ICSC Dealmaking Convention 2008 We're in town for the annual convention, that means a lot of work for Manny, and a lot of playing for me. We have the party at the Bellagio Grand Patio this evening, should be a toasty affair in more ways than one. Off the Strip Shopping We took the 7:30AM direct flight this morning to Vegas and got in early this morning. We started the day by visiting the malls around town to see what the market competition is in case we do a project in Las Vegas - for me, it's work; for Jennifer, it's shopping. There are two types of shopping in Las Vegas - on the strip for tourists and off the strip for locals. On the Strip is designated for Sunday and includes the Forum Shops, Fashion ... read more

North Redington Beach is great and all but we had to move on and get away as the crowd there was getting old and unpleasant to look at. Every online guide said that Fort DeSoto Park has the best beaches, so down we went for a looksy. Getting there is easier said than done, which is part of the appeal and keeps all of the tourists away, plus since it is a State Park there is no concrete. Furthermore, we checked into our little Bed and Breakfast in Gulfport today, which is a historical town which maintains turn of the Century feel in what is now an overbuilt Tampa Bay area. I chose this place because there is a beach but the Gulfport Beach is no good, bunch of brackish backwater. Fort DeSoto Beach Fort DeSoto ... read more

Josephine's Home Having visited most of Paris' palaces and in recognition of Jennifer's interest in Joséphine de Beauharnais, second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, we went to Reuil-Malmaison de visit the famous Malmaison. What spurred us on additionally was an exposition at the house of haberdashery and personal effects of royalty and aristocracy from the Napoleonic era to the 20th century. The house was not by any means impressive when compared to the palaces of Kings, but was interesting in that it reflected the living standards of French nobility for the period. Some of the rooms were quite impressive, especially Josephine's formal bedrrom which is an oval shape and made to look like a tent. The exposition on the other hand was entirely impressive, the ornamentation and detail of the items was incredible and it is definitely ... read more

We had planned on going to bed early the night before but it didn't quite work out so well as is the norm for us here. We ate dinner at around 8:30PM and went to bed around 11PM with a wake up at 5:30AM to catch the Transilien SNCF train to Gare St. Lazare at 6:38AM and transfer via RER Ligne E to Gare du Nord for an 8:07AM departure on the Eurostar. We were absolutely exhausted the entire day and the itinerary for the day was an endless list of intense destinations around London which seemed more and more insurmountable as the day progressed. The Eurostar I have to say I am becoming more and more addicted to trains and the constant lament of Europeans and urbanite liberals in our country resonates more and more. ... read more

Please refer to our special page for a more thorough list of the chocolatiers we recommend throughout the United States and world. A Perspective Guide to Chocolate In following from our New York trip where we visited (but did not properly detail in this blog) a number of French chocolatiers, I decided to prepare another such trip in the obvious capital of French chocolate, Paris. Anyone who knows anything about chocolate knows Godiva is Belgian garbage wrapped in an expensive gold box. Forget Switzerland's Lindt, French chocolate is the best kept secret in the world. What makes it so special is that it is not targeted to the taste of children but to the tastes of true aficionados. French chocolate does not use any preservatives and only cocoa butter and the purest ingredients are used. In ... read more