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Hideaways Best in Class Learning Experiences
A+ Travel: Best-in-Class Learning Experiences
Ready to return to school? Then banish boring travel souvenirs, and instead,
take home a new skill or a new dish you can prepare to impress your friends.
What follows is a starting point for unique learning experiences—many revolving
around the kitchen—that are offered by our partner resorts, hotels, and cruise
lines in The Hideaways Collection?. If you don't find what you're
looking for, feel free to contact your expert agent at Hideaways Travel
Services (800-843-4433 or ts@hideaways.com)—consider
us your travel teachers.
Cruising, Worldwide
During your at-sea days, you can relax with a book by the pool, run laps on a
top deck, or expand your mind (and your talents!) with a class or two. Most
ships, especially the bigger ones, offer some sort of on-board classes. On
Oceania Cruises' Riviera, for instance, you'll
savor the only hands-on cooking school at sea with the ship's Bon Appétit
Culinary Center, and on
Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Reflection, you'll enjoy
hands-on instruction from on-board experts in everything from drawing to drink
mixology at the ship's Art Studio.
Pack your sense of adventure and join teams of terrestrial scientists in
celebrating Guana Island's 30th annual Science Month this
October. When you take part in the discovery, you'll explore Guana's rich and
diverse tropical wildlife through tracking and tagging iguanas, bird-watching,
and participating in a lecture or dinner discussion with their renowned
scientists.
Children of all ages will enjoy the hotel's Ceramic Workshop, where you'll
visit the ceramic studio of Pablo Seminario-a Peruvian pottery artist and
former architect whose work is exhibited in Chicago's Field Museum-and learn
about pottery production before having a go at designing and painting your own
one-of-a-kind tiles.
The hotel's Art Tour, led by an expert art historian, offers you illuminating
insight into Peruvian art and history on a tour of the hotel's own extensive
collection. Or become a Chef For a Day with an eye-opening (and nose-tempting)
visit to San Pedro, Cuzco's most famous market, where you'll join the hotel
chef in perusing its incredible diversity of fruits and vegetables (you might
even select some items for the barman to transform into your evening cocktail),
followed by an interactive cooking lesson using produce from the market.
Bring your camera (the one with the macro lens) for the Orchid Tour,
where you'll join the Lodge's gardener for a picture-perfect tour of their
botanical treasures, including more than 100 varieties of endemic orchids. The
gardener will identify all the native plants and flowers for you, and you'll be
given a magnifying glass so you can examine the exquisite details of the
tiniest, most delicate flowers.
Palacio's Market Tour and Cooking Class begins with a guided tour of a nearby
fruit and vegetable market, where a local expert will help you pick out
ingredients to prepare either a Peruvian appetizer and main dish, or a main
dish and dessert. Back at the hotel, you'll have special access to Palacio's
secret garden to discover many of the aromatic herbs used in Peruvian cuisine.
Then you'll meet your tutor-resident chef Karime Lopez-who will teach you how
to prepare your dishes and will help you pair wine with your creations
(cheers!).
Go Back to School one evening with their 60-minute cocktail
master class, and learn how to mix, mash, and muddle some of your favorite
drinks, all while gnoshing on the chef's selection of sunset snacks and
listening to the soothing West Coast waves roll in.
The half-day Journey of Gastronomy will all but make you a
local with an introduction to local ingredients, local dishes, and local
cooking methods. Your journey begins with a tour of the Jimbaran beach fish
market, where you'll witness hectic bargaining by locals as you get to know
regional fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Return to the resort for
refreshments in the lobby, then soto ayam (light chicken soup) at The
Warung restaurant. Fully recharged, your journey continues with hands-on
preparation of different dishes guided by the chef and his team. Your cooking
session will conclude with lunch, where you'll enjoy the dishes you prepared.
Different days of the week offer different culinary challenges at the Paresa's
Phuket Cooking School of Thai Culinary Arts. Whichever day you
choose, you'll embark on an extensive journey of Thai culinary arts, learning
the evolution of Thai cuisine during various periods of Thai history, then
cooking and enjoying your creations.
This hideaway seems tailor-made for thirsty minds, with scores of classes to
tempt an array of interests, including Thai Flower Lessons (you'll learn to
turn bamboo leaves into fish), Soap and Leather Carving, Thai Language Skills,
Thai Dancing, Thai Boxing, Physiotherapy and Private Training, Head Massage,
Thai Sweet Cooking Class, Fruit & Vegetable Carving, Cocktails &
Mixology, and more-like their one-hour Explorer Tour, where
the Chef/Gardener introduces you to the hotel's pigs, chickens, goats, and two
water buffalo, as well as the flora and fauna of the surrounding countryside.
The beauty of Oxford and its surrounding countryside makes this the perfect
location for The Raymond Blanc Cookery School, which operates
at Le Manoir year-round. You'll harvest fresh ingredients from the estate's
organic herb and vegetable gardens to use during various seasonal and themed
courses, like "How to Cook and Eat Well" and "Tastes and Textures from Afar,"
then enjoy the fruits of your labor with the chef and your fellow students.
Kids have their own age-appropriate classes. And don't miss the "Chocolate
Heaven" course, where you'll learn to create (among other goodies) tempting
truffles and a beautiful chocolate tart.
Bonus: Cortijo El Carligto, Andalucía, Spain
Experience the thrills and adventure of Andalucían Bullfighting.
First you'll get to know the culture and tradition behind the spectacle, then
you'll have the opportunity to visit a practice bullring, learn how the bulls
are reared, and even have a firsthand chance to practice against a baby bull -
still no fearless feat! The experience culminates with a ringside visit to a
live bullfight, where you'll meet with the torero in advance and
witness all of the traditions and superstitions that precede the actual event.
Extra Credit: More Best-in-Class Travel Experiences
Hideaways' extensive
article archives share in-depth and honest travel missives
with members of the Hideaways Aficionado Club. Here's a trio of
articles that share more "cliff notes" about top travel learning experiences.
As You Like It: Destination Cooking Schools
Make Your Vacation a Learning Experience
As You Like It: Sailing Schools
Learn From Your Hideaways Travel Teachers
To get more insight, or to book your learning vacation today, contact your
highly knowledgeable agent at Hideaways Travel Services (800-843-4433
or ts@hideaways.com).
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