora Bora itself is rather small, and can be circled by car in about an hour.
The lagoon is 3 times the size of the land mass and offers an amazing range of hues of blue and turquoise as you navigate its crystal waters.
To the southeast of the island is the Coral Garden, a natural underwater park where all types of fish and corals are found.
Off the Point Matira there is an area where the huge and graceful manta rays congregate for your viewing pleasure. There are other types of ray such as the beautiful spotted ray and the friendly gray ray which love to be petted during the "ray feeding" excursions.At the entrance of the pass, the "White valley" teems with gray sharks and barracudas in a never ending ballet.
Most of the temples (Marae) having been destroyed during the last century by the English missionaries, and unfortunately there is little archeological remnants left.
Bora Bora lagoon offers a multitude of activities and excursions, one of the most popular being the Shark feeding (video) where from chest-deep water you watch local divers feed 4' to 5' reef sharks by hand. It's a lot of fun and totally safe. The same routine is done with a large group of friendly gray rays (video).
You can also take a circle-the-lagoon excursion with motu picnic, rent a small boat, visit the Lagoonarium near Le Meridien Hotel and take a 4x4 excursion to the panoramic view points and the US cannons.

romantic destinations around the world

Venice..........

In this city, even the ambulances are waterborne. The addresses are numbered in an erratic fashion - to put it diplomatically - and often times the city appears to be nothing more than a confluence of boats and gondolas lugging confused looking visitors to parts unknown. Many Venetians have fled the city, looking for a break from tourists and the city's overwhelming prices. The history of Venice Italy is unclear. The city was first formed by refugees escaping from barbarian hordes, weary evacuees who gave up their land for the possibility of freedom upon the nearby islands deemed uninhabitable by many at the time. Like their ancestors, the Venetians are running again.

Every year, the city's water levels rise. The muggy summer air cooks the canals and scrapes the paint and enamel from the city's finest pieces of art. Faithful to its origins, everything in Venice seems to be in peril. This has - logically - spiked tourism in Venice, which for years has been the sole means of support for the historic city, so at least you can rest assured that the high prices you'll encounter will be funneled into programs to renovate the city. Because, despite its continual decay and a layout so confounding it makes your eyes spasm, the city is still one of the most beautiful destinations in the world.

Tourism in Venice reaches its peak during Carnavale, the annual celebration before lent, where millions of visitors come from around the globe to take part in festivities. Other attractions include St. Mark's Basilica, also known as “The Church Of Gold.” The cathedral takes its names because it houses a golden altar measuring 40 square feet and set with thousands upon thousands of jewels. Hundreds of other treasures culled from centuries of wealth and privilege also remain inside.

The gondola is the primary mode of transportation throughout the canals, not to mention the enduring symbol of tourism in Venice. Though speedboats have become more commonplace nowadays, they are unable to drown out the traditional songs of the gondoliers, with most of these ballads reciting tales of true love or the magnificent history of Venice Italy itself.

And a storied history it is. Like Genoa, Venice used its waterways to develop into a powerful city, a hub for trade and commercial exploits, until it dominated a large portion of the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and hundreds of vital trade routes. The city thrived for centuries, becoming a center of the arts that made all others pale in comparison. Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto and Longhi all called Venice home at some point, and their works live on in the many galleries and museums spread throughout the city's maze of canals. The Academy Gallery is surely the most famous, where many of the city's masterpieces are displayed. Take a gondola ride down the famous Grand Canal and it will lead you to Ca' Rezzonico and Ca' d'Oro, the former famous for its ornate ballrooms and aristocratic balconies, the latter for providing shelter for the great works of Titian, Mantegna and Carpaccio.

The pageantry and history of Venice Italy are still alive and well for the time being. And don't worry about getting lost, either - it is said by locals that there are no wrong turns in Venice. See for yourself.

Chicago's Best Restaurants

Chicagoans are perennial boosters of their hometown specialties: the deep-dish pizza that's almost a casserole on a crust, the Vienna beef hot dogs topped with a salad of vegetables and relishes, the shirt-staining Italian beef sandwiches, the Southside barbecue joints, the cigar- and Martini-fueled steakhouses. These foods reflect the exhilarating combination of the Midwestern capital's ethnic diversity and love of big, beefy American food.
And yet, while Chicago remains true to its proud roots, it is also at the forefront of culinary experimentation. The current generation of Chicago-based chefs, including Moto's Homaro Cantu, Alinea's Grant Achatz, and Avenues's Graham Elliot Bowles, are turning out America's most cutting-edge food—from chemistry-lab cooking to dishes that show off the heartland's fertile bumper crop in simple yet sophisticated ways. The foie gras ban may have dealt a blow to liver-loving foodies, but thanks to these and other chefs, we have other things on our mind.

