Inspire Me Thursday

Grabbing a Quick Bite in West Palm Beach

Clematis Street is the historical heart of Downtown West Palm Beach. Starting at Flagler Drive on the Intracoastal Waterway, walk west along Clematis Street, right past some of the best hotels Palm Beach offers its visitors and experience the indigenous flavor of the area’s colorful boutiques, nightclubs, live music, antique shops, historical landmarks, but most important, places to get a quick bit to eat while on your way to having a great time on Clematis Street.

Massa on Clematis, located at 330 Clematis Street offers affordable foods made with fresh, quality ingredients. Massa is a sandwich-plus take-out establishment. Owner Julian Dranga’s specialty is her house-made soups, salads and crepes. Besides sandwiches, she also serves up a mean Panini. Massa does offer a few seats outdoors is you don’t want to eat while on the move.

Carlucci’s – A Downtown Deli, located at 322 Banyan Blvd., is a small, family operated Italian delicatessen in the heart of Downtown West Palm Beach. They offer gourmet New York style sandwiches, salads, soups and breakfast! They only use the freshest ingredients such as tomatoes and cucumbers that are served on their hand trimmed boneless and skinless chicken breast fillets. Their slices of roast beef comes from a slow-roasted USDA Choice Top Round making for the juiciest, most flavorful roast beef sandwich in Palm Beach.

Jimmy John’s , located at 330 Clematis Street, is one of the better sandwich eateries in Florida. Jimmy John’s started his first sandwich shop in Charleston, Ill., in 1983. After mastering his bread recipe, he acquired a huge fan base with his low prices and great delivery service. The sign inside the sandwich shop states: Free Smells and Subs So Fast, You’ll Freak.

Beijing and Ai Weiwei

Contemporary Beijing is one of the most fascinating places today. There are traces of new and exciting ideas in the world of art and architecture, and trends here seem to reach a global scale in a short amount of time. There are also elements of these same forms that are still very insular and very specific to the place and time. Those who are visiting a Beijing hotel looking for a combination of the old and the new are always in for a treat.

Old world charms are still prevalent, and traces of its complex history can be found everywhere. In terms of the new, however, it’s hard to spend any time looking at the next exciting thing without coming across the name Ai Weiwei . He is presently one of the most influential artists in China, and arguably the most famous.

Outspoken and extremely active in the contemporary art scene, his life views seem to be the epitome of the whole global and local focus in contemporary art. In many respects, his work and his actions make him a true citizen of the world, able to embrace the innovative and the imaginary, while also being deeply critical of the structures that no longer serve a purpose. His visual work is every bit as exciting as his intellectual observations, and both are penetrating.

San Francisco Pirate Cat

The city of San Francisco is famous for many things. It’s an attractive tourist destination for its place in the history of the country, its innovations in food and drink, and for its lovely San Francisco hotels . There is a remarkable blend of the urban with the earthy, where old buildings and shifting Bay weather make for remarkable memories.

It’s also famous for the ingenuity and innovative character of its citizens. There’s something about the city that has always attracted enormously creative people who make great contributions to world culture. For some of these characters, San Francisco seems like the only place in the world where they could possibly thrive, and they make it a scene that’s unlike anywhere else in the world.

One of these famous characters, who’s legally changed his name to Monkey, started Pirate Cat Radio . It’s been running since 1996, and despite a number of issues, or challenges, with the regulators of the airwaves, has managed to keep the signal going strong. They’re famous for their innovative programming, as well as their commitment to broadcasting information out of a need to share resources, and keep the listeners educated.

It’s become part of the very heart of the Mission District , one of the areas certainly worth visiting while in town.

Enjoy to Ocean from Cozumel

You are stepping into the world of scuba diving, snorkeling, boating, deep sea fishing and other endless water activities when you book your vacation time in Cozumel. There are many companies like Scuba Mau Cozumel that can get you all suited up and ready to explore the world of the ocean.

Many of these water sport companies are not far from the luxury hotels. cozumel has many nice places to stay. Let the hotel lead you to the right place to get started. It is much easier to explore the ocean floor these days with the PADI  licensing that one can get online. If you decide to snorkel you may as well go all the way in with some tanks on. It really is a must do before you leave this world.

There are also may boating companies that will take you out onto the water for some skiing or some fishing. How about coming home to your friends and co-workers with some real big fish stories.

Don’t just spend your day on the beach with a cocktail. Get out into the water and see all of the marine life in its glory. Enjoy all the colors of the sea. Spend a little time out of your world into that of the sting ray and the jelly fish.

Relaxing in Hong Kong

If you find yourself in Hong Kong, you are either there for business or pleasure. The real reason doesn’t matter though, what you do in your down time does matter. There are a number of great places you can go, but you will definitely want to check out one of their epic spas such as Wonderfish Spa. Each spa has something that they are known best for usually while still giving some of the basics that you would expect at any other spa. What is wonderful about a place like Wonderfish Spa is that their specialty is actually a fish massage.

You will stick your feet into a pool filled with Garra Rufa fish. These fish will eat the dead skin off of your feet and give them a nice, relaxing massage in the process. Coming out of the spa, your feet feel refreshed and really good.

If this is not something that excites you, or if it is even something that scares you a little, you can always go to a more traditional spa that is probably closer to what you were expecting from Hong Kong. Hotel s often know where the best spas in the area are around them. If they don’t have any suggestions though, try the Mandarin Oriental Spa. Very traditional, and worth every cent you spend there.