Mother-to-be Tori
Spelling and
her husband Dean McDermott may have found in the city of Idyllwild,
California a cozy love nest from which to film their upcoming reality
TV series. The newlyweds, who will be renovating a bed and breakfast
in front of the cameras, were spotted at both Creekstone Inn and The
Quiet Creek Inn in recent days. Both guarded by the majestic San Jacinto
Mountains, guests who check into The Creekstone Inn will savor a serene
B&B experience, the inn's nine guest quarters awash in a peaceful
palette of pastel hues accented with wooden paneling, while romantics
who book one of the series of duplex cabins at Quiet Creek Inn can curl
up in front of a stone fireplace after exploring six and one-half wooded
acres.
Architecture aficionado Brad
Pitt recently relished a two-hour tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's
Mill Run masterpiece, Fallingwater, courtesy of his lady love Angelina
Jolie,
who scheduled a viewing of the site for the actor's birthday. Open to
the public from mid-March through Thanksgiving weekend as well as on
weekends in December, visitors can purchase tickets for six different
tours, ranging from the Regular Fallingwater Tour, a 55-minute excursion
through several of the building's rooms, to the In-Depth Tour, an extensive
exploration of the house which takes two hours.
On November 16, 1981, 30 million TV viewers bore witness
as daytime drama's most beloved couple, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer and
Laura Webber Baldwin, were pronounced husband and wife. Twenty-five
years later, soap fans gathered around the television set as actors
Anthony Geary and Genie Francis once again stepped into
their "General Hospital" personas to pledge their love, this
time in an outdoor ceremony held at the Arboretum of Los Angeles County,
a 127-acre verdant vision which has been showcased in a number of classic
moments on both the big small screen, from Alfred Hitchcock's seductively
suspenseful "Notorious" to TV's "Fantasy Island."
Romantics longing to follow in the footsteps of the dreamy daytime duo
can exchange vows from April through October at a number of the Arboretum's
sites, including the Queen Anne Cottage lawn, the rose garden, the sunset
demonstration garden, the Bauer lawn and the waterfall.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest of Hollywood's
heavenly bodies to tour the "Bodies.....The Exhibition" at
New York City's South Street Seaport. Both Natalie Portman
and Marcia Cross
have been spotted at the artistically arranged homage to the human anatomy
in 2006.
Rock god Robert Plant made a pilgrimage to the king of rock 'n'
roll's home in early November. Elvis
enthusiasts lucky enough to tour Graceland
during the holidays will have anything but a "Blue Christmas,"
as the mansion is decorated with the ornaments and arrangements which
once made the season bright for the Presley family. The merry Memphis
Christmas display lasts through January 8, Elvis's birthday.
Royal News
Royal romantic Prince Harry paddled in a canoe
up the lazy Orange River in Namibia this past November with his South
African amour, Chelsy Davy. The canoodling couple spent several nights
beneath the stars during their trek, which led them to the secluded
Norotshama River Resort, a haven for nature lovers with excursions to
a farm where wild desert horses roam freely.
Royal watchers not lucky enough to obtain tickets to
A Concert for Diana,
a tribute to the late princess which will be attended by both of her
sons, can still get up close and personal to the second and third in
line for the throne at New York City's Madame Tussaud's, where wax renderings
of Prince Williamand Prince Harry will be on display through
January 15, 2007.
A crowd 10,000 strong gathered together on December 7 to witness HRH
Crown Princess
Mette-Marit of Norway illuminate the lights on the 100-year-old
Norwegian spruce which currently stands in London's Trafalgar Square.
The princess and her husband, HRH Crown Prince Haakon celebrated
the festive moment with their children, HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra
and Marius Borg Hoiby.
Australia
In November, newly single Kate
Hudson enjoyed a day away from the Australian set of her latest
cinematic venture, gliding over the azure waters of Port Douglas aboard
a yacht and exploring the largest coral reef system on earth, the Great
Barrier Reef.
England
As filming of "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass"
wrapped up in London, newlywed Nicole
Kidman relaxed and read over her lines in her suite at The Dorchester
Hotel. Guests checking in to the hotel's 195 rooms and 49 suites can
enjoy the Art Deco interior as well as exterior views of Hyde Park.
Filming has wrapped on the upcoming drama "And When Did You Last
See Your Father?" After days spent in front of the camera, actor
Colin Firth returned to his suite at the Shottle Hall Country
House Hotel, a Victorian era, Derbyshire domicile on the Chatsworth
Estate, where the cinematic heartthrob transformed himself into Jane
Austen's romantic hero in the most recent version of
"Pride and Prejudice."
Built in the 1800's, The Sandgate Hotel was a regal retreat for actress
Natalie Portman during the filming of "The Other Boleyn Girl,"
an upcoming cinematic portrait of Anne Boleyn's sister which will star
Scarlett Johansson in the title role. An intimate inn featuring
11 guests rooms, the gentle lapping of ocean waves upon the nearby shore
lull guests to sleep after a day spent exploring Kent's myriad antique
stores and art galleries.
Fans unable to obtain a ticket to Kylie Minogue's New Year's
Eve concert at Wembley Arena can still enjoy the trajectory of the pop
icon's career from her soap opera origins to her rise as a music video
vixen in a display of onstage costumes and behind the scenes memorabilia
at London's Victoria & Albert museum. The free exhibition of 45
stage costumes, 60 photographs and 200 objects is open to the public
from February 8 - June 10, 2007.
Before his much-touted on-stage appearance at the World
Music Awards in mid-November, Michael
Jackson and his three children enjoyed the modernistic mode
of design on two floors of The Hempel Hotel, a 5-star boutique retreat
in West London.
Also in town for the World Music Awards in November , perennial rocker
Jon Bon Jovi
and his wife Dorothea mixed business with pleasure as they enjoyed the
regal ambiance at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel, where guests
are afforded a view of Buckingham Palace's changing of the guard.
Ireland
As they celebrated their first year of wedded bliss,
pop princess Christina
Aguilera and her husband Jordan Bratman enjoyed the twinkling
city lights of Dublin from the wrap around balcony in Morrison Hotel's
Penthouse Suite. The lovebirds spent six days at the boutique retreat,
which is scheduled to open a spa in the spring of 2007.
Irish eyes were smiling when Paris Hilton arrived in Dublin to
unveil her latest fragrance, Heiress. During her two-day stay , the
party princess rested her head on a pillow at the Merrion Hotel, a 122-room,
20-suite retreat which had greeted rock 'n roll's reigning couple, Bruce
Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, just days before.
France
The painted figures frozen in time in Auguste Renoir's
"Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, Montmarte" were silent
witnesses when actress Juliette Binoche filmed scenes from the
upcoming movie "Orsay" at Musee d' Orsay, a Parisian paradise
on the rue de Lille which is filled with masterpieces from the Impressionist
movement.
