A Peace of Home
Official Selection to 2008 Cannes International Short Film Corner A musical short for anyone who has ever missed home, or the feeling of what home is. After moving from her home in the city to the suburbs, a young girl finds a way to feel less homesick. Shot in San Francisco’s Chinatown and Philip’s hometown of Walnut Creek. SUBSCRIBE! youtube.com OFFICIAL wongfuproductions.com FACEBOOK http TWITTER twitter.com STORE areyouaniceguy.com Directed by Philip Wang Starring Angela Do Original music by Philip Wang Special thanks to Wesley Chan and Ted Fu Bag provided by Melinda-Mae Bags http
Raccoon Enters Home; Family Calls 911
Raccoon Enters Home; Family Calls 911
Orange County firefighters receive an unusual call and are unable to help a family after an animal entered their home.
Read more on Local 6 Orlando
Pat Boone buys a home on the sea
Pat Boone buys a home on the sea
Entertainer Pat Boone has purchased a vacation home on the residential ocean liner the Utopia.
Read more on Seattle Times
MIDEM 2009 conference video: Labels artists call home
More and more artists are setting up their own label. Not mere vanity labels to release their own productions, but fully-fledged structures to sign, nurture and develop other artists. Sign of the times? Speakers at this MIDEM 2009 session included DiamondTraxx’ Benjamin Diamond and Ben Watt, co-founder of Everything But the Girl and now of labels Buzzin’ Fly Records and Strange Feeling Records.
Live the Good Life in a Luxury Home in Cannes
When one talks of luxury real estate, Cannes, on the French Riviera is right there on top with the likes of Tuscany, Abu Dhabi or the Caribbean. Its strategic location on the Cote D’Azur apart, Cannes’ pleasant temperate weather, high-end lifestyle mingled with carefully preserved natural & historical treasures and its recognition as one of the glamour capitals of the world, thanks to the Cannes Film Festival, makes it one of the first places to consider when looking for luxury real estate and properties.
Cannes has every kind of luxury accommodation to suit the needs of tourists looking for a luxury vacation, business travellers looking to mix some pleasure into work, investors looking at great returns, and families looking to settle on one of the most coveted coastlines in the Mediterranean. For those seeking indulgence and magnificence in real estate, Cannes has no dearth of varieties. Luxury apartments, penthouses, villas, manors, chateaux, bastides, farmhouses and even vineyards are available for sale or on rent, all year round. A well placed and resourceful luxury real estate agency should easily be able to offer you a wide selection comprising of all this and much more.
That’s not all, luxury properties in Cannes are more than just impressive architecture, modern in-house comforts and breath-taking views; almost every luxury home in Cannes comes with swimming pools, gardens, tennis courts and acres of manicured lawns. Proximity to golf courses, beaches, shopping plazas and nightclubs is a given. In fact, when it comes to luxury real estate, Cannes’ agencies that deal with elitist clientele will bring in a lot more to the table – legal and financial expertise, investment advice and management, property servicing and maintenance as well as interior design.
Cannes’ stature as an haute holiday destination, its association with glamour, its inherent natural beauty and its cultural and historical significance have created many prime locations in and around the city. Whether it’s a luxurious and yet functional apartment or penthouse along La Croisette; or a quaint little villa with a breathtaking view of the Meditteranean on Le Suquet; or an impressive luxury manor along the prestigious Quartier des Anglais; there’s a good chance you’ll have a hard time choosing any one from all the options you have.
When it comes to the best of luxury real estate, Cannes is sure to fulfil every desire and much more. Considering the nature of your investment in Cannes, it is very important for you to find an experienced and professional real estate agency that anticipates your concerns and ensures complete satisfaction. Thus, while finding the right property may be a pleasantly overwhelming process, finding the right intermediaries becomes a far more pressing and primary concern. We strongly suggest going only for an agency that has been dealing with luxury properties on the French Riviera for at least a decade, if not longer. It is important that the agency have a wide-ranging portfolio of luxury properties of all types, as well as elite clientele. By being as particular of the agency as you would be of the property, you can ensure your property investment in Cannes offers you great returns – monetarily and otherwise.
Kris Booth, At Home By Myself with You, Chic Little Devil
www.RealTVfilms.com Kris Booth, At Home By Myself, Chic Little Devil Style House at the Cannes International Film Festival
Hello From Nova Scotia – Part 11 – The Mackinnon-cann Inn: Where Home And Garden Television Meets The Travel Channel
I had spent a wonderfully rejuvenating night wrapped up in the soft high-thread-count sheets and comforters of my temporary home at the MacKinnon-Cann Inn in Yarmouth. After an exciting drive down the Evangeline Trail yesterday that included a very informative tour of the Bear River First Nation Heritage and Cultural Centre, followed up by an early-evening walking tour to admire Yarmouth’s Victorian heritage areas, I had definitely needed a good rest. But a new day had broken and I was ready for more adventures.
