By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Nassau Paradise Island in the Bahamas is running a deal on summer travel. Those booking by July 1 get a $250 “Instant Savings” offer when booking an air-inclusive minimum four-night stay at any of Nassau Paradise Island’s participating hotel, which includes the Atlantis, British Colonial Hilton Nassau, Graycliff Hotel, Paradise Island Beach Club, the Wyndham Nassau Resort and a dozen others. Travel can happen between July 15 and Sept. 9, and the offer is valid for travel originating in the U.S. and Canada. For specifics, visit www.nassauparadiseisland.com

AAA's Meg Horne, Charlotte Nichols, and Linda Madonna were on hand Thursday to take your questions about traveling to Europe. Check out the transcript below.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

The New Hampshire Liquor Commission launched its second year of a summer marketing drive that is offering visitors savings and prizes, with its "New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets Summer Fun Tour," which sends out a branded vehicle and summer-fun teams to locations around the state. Prizes include a Harley-Davidson Sporster, a trip to Puerto rico and a VIP tour of the Bacardi Rum Factory (Bacardi is a program sponsor), and all-expense paid trip to Sonoma in California to tour the Coppola Winery, an ultimate golfers experience at the Deutsche Bank Classic at TPC Boston, and a package at the Omni Mount Washington Resort. Tour schedule and prizes are available at www.liquorandwineoutlets.com/summerfuntour. Consumers can enter contests online as well as at various tour stops throughout the state. The program runs through Sept. 8.

By Chicago Tribune staff
Originally published: 06/13/2013

Overhead trains, river-touring boats, legendary dinosaurs and American Girls: Chicago's best attractions appeal to all ages. And though it's a big city, Chicago extends a warm Midwestern welcome to visitors while keeping it real with an ample dose of thrift. Here are a few ideas for sightseeing in Chicago.

Field Museum. Chicago's natural history museum, the Field Museum houses the world's most complete T-rex –-- sweetly named Sue --– as well as exhibits on African animals, underground bugs and Native Americans.

John G. Shedd Aquarium. Beyond the standard fish tanks of most aquariums, the Shedd Aquarium stages dolphin shows in its Oceanarium pool and lodges a 400,000-gallon shark tank underground. Admission can be steep but worthwhile.

Museum of Science and Industry. This south side institution specializes in immersive exhibits such as a ride down a coalmine shaft or a walk through a World War II submarine.

Lincoln Park Zoo. The largest free zoo in the country is a favorite. Don't miss the ape house and the immersive African exhibit, both recent additions.

Navy Pier. Chicago's most visited tourist attraction, the carnival-like Navy Pier juts into Lake Michigan, offering boat rides (power or sail), a Ferris wheel, the Chicago Children's Museum, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, restaurants and more.

Wendella River Cruise. Hop a boat that plies the Chicago River to ogle the towering buildings that have made the city an architectural innovator, not to mention the home of the skyscraper.

Lake Michigan Lakeshore. Fifteen miles of beach span the Lake Michigan shore. Play in the sand or rent bikes (at Navy Pier) and cruise some of the 18-mile lakefront recreational path.

L train. Take a ride on the Chicago elevated trains, known as the "L." Try the Brown Line, which circles downtown and takes a scenic route over the Chicago River, north from the Madison and Wabash stop, just a few blocks from Millennium Park. To return, simply get off at the end of the line or anywhere along the route once over the river, cross the tracks and return for no extra charge -- the train will return you back to the same stop.

Millennium Park. The reflective kidney-bean-shaped sculpture "Cloud Gate" and video fountains that folks of all ages love to wade through make this downtown addition to Chicago's Grant Park a hit.

Sears Tower Skydeck. Sure, it's been renamed -- but we Chicagoans still call it Sears Tower. See four states on a clear day from the 103rd floor of one of the world's great skyscrapers -- tallest in the western hemisphere.

Adler Planetarium. You're sure to marvel at the star shows projected on the planetarium dome.

Art Institute of Chicago. This world-class art museum has a semi-recent modern wing addition.

Buckingham Fountain. Check out the light show on this Grant Park landmark dating to 1927.

