Saved from the Flames

Oh fellow travelgirls, it seems that I may have been on my way to my private Stairway to Heaven recently, had I not been gently rescued from the flames by none other than Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant.

We were in New Orleans for JazzFest a few weeks ago, and caught Robert Plant's act with Alison Kraus, with whom he has been touring. That evening, we headed to the uber-hip International House Hotel for a exhibit by photojournalist John Glen, where the charming and talented Mr. Glen informed us that Robert Plant was in the bar. While we were chatting with a group of folks nearby, he walked past and a friend stopped him and we begin chatting with Robert Plant, with me directly to his left. I felt his hand on the back of my hair, stroking it gently and saying, "Watch out there, love."

Apparently I was standing a millimeter away from a blazing candle, about to pull a Michael Jackson right there. If not for the actions of Mr. Plant. Yes, I've got a Whole Lotta Love for Robert. And it just goes to prove — you never know what will happen in New Orleans.

The Big Easy - Girlfriend Getaway of the Week

Make your own unforgettable memories with a Big Easy Bonding girls' trip with the Marriott and Renaissance Hotels. The getaway includes a $250 coupon book for Riverwalk Marketplace, $100 gift card to jeweler, Mignon Faget, tokens for the streetcars, evening pralines and breakfast for two. Available year-round, the rates vary from $269 to $409, depending on the season, and are good at Renaissance Pere Marquette, Renaissance Arts Hotel, New Orleans Marriott, JW Marriott New Orleans and Marriott at the Convention Center. Call 1.866.530.3763 and ask for rate code XXAO or visit www.neworleans.marriott.com

Wedding Bells with Mr. Big?

We'll have stilettos on our feet and cosmos in our hands for the big premiere of the Sex and the City movie. See it in style in New York at the Westin New York at Times Square, which has a special with one-night's stay, two tickets to the movie at the Regal right next door and two cosmos at the hotel's Bar-10. Rates start at $434 for weekends from May 25 to July 30. Call 1-888-627-7149 or www.westinny.com, ask for SEXYMOVI rate plan.

Get Your Glam On — Girlfriend Getaway of the Week

You'll have a blast with your girlfriends' tarot card kit at the Omni Hotel's Get Your Glam on Package, which also includes a chick flick DVD, bottle of wine, chocolate-covered strawberries, lip masque and gloss. The package is available at more than 30 Omni hotels including Atlanta, Austin, Cancun, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Jacksonville, New York, San Antonio, St. Louis and more. Check out the details at http://www.omnihotels.com/Home/SpecialsAndPackages/, where you can also view a podcast of the package and check pricing for each location.

If you didn't catch the new show — All-Girl Getaways — hosted by travelgirl editor-in-chief Stephanie Oswald, you can still catch the first episodes as well as 11 more on the Fine Living Network. Get inspired to plan your own getaway!

Summer Specials in Belize

• The Inn at Robert's Grove in Placencia has a summer package featuring one night free, available from June 1 to November 30 in this 52-room inn where all accommodations are beachfront or have a beach view. Packages include airfare within Belize and three meals in the Inn's Seaside Restaurant. Packages include a Summer Adventure with 7 nights stay with a full-day snorkeling trip and other excursions for $1717; a Summer Beach Odyssey with two excursions starting at $1148 for five nights; and a Summer Dive Odyssey with prices starting at $1155 for four nights. www.robertsgrove.com, 1-800-565-9757.
• Stay three nights at the Jaguar Paw Jungle Resort and get the fourth night free. The 200-acre property has ziplining, tubing, spelunking, rock climbing and more available on the property. www.jaguarpaw.com.
• Stay seven nights at Almond Beach Resort and Spa and mom gets a $90 spa voucher. The Family Adventure Summer Package is available from July 1 to October 31 and includes accommodations and meals for two adults and two children for $3880. www.almondbeachbelize.com.
• Book five nights and get a 10% discount or book six nights and get the 7th free at Xanadu Island Resort, right near San Pedro Town. Available from May 1 to August 31. Visit www.xanaduresort-belize.com. For more summer specials, visit www.summerinbelize.com.

Tavern on the Green Heads South

The Equestrian Club at Tavern on the Green has opened in Wellington, Florida, the winter home of the equestrian world. Many of the NYC favorite menu items are here in this former private clubhouse turned restaurant. 561-333-1150.