Las Vegas's Top Restaurants

If it's been a decade or more since you've visited Las Vegas, you're in for quite a few surprises. But even if it's only been a year or so, you'll notice that things have changed.

The dining revolution that started 15 or so years ago has continued to evolve. Just when Las Vegas foodies became convinced that the top tier had been reached, here came another wave of eminent toques—most recently, and most notably, French überchefs Joël Robuchon and Guy Savoy.

Wolfgang Puck got the ball rolling about 15 years ago when he opened Spago at The Forum Shops at Caesars in 1992. Things were a little slow to catch on—Puck remembers people lining up at the open kitchen, thinking it was a buffet—and chefs and restaurateurs around the country no doubt questioned his sanity. Spago not only succeeded but was followed by four other Wolfgang Puck restaurants in Las Vegas (so far). And a long parade of chefs from throughout the world has followed suit. Today, visitors to Las Vegas can dine at restaurants from chefs based in Paris (Guy Savoy, Joël Robuchon), New York (Mario Batali, Bobby Flay), San Francisco (Michael Mina, Hubert Keller), Chicago (Jean Joho, and soon Charlie Trotter) and more.

The competition for top chef continues, with looming megaprojects including the Palazzo at the Venetian, MGM City Center, and Echelon Place (which replaces the Stardust). Charlie Trotter, that rare celebrity chef who had a restaurant in Las Vegas and left, is rumored to be returning at Palazzo, which also will have a Cut from Wolfgang Puck and possibly another restaurant from Mario Batali. So far, the possibilities at the latter complexes remain closely guarded secrets.

For food lovers, it's a different kind of ultimate playground.

Hawaii's Top Restaurants

Hawaii has a 200-year-old tradition of mixing Eastern, Western, and Polynesian cuisine; a thriving community of niche farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and aquaculturalists; and a 15-year-old regional cuisine movement that has raised the bar for all Hawaii restaurants, big and small. No matter where you are in the Islands, you're likely to find something interesting to eat. But choosing where to dine depends a great deal on which island you find yourself on. Each of the four principal islands—Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island—has a distinct dining scene.
Oahu contains both urban Honolulu and Waikiki, often billed as an urban tropical resort. That means traffic and crowds, but it also brings a thriving restaurant culture. If you are coming to Hawaii to eat, Honolulu's the place. It boasts all three of the Islands' James Beard Award–winning chefs and a host of smaller restaurants offering a remarkable variety of Asian and Island specialties.
Over the past decade, Maui's dining scene has grown to rival that of Honolulu. Maui's glamorous high-end resort strips have engendered restaurants that are polished, accomplished—and often expensive.
The Island of Hawaii, commonly known throughout the state as the Big Island, has a range of natural wonders from volcanoes to rain forests, but a sparse restaurant scene, largely concentrated in the resorts along the Kohala Coast and in the bustling little ranching town of Waimea. However, if you like to eat locally, you'll be happy to hear that the Big Island has an abundance of agriculture, including crops that grow nowhere else in the United States—coffee, chocolate, and vanilla.
On Kauai, it still feels like the '60s. That means, on the one hand, many restaurants still tout steaks, seafood, and salad bars; on the other, it's a good island if you want vegan or other suitably New Age cuisine.

New York's Top Restaurants

Everyone's a food critic in New York, but no one knows where to eat. Too many places open and close. Some are hot for a month and then vanish, inexplicably, like a one-hit-wonder pop singer. But a few dozen restaurants do find a groove, and a regular audience, and never need course correction. These are the perennials, the safe bets, the treasured top picks. And, thankfully, there are eateries to match all needs: high-end celebrity chef dining destinations (good luck spotting Thomas Keller or Jean-Georges Vongerichten), budget-sensitive noodle shops, sexy hot spots that never lose their luster (reservations are a must), cozy local favorites, and the classics--where you can find authentic, no-kidding-around lox and bagels, pastrami on rye, or steak. We've selected only places that have proven their culinary chops and long-term reliability.