For more great travel ideas, download a copy of the Chicago Tribune's "Destinations" e-book, written by Tribune travel writer Josh Noel.

Text and photo courtesy of our friends at the Chicago Tribune. Top image via Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune.

By Michell Eloy, Chicago Tribune
Originally published: 06/13/2013

The National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals kicked off last night in Chicago, pitting the Blackhawks against the Boston Bruins in a best-of-seven battle on the ice. And this series looks to be a nail-biter, given the three-overtime opening game Wednesday night. Naturally, Bruins and Blackhawk fans alike will need to stay nourished as the series moves forward, so for visiting Bostonians, we in Chicago have compiled a list of places to eat while visiting our fair city:

Pequod's -- Most first-time visitors (or second-time, or third-time) to Chicago have one thing on their culinary to-do lists upon arriving -- deep dish pizza. While places like Uno's and Giordano's have popularized the pies outside of Chicago, Pequod’s in Lincoln Park, with its "caramelized crust" and charred-cheese pies, is a more local option that captures the quintessential Chicago deep dish pizza. (2207 N. Clybourn Ave., 773-327-1512)

Frontera Grill -- James Beard Award-winning chef Rick Bayless' casual Mexican restaurant hasn't lost any of its popularity in its more than 25 years of existence. As one of the restaurants that helped make Chicago a culinary destination, Frontera Grill should be a must on any visitor's list of places to eat. But if you're pressed for time and can't do the hour-plus wait, some of the local taquerias, like Arturos (2001 N. Western Ave.) in Bucktown and El Taco Veloz (1745 W. Chicago Ave.) in Ukranian Village, will satisfy any taco cravings. (445 N. Clark St., 312-661-1434)

Goose Island Brewpub -- Chicago has become a destination for craft beer lovers. And as the local brewery that arguably started it all, Goose Island Brewpub in Lincoln Park is an ideal spot to sample local drafts while taking in the game or calming those overtime nerves. (1800 N. Clybourn Ave., 312-915-0071)

Superdawg Drive-in -- What list of Chicago places would be complete without suggestions for where to get a Chicago-style hotdog? Superdawg's pure beef dog is served on a traditional poppy seed bun with all the typical fixings: yellow mustard, relish, onions, a dill pickle and a hot pepper. A word to the wise: Don’t ask for ketchup. Especially if you're wearing a Bruins jersey. (6363 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-763-0660)

Davanti Enoteca -- The small-plate trend has exploded in Chicago over the last few years. For those looking to sample some of the area's best offerings, Davanti Enoteca, run by Chicago restaurateur and chef Scott Harris, has an excellent wine selection and an array of inventive Italian plates -- think pastas, cheeses, oven pizzas and cured meats -- that have elevated it among other restaurants in the same vein. (1359 W. Taylor St., 312-226-5550)

Doughnut Vault -- No longer the dining choice of police departments, doughnuts are making a bid to take over cupcakes as the trendy "gourmet" food item in Chicago. Doughnut Vault (pictured) serves some unique spins on the fried confectionary, like pistachio and strawberry shortcake, along with the more traditional cake and vanilla doughnuts. We recommend getting there early, as the shop closes as soon as the doughnuts sell out. And they sell out quick. (400 N. Franklin St.)

Text and photo courtesy of our friends at the Chicago Tribune. Doughnut Vault photo by José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune.

By Hilary Nangle, Globe correspondent

Visit and climb the towers of seven Mid-coast lighthouses during the Midcoast Maine Lighthouse Challenge (207-594-4174, www.lighthousefoundation.org), June 29-30. Register for the challenge at any of the lighthouses. There’s no cost to participate, but some lighthouses have admission or parking fees. Participating lights are Dyce Head, Castine; Fort Point, Stockton Springs; Grindle Point, Islesboro; Rockland Breakwater, Rockland; Owls Head, Owls Head; Marshall Point, Port Clyde; and Pemaquid Point, Bristol. Two special activities complement the challenge. A 4.5-hour Lighthouse Sunset Cruiseaboard The P/V Elizabeth Ann departs Port Clyde on Friday, June 28, at 4:30 p.m., ($40). A Saturday evening program blending stories and songis slated at the Owls Head Community Center, Sat. June 29 at 7 p.m.(suggested donation, $5).

