There's big trouble in France for the oyster market. Bloomberg reports that close to 80% of France's annual 130,000-ton oyster harvest have been killed off this summer due to a herpes-like virus. The virus affected the 12- to 18-month-old oysters that would be edible in 2010. Those due to be harvested this year and next year weren't harmed. Oyster growers are trying to replenish the stocks but the oyster business which generates $1.5 billion is sales is in serious jeopardy in two years.
Researchers at the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea found larger than usual quantities of the Ostreid Herpes, or OsHV-1, virus as well as bacteria called Vibrio Splendidus. They believe that the bacteria might have made the oysters more vulnerable and that climate change may also have been a factor. Winter temperatures in 2007 and 2008 were 2 percent above average. So far the oyster crisis has only occurred in France.
Today's estate would be a lot to live up to, the cool factor is pretty high. Out of the sleek modern homes perched on Camelback Mountain with views of Phoenix, Arizona, this is one of the best. The three-bedroom home features glass walls which open out onto terraces and a cantilevered pool and submerged Jacuzzi which seem to float above the city lights. The property also includes a 100 foot mountainside waterfall. The mountain comes inside the home in the 16-person home theater which has a rock wall. The home also features a separate catering kitchen, wet bar, full gym with a rockclimbing wall and a two-bedroom guest house. The garage has clear doors to showcase your exotic cars and the property also includes a putting green. A virtual tour with more pictures is here. This home is listed at $9.4 million.
When it comes to real estate, where haven't Russia's wealthy elite ended up? A mystery Russian billionaire recently scooped up the world's most expensive house on the French Riviera. We've seen them move in to the Plaza in New York, snatch up historic homes in London and pick up ski real estate in Colorado. The Moscow Times says that the next big flood of Russian real estate investment may be headed to the turquoise waters and white sands of the Caribbean. The lure is two-fold, part of it is the natural charm of an idyllic tropical paradise and part of it is the potential property tax breaks that make the homes both pleasure and a smart investment.
While Russian billionaires have long had Caribbean homes, now there is a move by multimillionaires to get their own piece of tropical paradise, buying in to the many developments springing up practically everywhere there is an untended beach. Projects such as Isla Moin in Costa Rica, Costa Blanca in the Dominican Republic and Vita Tower in Panama, which were in many cases originally designed for the American wealthy, have begin to sell toward Russian investors. The Moscow Times also reported last April that Florida real estate projects were also seeking out Russian buyers. The current weakness of the U.S. dollar is also spurring on Russian investors who are finding they can get some great deals.
I've got a fun one to show you today. Lioncrest is a 30,000 square foot English Tudor manor home overlooking the James River in Maidens, Virginia. The castle-like home is on over 56 acres that include formal English gardens as well as more rustic space. It looks old but the MLS says it was built in 1995. It certainly aspires to a different age with its large stone fireplaces, stone arches, use of shields and crests and a huge beamed grand hall that could easily be a setting for a scene in Harry Potter. Some of the wood and stone dates back to the 1600s and there is a concrete tiled roof. The huge house includes a tavern area, elevator, library, multi-car garages and a full apartment. The lower terrace level is home to woodworking shop, garden shop, morning room, pub, three wine cellars, rec room, sauna and more. The listing pics don't show much of the private spaces (the listing says there are nine bedrooms and 10.5 baths) and some are a bit blurry but I bet this is one fun house to tour. It is listed at $15 million.
Most people, when they get an Olympic gold medal hang onto it for dear life. Jason Kidd, who played on the Olympic basketball team however is giving his away. And to whom? No other than Elaine Wynn, wife of casino mogul Steve Wynn. It turns out that Kidd met Mrs. Wynn last year while he and the rest of the U.S. team were staying at the Wynn while training in Las Vegas. They got to talking over a banquet and Kidd promised that if the team won the gold he would give her his medal. No, he's not in debt to the house, Kidd says it's just a thank you because "the way they treated us at the Wynn, it was the least I could do." I'm hoping the Wynns display the medal at one of their hotels.
Pirates have attacked another luxury yacht. This time is was the Tiara, a 178-foot sailing sloop that first came to my attention in 2005 when the owner, Jonathan Leitersdorf listed his yacht and his Broadway loft with the same agent real estate agent. The yacht is a helicopter-carrying beauty designed by Dubois Naval Architects and launched by Alloy Yachts International. It is full of fine mahogany and 1930s-styled interiors and in 2005 was listed at $36 million. The yacht has since become a popular charter hosting the rich and famous including Giorgio Armani, Sean Combs and Jack Nicholson.
