Welcome to Houston!

Downtown Houston Skyline at dawn

Hello everyone!  My name is Christina and I will be your new Houston correspondent for PlanetEye Traveler.  Please join me as I explore everything this wonderful city has to offer: food, music, sports, art, theater, shopping, spas, museums, and more.  I am originally from the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York and as a result I am obsessed with dry Rieslings.  My husband and I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for three years where we saw it all, from moose to bears to the aurora borealis; we managed to develop a serious cross-country skiing addiction as well.

Houston is the largest city in Texas and it’s growing every day.  My goal is to show you the “best of the best,” from the most popular tourist destinations to the off-the-beaten-path cult favorites.  It is my hope that by playing virtual tour guide you and I will learn something new about Houston every week.  Here is a short and not-at-all exhaustive list of upcoming events:

Harlem Gospel Choir (26 March 2010): This free concert at the Miller Outdoor Theater at Hermann Park is sure to get everyone in the Museum District dancing!

Faberge: Imperial Ruler to the Tsars (through 4 April 2010): An exquisite exhibit that has been showing at the Houston Museum of Natural Science since last November, which includes the famous Faberge eggs as well as rare pieces of jewelry.  Tiaras – need I say more?

Shell Houston Open Golf Tournament (29 March-4 April 2010): Played at the Redstone Golf Club, the Shell Houston Open boasts such past winners such as Arnold Palmer, Payne Stuart, Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, and Stuart Appleby.

WorldFest: Houston International Film Festival (9-14 April 2010): This is WorldFest’s 43rd year helping aspiring filmmakers show their work.  WorldFest helped a few familiar names along the way, long before they were familiar names: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, and The Coen Brothers are just a handful of the directors who won awards early in their careers at the Houston festival.

There is so much to do in Houston (and that list is only through April!) that one hardly knows where to start; I will give it my best try!  Along the way I promise to tell you about great boutique hotels, posh wine bars, and the best of the lively Houston arts scene (think ballet, opera, and the symphony for starters); but don’t worry, I plan on finding the best happy hour deals and roadside stand tacos, too!