Who would ever think of Natchez, Mississippi as a first choice for a romantic vacation? You might not have thought it before, but think it now! This disarmingly charming and beautiful locale overlooking the Mississippi River is miles from a major city, has no major airport and no interstate highways to get you there. But trust us; it’s more than worth your drive, flight or paddle-down-the-river to get there!

Imagine waking up in an enchanted place. You’re on the softest feather bed imaginable, surrounded by exotic treasures from the East, richly-colored throws, Tibetan carved sideboards and a wood-burning kiva fireplace. Outside the window, the snow is falling onto a stone courtyard with hundred-year-old adobe walls. It’s cozy, warm, and almost magical.

Everybody who knows Austin, loves Austin. It’s a reasonably-sized, cosmopolitan city with high employment, affordable housing and an enlightened populace. It’s got great bar-b-q, great music and great parks. It’s got Whole Foods, Kerbey Lane and Cheapo’s. And it’s got The Driskill, the genuine, elegant and inviting cowboy palace for sophisticated city-slickers.

When you enter the lobby and walk though this magnificent hotel, it’s unlikely you’ll bump into any of the literary icons that are so much a part of its history. That’s because they’re all dead! But not the Hotel Monteleone. To the contrary, it is alive and burgeoning with a vitality that belies its 100 years of providing first-rate lodging to the masters and misfits that are an integral part of New Orleans history.

It’s a time of extreme financial hardship, but the owners of a struggling theater think people will want to escape their woes and buy tickets to be amused and entertained.

We could be talking about today, but it’s actually the premise of the new depression-era musical at the Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Based loosely on the 1968 movie, “The Night they Raided Minskys,” and the 1960 book of the same name, the show tells the fictionalized story of real-life impresario Billy Minsky (Christopher Fitzgerald), trying to prevent his burlesque theater from closing down due to the efforts of a hard-nosed politician (George Wendt).

What do Matthew Modine, Annette Bening, and Laurence Fishburne have in common?

You can see them all in person . . . at the Geffen Playhouse!

The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles has just announced its exciting 2009/2010 season, kicking off with the world premiere of Blair Singer’s Hollywood parody Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas , starring none other than Matthew Modine himself.

In this amazingly crafted act of illusory showmanship there are seven doves, one parakeet, eight ducks, two geese and about fifty pigeons. There are also five female dancers and one male assistant. No, it isn’t Animal Planet Meets Dancing with the Stars. It’s the Lance Burton Master Magician Show at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

LuxBus America offers daily, deluxe service to Las Vegas. Based in Orange County, the Las Vegas buses leave from their Anaheim terminal near the Disneyland Resort. If you’re going from Los Angeles, a shuttle picks you up at a nearby hotel and takes you to Anaheim to board their luxury bus. I live about a block away from the Marriot Marina Del Rey, so in the morning I just walked over and the LuxBus Van was waiting for me.

Room (and Bar) with a View . . . The Penn’s View in Philadelphia

Philadelphia used to be thought of as a dull place, and consequently was the butt of jokes for decades. It was so unexciting, in fact, that WC Fields infamously stated, “I once spent a year in Philadelphia; I think it was on a Sunday.”

THE REFUGEES and SATURDAYS OFF THE 405 at the GETTY MUSEUM

Hey, there’s a recession on. So where can you go to get fabulous entertainment for free? Quick . . . make your reservations for the Getty Museum!

Remember when a group just wanted to be “on the cover of Rolling Stone”? Now, the musical trio, The Refugees, wants to be on the cover of AARP Magazine!