My visit to Dallas was too short

The Dallas skyline is truly charming.

DATELINE DALLAS – The longer I stay in this city, the more I like it. Of course, what’s not to like about a city that has the most vibrant arts and fashion scene south of New York; the best collection of southwestern chefs in the world whose culinary delights are presented in chic rooms that are true eye candy; a skyline that features three – count ‘em, three I.M. Pie-designed delights and a host of other award-winning architecture; and some of the most polite people I’ve ever met – I think Texans say thank you to ATM machines.

On my last night in Dallas, my delightful guide Pippin asked what the highlights of my whirlwind two-day stay had been?

Honestly, I told her, everything I saw and did on my visit here is now a treasured memory to me.

This is a city that charms from the moment you arrive – yes, even the airport Dallas shares with neighboring Fort Worth is welcoming thanks to its easy maneuvering.

The city’s wonderful collection of museums, which span European, Asian and Modern art worlds, have all been brought to life thanks to private funding by oil-rich Texans who give so much back to the community here.

The Dallas Arboretum and its ambitious plans to add a “Child’s Adventure Zone” - it will open in 2013 - where kids as young as toddlers will be taught how to appreciate the environment in which they leave is one of the most insightful projects I’ve ever seen. Who knew that oil-loving Texans were so committed to our fragile environment?

On my two-day visit here I honestly did not have a bad meal – even my Southwestern-style breakfast at the charming and historic Rosewood Mansion at Turtle Creek, where movie stars and former presidents have dined in 1920s splendor surrounded by delicate architecture that must be seen to truly appreciate, was wonderful.

The city's collection of new hotels - the W and the Ritz-Carlton are WOW! chic - are truly dazzling but the old-world charm at the Rosewood Mansion, with its wine cellar dining option and secret passages through oak-panelled walls, is what charmed me the most.

The dinners at upscale rooms like Fearing’s in the Ritz-Carlton and Stephen Pyles next to the delightful Fairmont Dallas where I stayed, now rank among the best I’ve ever had – right up there with meals I’ve enjoyed at the Georges V in Paris.

The few hours I spent wandering the halls of the Meadows Museum where my eyes feasted on treasures that few have seen from the vaults of the Sistine Chapel, will stay with me for the rest of my life.

And the moment I looked back on my life through the window of Dallas' infamous Sixth Floor Museum from where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shots that killed President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1961 – the day before my 11th birthday – brought back a flood of memories that had me choking back tears these many years later.

I arrived in Dallas not knowing what to expect and I leave this amazing city expecting I’ll be back very soon – because I know Dallas has so much more to offer a visitor like me.

I'll be reporting on all I've seen and done in Dallas in the coming weeks online at http://www.travelife.ca/ and in upcoming issues of TraveLife magazine,which you can also access free at http://www.travelife.ca/.

 

So stay tuned!