The critics have tried, tested and decided: for the first time ever, a single restaurant in Germany − the Restaurant Francais at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof − boasts three top national and international culinary award winners for 2012. Joining Michelin-starred executive chef Patrick Bittner in this year‘s rankings are Oliver Näve, named Pâtissier of the Year by the prestigious Gault Millau restaurant guide and gourmet cook Johannes Goll, winner of the Bocuse d’Or Germany Selection 2012.

Widely renowned for its refined and elegant cuisine, Restaurant Français’s Michelin star was renewed for 2012, and the restaurant at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof also earned 17/20 Gault Millau points under the continued deft direction of Executive Chef Patrick Bittner. Team members Oliver Näve and Johannes Goll were recognised for the first time.

Beyond the purely culinary aspect, the restaurant is unique in its genteel French ambience. Fine silk wall covering, an impressive marble fireplace and inviting décor set the scene for a gourmet extravanganza served up by Chef Bittner and his team. Warm weather allows guests to enjoy the Restaurant Français experience al fresco on the Mediterranean summer terrace—beneath the imposing facade of the world-famous landmark Frankfurter Hof hotel.

Link: for further information ....

The Baroque city of Ludwigsburg just outside of Stuttgart boasts no fewer than three palaces. The most impressive is Ludwigsburg Palace. With three courtyards, 452 rooms and 18 buildings, this is one of the largest surviving Baroque palaces in Europe. At this former royal residence of the Dukes and Kings of Württemberg one of the special attractions is the living quarters of different rulers from different eras - all beautifully preserved and all open to the public. In the 80-acre park, you can admire the garden design from various eras at "Baroque in Bloom."

Within sight of Ludwigsburg Palace, there's also Favorite Palace, which has a Baroque façade but an interior in the Empire style. Construction of the hunting and pleasure palace of Favorite began back in 1717. Used both for hunting parties and as a summer villa, Favorite provided the backdrop for a spectacular firework display to celebrate the marriage of Duke Carl Eugen to Elisabeth Friederike of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Both the beautiful murals and the extensive nature and wildlife park are well worth seeing.

Link: www.stuttgart-tourist.de

London, England - Dulwich Picture Gallery is excited to present a monumental installation in its grounds to coincide with Andy Warhol: The Portfolios, The Bank of America Collection. The Four Seasons, a set of four fifteen-foot fibreglass sculptures by American artist and film-maker Philip Haas, will be the first ever public display of all four works and continues the Gallery’s commitment to displaying contemporary sculpture.

In a spectacular transformation that is typical of his work, Philip Haas has created a group of large-scale sculptures, inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo's renaissance paintings of the four seasons, comprising Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The colossal size of Haas’s sculpture accentuates the visual puzzle of natural forms –- flowers, ivy, moss, fungi, vegetables, fruit, trees, bark, branches, twigs -– as they are recycled to form four human portraits, each representing an individual season. The result is at once grotesque, earthy, and exuberant.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s eccentric, yet scientifically accurate, paintings of composite heads in profile were popular in the 16th century and then again in the 20th, when they were rediscovered by the Surrealists. Haas’s 21st–century reinterpretation has taken these beguiling paintings and brought them into the physical world. The idea of Arcimboldo in three dimensions is interesting as the paintings are all in profile so the face-on view is something the viewer would never have seen.

The first work, Winter, was made in 2010 and was exhibited to great acclaim at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., before travelling in 2011 to the Piazza del Duomo in Milan and the Garden of Versailles. The fabrication in London of Spring, Summer and Autumn is now underway, and they will join Winter in Dulwich Picture Gallery’s grounds this summer.

Link: www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

Santa Barbara, CA - Immerse yourself in one of the most unique artistic displays of the season at the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival (May 26 - 28), during which area artists turn the sidewalks surrounding Old Mission Santa Barbara into a colorful canvas. Madonnari, or street painters, transform the Mission plaza using pastels on pavement to create 150 vibrant and colorful, large scale images. We are proud to be the first to bring this romantic festival to the western hemisphere from our sister festival in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy.

The festival benefits the Children's Creative Project, a nonprofit arts education program of the Santa Barbara County Education Office. The Project serves 50,000 children in more than 100 schools with visual and performing arts workshops and performances throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. MAY 26, 27, 28, 2012 — XXVI Anniversario Festival hours are 10-6 daily. Admission is free. Link: www.imadonnarifestival.com/

The Loire Valley, France - The 4 star hotel Château du Breuil is located in a clearing in the forest not far from the Loire Valley châteaux of Cheverny and Blois, and is reached after a long drive through the woods. When you arrive, you'll be greeted by the owners Véronique and Bernard Gattolliat and their team with a big smile and a chilled glass of local white wine so you can relax before you settle in.

The hotel has a main building, plus two charming annexes: the Pavillon des Fruitiers and the Pavillon des Fleurs, nestled in the greenery, for a total of 39 rooms. You'll get to live like a prince - the rooms/suites are generous in size by any standard, even to the manor born! The hotel has a beautiful well-maintained pool, staff attentive to every detail, the ‘Orangerie Restaurant' for fine dining and, by all accounts, a brilliant buffet breakfast.

