Butterfly in Costa Rica

South Africa Safari Pictures

Natural habitats have drastically changed in South Africa due to human influence and habitation. As a result of this, National Parks and Game Reserves were established in the 19th century to offer sanctuary to endangered species.

In 1898 President Ohm opened the Kruger National Park. This park is in the northern region of South Africa and has a length of 320 km and is 64 km wide. You should plan at least a week for this visit in order to enjoy the beauty of this park to its fullest. In the park you will be able to see herds of buffalo, elephant and hippo, as well as lions, cheetahs and other predators. The best time to view these stunning animals is during the mornings and evenings at one of the 145 water holes.

Other excellent places to view these animals are the numerous private reserves. These reserves are found in the savanna or even in the desert. Antelope, like the Impala, Springbok, Hartebeest and Kudu, as well as zebras, lions, ostriches, reptiles and a variety of bird species are also found here.

East Africa and South Africa Safaris

Scrimaglio Vineyards Produces Special Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo Wines

If you can appreciate a fine Italian automobile, then you can probably appreciate a fine Italian wine, too. That's what Fiat is hoping anyway. The Italian automaker – which also owns Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari – has teamed up with Scrimaglio vineyards in Nizza Monferrato, Italy, to produce a special range of wines. The collection includes various reds, whites and sparkling Spumantes bearing the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo emblems on specially-designed bottles, available to the discerning motorist/connoisseur of fine vinos, just so long as s/he hands over the keys to a designated driver first.

All Things Abramovich

The Art
Profligate Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is bankrolling a major Francis Bacon exhibition at his gorgeous 27-year-old girlfriend Dasha Zhukova's new Moscow art gallery in 2010. The show at the luxe gallery, called the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and also financed by Abramovich, will be entitled Death Shadowing Life: Francis Bacon: The Late Paintings, 1971-92, and will subsequently travel to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, The Art Newspaper reports. The announcement would seem to explain Abramovich's astounding $86.3 million acquisition of a Bacon triptych at Sotheby's in May. Zhukova's gallery officially opens on Sept. 16 with an Ilya Kabakov retrospective.


The Homes
In 2008 we learned that Abramovich was working on the most expensive private residence in Britain. He also picked up an Aspen home. This isn't just any Aspen home, this is Wildcat Ridge, the modern home of Leon Hirsch. We've been following Hirsch's struggle to sell this home since February of 2005. Hirsch sold to Abramovich for $36.375 million. Wildcat Ridge has 11 bedrooms is perched at an elevation of 9,200 feet on Wildcat Ridge offering views for miles. The home, designed by Voorsanger Architects, has a dramatic folded plate roof and a large moss rock wall dividing the east and west wings of the building. The home gets its energy from 60 geothermal wells so that it is virtually self sufficient. The wells heat the home, driveway and pool during the winter months and provide cooling in the summer. It also comes with 32 pieces of furniture custom designed for the home. Abramovich also owns homes in other places including the south of France.


The Yachts
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's new $355 million, 555-ft. Eclipse, designed to be the world's biggest, will have a military-grade missile defense system to keep the oligarch safe. The Eclipse is also being equipped with armor plating surrounding the bridge and Abramovich's master suite, as well as bullet-proof windows. There's also a submarine that can be launched underwater and dive to a depth of 160 ft. that doubles as an escape pod, as well as two helicopter pads. C Abramovich owns three other megayachts already: the 377 ft. Pelorus, the 282 ft. Ecstasea and the 160 ft. Sussurro.

Jessica Alba Stars in New Campari Campaign

Classic Italian aperitif Campari has just unveiled its new multimedia ad campaign starring sexy actress Jessica Alba. The "Club Campari" campaign (above) includes pictures by famed fashion photographer Mario Testino and a commercial by legendary director Jean Paul Goude. Capturing Campari's Dolce Vita style, the campaign is
set in "a distinctive oceanside destination, where sensuality and temptation prevail in a sophisticated, playful atmosphere." Several of Testino's sexy snaps will be featured in a limited edition calendar, of which only 9,999 copies will be distributed worldwide. Testino also lensed Campari's previous campaign starring the stunning Salma Hayek. See the gallery for more pix.

