No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Chinese McDonald's are giving their Golden Arches a new purpose: serving as a catapult for Angry Birds.

According to a press release, customers can vote on which of the 1,500 branded location will host the life size slingshot "to protect McDonald's food from the pigs."

TBWA Shanghai worked with game developer Rovio to create the campaign, which involves online media, outdoor ads, and location-based promotions like providing gamers with extra power-ups if they play on their iPhones in McDonald's.

This is just the most recent chapter of Rovio's aggressive Angry Bird marketing blitz in China.

Although there's currently an unauthorized Angry Bird theme park in China, Rovio announced legitimate plans to "build hundreds, maybe even thousands of activity parks" in the country.

Click to enlarge the image below.

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With a yacht like this, there's no need ever to come ashore. The huge 'Reverie' has room for 24 guests, plus a crew of 27.

Spread throughout the six decks are a pizza parlor, conference room, beauty salon, steam room, massage room, and large gym.

So it's no surprise that Ocean Independence has put the Italian-made yacht on sale for a whopping $55 million.

Built in 2000, it still looks good today.

It's an especially long yacht: From bow to stern, it measures an impressive 230 feet.

It's tall as well: there are six decks.

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Every man needs a suit, every businessman needs a tailored suit.

And that especially goes for Wall Streeters.

But in tough times like these, Wall Streeters have to be mindful of what they're wearing. Audacious colors must be integrated subtly, says Brian Mazza of Windsor Custom, the secret suit shop underneath Mazza's swank Chelsea sports bar. Stand out enough to look good but don't be loud. This ain't Gordon Gekko's Wall Street.

We swung by Mazza's shop where he makes custom suits for everyone from bankers to celebrities to Ryan Lochte to get a few tips on how to dress like a baller in finance.

First thing's first — go somewhere where you actually enjoy the experience of shopping.

Windsor Custom gives guys an incentive to go shopping. 

"We're trying to help the man out," Mazza says. "Have a beer, have something to eat, and get knowledge from Ryan on how to look better and be more confident."

Get measured, you'll be surprised at what you find out about yourself.

Windsor Custom co-founder Ryan Grayson said much of the stuff you buy off the rack doesn't take into account that for 70 percent of people, one arm is a quarter inch longer than the other. 

Times are tough, so as a business person, when you're getting fitted, think toned down.

"A lot of people now don't to go so dressy on Wall Street anymore, because, you know, times are tough," Mazza said. "Say you're doing extremely well, you don't want to come off that way."

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On Tuesday night at 11:40 PM, life changed for 22-year-old Sandeep "Sunny" Singh.

Singh sat in his sister's room and went on the Massachusetts Mega Millions lottery website. There, he found out he'd won the $30.5 million jackpot.

"I dropped the ticket. My mom picked it up. She read it over a few times," Singh told the press as he let out a big sigh.

Singh's sister is actually to thank for the winning ticket. While running to work for one of his odd jobs at Best Buy, Singn asked her to buy a lottery ticket for him. He had no numbers in mind, it was a quick pick. Singh had only been buying tickets occasionally for the past year. He never purchased a ticket before he turned 21.

When asked what he planned to do with the money, Singh -- whose girlfriend recently brok up with him -- only listed three things:

• Help my mom with the mortgage
• Help my family
• Help the community/give some to charities

Watch Singh tell his story, below:

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Pumpkin is in right now, and apparently its power is not constrained to the U.S. borders.

Burger King Japan has taken pumpkin to an entirely new level.

Behold, the BK Pumpkin burger.

This isn't your ordinary pumpkin, though.

Please explain, Foodbeast's Dominique Zamora:

"The “pumpkin” isn’t your typical tawny squash. Rather, the burger features two slices of kabocha (a green, melon sized winter squash commonly known as “Japanese pumpkin”), along with bacon, lettuce, a beef patty and a creamy sesame seed/peanut/almond/cashew and hazelnut sauce, all in a pumpkin-shaped bun. For an added premium, super punkin’ junkies can also get a “pumpkin bomb” option of 10 slices instead of two."

NOW SEE: Japan's Epic Fast Food War Inspired These Crazy Menu Items >

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At the age of 20, Kate Upton has already been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She also has a couple of Vogue pictorials and YouTube hits under her belt. 

But Upton's real dream is to join the ranks of supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Gisele Bundchen or Kate Moss. She aspires to walk runways and do a "big, glamorous ad campaign," she told Vogue. 

So far, Upton has been snubbed by much of the industry. 