While off of southern Corsica in the Mediterranean, Tiara was attacked by four masked men with guns who pulled up in a speedboat. The pirates robbed the passengers and crew of more than $180,000 in cash from the yacht safe and from the nine guests who had chartered the yacht. The speedy pirates also took jewelry and artwork and within ten minutes quickly got back in their boat and disappeared. No one was hurt. Pirate attacks have occurred in the Philippines and off the coast off Somalia as we saw earlier this year but are rarer in the Mediterranean. The Tiara charters for €180,000-190,000 per week, pictures from her charter listing are in the gallery below and show the beautiful wood interior that includes a master suite with a fireplace.
This large home in Cotuit, Massachusetts takes traditional Cape Cod style to a new level. The home is on seven acres and has waterfront views. The land includes a pool area and a guest house with a turret and a circular staircase. The shingled home combines rough wood beams and exposed brick with columns and double-height ceilings to create a home that manages to be both cottage cute and a bit extravagant. The listing references a lot of France, pointing out that every room in the house features a chandelier, mostly imported from Paris, the kitchen features a professional eight burner Parisian stove and the master bedroom has glass etched doors reminiscent of Lalique styling. There are four bedrooms total and the home also has a library, fitness area and a wine cellar/grotto. The home is being sold furnished and is listed at $12.5 million.
The high-end condo market seems to be thriving in Newport, Rhode Island. The new complex, the Residences at Brown & Howard Wharf in Newport went on the market last month and six of the 16 units have been sold or are under contract which is pretty impressive in today's worrisome real estate market. The condos are pretty expensive by Rhode Island standards ranging up to $3.6 million. The 16 harborside homes have perfect views of Newport Harbor and dockage for yachts up to 250 feet in length.
Condo units range from 2,300 to 3,200 square feet and have open-plan interiors with numerous balconies. Owners can work with the on-site interior design coordinator to select finishes and style elements. Living rooms will have a gas fireplace, kitchens and laundry rooms feature an appliance package, with a Sub-Zero refrigerator, Wolf gas cook-top, ventilation hood, microwave and oven. Asko 4-cycle dishwashers and Bosch washers and dryers are also included in the unit.
One of the most interesting collections of vintage Rolls-Royces isn't in some U.S. millionaire's shiny garage. It's hidden in a tower among the Encartaciones mountains in Spain. Spanish website Eitb24 says that the Torre Loizaga in Galdames was once destroyed by a lightning and later rebuilt. The collection includes 43 Rolls Royces spread out over three pavilions along with 27 other makes of cars such as a a 1903 Peugeot, a 1911 Ford T, a Ferrari Testarosa, a Lamborghini Countach, two Jaguars and a 1934 Bentley in three other pavilions. The oldest car in the collection is a 104 years old "Gladiator". Check out the pictures from Flickr user jl_ibarruri who toured the place. It's definitely not your typical museum.
Rising fuel prices have some curious and wide-ranging consequences. The Financial Times reports it may be making your Champagne bottles thinner. Champagne bottles traditionally weigh more than a bottle of still wine in order to contain the pressure of sparkling wine. Bottles used to be smashed against ship bows for launching are thinned for easy breakage. But thinner bottles take less energy to create and are cheaper to ship.
G.H Mumm, the Champagne house owned by Pernod Ricard has completed a trial production run of bottle which weigh 835 grams (around 1.84 pounds which is a couple of ounces lighter than regular bottles which are 900 grams). The lighter bottles will be put in caves where the bottles will age.
The lighter bottles will save money on fuel because more of them can be loaded on each truck. Pommery, which already uses the bottles, says that if all the Champagne houses switched to lighter bottles there would be 3,000 fewer trucks on the road each year.
Bolton's home is a six-bedroom expanse located on Nash's Pond. The home is "Tuscan-inspired" and has a formal albeit bland interior design. The home is enriched with dark polished mahogany wood and Italian marble floors and ncludes a screening room, formal dining room, chef's kitchen and a master suite with a veranda. The Real Estalker Mama reports that Bolton's property is two separate lots of over an acre each and that Bolton bought the home way back in 1991 for $975,000. The smaller lot which measures 1.2 acres has a four-bedroom home that has been used as a guest house and also serves as Bolton's music studio. The grounds feature a tennis court, putting green, piazza, swimming pool, formal gardens and a dock on Nash's pond. Bolton has put this property on the market for $11 million.
