Sandhamn, Sweden. Photo by Sue Frause.

I must be one of the few readers who has yet to pick up Stieg Larsson’s series of crime novels: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl Who Played With Fire; and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. No surprise that the first two have morphed into popular movies, also.

But I have been to Stockholm, one of the main locales of the books, and it’s one of my favorite European cities. Although my roots are Norwegian, I have more of an affinity for how the Swedes live and play (plus like the Norskes, they have royalty).

Stieg Larsson’s three best-sellers revolve around journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, who lived and worked in Stockholm. The city has become such a popular destination with fans of the book that the Stockholm City Museum now conducts twice-weekly Stieg Larsson-Millennium Tours in English: Wednesdays at 6 PM and Saturdays at 11 AM. Or you can do the tour on your own by purchasing a map at the Stockholm Tourist Centre.

Another locale in the Millennium crime trilogy is Sandhamn, a resort island in the Stockholm archipelago. My hubby and I took a day trip there, and it’s beautiful. There are a number of ferries that sail from Stockholm to the island; we booked passage on one that featured an English-speaking narrator. Along the way we saw Swedish tennis star Bjorn Borg’s family home, along with a cabin where Greta Garbo used to stay. Plus all that lush landscape.

Now you can enter to win a trip to Sweden. The 2010 Larsson’s Sweden Sweepstakes includes round-trip air for two via SAS to Stockholm; passes to explore Larsson’s Stockholm; three nights in the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel; and one night in the Seglarhotellet in Sandhamn.

The contest is open to residents of the 48 states and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.  The deadline is Oct. 1, 2010.

Seglarhotellet. Sue Frause photo.

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Rice field in Ubud, Bali. Sue Frause photo.

The Eat Pray Love packages started rolling out soon after Elizabeth Gilbert’s book of the same name was featured on Oprah.

And now with the Julia Roberts’ movie coming out on August 13, hotels/resorts/tour companies are really cashing in on the EPL phenomenon.

Here are just a few of the EPL packages that will help you to let yourself go (the tagline of the movie):

Eat, Pray & Love Bali (Spiritual Tours)

Bali, Pray, Love package (Four Seasons)

Eat, Pray, Love Package (Peter Island – BVI)

Eat, Pray, Love Weekend Package (Sonesta Bayfront Hotel, Coconut Grove, FL)

Where to Eat, Pray, Love in San Antonio (Texas)

According to USA TODAY, you can Eat, Pray, Love — everywhere!

And even Lonely Planet is jumping into the mix, launching a special page on its website devoted to EPL.

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St. Regis Hotel. Sue Frause photo.

One of Vancouver, BC’s newest boutique hotels to open is the St. Regis Hotel. And now it has added another perk to its list of popular rate inclusions.

In addition to complimentary high-speed internet throughout the hotel, they’ve instituted an iPad program, the first of its kind in Canada. Guests will be able to use one of the hotel’s Apple iPads to surf, search, read and play games while in the hotel or out and about in the city. It’s an easy, portable way to access local information; each iPad will be preloaded with links to favorite restaurants, attractions and shopping. The iPads may be checked out at the front desk on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Other freebies at the St. Regis are a full breakfast for two, bottled water, toll-free and local calls, business center access and local faxes.

Image via Wikipedia

Eiffel Tower. Photo by Sue Frause

I’ll be in Calgary, Alberta this year for Bastille Day — not sure what sort of French festivities will be going on in this Canadian city. No doubt I’ll find something … at least a glass of Champagne!

And maybe one of these Julys I’ll actually be in France … ooh la la! Here are some hot spots across the pond where there will be no shortage of bubbly flowing on July 14:

Hotel Raphael ~ Paris: Located a beret toss away from the Arc de Triomphe, watch the Bastille Day Military Parade as it wends its way down the Champs-Elysées. Later that evening, head to the hotel’s famous rooftop to see the Eiffel Tower’s fireworks display.

Villa & Hotel Majestic ~ Paris: This new hotel is close to the Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées and the Eiffel Tower’s fireworks show.

Hotel Regina ~ Paris: – A Belle Époque gem in the heart of the city, located directly across from the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre (free admission on Bastille Day).

Hotel Du Palais ~ Biarritz: Built by Napoleon III as a summer mansion, this oceanfront hotel features interiors with restored 19th century antiques, a Guerlain spa and a bunker and putting green for golfers. There are numerous golf courses along the Basque Coast.

Pan Dei Palais ~ Saint-Tropez: Luxury historic mansion turned boutique hotel in the heart of Saint-Tropez. Asian inspired architecture on the inside, sunshine and the French Riviera on the outside.

Palais Stephanie ~ Cannes: Located on the original site of the Palais des Congrès, where the first Cannes Film Festivals were held. In the heart of La Croisette and steps from the beach.

Sue Frause

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Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

If you’re looking for the biggest, best Fourth of July fireworks, I found a really wild website.

It’s called the Fireworks Display and Shows Worldwide Guide, and once you get over the garish colors, layout and goofy graphics, it’s got a ton of information.

I went straight to the 10 Largest, Biggest, Best 4th of July Fireworks category, and here are their top ten selections:

Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks – New York City
July 4th Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular
Central PA 4thFest – State College, PA
Welcome America! Philadelphia
A Capitol Fourth – Washington DC
Family 4th at Lake Union – Seattle*
Go 4th on the River – New Orleans
Fair St. Louis – Ohio
Lights on the Lake – Lake Tahoe
Freedom Over Texas – Houston

* The website listed Seattle’s display as the WaMu Family 4th. That was the name of the celebration until the sale of Washington Mutual to Chase. And when Chase didn’t want to sponsor the fireworks anymore, a grassroots effort to save Seattle’s Fourth of July fireworks resulted in a 24 hour-blitz where $500,000 was raised from both corporations and people in the community. You can read more about the down-home campaign in an article I wrote on my Seattle Travel Examiner site.