She has never walked the runway at New York Fashion Week, a fact that seems absurd considering that she's been on the cover of so many magazines. 

With Upton's curves, you'd think she'd be perfect for Victoria's Secret.

But the lingerie giant's casting director, Sophia Neophitou, said in February that she'd never walk their runway. 

"She's like a Page 3 girl," Neophitou said, referring to the scantily clad voluptuous women featured in The Sun, a London tabloid. "She's like a footballer's wife, with the too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy."

So why haven't more people in the industry rushed to work with Upton?

Our theory is that like Kim Kardashian, the industry is shunning Upton because it prefers waifish models to voluptuous, overtly sexy women. 

But Upton has Vogue on her side, and her great looks. Taking her career to the next level will be difficult, but it's definitely possible. 

DON'T MISS: Paul McCartney's Daughter Is A Huge Hit In Her Own Right >

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In 1973, a skinny island in the East River was renamed Roosevelt Island in honor of the 32nd President of the U.S.

The same year, plans for a memorial for the late president, to be located on the tip of the island, were also announced. But after completing the design for the park, architect Louis I. Kahn died unexpectedly and years of financial hardship for the city sent the project to the back burner.

But on Monday, the memorial, called the FDR Four Freedoms Park, will officially open to the public. The plans were revived in 2005, and in 2010, philanthropist and Alphawood Foundation chairman Fred Eychaner donated $10 million towards the project.

The park, on the southern tip of the 2-mile-long island, will be accessible by subway, the Roosevelt Island tram (pictured), bus, and car. Ferry and water taxi service will eventually be added.

It's the only memorial dedicated to FDR in his home state, and the last work of Louis I. Kahn, an iconic architect.

The park celebrates the "Four Freedoms" advocated by FDR: Freedom of Speech and Expression, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear.

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Photos from the Tumblr "Cats That Look Like Pinup Girls" have been making the rounds on the internet, appearing everywhere from HuffPost to BuzzFeed (which dubs it "everything you've ever wanted in a Tumblr.")

Click here to see the photos >

But it turns out that the meme is actually an ad.

Every single photo actually links back to Hurly Burly, an Australian clothing, costume, and "kustom kulture" store.

This isn't the only meme that really serves as promotional material.

Earlier this week, we interviewed Nightmares Fear Factory's social media and marketing strategist Vee Popat, the brains behind the "Scared Bros at a Haunted House" photos that have gone viral for two years in a row. (If you haven't seen the photos yet, you're seriously missing out).

Promotional or not, the juxtaposition of 1940's pinups with confused kittens is hilarious.

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At Pebble Beach in August, McLaren unveiled the X-1, its one-off supercar concept produced for an unnamed collector.

A prototype of the MP4-12C, the X-1 was inspired by a host of amazing cars, including a 1961 Facel Vega, a 1953 Chrysler D'Elegance Ghia, a 1959 Buick Electra, a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K, and a 1971 Citroën SM, according to Jalopnik.

This photo, from Pebble Beach, was posted on ExoticSpotter.com, which shared it with us.

Have you spotted a rare or unusual way of getting around in your travels? Did you take a photo? Do you like sharing? Let me know via e-mail: adavies@businessinsider.com or on Twitter: @adavies47.

SEE MORE: Lexus' Latest Hybrid Concept Gets More Power For Sydney Debut

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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an architect firm with offices here in New York, has proposed a futuristic-looking halo to be suspended between two buildings over Grand Central Station as part of an initiative to bring the travel hub back to its past glory, according to The Wall Street Journal.   

SOM's proposal was of a handful of plans submitted to transform Grand Central. WXY Architecture and Foster + Partners also submitted ideas.

The Department of City Planning wants to rezone the area around Grand Central, including parts of Park and Madison Avenues, to allow for new office towers and to create pedestrian space, the WSJ reported.

The redesign would help funnel pedestrian traffic and add a bit more glitz and glam to the structure.

The most striking thing about the halo is it would move up and down between the two new office buildings to give visitors views of the city from different heights.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's Sky Walk halo design is the flashiest of all the proposed plans.

The halo would give visitors a view of the city from different heights, similar to the London Eye, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The firm told The Wall Street Journal that the proposal was "technically feasible" but the bigger challenge would be to "ensure that the government and owners of potential new office towers could work together. "

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There are plenty of popular misconceptions about me and many revolve around drink. To listen to some you’d think I crawled home every night, but while I admit to a liking for the black stuff and fine red wine, I rarely imbibe more than I can handle, and it never interferes with my professional life.