It may not be the most glamorous briefcase I've ever seen but the new Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase by Tom Bihn has one very important feature, it can slide through airport checkpoints with your Mac safely inside a sleeve, saving you the awkward fumble of taking out your computer, putting it into a bin and sending it through the chute unprotected along with umpteen other Apple computers.
The durable bag is made of ballistic nylon with YKK Uretek zippers, Duraflex Stealth buckles, and Poron foam-padded handles in Tom Bihn's Seattle factory. It's pretty travel friendly with 11 organizational pockets, a back pocket that zips open to accommodate the handle of a roll-aboard, a quick-access boarding pass/map pocket and a folded foam laptop compartment that completely encases the laptop in 8mm-thick closed cell foam, available in three sizes designed specifically to fit Apple laptops (yes, it fits PCs too). They say it requires less than 3 seconds to be prepared in order to send the briefcase through the x-ray machine. It is available for pre-order through Tom Bihn and ships by late September. It sells for $220.
To celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympics, jeweler Roberto Coin has created a few unique pieces including a $31,000 golden sneaker. The sneaker is made of 24 karat gold varnished nappa leather which is then coated with a PVC lacquered film. It is finished off with an 18K yellow gold clasp and Coin's signature small ruby.
Coin has also created a gold boxing glove pendant for $620, an 18K white gold panda with diamonds and black sapphires for $1,580 and a diamond pave peace necklace for $520.
Mango gin? There might be few distilleries you could trust with such an idea but North Shore Distillery in Lake Bluff, Illinois is an artisan distillery up to the task. The distillery cooks up several flavors of vodka, aquavit, absinthe and the Alphonso Mango No. 11, a limited single-batch spirit for summer. The gin uses the Alphonso mangoes which are smaller than traditional mangoes and peach-like in their juicy sweetness.
To create the mango gin each mango was hand peeled, pitted and sliced before being placed in a 155 proof version of the North Shore Distillery's No. 11 gin. After several weeks, the fruit was then removed and the liquid was pressed out with a small grape press. Each bottle contains a little bit of fruit pulp. Because gin is more flavorful than vodka, the overall taste includes not just fruit but also a touch of spiciness from the botanicals used in the gin. The distillery recommends it be served on the rocks or with a splash of soda and muddled strawberries. With just 256 bottles made, this one is a really limited edition and only found in the Chicago area.
Ever since I read about it in this month's Archaeology, I've been obsessed with the Hidden Treasure of Afghanistan story. In 1988, Omara Khan Massoudi, director of Afghanistan's National Museum in Kabul and a team of museum workers hid over 20,000 precious artifacts dating from 2000 B.C. to A.D. 100 to keep them from the Taliban and others who would seek to destroy them when civil war erupted. For a long time the collection was believed destroyed or sold but in 2002, Massoudi revealed that he had hidden the items. Now 228 of the artifacts are part of an exhibit which has been exhibited throughout Europe and came to the U.S. this May. It will appear in just four cities, staying in Washington, D.C. until September 7 then San Francisco October 24–January 25, 2009, followed by Houston February 22–May 17, 2009, and finally New York June 23–September 20, 2009. The exhibit features golden bowls, bronze sculptures, ivories, glassware and more. Some pieces which had been imported from around the world and excavated from ancient storerooms discovered in the 1930s and 1940s others are gold ornaments from the "Bactrian Hoard," found in 1978 in Tillya Tepe.
It's not coming to my town so I'll have head to the nearest city near me that has it San Francisco. The Fairmont has partnered with the National Geographic Society on special packages at their hotels in Washington, San Francisco and New York in conjunction with the National Geographic exhibition, "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul."Starting October 24, 2008, when the exhibition opens at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, guests will be able to stay at The Fairmont San Francisco with the Golden Treasures of Afghanistan package. The package includes a one-night stay, two entry tickets to the museum, a traditional Afghan treat of baklava and Turkish coffee for two and a set of note cards commemorating the exhibition. Rates start from $299 USD per night, and the package is available through January 25, 2009.