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

I’m a coffee freak. Not a coffee aficionado, mind you, knowing various blends and tastes and acidities. Just gimme caffeine, I’ll take it from there.

So it was a great delight recently to find the Coffee Hound Coffee Bar up in Bar Harbor, a town I hadn’t visited since the 1970s, much of which is new. Among the newest is the Coffee Hound, opened in early June by barista Chris Keegan. I grabbed a cup of Acadia Roast, expecting, well, coffee. But it was easily one of the best, smoothest blends ever, a whopping step up from the usual swill I make at home.

I love those little pleasant travel surprises, and Keegan’s shop fit the bill, a long, narrow space with the affable Keegan eager to discuss everything coffee with anyone interested in knowing. He gets his coffee from Carrabassett Coffee Company in Maine, going into details of various blends and what each has to offer.

It apparently runs in the family: Daughter Cassidy was expected to work this summer at her dad’s shop, herself a barista, her proud father says, not bad for a 15 year old.

The coffee’s great here, as is the owner’s social conscience: He donates $1 for every bag sold to ReMAINE Healthy, a research collaborative with the goal of preventing kidney disease, where his girlfriend works.

Keegan claims, as does anyone in town serving it, that he has the best lobster rolls, bar none in Bar Harbor. I didn’t try it, but judging from looking around town, his was priced on the lower side, $13 for a roll with a quarter pound of lobster meat, $25 for a half pounder.

He also serves hot dogs, including the Maine-centric red foot-long version, as well as Hebrew National brand and a quarter-pound all-beef version. Also here is a range of pastries, made by Epi’s, a local restaurant, which also makes “traveling blueberry pies” solely for Coffee Hound, Keegan says. Whatever you get, a great place to enjoy is at Agamont Park across the street, a gorgeous hilly chunk of green space affording a terrific place to eat and look out over Frenchman’s Harbor.

Coffee Hound is open through October, when much of the town shuts down and you’ll have to find another place for your java. So if you go before, stock up, help a good cause and avoid drinking swill. I know I will, as long as my Acadia Roast bag lasts anyway.

Photo of Chris Keegan by Paul E. Kandarian

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Millennium Hotel Minneapolis, a city landmark for the last 50 years, has re-opened after a $22-million-plus renovation. It was closed for the work since December 2012, and had a soft re-opening in April. Work included remodels of all 321 guest rooms and public spaces, adding a club floor and lounge, and a restaurant, North 45° with local craft beers and regional cuisine. Contemporary designs have been added through the hotel’s 22,000-square-feet of function space, hotel officials said.

Local materials were used to evoke the surrounding area, including Kasota Stone, which is used in many of the city’s most famous buildings. White marble and birch bark were used for the columns, and Corten steel added texture to various elements of the building, reflecting the taconite found on the north shore.

The hotel has been a landmark since 1963 when it opened as Capp Towers, its iconic dome getting famous when the hotel was featured that year in Life Magazine. For information, visit www.millenniumhotels.com/usa/millenniumhotelminneapolis

Star Wars Land at Walt Disney World? It sounds like it.

According to the website, Theme Park Insider, a series of attractions based on the “Star Wars” movie franchise is coming to the Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World, possibly by the year 2018. Cars Land, the popular addition to Disneyland’s California Adventure theme park in Anaheim, Calif., also appears to be a part of the major revamping in order to compete with Universal Studios Florida across town.

“This appears to be a five-year project,” Robert Niles writes, “though Disney could choose to throw money at it and accelerate it by a year.”

When Disney purchased the rights to Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise late last year for $4.05 billion, it immediately meant the reality of a new film, as well as other marketing opportunities that would seem to be a natural fit within the company’s theme parks in Orlando and Anaheim, Calif., where the “Star Tours” ride remains a popular attraction. "Star Wars"-themed weekends are also popular at Hollywood Studios periodically throughout the year.

Up next, a battle for the Death Star? Pod racing? Escape from Cloud City?

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

All it took was a Goombay Smash at the sedately unhurried Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour Marina in Marsh Harbour to prove how wrong I was about the Bahamas, having previously thought all of the islands were like Nassau, thick with cruise ships, tourists and shops.

