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!

Sharing photos from my visit yesterday to Dallas' Arboretum

Busy day ahead touring Dallas



The Meadows Musuem entrance is fun.

DATELINE DALLAS – On the second day of my visit to wonderful Dallas, Pippin Clifton, my outstanding guide from the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be introducing me to the Rosewood Mansion at Turtle Creek , the Sixth Floor Museum from where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed president John F. Kennedy, the Dallas Arboretum, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Dallas Museum of Art and the city’s AT&T Performing Arts Center before we sit down for dinner at trendy Stephan Pyles restaurant.


A busy day ahead and I’ll be reporting back on what it’s like to stand at the window and look out on the place that changed the world forever.

First impressions of Dallas yesterday ware that this is a city I could easily live in –world class in every way and with an arts scene that has few equals. It exudes a worldly sophistication few other American cities have but yet keeps its small town charm.

The SMU campus (Southern Methodist University) is one of the loveliest I’ve ever seen and if your read my earlier blog on the Sistine Chapel exhibition at the Meadows Museum opposite SMU you’ll know how impressed I was with that facility.

Dallas’ dedication to the arts and the fact that its world class venues – some designed by the great I.M. Pei – are mostly financed by private funds – those oil men know how to give back to the community – has really impressed me.

Pippin is excited about the “overpass” park that the city is building and will connect the arts district with Dallas’ vibrant downtown, which boasts an amazing Ritz-Carlton Hotel where renowned celebrity chef Dean Fearing serves up culinary delights in a room that combines chic and comfy very nicely. The chef’s tortilla soup and shrimp tacos are to die for!

I’ll be reporting back later today on what else I see in Dallas so stay tuned.

Next stop for this traveler - Dallas




Cowboys Stadium was where
2011 Super Bowl was played.

I’m off to Dallas tomorrow (April 12) on assignment for TraveLife magazine and travelife.ca.

By the way, have you all signed up for our “smart phone contest?” As of last night we cracked the 1,000 barrier in entries and the contest is open until April 25 – the winner will be named April 28. To enter, just go to www-travelife.ca and follow the instructions.

I’m looking forward to my trip to Dallas – I’m a long-time Cowboys fan and the NHL Stars have always had a special place in my hockey heart. And from what I hear, Dallas has grown to become quite a shopping hub as well as cultural oasis thanks to the many different nationalities who now call Big D home - 80 per cent of the city’s population is made up of Hispanics.

That means I’ll be dining on some great food and enjoying some great neighborhood restaurants. Yippee!

Some of the places I’ll be visiting during my 2-day stay:

- Highland Park Village, the first shopping centre in the U.S.;

- The Meadows Museum, which houses a great collection of Spanish art;

- The Dallas Arboretum, America’s Garden of Eden;

- The Dallas Art Museum, home to 23,000 works;

And of course, no visit to Dallas would be complete without a visit to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, from where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed president John F. Kennedy.

I’ll be reporting on my visit to Dallas in the July issue of TraveLife magazine and no doubt will find a few stories to share with you at http://www.travelife.ca/.

So stay tuned and don’t forget to enter our “smart phone contest” and tell your friends to enter, too!