How can so many celebrities stay size zero in a town with food this good?
Simple: Los Angeles' fine-dining destinations feature diverse cuisines (Asian, Latin American) with spice-driven seasonings (instead of fatty sauces) and electrifying style (half the experience is visual). And for the occasional not necessarily healthy splurge: We have stellar steakhouses and budget-friendly bistros too. L.A. may be the city of stars, but the chefs are the ones readying for their close-ups.—Janice Wald Henderson

New Orleans's Best Restaurants

New Orleans is still recovering from the disaster caused by a levee system that couldn't hold water. The good news is that the neighborhoods that double as tourist draws—the French Quarter, Garden District, Uptown— are in full swing and have been for some time. Just as important, the city remains a culinary mecca. Food defines New Orleans like nothing else, and restaurants helped catalyze the city's resurrection. Great new restaurants continue to open. Almost all of the stalwarts are back up and running; many are as good as they've ever been. The meals served here are daily evidence that New Orleans will be New Orleans as long as there are people who hunger for its food.

GREECE

The roots of Greek cuisine lie in the home kitchen, rather than in restaurants: The country was largely agrarian until the middle of the 20th century, and Greek women, not professional chefs, found creative ways to use each season's produce. Important ingredients all over Greece have long included grains, legumes, vegetables, olive oil, and dairy (made into the country's famous cheeses and yogurt). With its many islands, Greece has probably more boats per capita than cars. Nevertheless, fish and seafood have never been plentiful enough to become a staple for most people who live near the sea. Meat was also eaten in small amounts until fairly recently, but since the mid-1960s, as the country has become more affluent, it has taken a more significant role in people's everyday diets.

Greek food still follows the seasons. Home cooks don't make stuffed tomatoes or melitzanosalata (eggplant spread) in the winter, although these vegetables are now available year-round. Many traditional dishes are still closely related to religious holidays. Magiritsa, a delicious soup made with chopped lamb's innards, scallions, and dill, with a tart egg-and-lemon sauce, is eaten only on Good Saturday, after the midnight Resurrection Mass. Pork is associated with the Christmas and New Year table, while fish is consumed on March 25, Annunciation Day, and always at the solemn meals that follow funerals.

Lunch, eaten around 2 p.m., and dinner, eaten after 8.30 p.m. and often at 10 p.m. or even later, are the two principal meals of the day. Breakfast is usually just a cup of coffee, occasionally accompanied by a cookie or biscuit. Meals include a fresh salad of raw or blanched seasonal vegetables or greens, and end with seasonal fruits. Sweets were originally part of the festive table but now tend to be eaten at all times of the day.

Though Greece doesn't have a longstanding restaurant tradition—many Greeks describe good restaurants as serving "home-cooked" food—there are plenty of great places to eat, including casual tavernas; hasapotavernes (butcher's taverns), which serve charcoal-grilled meats such as pork and lamb that are hard to make at home; seaside restaurants serving simply cooked fresh fish; farmers' markets; and a growing crop of fine dining restaurants, particularly in Athens. We've included regional culinary specialties and where to find them. Also be sure to ask the locals where they eat wherever you go.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky-White. And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-White gave no milk, and they didn't know what to do.

"What shall we do, what shall we do?" said the widow, wringing her hands.
"Cheer up, mother, I'll go and get work somewhere," said Jack.
"We've tried that before, and nobody would take you," said his mother. "We must sell Milky-White and with the money start a shop, or something."
"All right, mother," says Jack. "It's market day today, and I'll soon sell Milky-White, and then we'll see what we can do."

So he took the cow's halter in his hand, and off he started. He hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking old man, who said to him, "Good morning, Jack."

