Kips Bay? Of course. Southampton? Sure. There's even a designer show house in York, Maine.
But Moscow? Now that's one I'd like to see.
If you're headed to Russia this month, you might want to put it on your agenda.
The Russian Design Show at EcoEstate Pavlovskaya Sloboda, conceptualized by Janna Bullock, CEO and founder of RIGroup, an international real estate development firm, features six houses and the work of 24 designers, including Tom Dixon, Alain Moatti, the Campana Brothers, George Nakashima, Ron Arad, Gio Ponti, and Shiro Kuramata.
The homes, which include the Eco House, the Russian House, the Design House, the Nina Campbell House, the Phillips de Pury House, have all been constructed using environmentally friendly materials.
The show runs through July 1, from 12-8 p.m. daily except Monday. Two of the houses, the Nina Campbell House and the Russian Dacha, will be open through Sept.15. Admission is free.
The EcoEstate Pavlovskaya Sloboda is located at 26th km of Novorizhskoe Shosse.
For more information, see the website.

The LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort in Naples, Fla., bills itself as rivaling Miami’s South Beach in ambience, and it has landed on Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers Choice list of golf resorts three years running. It offers a testing golf course along with a private white-sand beach resort, an elegant day spa, and fine seafood dining. And from May 26 through Sept. 30, the resort is offering its “Golf Away the Summer Days” unlimited play package to sweeten the deal. Rates start at $229 a night ($299 on weekend nights) and include accommodations, complimentary valet parking, resort fees, fitness center access, and unlimited golf for two. The Robert Cupp-designed, par-72 course is set up to offer a firm, fast playing surface similar to a true links layout, and 14 of the holes play around or over water. Rates do not include taxes and gratuities, and note that the golf course is closed on Mondays. For more information, call 800-237-6883 or visit laplayaresort.com.

As if Steve Jobs hadn’t created something for hipsters and technology buffs to lust over with last year’s iPhone, Austrian designer Peter Aloisson has gone and one-upped him.

With his new diamond-encrusted iPhone Princess Plus, Aloisson has lifted the bar for costly cell phones even higher.

Retailing for $176,400, one of the phones has been promised to a Russian businessman who ordered the gizmo back in October. Those not looking to mortgage their home for the device can purchase a more “modest” version of the Princess for the price of $66,150.

Complete with 318 diamonds, (that’s 17.75 carats, for you jewelers out there) and an 18k white gold rim, the phone is the world’s most expensive iPhone -- obliterating last year’s record, $41,225, set by British designers, Amosu.

Aloisson, infamous for creating diamond-encrusted Nokias and Motorolas in the late ‘90s, is no stranger to the extravagant. In 2005, Aloisson unveiled a platinum-covered phone with eight rare blue diamonds. That phone -- available for $1,300,000 still holds the record for the world’s most expensive.

Not exactly something you’d want to drop on the sidewalk.

Posted by Chris Brook, Boston.com

Forget that so-called recession we may or may not be in. Recessions don’t last; love does. (Besides, there could be a little economic stimulus check coming your way.) The Hilton Boston Back Bay has a Pop the Question package that will make asking — and answering — easy. Stay in the Presidential Suite, with champagne and chocolates on your arrival. Take a private limo to Emerge Day Spa & Salon on Newbury Street for spa treatments for two. The perfect time to get on bended knee and actually ask the question may be during a chef’s tasting dinner at the Top of the Hub. The package starts at $1,650 per couple. (Mention code NR when booking.) Who could say no to that?

If the Wicked Witch of the West was actually a spa therapist at the Montage Resort and Spa, then Dorothy might have reconsidered her decision about rushing back to Kansas. The hotel spa offers a treatment called “Surrender,” and after a five-hour flight to L.A. and an hour in the car to Laguna Beach, surrender was what I intended to do.

Each “Surrender” treatment is geared to the specific guest. (Before arriving, I had filed out a four-page questionnaire about my diet, family medical history, and exercise habits.) My therapist, Diane, explained her plan and I nodded in agreement. The treatment started with hydrotherapy (in an algae, salt, and bergamot-scented tub) and continued with a post-travel compress (my abdomen rubbed with cool mud and wrapped in a warm blanket) and proceeded to a deep-tissue massage followed by a hot-stone treatment. Stress? What stress?