On the road, I can go for weeks without touching a drop and if I do go on a serious bender it is always well away from a tournament. People who think I’m a party guy who plays golf and then goes straight to the pub do not know the true Darren Christopher Clarke.

So what is the real me?

One of my biggest pluses is also one of my biggest negatives, in that my desire and determination, admirable qualities for the most part, sometimes get in the way of what I am trying to achieve. I want things so badly that although my attitude has driven me to the highest of highs, it has also taken me to the lowest of lows. And I find it very difficult to deal with the lows.

I have let my attitude get the better of me on many occasions. I know I shouldn’t have done, but I have. I get very angry with myself, and in those circumstances I am not a particularly nice person to be around. I rarely fall out with anybody other than myself, however. In all my years on the Tour, I haven’t really had a big bust-up with many people, although I once threatened to thump a major champion who had hit a ball way too close to my head.

I’ve always struggled to deal with failure and you have to deal with an awful lot of it. A golfer is only as good as his last result, unfortunately for me. I should be more relaxed. I should be happier and I’m not, because I crave success – not from a material point of view, not for recognition, but for myself. That hunger has been to the detriment of earlier relationships, including my relationship with Heather at times, because golf to me is all-consuming. It shouldn’t be, but it is.

I frequently ask myself, why am I doing this, why am I working away at this, why am I pushing myself to the limits, why am I doing it all over and over again? It’s driven me mad at times. There’s a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Well, I’ve done all the right things – the practice, the gym, sports psychologists, coaches – over and over again, but the results rarely satisfy me.

And then there is the other Darren Christopher Clarke.

I’m a giver in a world of takers. I try to look after people who have helped me and I like to be very generous towards them. I never forget when people have been good to me and it’s fair to say I also never forget when anybody’s been bad. I’ve never actively sought a celebrity lifestyle. I’ve been materialistic because I’ve been in a position to afford the things I’ve dreamt of. I had pictures of Lamborghinis on my bedroom wall as I was growing up, and when I could afford one I bought one. I’ve been very good to myself, but I also take great pleasure in helping out my friends.

As Butch Harmon once said to me, ‘You don’t see any hearses pulling a safe’. Well, you’re definitely not going to see mine pulling one. Sometimes I’m generous to the point of stupidity, but I get great enjoyment from it. I’ve always done it and for nobody more than my family. I like to share a bit of happiness and that’s why I employ all my family.

My three main hobbies outside golf are cars, wine and fly fishing. I indulge in them way too much but I enjoy doing it. I work hard, so I play hard. What’s the point in working so hard if I can’t do that? Mind you, sometimes I’ve rewarded myself a little too much in comparison to what I’ve achieved and Chubby [Chandler] has had to rein me in. It was once said that I lived a major championship lifestyle without the major. To be honest, I probably got that from Chubby himself.

I’m not a celebrity golfer; it’s not me, just not my thing. It’s nice to get invited to one or two events now and again, and I do have some celebrity friends, but throughout my career I’ve tended to surround myself with what I would call regular, normal people.

I’ve done quite a few personality tests, including the Myers-Briggs, and those results indicate I’m an introvert, but people think I’m an extrovert. I am shy and will never go into a room first if there is an option. Yet that will never have come across, particularly in light of some of the outfits I’ve worn at tournaments.

One thing that has been a constant throughout my career and for most of my life is that when it comes to shopping and spending, I have few rivals. My excesses often have to be seen to be believed.

If I said I once bought 60 pairs of Calvin Klein underpants, would you believe me? Didn’t think so, but I did. Or 40 pairs of trousers on the same day from the same shop? Yes, I did. Or thirty belts? Yes, that’s me. I’ve had 15 Ferraris, three Lamborghinis and an assortment of Jags, Bentleys, Mercedes, BMWs and Porsches. The most cars I’ve ever had at once was seven and I’ll admit that was a little excessive. I’m more sensible now.

The lifestyle I’ve had, I dreamed about as a kid, even though there was nothing wrong with the modest lifestyle I had growing up. My dreams were big not small because I have always felt that if you don’t aim high enough, you will invariably come up short.

This may take some believing, but I’ve never known how much money I’ve had in the bank, although occasionally I’ve known how little there was when Chubby’s said, ‘For heaven’s sake, Darren, stop spending’.

My greatest extravagance was the private jet I owned with Lee [Westwood]. It cost us something like $12 million, with annual running costs of $2 million, and we had it for about 10 years. The running costs were ridiculous, but it was a great idea at the time. We were travelling a lot together because our itineraries were similar and it worked for us. But when Heather got sick, my schedule got out of sync with Lee’s, so when he used it, it cost him double and the same for me when I used it. We couldn’t split the bills any more and that’s when it stopped working, but there was always a nice buzz walking up the stairs to your own jet.