The Château du Breuil is part of the Alain Ducasse ‘Châteaux & Hôtels Collection' network that includes hotels & properties of exceptional charm across France, and is listed in a special category for those whose aura is steeped in magic of the past. The hotel also has the prestigious ‘Qualité Tourisme' label awarded by the French Ministry of Tourism.

Château du Breuil****, 23, Route de Fougères, 41700 Cheverny - France,
Link: www.chateau-hotel-du-breuil.com

San Francisco, April 2012—One of the art world’s most notorious relationships comes alive with Man Ray | Lee Miller, Partners in Surrealism on view July 14–October 14, 2012 in the Rosekrans Galleries at the Legion of Honor. The exhibition consists of approximately 115 photographs, paintings, drawings and manuscripts that explore the creative interaction between Man Ray and Lee Miller, two giants of European Surrealism. Organized by the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, this is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the pair’s artistic relationship. The works in the exhibition are drawn primarily from the Lee Miller Archives and Penrose Collection in Sussex, England, augmented for the San Francisco presentation by loans from important public and private collections in the United States. Included are selected works by artists in Ray and Miller’s circle in Paris, including paintings by Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Roland Penrose and Dora Maar and a small sculpture by Alexander Calder.

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Le Jardin du Plessis Sasnières: ‘The Most English of French Gardens’
Created in 1975 by Rosamée Henrion, former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's sister-in-law, with the help of one of her sons, an interior designer, Le Jardin du Plessis-Sasnières is a 3.5 hectare contemporary style English garden, 45 km northwest of Blois. It lies in a gentle valley with a small lake and waterfall and harbours an abundance of roses, subtly combined with many rare and unusual flowers, plants and flowering trees and shrubs.

Château de la Bourdaisière: The Gardener-Prince Who Loves Tomatoes
The Château de la Bourdaisière, a 55-hectare walled-in park with giant sequoias and Monterrey Cypress just east of Tours, houses the French National Collection of Tomatoes, created in 1998 by the ‘Gardener-Prince’ Louis-Albert de Broglie. The collection is unique in the world and features 650 varieties, many of which were brought back from travels in India and Asia.

Les Jardins de Roquelin: An Irresistible Treat...
Les Jardins de Roquelin at Meung-sur-Loire, 20 km from Orléans, will remind you of your grandmother's garden. In the true Loire tradition, roses are ubiquitous. There are over 400 varieties - ancient and modern, climbing and scrambling, all carefully colour-coordinated and bearing enchanting names: London Beauty, Star of Holland, April Snow and Wedding Day.
Link: www.visaloire.com

Vienna, Austria - The Society of Music Lovers in Vienna began its story with a roll of the drums on 29 November 1812. Before an audience of nearly 5,000 people, 600 music enthusiasts gave a performance of Händel's "Timotheus oder Die Gewalt der Musik". 200 years later, the Society of Music Lovers in Vienna is firmly established as one of the most important musical institutions worldwide. Thus it is that artists and friends of the Musikverein from around the world are taking part in our anniversary celebrations, and particularly prominent among them are Claudio Abbado and Mariss Jansons.

This season's orchestra residencies include the Orchestre National de France, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, in each case with their chief conductors. The Sächsische Staatskapelle visits Vienna with Christian Thielemann to celebrate the work of one of Saxony's most distinguished sons, Richard Wagner, born in 1813.

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The panoramic yacht will be offering open-top atmosphere on Lake Lucerne from May. Make yourself at home on the 1-hour round trip with audio guide, enjoy the beautiful view onto the bay of Lake Lucerne in stylish surroundings and get to know the attractions along the bank. The open-top effect is created by the adjustable roof, which can be opened or closed depending upon the weather. Experience nature, the wind and the sun and treat yourself to pure relaxation.

Bike and E-Bike Excursions in Lucerne
The bike season has started in the Lake Lucerne Region. From technically demanding mountain bike trips to leisurely cycling or e-bike routes for families, the region has something to offer for everybody. Set off on a ride and enjoy the beauty of the Lake Lucerne Region. More ...

LifeStyle: Wines & Spirits
The launch of a new collection of the some of world’s rarest single malts has encouraged an even rarer partnership between a duty free retailer, an airport owner and a luxury brand. The Dalmore has released a collection of its very best whiskies - created at the Highland distillery between the years 1964 and 1992 - through World Duty Free Group’s main tax and duty free store at Heathrow Terminal 5.

The exclusive arrangement lasting four weeks, along with the appeal of the collection, encouraged Heathrow to get involved by offering additional promotional space and allowing the use of the Royal Suite for the launch. The Dalmore Constellation Collection initially consists of 21 individual expressions, which have spent their lives finessing in the finest casks from around the world before being bottled at natural cask strength and at natural colour.

The plan is to release approximately 20,000 bottles – 4,000 a year – under the Constellation Collection banner. Prices range from £20,000 RSP for a bottle of the Vintage 1964 to £2,000 for a bottle of Vintage 1992. The entire collection will sell for £158,000 and World Duty Free Group has been allocated two complete collections; all the number 1 bottles from each year and all the number 8 bottles from each year. Link: www.thedalmore.com