SPEND THE NIGHT UNDERWATER IN THE MALDIVES
To Stay Here
Contact the Conrad Maldives Resort & Spa on Rangali Island two weeks in advance to reserve one of only 14 tables at the resort’s Ithaa Undersea Restaurant. If you want to spend the night, it’ll cost you — about $1,000 an hour. Must give a two weeks’ notice to reserve the overnight suite. Imagine returning home and starting the dinner conversation with “During the night I spent underwater ...”
Conrad Maldives Resort & Spa
960-668-0629
maldives@conradhotels.com
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Celebrate Earth Day, April 22, with a free visit to a national park. The National Park Foundation is lifting entrance fees to every inch of its 84 million acres of National Parks not just for the day, but for an entire “Earth Week,” April 21 to 29, 2012.
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My room number has five digits.
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The recipes for my favorite Italian meals — that’s all my mom asked for as I headed to Sicily. It seemed like a simple request. But I don’t speak Italian, and I’m no chef, so I returned home with a collection of kitchen disasters.
And then I discovered Saveur’s Easy Italian cookbook for the iPad and iPhone. Its 30 recipes show that many of Italy’s most satisfying foods are also the world’s simplest. Find tips, wine pairings and a breakdown of the lore of Italian food without leaving home — did you know minestrone means big soup? Cook up pasta with lamb and almond pesto, and you too can pretend to be in Palermo shouting “Mangia! Mangia!
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Open Floor Plan
I’d say this villa is decent in size. But when I slid two glass doors open, the place was basically down to two walls. The sea and constant breeze became an extension of the villa. I felt like an invisible king on the hill.
Talking Flags
The resort has its quirks. No phones. No TVs. Quiet beyond belief. When I wanted a drink or a towel, I’d raise a yellow flag outside, with a note. A guy would swing by in a Mini Moke, drop off what I requested and disappear.
Outside Life
Only once did I see a boat cruise past the shoreline. I did find two restaurants on the other side of the private island, both within walking distance — or within reach of a Mini Moke with the help of that little yellow flag.
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From $220; wavecavesurf.com
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