Looking back now, I know it was an extravagance, but that was when I was playing an awful lot of golf in Europe and America. Over the course of a year, it gave me an extra week with the kids and that was priceless.

Nowadays I’m just as happy going down to Belfast and getting on easyJet. I’m a lot more sensible than I used to be and some of that has been forced on me, because when Heather passed away I had to sit down and figure everything out. Thankfully, Alison has been wonderful for me in that respect. She’s a businesswoman who knows far more about the value of money than I do.

She’s helped me curb that foolish, excessive side. I did enjoy the high life for a while when I was in London, but circumstances changed and although London was the best place to be based for my golf, it wasn’t for my life. London and Portrush are chalk and cheese. London is a massive, wonderful city, full of the best things in life and all kinds of people and characters, whereas small-town Portrush has just a few of the nice things in life, but is full of all the best people.

Although I adore the house I have in the Bahamas, there is no place like home and that home is Portrush. When you come from Ulster, there’s always the question about whether you are British or Irish. I loved London and I’ve loved representing Ireland, but when people ask what I am, I’m just proud to say that I’m from Northern Ireland. It’s home.

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Back in 2005, a Harvard freshman filling out a profile for an on-campus recruiting program listed Jay-Z as her business role-model.

Chanequa Campbell was promptly called into the Office of Career Services and told to name someone else.

"It's not appropriate. I don't think people will respond well to this," the career counselor told her.

Campbell, who grew up seven blocks from Jay-Z in Brooklyn and idolized the drug-dealer turned rapper turned entrepreneur, refused to name someone else. She argued with the career counselor awhile longer, finally offering as a small concession to use her role model's given name, Sean Carter.

***

Seven years later Campbell, who ended up getting kicked out of Harvard, still gets upset telling how Harvard didn't respect the businessman from her community.

If it wasn't clear back then, it's clear now that Jay-Z is a damn good business role model.

"I know his resume," Campbell told me. "He made most of his major respect—Wall Street respect—since '04."

But he was a businessman from the start.

"Hov [another nickname for Carter] started as an independent artist with Reasonable Doubt in 1996. Even though he wasn't going platinum, at the beginning he was making money because he owned his own label, he was his own business," Campbell said.

Then he got big. Fourteen Grammy's and over 50 million album sales were just the start. Jay-Z invested in all kinds of ventures—including the Brooklyn Nets, ad firm Translation, cosmetics company Carol's Daughter, Rocawear, and the newly revamped 40/40 Club—earning a networth around half a billion dollars.

Still he never changed who he was.

"To be successful and never change who he is, that's the important thing for me," says Campbell. "It's rare he's ever lost his cool. He never lets a situation bring himself out of character. He's someone who can articulate any position he has."

He's a good role model too.

"Most of Jay-Z's songs, if you understand his vernacular, he's telling you how to be cool, how to be good at life," Campbell says. "He's promoting things of content, things to aspire to. He mentions Warhol, he mentions Basquiat. He mentions people you've never heard of. He brings this light to our normal conversation."

Campbell repeats from memory a great Jay-Z quote from a couple of years ago. Here's what Jay-Z said after meeting Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov at the Four Season: "I'd been staying there for 10 years, and I always thought I was at the top level. But when I met Prokhorov, they took me up to this extra, extra room that I had never even heard of before. Now there's something else to shoot for. There's always an extra level you don't know about."

Jay-Z hangs out with Barack Obama and parties with Warren Buffett. He trails only Sean "Diddy" Combs on the Forbes' list of Future Hip-Hop Billionaires. If either makes the cut, he will join the short list of currently only five black billionaires in the word.

As Jay-Z says: "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man."

So yeah, we think Harvard got it wrong. Meanwhile Campbell has bounced back from her legal troubles and is teaching in New York City. She's thinking about working at a think tank and is also writing a memoir.

"That's why I love Hov," Campbell says. "He's a prime example of how they can't hold the past against you."

Now Check Out Financial Wisdom From Jay-Z's Two Best Albums >

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Tech companies are starting to get pretty creative with employee perks, and they're oozing into workers' lives outside of the office.

Evernote is a company the helps you access notes, photos and more from any device, and it's been valued by investors at $1 billion. Last year, it started giving employees one of the best perks yet.