"Good morning to you," said Jack, and wondered how he knew his name.
"Well, Jack, and where are you off to?" said the man.
"I'm going to market to sell our cow there."
"Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows," said the man. "I wonder if you know how many beans make five."
"Two in each hand and one in your mouth," says Jack, as sharp as a needle.
"Right you are," says the man, "and here they are, the very beans themselves," he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of strange-looking beans. "As you are so sharp," says he, "I don't mind doing a swap with you -- your cow for these beans."
"Go along," says Jack. "Wouldn't you like it?"
"Ah! You don't know what these beans are," said the man. "If you plant them overnight, by morning they grow right up to the sky."
"Really?" said Jack. "You don't say so."
"Yes, that is so. And if it doesn't turn out to be true you can have your cow back."
"Right," says Jack, and hands him over Milky-White's halter and pockets the beans.
Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn't gone very far it wasn't dusk by the time he got to his door.
"Back already, Jack?" said his mother. "I see you haven't got Milky-White, so you've sold her. How much did you get for her?"
"You'll never guess, mother," says Jack.
"No, you don't say so. Good boy! Five pounds? Ten? Fifteen? No, it can't be twenty."
"I told you you couldn't guess. What do you say to these beans? They're magical. Plant them overnight and -- "
"

What!" says Jack's mother. "Have you been such a fool, such a dolt, such an idiot, as to give away my Milky-White, the best milker in the parish, and prime beef to boot, for a set of paltry beans? Take that! Take that! Take that! And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window. And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night."

So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and sorry he was, to be sure, as much for his mother's sake as for the loss of his supper.
At last he dropped off to sleep.

When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. So the man spoke truth after all.

The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along, and he walked along, and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.

"Good morning, mum," says Jack, quite polite-like. "Could you be so kind as to give me some breakfast?" For he hadn't had anything to eat, you know, the night before, and was as hungry as a hunter.

"It's breakfast you want, is it?" says the great big tall woman. "It's breakfast you'll be if you don't move off from here. My man is an ogre and there's nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast. You'd better be moving on or he'll be coming."

"Oh! please, mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I've had nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum," says Jack. "I may as well be broiled as die of hunger."
Well, the ogre's wife was not half so bad after all. So she took Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a hunk of bread and cheese and a jug of milk. But Jack hadn't half finished these when thump! thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming.

"Goodness gracious me! It's my old man," said the ogre's wife. "What on earth shall I do? Come along quick and jump in here." And she bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in.
He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down on the table and said, "Here, wife, broil me a couple of these for breakfast. Ah! what's this I smell? Fee-fi-fo-fum,I smell the blood of an Englishman,Be he alive, or be he dead,I'll have his bones to grind my bread."

"Nonsense, dear," said his wife. "You' re dreaming. Or perhaps you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday's dinner. Here, you go and have a wash and tidy up, and by the time you come back your breakfast'll be ready for you."

So off the ogre went, and Jack was just going to jump out of the oven and run away when the woman told him not. "Wait till he's asleep," says she; "he always has a doze after breakfast."
Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits and counts till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore till the whole house shook again.

Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing the ogre, he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold, which, of course, fell into his mother's garden, and then he climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said,

"Well, mother, wasn't I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see."
So they lived on the bag of gold for some time, but at last they came to the end of it, and Jack made up his mind to try his luck once more at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early, and got onto the beanstalk, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till at last he came out onto the road again and up to the great tall house he had been to before. There, sure enough, was the great tall woman a-standing on the doorstep.

"Good morning, mum," says Jack, as bold as brass, "could you be so good as to give me something to eat?"

"Go away, my boy," said the big tall woman, "or else my man will eat you up for breakfast. But aren't you the youngster who came here once before? Do you know, that very day my man missed one of his bags of gold."

"That's strange, mum," said Jack, "I dare say I could tell you something about that, but I'm so hungry I can't speak till I've had something to eat."

Well, the big tall woman was so curious that she took him in and gave him something to eat. But he had scarcely begun munching it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! they heard the giant's footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven.

All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, said, "Fee-fi-fo-fum," and had his breakfast off three broiled oxen.

Then he said, "Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs." So she brought it, and the ogre said, "Lay," and it laid an egg all of gold. And then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore till the house shook.

Then Jack crept out of the oven on tiptoe and caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say "Jack Robinson." But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling, "Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen?"
And the wife said, "Why, my dear?"

But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home he showed his mother the wonderful hen, and said "Lay" to it; and it laid a golden egg every time he said "Lay."

Well, Jack was not content, and it wasn't long before he determined to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early and got to the beanstalk, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till he got to the top.
But this time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre's house. And when he got near it, he waited behind a bush till he saw the ogre's wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept into the house and got into the copper. He hadn't been there long when he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and in came the ogre and his wife.

"Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman," cried out the ogre. "I smell him, wife, I smell him."

"Do you, my dearie?" says the ogre's wife. "Then, if it's that little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs he's sure to have got into the oven." And they both rushed to the oven.

But Jack wasn't there, luckily, and the ogre' s wife said, "There you are again with your fee-fi-fo-fum. Why, of course, it's the boy you caught last night that I've just broiled for your breakfast. How forgetful I am, and how careless you are not to know the difference between live and dead after all these years."

So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now and then he would mutter, "Well, I could have sworn --" and he'd get up and search the larder and the cupboards and everything, only, luckily, he didn't think of the copper.

After breakfast was over, the ogre called out, "Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp."
So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then he said, "Sing!" and the golden harp sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like thunder.

Then Jack lifted up the copper lid very quietly and got down like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he came to the table, when up he crawled, caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with it towards the door.

But the harp called out quite loud, "Master! Master!" and the ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off with his harp.

Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and would soon have caught him, only Jack had a start and dodged him a bit and knew where he was going. When he got to the beanstalk the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw Jack disappear like, and when he came to the end of the road he saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre didn't like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, so Jack got another start.

But just then the harp cried out, "Master! Master!" and the ogre swung himself down onto the beanstalk, which shook with his weight. Down climbs Jack, and after him climbed the ogre.
By this time Jack had climbed down and climbed down and climbed down till he was very nearly home. So he called out, "Mother! Mother! bring me an ax, bring me an ax." And his mother came rushing out with the ax in her hand, but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright, for there she saw the ogre with his legs just through the clouds.
But Jack jumped down and got hold of the ax and gave a chop at the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk shake and quiver, so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then Jack gave another chop with the ax, and the beanstalk was cut in two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after.
Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and what with showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived happy ever after. Source: Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales (New York and Lon

PETER RABBIT

ONCE upon a time there werBlogger is a free blog-publishing tool from Google for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video onto your personal or team blog.e four little Rabbits, and their names were
Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.
They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir-tree.

'Now, my dears,' said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, 'you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.'

'Now run along, and don't get into mischief. I am going out.' Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, and went through the wood to the baker's. She bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns.

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries:
But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden, and squeezed under the gate!

First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes; And then, feeling rather sick, he went to look for some parsley. But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor!

Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, 'Stop thief!'

Peter was most dreadfully frightened; he rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate.
He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe amongst the potatoes.

After losing them, he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new.

Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.

Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve, which he intended to pop upon the top of Peter; but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket behind him.

And rushed into the tool-shed, and jumped into a can. It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not so much water in it.

Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the tool-shed, perhaps hidden underneath a flower-pot. He began to turn them over carefully, looking under each.
Presently Peter sneezed - 'Kertyschoo!' Mr. McGregor was after him in no time.

And tried to put a foot upon Peter, who jumped out of a window, upsetting three plants. The window was too small for Mr. McGregor, and he was tired of running after Peter. He went back to his work.

Peter sat down to rest; he was out of breath and trembling with fright, and he had not the least idea which way to go. Also he was very damp with sitting in that can.
After a time he began to wander about, going lippity - lippity - not very fast, and looking all around.

He found a door in a wall; but it was locked, and there was no room for a fat little rabbit to squeeze underneath.

An old mouse was running in and out over the stone doorstep, carrying peas and beans to her family in the wood. Peter asked her the way to the gate, but she had such a large pea in her mouth that she could not answer. She only shook her head at him. Peter began to cry.

Then he tried to find his way straight across the garden, but he became more and more puzzled. Presently, he came to a pond where Mr. McGregor filled his water-cans. A white cat was staring at some gold-fish, she sat very, very still, but now and then the tip of her tail twitched as if it were alive. Peter thought it best to go away without speaking to her; he has heard about cats from his cousin, little Benjamin Bunny.

He went back towards the tool-shed, but suddenly, quite close to him, he heard the noise of a hoe - scr-r-ritch, scratch, scratch, scritch. Peter scuttered underneath the bushes. But presently, as nothing happened, he came out, and climbed upon a wheel-barrow and peeped over. The first thing he saw was Mr. McGregor hoeing onions. His back was turned towards Peter, and beyond him was the gate!

Peter got down very quietly off the wheel-barrow, and started running as fast as he could go, along a straight walk behind some black-currant bushes.

