MIAMI ― Victoria Allman has whipped up chocolate chiffon cake for captains of industry and salmon tartar for Brazilian socialites. She has shopped for fresh produce at the crack of dawn in markets from the Bahamas to Tahiti. And she’s done it all with a smile while working 18-hour days pampering the wealthy aboard super yachts that travel the high seas.Allman, 38, is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-bas

Food July 13, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― An oil painting recently authenticated as the work of Leonardo da Vinci will be on display at the National Gallery in the fall as part of a larger exhibition on the Renaissance artist, the London museum said Monday.“Salvator Mundi,” which dates to around 1500, depicts a half-length figure of Christ with one hand raised in blessing and the other holding an orb.The National Gallery s

Performance July 12, 2011

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Australia’s Aboriginal dance company Bangarra has won global accolades but says it has been a victim of its own success in terms of funding at home and at times faces demands for “ooga booga” abroad.Formed in 1989, the Bangarra Dance Theatre is the country’s foremost indigenous performing arts company and is often called on to be Australia’s cultural ambassador at major events.But t

Performance July 12, 2011

PARIS (AFP) ― French choreographer and dancer Roland Petit, who helped set up Les Ballets des Champs-Elysees and formed several other dance companies, died Sunday in Geneva at the age of 87, the Paris Opera Ballet said.President Nicolas Sarkozy paid tribute to what he called “an immense creator who left his mark on the art of dance in the 20th century.” Sarkozy in a statement expressed his condole

Performance July 11, 2011

Riders head toward Place de la Concorde, where the revolutionary guillotine once stood in Paris. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)PARIS ― When my editor emailed me about doing a story on Fat Tire Bike Tours in Paris, I immediately tried to think of an excuse not to do the story. Navigating through the streets of Paris on a bike? I couldn’t imagine a worse way to spend an afternoon.First, a little bac

Travel July 8, 2011

Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Chardonnay is consistently one of the finest from California. But this one from the winery’s Saratoga line ― designed to showcase the Santa Cruz Mountain terroir ― is a real find at this price. The fruit is right there in the first sip. Light on the oak, the 2007 Saratoga Chardonnay carries a gentle lilt of citrus and a touch of anise. Like its big brother, it is Burgun

Food July 8, 2011

A Korean-language class in session at the King Sejong Institute in Istanbul on June 25ISTANBUL ― At many K-pop fan group and Korea-related community meetings in Turkey, it is not difficult to find young Turkish people speaking Korean phrases. Most of the Korean-speaking youngsters are self-taught: using Internet sites that teach Korean or learning by watching Korean dramas and picking up words and

Culture July 7, 2011

  Korea Fans holds a weekly screening of Korean films at the King Sejong Institute in Ankara on June 26 (Kim Hoo-ran/The Korea Herald)Korea studies at university level suffers from lack of resourcesANKARA ― More than 40 people are packed in a classroom at Ankara University Tomer on a recent Sunday paying close attention to a presentation on Korean totem poles, “jangseung.” The 10-minute presentati

Culture July 7, 2011

Enchanted by K-pop, Korean dramas, more Turks turn to Korean cultureISTANBUL ― A diehard fan of Korean actor Song Il-gook, Gulhan Yucasu took an 18-hour bus ride to Istanbul to attend a Songdaslarim Turkey Fan Club meeting on June 24. Wearing a headscarf worn by some Muslim women in Turkey, Yucasu’s eyes light up when she talks about her heartthrob. She became Song’s fan some five years ago as did

Culture July 4, 2011