First on the plan was of course breakfast, so I got myself ready and walked downstairs into the tastefully decorated dining area of the MacKinnon-Cann Inn. Neil Hisgen, one of the co-owners, was working in the kitchen to prepare breakfast and occasionally dropped by to see how the guests were doing. I caught him for about ten minutes to find out more about this property and his own personal background.
Neil is originally from Racine, Wisconsin, and hails from a family with six children. He spent six years in the navy following which he briefly returned home, only to move to Fort Lauderdale in Florida where he started his hospitality career. He started working at the front desk at the Marriott Hotel and for the next 18 years worked in various hotels and restaurants, gaining experience at the front desk and in the kitchen. He capped his employed career after 15 years with a general manager’s position of a major hotel.
Neil met his business and life partner Michael Tavares at the end of 1997. Neil had made a good return on the sale of his first house and decided to invest it in a bed and breakfast. At the time Michael owned a 200-acre property on a peninsula near Yarmouth which they used as a vacation home. Michael had invited him to spend about a month at his farm near Yarmouth and Neil loved it. Being from the mid-west, he had always enjoyed the change of the seasons.
Neil and Michael were thinking about what they wanted to do and decided they were ready for a change, so they went ahead and opened a bed and breakfast in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia where there was a beautiful Victorian residential district waiting for them with many restoration opportunities. At this point Neil unfortunately had to go back in the kitchen to continue working, but Michael, his co-owner, joined me at my table to give me a more in-depth overview of their projects and his own life story.
Michael is originally from Boston and grew up in the southern part of the city. During college he majored in education, but after school he went into real estate and started his own brokerage firm. He was always fascinated by old buildings and illustrates this with a story from his childhood: at 12 or 13 years of age there was an old farm house nearby, and Michael always wondered who had owned it and lived there. So he talked to his mother about it and she took him to the land registry office to do a title search, obtaining a record of all previous owners of the property.
With these documents in hand he approached the current owners and gave them the historic ownership records of the property. They absolutely loved it, and from that point forward Michael was hooked on the mystique of historic properties. In his words, he loves to “peel back the layers of time” and started to buy and restore his own historic buildings. Over several years he completed eight restoration projects in the south end of Boston.
After Boston he moved to Key West and became a tropical landscape architect. He spent five or six years living and working in Key West, completing many garden design projects for the local gay community. In the 1980s he finally bought a 200 acre farm as a vacation property in Nova Scotia together with several friends. This was when his love affair with Yarmouth began. Michael moved his permanent residence from Key West to Fort Lauderdale where he met Neil in 1997 at a fundraising event. They lived together for a year and Neil helped Michael in his landscaping business. In the summer of 1998 Michael invited Neil to his property in Nova Scotia because he wanted Neil to share this part of his life. So for the last eight years Neil and Michael have been residing in Nova Scotia. Their first Yarmouth property was a run-down Victorian brick mansion which they lovingly restored in 1999 and turned into the present Charles C. Richards House, a historic bed and breakfast with three guest bedrooms decorated in the 1930′s Art Deco Period. Each room at the Charles C. Richards House features a private bath, cable TV with DVD players and period furnishings.
The MacKinnon-Cann Inn where I was staying was built in 1887 and is an example of the Italianate Victorian style. The house was built as a duplex for two female cousins, and to this day the inn features two staircases side by side. Michael and Neil rescued the property in 2000 and took it from a condemned state to the stunning mansion that it is today. All seven guest rooms are uniquely decorated in a style reflecting a different 20th century decade, from the 1900s to the 1960s. The main floor features five lavish parlours and Michael pointed out the beautiful patterned wood floor that was installed at great expense throughout the dining area. Neil is a talented glass artist, and many stained glass windows throughout the MacKinnon-Cann Inn and the Charles C. Richards House feature Neil’s artwork.
Michael explained that he is very active in Nova Scotia’s heritage community and mentioned that he is a member of two historic organizations: he serves on the Board of Directors of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia whose mission it is to preserve and protect the heritage properties in the province. Both the MacKinnon-Cann Inn and the Charles C. Richards House are provincially registered heritage properties. Michael is also a member of the Provincial Heritage Owners Association of Nova Scotia which encompasses 265 provincial heritage properties. Both inns have won several awards, including the 2005 Restoration Award from the Yarmouth County Historical Society and the L.B. Jenson Award as a contribution to the development and economic health of the Yarmouth Heritage Community.
In addition to the two inns, Michael is also currently renovating the property right next door to the MacKinnon-Cann Inn, another Victorian heritage property which he is thinking of turning into a restaurant that will serve the tourists and local community of Yarmouth. The fourth recently renovated property owned by Michael and Neil is a blue-coloured Victorian heritage property located right between the MacKinnon-Cann Inn and the Charles C. Richards House. In essence, Michael and Neil have single-handedly transformed an entire street block, rescued four historic properties and turned them into stunning examples of architectural revival.