Mr. McGregor caught sight of him at the corner but Peter did not care. He slipped underneath the gate, and was safe at last in the wood outside the garden.

Mr. McGregor hung up the little jacket and the shoes for a scare-crow to frighten the blackbirds.Peter never stopped running or looked behind him till he got home to the big fir-tree.

He was so tired that he flopped down upon the nice soft sand on the floor of the rabbit-hole, and shut his eyes. His mother was busy cooking; she wondered what he had done with his clothes. It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight.

I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening.
His mother put him to bed, and made some camomile tea; and she gave a dose of it to Peter!
'One tablespoon to be taken at bed-time.'

But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had bread and milk and blackberries, for supper.

Sweet satisfaction: Five chocolate tours

(CNN) -- Romances come and go, but many a gourmand is in it for life with that addictive cocoa concoction, chocolate.

And the love affair is no secret. From Paris to San Francisco, chocolate tours are connecting visitors with delectable treats and insider information about what goes into crafting irresistible sweets.

So cave in to your cravings, take a tour and learn a thing or two about chocolate along the way.
San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour

Chocoholics on this Gourmet Walks tour are likely to sample unusual infusions -- such as star anise and pink peppercorn chocolate -- at Recchiuti Confections, a small shop in San Francisco's

Ferry Building showcasing exquisite hand-crafted confections.
Tour stops also include a shop that carries more than 225 chocolate bars from 15 countries and a visit to Scharffen Berger for a taste of their 70 percent bar, billed by the founders as the "perfect chocolate bar."

Gourmet Walks founder Andrea Nadel says it's best to taste on an empty stomach, using bread or crackers as a palate cleanser. Another tip: Don't store chocolate in the refrigerator or close to foods like onions or garlic.

Standard tours are offered three times a week; tickets are $49. Additional tours will be available Valentine's Day weekend, including a Chocolate for Lovers package for $150 per couple, which includes T-shirts, a bottle of port and Chocolove bars.
Boston Chocolate Trolley Tour

The first stop on this three-hour Old Town Trolley Tour has visitors perched 52 floors up at Top of the Hub in the Prudential Center for a decadent chocolate dessert and sweeping views of the city.

The tour also stops at the Omni Parker House Hotel, home of the Boston cream pie. After sampling the pie, chocoholics buckle down at the chocolate bar buffet at the Langham Hotel.
Tours are conducted on Saturdays. Tickets are $80.

Chicago Chocolate Tours

Chicago Chocolate Tours offers tasting trails in the Loop, Magnificent Mile and Andersonville neighborhoods. Started by Harvard grad Valerie Beck, "who used to practice law and is now happy," the tours will provide guests with nuggets about the history and health benefits of chocolate, as well as more treats than most people can finish, according to its Web site.

On February 13, a special Chocolate and Champagne Girls' Night Out ($50) includes visits to three sweet shops, a goody bag and a champagne toast at the Signature Room, which overlooks the city from the towering John Hancock Building.
Regular tours are available every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Standard tour tickets are $40 each.

New York Chocolate Tours

From the Upper East Side's exclusive international labels to SoHo's new wave chocolatiers, this outfit offers a taste of heaven to the sophisticated chocoholic.

The three-hour Union Square tour melds the history and culture of the area with chocolate, pastry and wine pairings.

Tours are offered Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Upper East Side and SoHo tours are $70; the chocolate and wine tour is $80.
Paris Chocolate Adventure

This weeklong gourmet adventure, hosted by chocolate experts David Lebovitz ("The Great Book of Chocolate") and Mort Rosenblum ("Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Light and Dark") is a serious caloric and monetary splurge.

The package, including six nights in a deluxe four-star hotel with breakfast, plus four lunches, five dinners with wine and all events and transportation, runs 3,295 euros ($4,200) per person for an April 26 to May 2 stay.

The trip, limited to nine guests, is offered each year in May. This year, the organizers added the April departure.A private tasting at La Maison du Chocolat, visits to local markets, lunches and dinners at Lebovitz and Rosenblum's favorite Parisian bistros and a delicious cruise aboard Rosenblum's houseboat on the Seine are among the week's activities.

Travelers' guide to frosty London

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Days after thick snow brought London to a standstill, the traditional drizzle has returned and it is business as usual in the bustling British capital.

