I’ve been on tequila-, beer- and wine-tasting trips, so naturally the opportunity to add Cognac to my libation travel list caught my eye.

On your next trip to France, swing by the House of Rémy Martin and indulge in Les Rendez-Vous Rémy Martin: A selection of gastronomic experiences that allow you to participate in a Cognac-tasting session, meal and tour of the celebrated estate. Dip your toe in by choosing a half-day or evening tour, or jump straight in to a complete day tour. A variety of options for each choice allows you to pick exactly what you’re interested in.

Photo: Louis XIII de Rémy Martin

Check out these choices:

The four-hour Discover Rémy Martin package includes a tour of the House of Rémy Martin in Cognac and the Merphins Estate for a cognac-tasting session. Appetizers and lunch follow at Club Rémy Martin. €160 (about $216).

The nine-hour Rémy Martin for the Epicurean package starts with a tour of vineyards or the Rémy Martin cooperage, and then moves on to a distillery tour where you can taste recently distilled eaux-de-vie. Lunch in the distillery before a tour of the Merpins Estate and House of Rémy Martin in Cognac. The day ends with dinner in a private dining room. €380 (about $513).

The 10-hour Louis XIII Experience is a customizable package, which highlights the luxury of Louis XIII and the Cognac region. Take a private tour through the family estate and private cellar, taste prized cognac, and enjoy a private lunch and dinner. €850 (about $1,147).

Prices on Les Rendez-Vous Rémy Martin packages include taxes and are guaranteed through Dec. 31, 2009. For more information, visit www.visitesremymartin.com.

If you go, consider taking me!

What’s next on the calendar? Now that it’s May, we’re gearing up for the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) conference in Las Vegas! It runs May 27 to 28, 2009, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort.

Henry Harteveldt (vice president and principal analyst, Forrester Research) will kick things off with a keynote speech addressing comsumers’ thoughts on the economy, travel and marketing in general. Over the two days of the conference, there are a number of informative sessions planned.

My top five session picks include:

1.    What Is the Role of Advertising in a Recession?

How to plan out the rest of 2009 and what to think about 2010, moderated by Rob Torres of Google.

2.    Taking Social Computing From the Edge to the Center

Susan Black (managing partner, Susan Black Associates) will moderate a panel with Tim Simmonds (vice president, United Airlines) and Adam Rugel (president, Trazzler.com). Unsurpisingly, Twitter seems to be a hot agenda topic!

3.    Improving the Online Selling Process

Kevin Fliess (CEO, TravelMuse) will join Josh Steinitz (CEO, Nile Guide) and Alex Wilcock (CEO, Imagini) in a session moderated by Jeff DeKorte (vice president, Travel Ad Network) in rethinking the way travel firms engage customers and address selling shortfalls.

4.    Improving Your Advertising and Promtion ROI

I’m always on the lookout for new tools. This session peaked my curiosity and includes former Yahoo general manager Brad King, now managing director, BlueKai Channels, who intend to build the world’s largest database of intentions.

5.    Profiting From Design

Optimize your Web site from a design and usability standpoint with Dean Kakridas of Frog Design.

There are various registration packages, but ATME members can register at the special rate of $495 (which ends May 15, 2009). Find out more here.

And keep an eye out for Kevin in Las Vegas. Be sure to steer him away from the tables and slot machines—that’s not the way to improve our ROI!

Can’t bear the thought of leaving your laptop behind while you’re on vacation? Here’s a new travel gadget released just last month that you’ll love: the Ridgeline W200 Wearable Computer designed by Glacier Computer to wear on your wrist.

The 10.2-ounce W200 is made of lightweight but durable reinforced magnesium alloy and is ergonomically designed to form to the contours of the arm. The water-resistant W200 features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS capabilities, 3.5-inch color display and touch-screen, a stylus pen, and uses the Windows CE or Linux operating systems.

Photo: Glacier Computer

Vice president John Geary says that companies “looking to deploy hands-free computing” are the primary customers for the W200 right now, or others who work for information-saturated fields like defense, security or emergency services.

Still, I have a feeling that some adventurous techie travelers would really dig the futuristic James Bond-ness of the W200. That is, if they can fork over $2,000 to purchase one.

For more information on the W200, call 866-724-6257 or go to www.glaciercomputer.com.

The destination features this week on TravelMuse are Honolulu and Oahu. Two of our writers—[Jennifer Hwang|http://www.travelmuse.com/authors/jennifer-hwang] and Dana Young—share below some language tips that may come in handy on your next Hawaiian vacation.

Confused? Don’t be. Just know that during a vacation to Hawaii, you might end up hearing locals using a language that sounds like English but is more difficult to understand.

Photo: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)/Tor Johnson

Here are some key words and phrases that will help you translate local-speak, aka Pidgin English. But keep in mind—there’s nothing that bothers Kama’aina (locals) more than when tourists mispronounce or misuse the local lingo. There are a few words everyone can embrace, and visitors can easily add them to their lexicon. As for the rest, they’re really more for the locals—and in one case, use at your own risk. (For more phrases, check out Peppo’s Pidgin to da Max (Bess Press, 1981) by Douglas Simonson.)

Safe for Visitors to Say

Aloha — Hello, goodbye. It also captures the Hawaiian spirit.

Mahalo — Thank you.

Howzit — Slang for aloha (hello).

Howzit Brah — How are you, friend?

Brah, Bruddah, Sista or Cuz — What you call a peer. For elders, use Aunty or Uncle.

Ono — Good.

Laters — See you later.

More for the Locals

Grinds — Food as in “Brah, you like get some ono grinds.”

Choke — Awesome, as in “Cuz, da waves stay choke!” Also means a large amount.

Brok’ da mout — Broke the mouth. Really tasty (food specific).

Brah, you like beef? — Do you want to fight?

Chicken skin — Goosebumps.

Talk story — Relax and chitchat.

Holoholo — Go out, as in “you like go holoholo tonight?”

Any Hawaiian words and phrases you care to share? Leave them in the comment section below!

Last night, TravelMuse won Best Online Consumer Information Service at the Software & Information Industry Association’s (SIIA) 24th Annual CODiE Awards! The CODiEs are the only peer-reviewed awards within the software and content industries, so we’re thrilled to have been selected!

More than 850 nominations were shortlisted to 345 finalists, by a panel of expert judges, from which more than 70 CODiE winners were chosen for 2009.

TravelMuse is excited to have been selected over some great sites, including nationalgeographic.com, which was also selected as a CODiE Finalist.

“Now in its 24th year, the CODiE Awards continue to recognize those companies providing the best new technology products and services across a broad array of industries,” noted SIIA President Ken Wasch. “In addition, its winners are a prolific testament to the power of technology to deliver innovative solutions to businesses and consumers. SIIA warmly congratulates all of the winners and nominees of the CODiE Awards, whose innovation is essential for continuing America’s leadership in the global knowledge economy.”

A complete list of winners is available at http://siia.net/codies/2009/winners.asp.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. For further information, visit www.siia.net.