As an astute tourism marketer, Michael Tavares is also the President of the Nova Scotia Association of Unique Country Inns, a collective marketing and branding group that promotes upscale heritage tourism in unique historic properties. Michael is generally responsible for the inn’s marketing while Neil’s responsibilities focus more on hospitality and innkeeping.
Michael’s restoration mindset is based on a commitment to the preservation of buildings and a respect for the historical integrity of the property. He approaches his projects with a certain humility which he says many renovators today are missing since they are only looking for the highest return on investment. He is a strong believer that the cultural renaissance and economic revival of a town begins with heritage restoration and then trickles down to Main Street.
At the same time he also recognizes the need for protecting his investments, and as a member of the local Yarmouth Town Planning Council he has a chance to participate in shaping the future of this town. Michael and Neil have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless thousands of hours in their heritage properties and business ventures. Their efforts make a significant contribution to the economic well-being of the town.
The beginning was not easy since Michael was an outsider with new ideas in a town with long-standing traditions and established power structures. He was the new kid on the block. In addition, it took some time to gain acceptance, particularly as a gay couple in a rather conservative community. Conflict arose originally since Michael was also very outspoken and questioned the old ways of doing things.
However, his commitment to the community became evident in his renovation projects. Michael would call together all the contractors for each project, such as electricians, plumbers, carpet layers, etc. and told them that he would deal exclusively with them as local merchants instead of choosing a big box home renovation store as his main supplier. This commitment to local merchants has earned him a lot of respect and goodwill in the surrounding community, and today many people call him for his opinion before a debate of important issues that will affect the town.
After I completed my delicious fruit salad and omelet breakfast, Michael took me on a tour of all four properties. We started off with the smaller Victorian house currently under renovation where the entire first floor has currently been stripped down to the bare walls. As with his other projects, Michael is going to do the vast majority of the project himself and will call in specialized contractors only where needed. He is one of those people who have that special gift of spotting a diamond in the rough and taking it from a derelict hovel in danger of collapsing to a stunningly updated and stylish historic jewel with all modern conveniences.
We then went over to the recently restored blue Victorian mansion that was renovated by the previous owners according to Michael’s recommendations since Michael and Neil were going to purchase the property. We capped the visit off with the Charles C. Richards House, a stunning Victorian brick mansion with gorgeous architectural details, built for a wealthy local businessman. It was started in 1893 and took two years to finish and was the first brick house of this class to be built in Yarmouth. Most of the special building materials, i.e. the brownstone, granite and brick, were imported from the United States and make this house unique. Michael told me that it took him a whole season to strip the many layers of paint on the ornately carved porch and 32 weeks to repaint it, using eleven different colours.
I admired the wonderful details and stylish décor of the various rooms, including the flower-filled conservatory. Michael and Neil posed for me in front of the intricately carved wooden staircase that leads to the upstairs bedroom and this was the fitting ending for my introduction to architectural preservation and heritage tourism in Yarmouth. I thanked them both for their welcoming hospitality and got ready for my next item on the itinerary: an exploration of Yarmouth history at the Yarmouth County Historical Museum, located right across the street from the Charles C. Richards House.
For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/mackinnon_cann_inn.htm
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com), a popular web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new section featuring FREE ebooks about travel.
Categories: Cannes History Tags: Channel, from, Garden, Hello, Home, Mackinnoncann, Meets, Nova, part, Scotia, Television, Travel
Looking For Holiday Home? Read The Quick Guide
Situated on the South Western French coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the French Riviera has the appeal and glamour matched by few places on earth. The region encompasses on the eastern most corner Menton, the grand lady of the Belle Epoch era, running through Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes all the way to ST Tropez. This scenic coastline, a hub for many celebrities offers numerous accommodation possibilities. Tourists may opt for holiday homes with a pool, holiday apartments by the beach or even a quite farmhouse in the mountains. The properties are available both for both short and long term lease.
Dalmatia on the eastern coast of Croatia is another popular destination for holiday. The region, made up of many islands along the Adriatic Sea is spotted with many Mediterranean resort cities including Dubrovnik, Trogir, Zadar, Split, and Makarska. Depending on your accommodation needs, holiday homes big enough to house as many as 8 persons or apartments to suit individual travellers or couples are available to rent. Dalmatia is definitely worth visiting for you to experience the true feeling of the diverse Mediterranean climate and vacation.
On the other hand, you may choose to rent an apartment in the impressive Santa Cruz / Madeira region in Portugal, another sun drenched tourist destination with palm lined sandy beaches. The cosy apartments are generally self catering and have other shared amenities for example swimming pools, therefore giving the occupant maximum privacy and seclusion but also the opportunity to socialize.
Situated on the shores of the Indian Ocean along the East African Coast, is Diani Beach. The region lies on the South of the historical city of Mombasa in Kenya and offers a multitude of rental holiday homes as well as the perfect mix for the perfect holiday destination. The architecture, a blend of both Western and African construction and the well manicured lawns spotted with Palm trees will definitely make your stay unforgettable.
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