 

OK, that and having a Blaster at Pete’s Pub in Little Harbor. And maybe that Shotgun drink at Cracker P’s on Lubber’s Quarters, a tiny cay with great views of the Sea of Abaco. Then there was the all-you-can gorge Sunday pig roast at Nipper’s on Great Guana Cay. And also watching Joe Albury’s gnarled hands still crafting wooden boats over at Man-O-War cay.

So I was wrong. And couldn’t feel more right about it.

The Abacos, a collection of islands along the outer Bahamas, have that old Caribbean flair about them, simple little places that are popular but seemingly uncrowded, embraced by crystal waters, the ever-changing aquamarine tone of which I’ve not seen many other places. We stayed at Abaco Beach Resort, the largest hotel in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island, but spread along a gorgeous beach enough to never feel cluttered. The food there at Angler’s Restaurant was typically tropical and downright delicious, such as the macadamia crusted grouper, and my favorite, the whopping half-pound grilled Bahamian lobster tail. They also have regular musical entertainment, which while we were there consisted of the crooning of local Esten Sawyer. There is also regular music at the resort pool bar. In the marina, one of the Bahamas biggest, are boats small and massive; during our stay, the yacht of the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars was moored. The resort also runs a wide range of fishing tournaments.

 

The resort is also a perfect hopping off point to hit the other islands by boat, including Little Harbor, where at Pete’s Pub, a low-slung, totally atmospheric sand-floored bar and restaurant, you can get terrific mahi mahi, grab a Monster (made with four rums and other less consequential stuff) and sit on the beach deck watching things like a Hemingwayesque fisherman pull up, grab a beer, and put back to sea, with his loyal dog hopping back aboard.

 

Over at Cracker P’s, a giant, multilevel structure with huge corner bar, amazing views and terrific Shotguns (a tequila bloody Mary spiked with house hot sauce), you can nosh on sweet-fried mahi mahi or amazing fish dip and then pull up a beach chair to relax it off. The place is named after Paul John Simmons, aka Cracker Pinder, Spanish-American War vet who, legend has it, killed a Georgia sheriff in 1915 and fled to the Bahamas. Legend also has it he didn’t fancy clothes and was the first naked person many locals had seen.

 

Nipper’s on Great Guana Cay is a must-do Sunday affair, an unremarkable pig roast made more tasty by the setting high on a bluff overlooking the ocean, with a packed bar and patio jammed with dancing people and a terrific party place to be.

 

My favorite place was a throwback, a visit to Albury & Sons on Man-O-War, where native Joe Albury, 68, still builds 14-foot dinghies with hands calloused, worn and practiced, usually using ancient tools handed down through the generations. He talks quietly and proudly of his craft, saying he quit school at 14 to do this and started helping out “since I was old enough to hold a saw,” days when as a youth he’d turn a wood grinder “until it felt like my arm would fall off.” In the picture-perfect harbor outside, the water was dotted with pastel-colored crafts created by Albury’s skilled hands.

 

And all of it is pretty close: Marsh Harbour is less than 170 miles off the coast of Florida. Deals abound this time of year as well. Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour Marina is running a “Star Spangled Holiday Getaway” from July 4-7, an air-inclusive offer (from Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach or Orlando), which includes three nights, holiday beach barbecue, bonfire and fireworks, two round-trip ferry transfers to Elbow Cay, Guana Cay or Man-O-War Cay, and all taxes, service charges and tips on packaged items. Rates from $827 per person based on double occupancy. Check it out at www.abacobeachresort.com

 

The Abaco Islands are pretty unrushed, and that’s the best place to be to enjoy a Goombay Smash, Shotgun, Blaster... .

 Photos, top to bottom (by Paul E. Kandarian): Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour; Pete's Pub; Cracker P's; Joe Albury; and Goombay Smash (courtesy of Abaco Beach Resort. 

 

 

 

 

 

By Mark Jacob, Chicago Tribune staff

Heading to Chicago for the Stanley Cup finals between the Boston Bruins and Blackhawks, but are worried about fitting in? The Chicago Tribune’s Mark Jacob checks in with some unique phrases and terms so that Bostonians can sound like a local.

