M2 Travel B OSTON S UNDAY G LOBE DECEMBER 13, 2009 Destinations events Sun and sand, surf and salsa FEB. 11-14 Beats, and Tweets, soirees on Jan. HONOLULU 29-30 at Nyood Restaurant on Hawaii Salsa Festival: A Valentine’s weekend trip doesn’t Queen Street that will feature Twit- get much more romantic than this. It’s Hawaii. It’s a week- ter messages sent by diners project- end of watching attractive people dance in sexy costumes. ed onto the walls. One hopes they And there are workshops, so you and your significant will be giving the food some good other can sign up to learn moves of your own. Performers reviews. Eats, Beats, and Tweets is include dancers with New York’s Baila Society, and Luda & $50. www.toronto.ca/special_even Oliver, two dancers who — as you can see in this photo — ts/wintercity are quite flexible and comfortable with each other. An- Mike Foote, his mother , Alice, and their guide in Hangzhou. other big salsa name at the event is Lucky Sipin, a Canadi- PLAN AHEAD an dancer whose moves are inspired by martial arts. The MARCH 19-20 Where they went earlier you sign up for events, the less expensive they LAS VEGAS china are. Packages and parties run from $20 to $250. Knight Rider Festival: Yes, we’re 808-255-8768, www.hawaiisalsafestival.com talking about that ‘‘Knight Rider,’’ WHO: Alice Foote, 65, of Wil- brella with a red rooster on it, and, yes, there’s a whole festival in mette, Ill., with sons Mike Foote, and we wore Adler T-shirts.’’ JAN. 13-17 honor of the 1980s television show. 30, of Montpelier, and Jesse THE CLOUDS PARTED: ‘‘It was ATLANTA Event producer Paul Casey explains Foote, 30, and his wife, Beth Hus- cloudy out. We were all nervous, Atlanta Boat Show: There are it thusly on his website: ‘‘My mis- ton, 29, of Jamaica Plain. not knowing if we’d be able to see plenty of boats in New England, but sion is to recognize the KITT car WHERE: China. anything. But the clouds parted in January, it’s best to check out owners and how they support the WHEN: Two weeks in July. enough where we were. It starts boats in a warmer climate. To be fair, this week- filmmakers events, which you’ll find on the TV series both past and present.’’ off with ‘first contact,’ when you end isn’t all about water craft. It’s also geared schedule (to be released soon). We also recom- Sounds simple enough, right? WHY: To view the total solar see a teeny shadow over a teeny toward fishermen, with seminars on how to get mend arriving in time for opening night, which There are stunt shows, celebrity eclipse on July 22. ‘‘It was my part of sun. In ‘second contact,’ the most out of salt- and freshwater trips. Activ- usually features actors, in person. 305-573- meet-and-greets, and a wedding mom’s idea,’’ Mike Foote said. the moon starts to move over the ities for children include a catch-and-release 7304, www.caje-miami.org/mjff (yes, a real wedding) with KITT ‘‘She’s a retired teacher and an as- sun and you get a 360-degree trout pond. George World Congress Center, 954- serving as best man. It’s like a Star tronomical phenomenon chaser.’’ sunset. Right before the moon 441-3227, www.atlantaboatshow.com JAN. 29-FEB. 11 Trek convention — with more leath- FAMILY AFFAIRS: The Footes covers the sun, you see a dia- TORONTO er. Most events are free. Schedule have seen other heavenly events. mond ring, a brilliant spot. Then JAN. 16-24 Winterlicious: In Boston, we have Restaurant and locations online. www.knight ‘‘As a family we saw the total so- there’s a wall of shadow that MIAMI Week. In Toronto, they have Winterlicious. riderfestival.com lar eclipse in Mexico in 1991, and sweeps over you, and it’s com- Miami Jewish Film Festival: This annual film Foodies should consider a northern jaunt at the MEREDITH GOLDSTEIN we were on a ship in the Pacific to pletely dark.’’ showcase isn’t a singles event. That said, the week end of January because almost all restaurants of see Halley’s Comet in 1986.’’ The DAY AND NIGHT: ’’When the of Jewish cinema is packed with discussions and note in the city will offer special deals. Unlike Events are sometimes canceled, Footes, from the Chicago area, moon is over the sun, you can see mingle time. If one were on the hunt for a film- Boston Restaurant Week, Toronto’s bistros plan rescheduled, or sold out; check frequented the Adler Planetar- it with the naked eye, and we saw loving companion, one might find one here. a number of special parties for night-lifers. One online. Meredith Goldstein can be ium there. The eclipse tour was a solar flare. All the night ani- That’s all we’re saying. We recommend the young event that might be worth a reservation is Eats, reached at [email protected]. organized by the Adler and led by mals start making noises, and China Advocates. the stars come out.’’ The total FELLOW TRAVELERS: On a whirl- eclipse was exceptionally long, at Rave wind tour, the group visited at- more than five minutes. tractions in Beijing (including MADE IN CHINA: At ‘third con- the planetarium) and Xian, be- tact,’ when the moon starts to Outside the center, still Parisian fore the big day a week later. leave the sun, viewers were ex- From their hotel in Hangzhou, pecting the usual second dia- PARIS — A needed breath of Lost in the outer reaches of dollop of parsley-laden ricotta the group of about 20, including mond ring, but not a waterfall. a planetarium director from Aus- fresh air has hit the northeast- the 20th arrondissment is one of followed by salmon filets covered ‘‘Across the reservoir was an is- ern arrondissements of Paris, the best of these new additions: in blue poppy seeds served with tralia, was bused to Anji, the best land, and we think the Chinese place in the country to view the slowly luring Parisians and tour- Les Pères Populaires (The Fa- mesclun, and an ultra-dense released a waterfall at third con- ists alike away from the city cen- thers Popular, pictured here), chocolate almond brownie with eclipse. ‘‘We drove for hours up tact, because no one noticed it into the mountains to this big ter. Hotels like Mama Shelter, which should win awards in the candied orange peel. before. That’s China — capping restaurants like Le Baratin or ‘‘fun, inexpensive, and inventive This is, as Martha Stewart reservoir,’’ Foote said. ‘‘There the eclipse with something spec- were about 6,000 people, from all L’Escargot, and cafés like Titon restaurant’’ category and the might say, a good thing. tacular and manmade.’’ and Le Léopard provide a mix of coveted ‘‘hip café I could spend over the world.’’ Groups seated DIANE DANIEL JOE RAY around their respective bus tours authentic, hip, friendly, and all day working in’’ category. Les Pères Populaires, 46 rue de lined the reservoir, with leaders even inexpensive, while intro- Lunchtime prix-fixe menus Send suggestions within a month Buzenval, Paris, 011-33-4348- holding distinguishing items. ducing the visitor to a part of the run 13 euros (about $19) and re- of your return to diane@bydiane city they might not otherwise cently included a three-for-three 4922. myspace.com/perespopu ‘‘Our leader carried a yellow um- daniel.com. visit. run of orange lentil soup with a laires JOE RAY FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Chattanooga battles back to pretty prominence If you go . . . Where to eat By Judith Gaines town. Check out the shops on Sugar’s Ribs GLOBE CORRESPONDENT Frazier Avenue, and adjacent 2450 15th Ave.; 423-826-1199 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Coolidge Park with its handcraft- www.sugarsribs.com Nestled in a dramatic bend of the ed carousel. Then cross historic Bea’s River and surrounded Walker Bridge, now strictly a pe- by mountain ridges, Chattanooga destrian thoroughfare, and the 4500 Dodds Ave. is a scenic city full of Southern Holmberg Glass Bridge, where 423-867-3618 personality. In winter, its moder- plates of opaque blue glass are Nikki’s ate climate feels like a balm. suspended dramatically over a 899 Cherokee Blvd. The city of 170,000 offers sev- highway. This leads to the Bluff 423-265-2424 eral surprises. Chief among View Art District, one of the city’s Where to stay these, especially to a Northerner, most attractive neighborhoods. Delta Queen is how much the Civil War re- Here, perched on an 80-foot Coolidge Park Landing mains part of people’s lives. If bluff above the Tennessee, is the 100 River St.; 423-468-4500 you drive along Crest Road on Hunter Museum, which claims www.deltaqueenhotel.com Missionary Ridge, for instance, to contain the South’s largest col- you’ll see war monuments, mark- lection of American art. An out- Chattanooga Choo-Choo ers, and plaques scattered door sculpture gallery sits nearby throughout an upscale residen- overlooking the river. 1400 Market St. tial area. People have built homes The Bluff View Art District is 423-266-5000, 800-TRACK29 all over this former battlefield, where you’ll find the Houston www.choochoo.com but have left the cannons where Museum, with about 15,000 vas- What to do the Confederate Army aban- es on display. Other quirky mu- doned them nearly 150 years TOM THEL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE seums around town include the One Broad St.; 800-262-0695 ago. Coolidge Park in Chattanooga has a restored 1895 carousel next to its interactive play fountain. International Towing Museum, www.tnaqua.org Another surprise is how at- the National Knife Museum, and Creative Discovery Museum tractive Chattanooga is. Once But all that industry came at a This embarrassment sparked feet in places. This means that Dragon Dreams, a collection of dubbed ‘‘The Dynamo of Dixie’’ high price. By 1980, the US De- a 20-year campaign to clean up many former first floors of local 2,000 dragons of all kinds. 