Luscious Layovers — Los Angeles

Rather than fighting for a comfy chair and eating a stale Cinnabon, on your next long layover in Los Angeles, check into Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles for either a day or a night stay. Right next to Terminal 1 and 7, the hotels' Fly Well Package includes a spa meal, use of a day room, pool and fitness center and a shuttle back to the airport. Additional spa services are also available for a fee. Prices start at $199. Visit www.sheratonlosangeles.com or call 888 627 7104

Headin' to the City of New Orleans

Well ladies, I've got my shorts, T-shirts, flip-flops and cute Tilley straw hat packed, as I head to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this weekend, This 10-day festival features jazz of course, but also blues, R&B, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk, Latin, rock, rap, country and bluegrass. Artists this year include Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall and The Neville Brothers.

And here you'll find the best festival food you can imagine. No food on a stick and piles of sugar-laden funnel cakes here — you get to choose from items such as Pecan Catfish Meuniére, Alligator Pie, Muffulettas and Crawfish Beignets.

Of course part of the fun of any trip to New Orleans comes from the unexpected. On my last Jazz Fest trip, we found ourselves witnesses to a bizarre watermelon sacrificial ritual accompanied by melodic chanting. Only in New Orleans. For more information on Jazz Fest, visit www.nojazzfest.com/

A Whole Lot of Green

The largest green building in the world is Palazzo Las Vegas, the newest resort in Las Vegas. This $1.9 billion resort conserves enough water to provide each Nevada citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water for a year and saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for 12,100 years. And you can even get valet parking for your bicycle should your limo be otherwise occupied. www.palazzolasvegas.com/

Home on the Beach

Enjoy the services of your very own Cabana Concierge when you rent your own private 200-square-foot cabana at Four Seasons Resort Nevis. Enjoy your own minibar, aloe-infused cooling mist, have DVDs and tropical drinks delivered or just hang up the "Do Not Disturb" flag when you want privacy. Prices for a day's rental start at $350. www.fourseasons.com/nevis

It's All About the Girls!

It's the latest trend, ladies — All-Girl Getaways! Read more about the trend, including quotes from our own Editor-in-Chief, Stephanie Oswald, here. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/WireStory. And check out her new show, All-Girl Getaways, on the Fine Living Network starting Wednesday, April 24 at 9:00PM.

Be sure to pick up our April/May issue, featuring an expanded special section on all-girl getaways. Check back every Friday when we post our all-new girlfriend getaway of the week.

Girlfriend Getaway of the Week — Girls and the City

It's almost time for the long-awaited Sex and the City movie, and The Algonquin Hotel invites you to follow in the girls' stiletto-clad footsteps with the Girls and the City getaway. Head to Miranda and Carrie's favorite bakery, see Carrie's apartment stoop and even check out the merchandise at The Pleasure Chest where Charlotte made a memorable purchase. The package also includes tickets to Legally Blonde, two nights stay and an appointment with a personal shopping consultant. Rates start at $699 a person. Visit www.algonquinhotel.com for information.

Three Days of Peace and Music

"Woodstock was beads and colors and flowers and sunshine and beautiful people," said Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian of the three-day 1969 festival that came to symbolize the youth of the 1960's and drew around 400,000 people to a dairy farm in New York owned by Max Yasgur where they were entertained by legendary musicians such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. Opening in June, The Museum at Bethel Woods is located on the site of the legendary festival, celebrating the music and culture of the 1960s. Part of the Bethel Woods Center, a $100 million outdoor performing arts center about 90 minutes from NYC in Bethel, NY, the museum explores the 1969 Woodstock festival and its ongoing legacy through stories, profiles and multi-media exhibits. www.bethelwoodscenter.org

Garden of Eatin'

Atlanta's hippest new hotel, Glenn Hotel, now also has the first location of Maxim Prime. Developed in partnership with Maxim magazine, famed restaurateur Jeffery Chodorow plans multiple locations around the country. (Viewers of the short-lived but vastly entertaining reality show The Restaurant will remember him as the owner of the restaurant run by celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito.) Unlike other steakhouses with their table-sized steaks and men's club décor, Maxim Prime serves more reasonable portions as well as sushi and a raw bar, and the décor leans more toward the feminine spectrum with a Garden of Eden theme. www.glennhotel.com/index.php