Here are some tips on how to talk Chicago.

First off, it's Chi-CAW-go, not Chi-CAA-go. Nationwide, you hear that second pronunciation more than the first. But among longtime Chicagoans, you hear the first much more often.

Some other words and phrases:

Over by dere -- That's Chicagoan for "there," as in "I parked the car over by dere."

Ending sentences with "with" -- When you're going to the store, someone might ask you, "Can I go with?"

Djeet -- When Chicagoans want to know whether someone is hungry, they ask "Djeet?" - as in "Did you eat?"

Sammich or sanguich - known in most of the U.S. as a sandwich.

The Jewels -- The Jewel supermarket chain gets an unofficial "S" on it, plus "the" in front.

Goethe Street -- This is a street on the North Side of Chicago. It's not pronounced "GEH-tah." It's "GO-thee." (And while we're at it, forget the H in

Throop Street - it's pronounced "Troop.") Dibs -- The custom of shoveling snow out of a parking spot and then putting old folding chairs or other items in the spot to reserve it.

Viagra Triangle -- Nickname for a Near North Side area of bars where wealthy older men meet younger women.

Chumbolone -- Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass has popularized the word "chumbolone" (chum-ba-LOAN), meaning a fool who is easily taken advantage of. Kass uses this term to explain what Illinois politicians think of him and other taxpayers.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Guests at Rosalie Bay Resort on the Caribbean island of Dominica can save 40 percent on stays of two nights or more at the wind- and solar-powered eco-boutique resort now through Sept. 15, during peak sea turtle nesting season. Under night skies, guests can watch the giant creatures amble ashore to nest, or hatchlings head out to sea.

Three types of endangered sea turtles, the green, hawksbill and giant leatherback, travel thousands of miles each year to nest on the protected black sand beach of Rosalie Bay Resort. Guests may participate in the resort’s sea turtle conservation program by helping patrol the beach to protect nesting turtles, aiding researchers in collecting data or relocating nests that are too close to the ocean to the turtle hatchery, and being “on call” for when baby sea turtles emerge from their nest.

With the discount, daily rates begin at $150 per couple plus tax and service charge. Daily rates include continental breakfast, free Wi-Fi, yoga classes and guided nature hikes near the eco-resort. Stays of five nights or more also include complimentary roundtrip airport transfers.

The offer is available in all categories of the resort’s cottage-style accommodations with hand-carved hardwood four-poster beds, spa bathrooms with walk-in rain showers and private balconies or patios with views of the gardens, Atlantic Ocean or Rosalie River.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Travel-related transactions account for a third of all e-commerce revenue, according to a survey of top U.S. consumer travel trends from the first quarter of the year released by Sojern, a San Francisco-based traveler engagement platform. The trends Sojern analyzed are based on more than 400 million traveler intent data points, the company said.

Among other things, the data revealed that New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando were the top five desired, or most searched destinations in the first quarter, with NYC, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., the most popular destinations overall. Florida was the most popular family travel destination, with Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale among the top 10 for groups of two or more.

Business travel was on the rise, with 56.8 percent traveling for business, and Atlanta topping the list of most traveled to places for business in the U.S. for the first quarter. Almost 95 percent of people traveling in the first quarter flew coach class. Most travelers book airline tickets more than 30 days in advance, and just three percent booked the same day. As to length of stays, most stayed for three to five days.

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Ocean House in Watch Hill, a village of Westerly, R.I., the state’s only AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star resort, and known for fine dining, is increasing its culinary presence in southern Rhode Island by adding offerings from the 10-acre Avondale Farm, to a list of 49 local farms and farmer’s markets it uses. The resort is also adding new classes from on-staff food forager Janice McEachen, a partnership with a local oyster farm and new honey beehives. Expansion of the culinary program at the resort “is the next step in making the property a true food destination for discerning travelers,” said Daniel Hostettler, president and managing director of Ocean House Management.

Avondale will serve as a resource for the resort’s five dining outlets, a learning tool for guests and a sustainable way to give back to the Watch Hill community on the state’s southwestern corner. A small orchard of apple trees took root recently and should be ready for fall picking, with honey from four new hives ready this summer. A coop has also been built to house several chickens and this fall, Ocean House teams with Salt Water Farm in North Kingstown to introduce deep-water signature Ocean House oysters.