As far as cool neighborhoods go, Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown is near the top of my list. The shops, boutique hotels, restaurants, bars, and bookstores could make you forget it’s almost cherry blossom time over at the Tidal Basin. Hotel Monticello (on Thomas Jefferson Street off M Street) is a comfortable, spacious, quiet, recently renovated all-suite small hotel that offers packages for weekends of pampering, romance, or traveling with family. A deluxe king suite starts at $149 (but prices go up as the weather warms up). The Old Stone House, D.C.'s oldest known dwelling, is just up the street. Nosh on sushi, gourmet pizza, or pastry with a mean cup of cappuccino at Marvelous Market (on P Street at Wisconsin Avenue). Snack on shawarma or a falafel at George’s, King of Falafel on 28th Street off M. Next door is a great place for dinner: Zed’s Ethiopian Cuisine, where you’ll scoop up spicy chicken and beef dishes with injira, a spongy bread. A romantic dinner for two, with drinks, is around $50. If you don’t mind the 15-minute walk to the Foggy Bottom Metro station, Georgetown is a great area to stay for a weekend getaway.

Travel with teens at your own peril: if your teenager isn’t happy on vacation, chances are no one’s happy. Some good news: Loews Hotels' ‘‘Edu-cations’’ are year-round packages that include a one- or two-night hotel stay and activities that will appeal to hard-to-please teens. Some examples: at Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego the teen package includes private surfing lessons on surfboards custom-designed to take home. At the Loews Vanderbilt in Nashville, a music package includes a song-writing session with songwriter Thom Shepherd, a Gibson acoustic guitar, and a one-hour guitar lesson. And on it goes: golf lessons for aspiring PGA pros at Loews Lake Las Vegas, a culinary arts package for would-be cooks at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, and even a behind-the-scenes look at the financial markets for executive wanna-bes at the Loews Regency Hotel in New York. These packages don’t come cheap: they cost between $600-$2,000. But for these one-of-a-kind experiences, your teen will owe you big time.

It's the 50th anniversary of The Freedom Trail Foundation and the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common
is celebrating with its Freedom Trail 50th Anniversary Package.

The package includes a deluxe guest room or suite, a private Walk Into History Walking Tour, A copy of "The Freedom Trail, An Artist's View,'' and an American breakfast for two in the Jer-Ne Restaurant.

The offer starts March 14 and continues through the year. Cost starts at $515 per couple and a three-day nonrefundable advance booking is required.

So, communing with nature sounds great to you -- in theory at least. But the allure of the great outdoors pales a bit when you find the accompanying living conditions a bit too ... outdoorsy, shall we say. Perhaps the latest iteration will make you a more enthusiastic outdoors enthusiast. It’s called “glamping,” or glamour camping, and it combines the best of both worlds for those so inclined: a wilderness camp setting with deluxe comforts, such as hot showers, daily maid service, plush-top king beds, triple-sheeted linens, and gourmet cuisine. These amenities are available in what is billed as California’s newest backcountry “tent hotel,” the Sequoia High Sierra Camp. The camp is perched at 8,200 feet in Giant Sequoia National Monument in Central California, about three hours north of Los Angeles. Guests can drive their own vehicle to a trailhead, then hike an easy, well-marked 1-mile trail to the camp, or hike a moderately strenuous 12-mile route which takes an average of 8 hours, starting at neighboring Sequoia National Park. Recreation options include scenic day hikes and abundant fly fishing, with a picnic lunch. Three California-style gourmet meals prepared by an on-site chef are included in the daily rates, which are $250 per person. Operating dates for the 2008 season are June 13-Oct. 5, weather permitting. Hey, even glamour campers must occasionally bow to the elements. For more information, go here or call 866-654-2877.

If you love Shaker furniture and design, resolve to give yourself a treat in the new year. "An Eye Toward Perfection,'' the loan exhibition of close to 100 Shaker artifacts at the 54th annual Winter Antiques Show in New York City Jan. 18-27, comes straight from the Shaker Museum and Library in Old Chatham, N.Y., home to the world's largest Shaker collection.

Highlights include an 1866 two-drawer blanket chest made by Brother Richard Bushnell and a collection of chairs made in Mount Lebanon, N.Y. And if that doesn't give you enough of a Shaker fix, learn about Shaker boxes, gift drawings, and other topics during show lectures Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

If Shaker isn't your thing, don't despair. The show at the Seventh Regiment Armory features 75 experts in American, English, European, and Asian antiques. Happy hunting!