Bols Genever Amsterdam Gin

Lucas Bols, the world's oldest distilled spirits brand originally established in 1575 in Amsterdam, has relaunched its Dutch Genever gin, a white spirit created almost two centuries ago. The word "gin" has disappeared from the new bottle (above) in favor of "grain neutral spirits", as the old world Genever bears little resemblance to the dry London gins we're familiar with these days. Bols Genever is made by blending a unique distillate called maltwine with a carefully selected secret blend of botanicals; the result is a superior quality spirit with a unique smooth character that can be made into a variety of delicious cocktails. Genever has in fact been an essential cocktail ingredient for nearly two centuries; Jerry Thomas, author of the world's first cocktail book The Bartender's Guide cited it as one of only four essential cocktail spirits back in 1862.

Champagne Ruinart's "My Sweeter Half" Set for V Day

Champagne is of course an essential component of Valentine's Day celebrations, and the world's oldest champagne house is doing its bit. Champagne Ruinart, founded in 1729 and now part of LVMH's luxury empire, is offering a special edition gift box set called "My Sweeter Half" (above) for the occasion. The gift box includes two half bottles of the famed French house's premium cuvées: Ruinart Blanc de Blancs (left) and Ruinart Rosé (right). The Sweeter Half set, priced at $85, also comes with a pair of Ruinart champagne flutes. Hint: this would go great with that lingerie from Agent Provocateur.

Well Done Double Retrograde From Pierre DeRoche: New Brand On The Scene

I have to applaud a new grand that releases relatively sober and legible timepieces. The Double Retrograde from the new Swiss watch brand Pierre DeRoche is an obvious "homage" to Gerald Genta, but well done nonetheless;making for a legible watch that strays from the norm.

A retrograde watch is one that has a hand that moves along a liner arc. Once it reaches the end of that arc, it simply jumps back to the beginning position. This is as opposed to traditional cyclical nature of watch hands. Retrograde hands are often used to emulate gauge meters, but can serve a very good purpose when it comes to legibility. Being a new twist on analog time telling, a double retrograde would have two such retrograde hands. According the Pierre DeRoche double retrograde have one hand for the hours and another for the minutes. It maintains a traditional cyclical subsidiary dial for the seconds.



The Double Retrograde is powered by a Dubois Depraz automatic mechanical movement (one of the fancier names in watch making). Pierre DeRoche boasts that they use materials and finished often saved for movements on the dials of their watches. This give them more of an industrial look, but nothing can remove the designer quality of this timepiece.

Available in handful of color choices (and with diamonds) the Double Retrograde is likely to be one of Pierre DeRoche's more memorable timepieces, although I seriously doubt it will be priced to be a bargain Gerald Genta (quite likely the opposite). Look for them soon at your continental Pierre DeRoche boutique or similarly rare store.

Bertolucci Stria Luce Watch With Fossil Shaped Jewels

Last year's Bertolucci Stria watch amazed me with its ability to recreate the essence of barnacles, in a woman's luxury watch. It was about as nice as a barnacle could ever hope to be. Admittedly, watchmaker Bertolucci took influence from Mediterranean sea shells as inspiration for the precious metal and jewel formed timepieces.

This year's follow up to the Stria is the limited edition of five pieces Bertolucci Stria Luce. Using the same case shape and design, the theme behind the watch has been adjusted. This is the first time that I have seen fossil-shaped jewels on any watch. Actually, it is the first time I have seen a trilobite formed out of a peridot, or any gem for that matter. To form the look of ancient sea creatures, the gems are carved on the bottom side to resemble various carapaces and creature shells. Stones used include peridots, topazes, citrines, and amethysts (total of 14.45 carats). In between the colorful stones, 331 diamonds are set, which are used on the bezel as well (total of 1.47 carats). The 29.7mm wide case, hands, and strap buckle are crafted from 18k rose gold, while an ETA quartz movement powers the watch.

The dial is guilloche engraved mother of pearl, which apparently is tricky to do without damaging a mother of pearl based dial plate. The result is a fine sunburst pattern on the dial. One thing you can do with the watch is turn the cover on top of the dial to revolve where the porthole to the face is. This way you can view the time better as well as admire various decorations located on the face. Another unique beauty from Bertolucci.

Valentine Essentials: A Diamond Pendant

Whatever you're doing this Valentine's Day certain things are essential, and one of them is a pretty diamond necklace to complement your little black dress. Whether you hint around with hopes of getting it on vday as a gift from your sweetie or decide to treat yourself, a pretty new diamond pendant will not only make you feel beautiful this holiday but it will also be something you can wear again and again for years to come. Totally worth splurging on (this Harry Winston Snowflake is on my wish list!).