But the rockets red glare isn’t happening in a lot of cities this year, as reported in this CNN article Dark skies: No 4th of July fireworks here.

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Fairmont Empress cocktail. Sue Frause photo.

Forget just beer, wine and Diet Coke. Beginning July 1, Continental Airlines will serve specialty cocktails on board.

The booze menu includes a Stirrings Mojito, Stirrings Pomegranate Martini and Red Bull Energy Drink. OK, so these aren’t handcrafted cocktails, and I’m not familiar with Stirrings. The company touts its cocktail mixers as being made with all-natural ingredients including real fruit juice, cane sugar and triple-filtered water.

The Mojito is mint, cane sugar and lime juice served with Bacardi Light rum on ice; the Pomegranate Martini includes pomegranate, cane sugar, lemon juice and Skyy Vodka; and the Red Bull is also served with Skyy Vodka. The cocktails are nine bucks, but if you just want the cocktail mixer or the Red Bull, it’s only $3.

The specialty drinks are available in economy class on flights to North American, Caribbean and Latin American destinations. It will be interesting to see what happens to the cocktails in the sky if the merger between United and Continental becomes a reality.

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Toronto's CN Tower. Sue Frause photo.

There’s no rest for Canada’s largest city as it deals with the aftermath of the G20 Summit.

Next up? The Queen of England’s visit in July. Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh will spend two nights in Toronto following her visit to the capital city of Ottawa on Canada Day, July 1.

The Royal Tour of Canada includes July 4 in Toronto with Sunday morning worship at Cathedral Church of St. James and the afternoon at the Woodbine Racetrack.

The Royal Tour of Canada started in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 28. It also includes stops in Ottawa, Waterloo and Winnipeg. According to canada.com, Canadians are “lukewarm” about the monarchy.

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Central Park dogwalker. Sue Frause photo.

Not being a dog owner, this notice nearly slipped into spamville. But for travelers who take their four-legged friends everywhere, the Jumeirah Essex House in NYC is offering its new Canine Turndown Program.

Set to launch July 1, 2010, the Central Park hotel has partnered with Amy Kizer, “doggie designer to the stars.” She owns Wagwear, a boutique for dogs at 48 East 11th Street. Kizer has designed and created five-star canine amenities for the hotel that include:

· Wagwear dog bed or Wagwear tee pee hound lounge (a miniature pop-up tent with fleece-lined bed)

· Homemade dog treats created by Jumeirah Essex House’s executive pastry chef

· Wagwear food and water bowls with matching placemat

· Exclusive gift bag complete with a plush Jumeirah Essex House logo fleece blanket (monogramming available upon request)

The amenities are available year-round, seven days a week. Also, custom Wagwear dog collars and leashes will be on loan for guests who left theirs behind — or want their dogs to be chic in the city. Doggie hospitality attendants will tend to the animals with freshly-drawn water throughout the day.

The hotel’s concierge staff has information on doggy trails in the city’s best parks; New York City leash laws; nearby pet sitting facilities; and 24-hour veterinary service. They can also recommend dog walkers and pet boutiques that deliver to the hotel.

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Starbucks menu in Hong Kong. Sue Frause photo.

Starbucks, which made its debut in Seattle in 1971, is hoping to pump up its popularity with the addition of beer and wine to its beverage menu.

The company is renovating one of its high-profile stores at 1600 E. Olive Way on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. The neighborhood is home to dozens of coffee shops, with stiff competition from such indy spots as B&O Espresso and Espresso Vivace.

The new look will be unveiled in the fall, and includes a LEED-registered interior and exterior; work from local artists; and a setting where customers can get “closer to the art of Starbucks handcrafted beverages.” The so-called enhanced coffee experience will include new premium food items along with beer and wine.

A single, tall-non fat latte in the morning and a glass of Merlot at night?

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Bill and Hillary Clinton, Hotel Lucia. Sue Frause photo.

What a kerfuffle. If you haven’t read about the latest sex scandal involving a well-known personality, this one has former Vice-President Al Gore in the eye of the hurricane. Call it Massagegate.

I first saw it on a tweet from The Washington Post, one of the many media outlets that I follow on Twitter: Al Gore: big lummox or crazed sex poodle? I clicked it on and quickly discovered it was already slightly old news, having appeared the day before on OregonLive.com.

The scene of the alleged incident that involved Mr. Gore and a licensed massage therapist was Hotel Lucia, one of my favorite hotels in Portland. I stayed there two years ago, and took this photo of Bill and Hillary Clinton on the 7th floor. The portraits are part of 680 photographs by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Hume Kennerly that are on display throughout the hotel’s public spaces and 127 guest rooms. Kennerly was the personal photographer to Gerald R. Ford.

I wonder what hotels do to counter attack this type of unwanted press? Although it’s said there is no such thing as bad publicity (not true, just look at BP), I doubt if Hotel Lucia or any other property would want to be referred to as, “Oh, that’s the hotel where blah blah blah was accused of blah blah blah.”

The Kobe Bryant incident at The Lodge & Spa at Cordilerra in Vail, Colorado wasn’t that luxury hotel’s most shining moment, either. According to Wikipedia: “Eight months after the initial incident the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera remodeled and as part of that sold some furniture. There was speculation that some pieces included in this sale were from “Room 35″ where Kobe Bryant had allegedly stayed at the time. The lodge denied this and stated they had disposed of the furniture from that room separately.”

I’m sure there are guests who request Room 35. And there will no doubt be people who request the 9th floor suite at Hotel Lucia.

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