Penguins are soooooo over. It’s 2008 now, and it’s time for sea monsters, folks. We’re talking plesiosaurs, giant squid, and really mean sharks. You can read about them in a gorgeous National Geographic hardcover book any kid will love called ‘‘Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep.’’ (3-D vision glasses are included.) You can watch them frolic in an IMAX movie (‘‘Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure’’) at the Museum of Science through March 21. Or better yet, you can go to the Bahamas and visit them. Well, you won’t actually visit with sea monsters, but you can visit locations where the National Geographic movie was filmed, including snorkeling tours of some of the film’s underwater ‘‘sets.’’ The Cove Eleuthera is offering a three-night Sea Monsters Package in a beachfront suite that can sleep up to four. The $1,000 package, valid until May 1, includes the snorkeling tours, daily breakfast, and the National Geographic book. Who cares how goofy you look in 3-D vision glasses, anyway?

Temperatures are slipping downward again, it's gloomy outside, and another onslaught of snow can't be far off.

Need a break? We have the spots for you. Even if you can't get away, just reading about these places that pamper is bound to brighten your mood.

In Sunday's travel section Doug Warren takes us to the Lake Austin Spa Resort where he and his wife spent a luxurious few hours, starting with a Ruby Red Grapefruit Refresher. They were in Texas, after all.

In other pieces, Ellen Albanese explores wellness offerings at the Spa at Colonial Williamsburg that draw on centuries of treatments. Kathy Shorr takes us to Spa Eastman in Quebec, a budget alternative to other destination spas like Canyon Ranch. The least expensive option: Judith Fein finds bargain massages in Vietnam.

And for the ocean lovers among us, Susie Woodhams writes about thalassotherapy centers in southwest France. Here it's all about seawater, algae, and coastal mud. Just the thing if you're pining for the beach.

Never travel where your husband honeymooned with his first wife. Especially if you’re staying down the road at the quirkier hotel. The hotel with the wood paneled walls, the bathroom where the featured amenity is a wall-mounted bottle opener, and a rumored ghost in residence. (I hate ghosts.) While just up the road sits the majestic Chateau Lake Louise, the Fairmont’s jewel of the Canadian Rockies. It’s not just a grand hotel. It is a palace in a fairy-tale land of snow-laden pines, crystal waterfalls and ice castles set against a backdrop of sheer soaring cliffs and expansive white glaciers. Just walking into the lobby makes you feel as if you should be wearing a beaded gown. It is where my husband spent a week with his “practice wife”—the woman he married right out of college and who, for the most part, I never think about. But now, in this setting, with my husband at home while I’m on a business trip, his “ex” has morphed into the evil stepsister whom my prince took to the ball. I need a fairy godmother. I need a pumpkin. I need that beaded gown. And for that matter, I need my prince! Instead, all I get is a ghost.

Posted by Peggy Shinn, Globe Correspondent

I’m known among my friends for arriving with a stove-top espresso maker and a can of Lavazza espresso packed in my suitcase. (And sugar packets. Do you know how few people have real sugar in their homes?) Of course when I’m not staying with friends this becomes problematic, as most hotels don’t have stoves in their rooms and hauling an electric burner seems a bit excessive, even for me.

But what to do when I’m making my annual 1,500-mile trek from Boston to my winter home in Miami? There may be a Starbucks or two on every block here in Boston, but on I-95 between Washington, D.C. and Palm Beach County, Fla., the pickings are slim for places to get a decent (strong) cup of joe. I mean, I can’t even find a Dunkin' Donuts for more than 1,000 miles!

So imagine my delight to learn the Italians (who else?) have solved my espresso-fix dilemma. My niece returned from Italy with an electric espresso pot. It’s just like the models that go on the stove, but you plug it in and voila! Good, strong coffee. Ahhh.

Speaking of Florida, I can’t get out of Boston soon enough. (As of Friday the 28th, we're within an inch of the all-time record snowfall for December, set in 1970!!). I hit the road that day — snow gods willing — and will be posting from points south until spring. Arriverderci!

(Posted by Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent)

I recently spent a week in Manchester, England, at a conference. It's an interesting city with an industrial edge and some stunning buildings.

One of them is the Midland Hotel , which fills a full city block. Built in 1903 as the city's first luxury hotel by the railroad company, the Midland prides itself on being the place where Rolls met Royce; more recently it has begun promoting itself as the place where "Posh and Beck had their first date," a reference more likely to be recognizable to the younger generation.