The pavement might be slippery with ice but the resumption of the bus and rail services means that you'll at least be able to move around the city.
All airports in the south are operating normally -- albeit with some delays -- so there's no excuse to stay away.

With that in mind, CNN Business Traveller has compiled a guide for visitors to the city. It is still wise to bring an umbrella, but this week you may want to throw in a couple of ski poles.
Time zone: London is currently on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and eight hours behind Hong Kong.

From the airport: Non-stop train services link Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted aiports with central London. The Heathrow Express takes 15 minutes to Paddington Station and costs from $24 (£16.50) for a single journey. The London Underground costs only $6 (£4) but takes an hour.

A breakfast meeting: Visitors with a healthy budget and appetite might want to start the day at the Grand Café in The Wolseley (160 Piccadilly, W1J) where you where you can buy a traditional fry-up or "The English" for just shy of $20 (£13.50).

A budget option with no less of a London flavor can be found at the The Cock Tavern (East Poultry Avenue, EC1A) in the heart of Smithfield Market. Meat has been traded there for 800 years and early in the morning you can still see butchers plying their trade in bloodied coats.
For dinner: Impress with a table at one of London's most famous restaurants, Le Gavroche (43 Upper Brook Street, W1K) or Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's (Brook Street, W1K) .

For a cheaper option try a traditional pie and mash shop, the once staple of working class East London life. One of the oldest is M Manze (87 Tower Bridge Road, SE1) that sells jellied eels as well as pie and mash amid the traditional decor of tiled walls, wooden benches and white marble table-tops.

For a drink: Two of the oldest London pubs include Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (145 Fleet Street, EC4A) in the City of London and The Prospect of Whitby (57 Wapping Wall, E1W) a short walk along the Thames from Canary Wharf.

For one of the best hotel bars try the Lanesborough (Hyde Park Corner, SW1X) and One Aldwych (1 Aldwych, WC2B). High-flyers can also take in the view over a drink at Vertigo 42, the champagne bar atop Tower 42 (25 Old Broad Street, EC2N).

Tipping: Expect to tip around 10 percent in restaurants and cabs, but no tips are expected in bars.

On a fine afternoon (they do exist): Visit St James's Park to seek out its pelicans and to catch a view of Buckingham Palace from the bridge on the lake. Then walk via Westminster Abbey to Waterloo Bridge for spectacular views of The Palace of Westminster, Somerset House and Victoria Embankment. Finish with a ride on the London Eye.

Staying dry: Improve your swing at one of London's indoor golf centers. Urban Golf (Soho and Smithfield) features eight simulators, two putting greens, a bar and lounge and coaching. Shelter can also be found in some of London's iconic department stores. Harrods and Harvey Nichols are both in Knightsbridge.

Opening hours: Most shops and businesses are open from 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Larger stores in central London stay open till 7 p.m or 8 p.m. and later on Thursdays.
What to avoid: The crowds of tourists in Leicester Square, the Trocadero and the ubiquitous Scottish Steakhouses in London's West End.

Transport: Be warned: a single-stop tube journey in central London costs $8 (£4). To save money buy an Oyster card, which can be used on London's underground (£1.60 per single-stop journey), buses, trams and some overland rail services.
Black cabs can be hailed anywhere. Fares are high but the pay-off is that all drivers must pass the "Knowledge" -- an in-depth exam on navigating around London -- which means they really do know where they are going.

Don't miss in February: In 2009 the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (Richmond, TW9) is celebrating its 250th anniversary with a "Tropical Extravaganza" of exotic plants in one of its conservatories.

The Natural History Museum (Cromwell Road, SW7) is commemorating the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth and 150th year of the publication of On the Origin of Species with a major exhibition.

A number of star-studded plays have also just opened in London's theatreland. Imelda Staunton, star of Harry Potter, is in Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane (Trafalgar Studios until April 11). James McAvoy is in Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain (Apollo Theatre until May 2).

What to pack: February is a particularly bleak and cold month in Britain so pack an umbrella and warm clothes. For a handy keepsake of the city, buy an umbrella on arrival from James Smith & Sons (53 New Oxford Street, WC1A). The shop has hardly changed since it opened in 1830 and offers an impressive range of umbrellas and essential gentlemen's accessories. Oh, and don't forget to pack thermals and some decent footwear.