321 Chestnut St. and ‘‘The of the partment of Health, Education and revitalize the city. Today, the buildings are now underground The city has its own sympho- 423-756-2738 South,’’ its growth for many years and Welfare called Chattanooga effort stands as one of the na- and you enter at what was the ny and opera. But its biggest www.cdmfun.org was powered by development of the most polluted city in Amer- tion’s most effective public-pri- second-floor level. draws are the bluegrass, country, International Towing & Recov- iron, steel, coal, and railroads. ica. vate collaborations, the engine The city’s land was once part and gospel performances in ven- ery Hall of Fame & Museum behind a true civic renaissance. of the Cherokee Nation, and ues throughout the metro area, 3315 Broad St.; 423-267-3132 The transformation is so com- Ross’s Landing was a trading including the Mountain Opry in www.internationaltowingmuse plete that Outdoor magazine has post run by Chief John Ross. The neighboring Walden. Here sing- um.org called Chattanooga one of 10 Cherokees called the area ‘‘Chad- ers, banjo pickers, fiddlers, and Houston Museum of Discover Your ‘‘Dream Towns’’ in the United na-ugga’’ or ‘‘Chat-to-to-noog-ee,’’ more gather every Friday for a Decorative Arts States, and Fodor’s ranked it the which both mean something like free evening of traditional South- 201 High St.; 423-267-7176 country’s ‘‘most overlooked and ‘‘rock rising to a point,’’ referring ern mountain music. www.thehoustonmuseum.com Own Azores underrated’’ family destination. to Lookout Mountain, the area’s Chattanooga is a fine place to The anchor of this redevelop- most prominent landmark. A sample Southern cooking. For The National Knife Museum ment is a marvelous new aquar- short drive leads to its Point Park, Southern BBQ, my favorite is 5924 Shallowford Road 4 hours (and a world) away ium with the largest freshwater which towers 1,400 feet above Sugar’s Ribs, a funky hilltop joint 423-228-2656 tanks in the nation, sizable salt- the city. Alternately, you can ride where resident goats keep down www.nkcaknife.org water displays, and some inter- the Incline Railway to the moun- the kudzu and outdoor tables of- Dragon Dreams esting side attractions, such as a taintop, then walk to Point Park fer a view of the city. For down- 6724 East Brainerd Road charming butterfly garden. Near- and back. This railway, built in home ambience and fried chick- 423-892-2384 by are an IMAX theater, a Cre- 1895, is said to be the steepest in en, try Bea’s, where the buffet www.dragonvet.com ative Discovery Museum with in- the world. comes to you on lazy susans at teractive exhibits for children, Lookout Mountain is another the center of community tables. and a boat offering cruises fount of Civil War history. This Other fun spots are Nikki’s, for passengers from the terminal to through a nearby gorge called was the site in 1863 of the fa- fried shrimp and catfish, and The the aquarium and back, with sev- ‘‘The Grand Canyon of the Ten- mous Battle Above the Clouds, Boathouse, with an excellent eral stops in between. nessee.’’ The city also takes ad- and many markers and a small wood grill and a large, covered Unusual accommodations al- vantage of its river location with museum tell the story. The deck overlooking the river. so are available in the Delta waterside parks, festivities, and a mountain also boasts , For many years, most outsid- Queen, the last overnight passen- popular riverwalk that extends 10 acres of natural rock gardens. ers knew Chattanooga as the des- ger in the country. more than 10 miles from Ross’s Point Park is a perfect place to tination for ‘‘The Chattanooga Now it is a B&B permanently an- Landing Park downtown to the get a sense of Chattanooga’s to- Choo-Choo’’ — a 1941 tune by chored at the Coolidge Park Azores Packages start at just Chicamauga Dam. pography. You can see the curve the Glenn Miller Band that be- Landing, with small but hand- This dam and others up- in the river that cradles the city, came the country’s first million- somely appointed cabins and sit- $709 +tax pp for 6 nights hotel stream were one answer to an- as well as to the selling record. Today the Termi- ting rooms that recall the days including non-stop air from Boston other problem that vexed the ci- southwest and the mountains nal Building, the hub of Chatta- when paddleboats churned the ty: frequent flooding. But the city that rim the metro area. nooga’s former railroad activity, nation’s waterways. 800-762-9995 decided to go further. It brought Another way to get a sense of is a hotel where travelers can stay www in dirt and fill and raised the the city is to head out on foot, be- in a renovated vintage railroad Judith Gaines can be reached at .VisitAzores.Travel downtown elevation nearly 10 ginning on the north side of car. A free electric shuttle takes [email protected].

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