The Midland's greatest amenity may be Barbara Frost, a Manchester native who gives tours of the hotel, illuminating its history through changing social norms and two world wars. You can usually catch her at her desk in the lobby; if she's not there, ask the concierge.

Posted by Ellen Albanese, Globe Staff

When I was a student in England, a country with one of the world’s most expensive railway systems, I always bought the cheapest train tickets available. I traveled outside of peak hours and used my student I.D. whenever possible. But that was 18 years ago. I went back for a visit a couple of weeks ago and traveled the length of the country using a first-class British Rail Flexipass.
You have to buy your Flexipass before leaving for Britain, but it allows you to ride the rails for four, eight, or 15 days within a two-month period. It’s perfect if you’ll be covering a lot of ground or doing numerous day trips by train.
Second-class tickets are available, but my four-day pass was worth the extra $143 for the first-class upgrade. I had forgotten how many people travel on Sunday nights — it was standing room only in the second-class cars, but I had plenty of room (even a few empty seats around me) in the first-class compartment. Best of all, drinks and light snacks are served on many first-class trains. British Rail offers family and other passes, and Rail Europe sells passes for travel on the continent, too.

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

When it comes to over-the-top holiday gifts it's hard to beat the fantasy gifts in the Neiman Marcus catalog, but Andrew Harper has come up with a strong contender.
Harper, editor and publisher of the Hideaway Report, is offering an Ultimate Paris itinerary for those with money to burn.
The seven-night extravaganza includes a private jet, the Imperial Suite at the Hotel Ritz, reservations at restaurants like Le Pre Catalan or Le Voltaire, and a private museum tour.
And it doesn't stop there. Guests will also get a session with custom-perfume designer Francis Kurkdjian, a couture fitting at Chanel or Dior, and so much more.
And the cost for this holiday treat? Well, rates start at $300,000.
Too pricey? Try giving a bottle of fine champagne.

Did you know the top marriage proposal season is between Christmas and Valentine’s Day? If you’re pondering how exactly to pop the question and your loved one happens to be fond of Ireland and expensive timepieces, pay attention here: The luxurious Merrion Hotel in Dublin is offering a Will You Marry Me package for about $7,000 per couple that includes a deluxe room, a welcome bottle of champagne, a full Irish breakfast for two, and rose petal turndown service (spelling out ‘‘will you marry me’’ if desired). But wait: You also get a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Lady watch with case, engraved with ‘‘will you marry me.’’ The hotel says the watch has a retail value of about $7,000, thereby canceling out that chunk of change you just spent on rose petals. An engagement ring is not included, but the hotel says it will scheme with grooms about the creative delivery of one. Who says romance is dead?

Pie de la Cuesta is between the Pacific Ocean, a lagoon -- and nowhere. The taxi driver in nearby Acapulco frowned when we asked to go there. It´s too isolated, he said, too far from the city´s manic streets and pulsing discotheques. Exactly, we said -- keep driving. Thirty minutes later, we arrived at this thin ribbon of white-sand beach, famous for spectacular sunsets and powerful waves {which can make swimming dangerous}. Villa Nirvana, our $50-a-night hotel on the beach, has hot water and a swimming pool -- but no TV, Internet, or telephone in the room. So we swam in the pool, swung in a hammock, and slept to the rhythms of pounding surf. The hotel owner warns: Don´t come here if you want pampering. But if you want peace, it is here in abundance.

Posted by Maria Sacchetti and Russell Contreras, Globe Staff

This month's Conde Nast Traveler touts its 20th annual Readers' Choice Awards, The Top 100.
Twelve New England gems made the list of Top 100 Mainland US Hotels: The Charlotte Inn on Martha's Vineyard (12), Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vt. (23), Blantyre in Lenox (26), Boston's Four Seasons (35), White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine (39), Twin Farms in Barnard, Vt. (44), Nantucket's White Elephant (54), Boston's Fifteen Beacon (62), Taj Boston (65), Boston's Hotel Commonwealth (73), Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod (81), and The Wauwinet on Nantucket (88).
If your favorite place to stay in New England didn't make the cut, think about voting next year.
And be sure to give Boston the nod for top US city. This year it made the cut, but it was No. 10 out of 10.
The winner among US cities: San Francisco.