The resort has also launched a new “In the Kitchen” culinary education series, where guests join McEachen teaches with members of the Ocean House chef team and guest chefs, with lessons in cooking foundations, stock making, sauces and seasoning. The classes run one Saturday per month, for $95 per person. For more information, visit www.oceanhouseri.com

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

The Colonial Inn of Ogunquit, Maine, has finished a $4-million renovation and has reopened under new ownership and management, with upgraded facilities in a Victorian building that has been an inn for more than 125 years. The inn has 62 rooms in four buildings, most with water views, and all rooms have king beds, refrigerator and new furnishings. The inn is in the center of Ogunquit Village, halfway between downtown and Perkin’s Cove. Is it managed by Migis Hotel Group, a Maine-based company. For reservations and information, visit www.thecolonialinn.com

Gotta go to Moe’s? If you’re in the mood for a burrito, there are dozens of locations in Massachusetts. If you’re looking to share a cold one with Homer Simpson and Barney Gumble, you’ll have to make your way to Springfield. Or, Orlando, Fla.

Universal Studios Florida unveiled its latest theme park attraction over the weekend with the mythical Moe’s Tavern as part of “Fast Food Boulevard,” featuring other dining locales from the long-running Fox animated series, including Krusty Burger, the Flying Dutchman, and Cletus’ Chicken Shack. For the most part, the expansion of the park’s Simpsons’ ride is little more than fast food licensed as Simpsons’ merchandise. But check out the above exploration of Moe’s Tavern, and it’s like walking into the series to enjoy a Duff beer. Visitors can even snap their photo with the ubiquitous Barney.

According to InsidetheMagic.net, there is more to come in the re-vamped area, including a Duff Brewery attraction as well as “Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl ride.”

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

Norfolk, Virginia is one of those delightfully surprising places for someone who hasn’t been there or heard much about it, home to a gigantic naval base for which it’s most widely known. But it’s also a place with a devotion to culture: The 31^st Annual Norfolk Jazz Festival runs this year from July 19-21, adding a third day to the popular event this year. The setting is the downtown waterfront, along the Elizabeth River at Down Point Park.

Performers this year include Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun, Norman Brown, Jonathan Butler, Sheila E., Elan Trotman appearing as Souls of Summer, The Jae Sinnett Trio and Stanley Jordan. Tickets start at $28 per day for general admission and $49 for a three-day weekend general admission. For information, visit www.festevents.org/mini-site/jazz-music-festival And for all-things Norfolk, including lodging and dining options and available packages, check out www.visitnorfolktoday.com

By Hilary Nangle, Globe Correspondent

Two of Ireland's finest properties, the five-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin and the ultra-haute Ballyfin, in County Laois, have teamed to offer Inspiring Irish Art Weekends that showcase the properties' museum-quality art collections. The themed weekends, available Oct. 11-13, 2-13, and Apr. 4-6 and 11-13, 2014, include one night at each property.

At the Merrion, guests will received breakfast; a private tour of The Merrion's 19th- and 20th-century Irish art collection by expert from the National Gallery of Ireland; an afternoon "Art Tea" with pastries inspired by The Merrion's in-house artwork; and dinner for two at The Merrion's Michelin-starred Patrick Guilbaud Restaurant. The magnificently restored Georgian property is located downtown and within walking distance of most of Dublin's top sights.

The second night at Ballyfin, a five-star, 15-room country house hotel set on a private 600-acre estate, includes breakfast; a private tour of Ballyfin's 17th-century art collection by Irish art expert William Laffan; and a cocktail reception and five-course dinner for two in the Ballyfin's State Dining Room.

The package also includes transfers to and from airport and between The Merrion and Ballyfin. The cost for the two-night package is approximately $3,570 for two people sharing a room.

By Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents

Our world seems to be having a Sixties moment, what with the “Summer of Love” psychedelic posters at the Smith College Museum of Art (www.smith.edu/artmuseum) and the upcoming “Hippie Chic” fashion exhibition at the MFA (www.mfa.org). The Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History (www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home) is doing its bit by commemorating the one and only visit to Montreal by the Beatles on September 8, 1964. They arrived at 2:20 p.m., played two shows, and left for the airport at 11 p.m. It was brief, but Montreal has never forgotten, and the exhibitions chronicle the Fab Four and the local reaction in wonderful detail. You don't need to come from Montreal to appreciate the band's profile from playing skiffle in Liverpool to their chaotic final sessions that led to the “Let It Be” film and album. One interactive exhibit features Beatles karaoke, with the chance to sing along with old film clips.

Exhibits carry through to the dissolution of the band, but one postscript exhibit recounts the Bed-In by John Lennon and Yoko Ono from May 26 to June 2, 1969, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. They wanted everyone “to give peace a chance.” Not coincidentally, Montreal's new wax museum, the Grévin (www.grevin-montreal.com), recreates the famous couple and the famous bed. The show at the Archaeology and History museum, “The Beatles in Montreal,” is up through March 30, 2014.

Photos by David Lyon for the Boston Globe

By Paul E. Kandarian, Globe Correspondent

If you’re looking for stuff to do this summer and not travel terribly far for it, consider New Haven, a Connecticut city with tons of things happening as the weather warms up, including events focused on the arts, music, food, wine and sports.

A grand opening of Project Storefronts goes off June 15, an award-winning program that brings arts-related businesses to life in vacant retail spaces. The program’s newest creative entrepreneur, Sara Scranton, opens her new business then, called Lipgloss Center, part art gallery, part photo studio and creative workshop space. The event is free. For info visit www.projectstorefrontsnewhaven.com

The 18^th annual International Festival of Arts & Ideas runs June 15-29, a series of eventsthat is 80 percent free, including a show by Aaron Neville the first night. Check out www.artidea.org for scheduling and applicable ticket prices.

The Creative Arts Workshop, the city’s nonprofit center for education in the visual arts, holds its annual juried show, “How Simple Can You Get,” from June 29-July 26, with Robert Storr, artist, critic, curator and dean of the Yale University School of Art. The exhibition of the abstract to the figurative is free. For information, visit www.creativeartsworkshop.org/simple New Haven’s own summer concert series, “Music on the Green,” runs July 20 and 27 in the heart of the city, with a show by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra on July 20 and KC and the Sunshine Band July 27. Visit www.infonewhaven.com for more.

"Flights of Fancy,” a popular wine tasting and shopping event, runs July 25 with in-store wine tastings, discounts and giveaways at more than 25 downtown shops. For information, visit www.infonewhaven.com/flightsoffancy

The New Haven Jazz Festival is running August 12-18, an expanded version this year with more venues, live shows in Temple Plaza, street performers, family events and youth activities. Expected to appear are the likes of Wayne Escoffery and his sextet from New Haven, and the Curtis Brothers with Natalie Fernandez and an eight-piece Latin jazz orchestra. Visit www.jazzhaven.org for information.

The New Haven Open is scheduled for Aug. 16-24, a pro tennis event with tickets starting at $24. The full list of participants hasn’t been listed yet (expect it by July), but early indications have top-ranked female players participating such as Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Marion Bartoli. Organizers advise getting tickets early at www.newhavenopen.com or calling 855-464-8366.

Comfort Food & Cocktails happens in the midst of all that tennis on Aug. 21, at the Courtside Club overlooking stadium court. The event is new and will feature samples from the city’s best chefs, including from restaurants Zinc, Ibiza, Heirloom, Union League Café and many others.

The 2013 Yale Summer Cabaret is “Summer of Giants,” running May 30-Aug. 18,  a dozen weeks of performances that include “Tartuffe,” “The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife,” and “In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel.” For schedules, visit www.summercabaret.org

Running now through Sept. 29 is “Art in Focus: St. Ives Abstraction,” by the Yale Center for British Arts, an exhibit featuring paintings and sculptures by artists working in the Cornish town of St. Ives in the mid-20^th century, and curated by Yale undergrads in the Student Guide Program. Admission is free. For a full listing, visit www.britishart.yale.edu

For all New Haven information, including lodging options, visit www.infonewhaven.com.