After several days of skiing in Park City, Utah, I decided to look for some non-leg-burning activities and found two real gems. At the Utah Olympic Park , just 10 minutes west of Park City, I toured the 2002 Olympic venues for the ski jump, bobsled,

luge, and skeleton competitions. My guide mentioned that it’s common to see athletes practicing on site.
The park’s Alf Engen Ski Museum chronicles Utah’s ski history and the 2002 Olympics, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can get a sense of what it’s like to go screaming (literally) down a bobsled track. Several times a month, visitors can go for a ride with a professional bobsled coach down The Comet, the park’s bobsled track. Two friends and I gave it a shot and hit 74 miles per hour on the way down. It’s not cheap — $200 per person, per ride —but it was worth every penny for such a unique thrill. I’ve heard they recently started a bobsled driving school, too (check out the website for updates).
For something a little more subdued, consider taking a trip to The Viking Yurt , located at 8,000 feet in the mountains above The Canyons Ski Resort. Guests catch a sleigh ride (pulled by a motorized Cat rather than horses) to the yurt — a Mongolian-style, tent-like dome made of canvas and wood — for a delicious venison dinner (vegetarians meals are also available).

Posted by Kari Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

You'll think you're in Switzerland. At the very least, you'll have that giddy feeling that can only come from fresh air in the mountains. This summer I fell in love with the Loon Mountain Club, a resort/spa that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but will give you the escape-from-the-city therapy that you might need. It's on a hill overlooking the gondola up to Loon's peak. But get a room that looks the other way -- toward the Pemi River across the way, because the sound of that white-water river is pure, ambient bliss. Leave your window open and enjoy.
This is a modern place with all the amenities -- most rooms also have kingsize beds -- and there's the Viaggio Spa and Health Club on the premises, which offers hot-stone massages. Treat yourself to luxury without paying Canyon Ranch prices. Not that you'll need it this winter, but there's also a great outdoor swimming pool.
Plus, the on-site Seasons Restaurant will entice the palate.

Posted by Steve Morse, Globe Correspondent

One of the great things about traveling to Europe (or California, for that matter) used to be the chance to bring home bottles of whatever local wine you'd discovered. Never mind that it rarely tasted as good as it did in that little country restaurant or urban cafe. It was the idea of the wine - an ideal souvenir for those of us who live in small places. Stick the bottles in the carry-on, wait a few weeks for them to get over the jostle of travel, and you could relive a golden moment or two of that trip.
Now that airline security prohibits carrying wine onboard, I had resigned myself to drinking that wine in situ only. But when I visited the upper Douro Valley of Portugal recently I really wanted to bring home a nice bottle of vintage port to serve to my family after Christmas dinner. I chose a bottle that was boxed in a nice cedar case. I always have a stash of two-gallon zipping plastic bags in my suitcase. So I put the port in a bag and then returned it to the box -- the extra plastic helped to cushion the bottle and would, I hoped, contain the port if the bottle broke. Just in case, I then put all my good clothes into similar bags, stuffed it all in the suitcase I was checking, and crossed my fingers.
Success! The port is on the kitchen counter now, settling down from the trip. It should be perfect by December.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe correspondent

Birds do it, bees do it. Just don't try it on Singapore Airlines.
The carrier has become the first to offer the world’s first airborne double bed aboard their new A380 jets but prefers users refrain. We're talking sleeping like Rob and Laura Petrie -- only in a double. The Times Online talked to the first couple to try it out: Tony and Julie Elwood from Perth, Australia.
“So they’ll sell you a double bed, and give you privacy and endless champagne — and then say you can’t do what comes naturally? Seems a bit strange,” said Tony who was described as a "vigorous'' 76.
Trophy wife Julie, 51, agreed. "They seem to have done everything they can to make it romantic, short of bringing round oysters. I’d say they shouldn’t really complain, should they?''
Apparently, the airborne suites, which are just partitioned off so aren't sound proof, run about
$14,320 for two tickets.
Even though the suites aren't sealed off I'm wondering how the airline intends to police this, given how loud it is inside the cabin of a jet?
I guess the staffers of SIngapore's national airline must be a pretty vigilant lot. This is brought to you, after all, from a country that has caned folks for any one of dozens of crimes ranging from theft and drug violations to vandalism and overstaying your official welcome.
Just keep your feet on the floor and everything will be fine.