Now, twice per month, its 250 workers are able to get their houses cleaned on Evernote. The idea came from CEO Phil Libin's wife.

"[The house cleaning] eliminates a decision I have to make,” one of Evernote's employees told the New York Times. “It’s just happening and it’s good, and I don’t have to think about it.”

“Happy workers make better products,” Libin justifies the perk. He also offers employees $1,000 per year to take a real vacation and travel somewhere. “The output we care about has everything to do with your state of mind.”

For more amazing benefits, check out: 15 Amazing Perks That Will Make You Wish You Worked For A Startup >

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Ski season is just around the corner, and if you can afford it, it's a lot more fun to sleep in your own luxury chalet than a hotel room.

You can buy a grand ski house in Vermont for a (relatively) conservative $5 million, own the best home in Switzerland for about $71 million, or purchase in Park City for about $30 million.

A mansion known as "Elk's Crossing" in Aspen, Colo. is on sale for $31 million. The home spans 18,000 square feet.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

The home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two half baths. The house is just three miles from Aspen and Snowmass.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

A $19.95 million estate in Aspen, Colo., known as Starwood, spans almost 14,000 square feet.

Click here to see more photos of the home >

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Haunted Houses have been making America scream for nearly 40 years, and now Haunted Houses have gone global. The haunted house industry is an American export.

100 percent made in America as haunt vendors design, build and install haunted houses all over the WORLD! Halloween is extremely popular within the US. However, it was not as popular worldwide.

Trick-or-treating is an American tradition, and for years it was the primary way most American’s celebrated Halloween, but many things have changed over the last twenty years. Halloween has become the second largest retail holiday grossing more than $8 billion. The industry of making people scream is now a WORLD WIDE industry. Today, you can find haunted houses in most countries. People of all nations pay top dollar to enter a haunted house…to be SCARED.

So what makes a haunted house one of the best and scariest in America 2012? There are several things a paying customer might look for in a haunted attraction prior to buying a ticket. There are so many established haunted houses, plus so many more that open new each year, and a lot of over the top (potentially false) advertisements promoting them all in every city across America.

At Hauntworld, we suggest attending every haunt possible (of course), but for those of you on a budget, typically you’ll want to steer clear from the brand new haunted houses. New haunts have yet to establish themselves and build up an arsenal of experience to make people scream.

Rather, we suggest you visit the established haunted houses, the ones with years of experience, the ones who spend tens of thousands of dollars every year to renovate for each season, and the ones committed to making their haunted houses the best scream factories in America.

We look for many things when evaluating a haunt for our America’s best list. So many haunted attractions are quite different from each other. Many haunted houses like The Beast in Kansas City, Missouri are inside industrial buildings, while others like Headless Horseman in New York are outdoor haunts with massive hayrides, corn mazes and more.

How do you compare a scream park haunted attraction and an indoor haunted house? In most cases, the indoor haunted house will have the best attention to detail, sets and special FX. However, the scream park style attractions will offer more variety, longer attractions and typically more bang for the buck.

There are scary haunted houses, and then there are THE SCARIEST haunted houses in America. What’s the difference? Some haunts just want to make you scream, but some haunts go all out with over-the-top efforts trying to be the biggest, the baddest and the scariest haunted houses on the planet. The haunts that have that WOW factor can make their guests scream, PLUS they provide horrific atmosphere creating realism in every scare.

They provide a Hollywood movie quality punch to the gut! Who wants to watch horror movies anymore when you can visit a haunted house and be right in the middle of the action? Below is our list of the best haunted attractions in America.

These haunts will put you on stage inside a horror movie atmosphere and basically make YOU the scream queen! Before visiting a haunted house, use Hauntworld.com to find the best haunted houses in America, as we boast the largest and most informative database for finding haunted houses. Shop by city, state and zip to find a haunted house near you or around the World.

So which haunted houses are the best and scariest haunted houses in America 2012? Which haunts can make you scream more than any other, more than the best horror movie? Below you’ll read about the longest haunted houses, the oldest haunted houses, and even about the best rides with a Halloween theme? We have it all for you once again in our annual Top 13 best haunted houses in America List. Get ready, turn out the lights, and get ready to scream!

#13 Nightmare on the Bayou in Houston, TX

Located in the shadow of downtown Houston, TX next to Houston’s oldest graveyard, Nightmare on the Bayou is the name people think of when searching “HAUNTED TEXAS.”  Nightmare on the Bayou is entering its 12th year in operation and has grown even bigger, even better, and even scarier with every passing year. 

Featuring newly designed scenes, Hollywood quality props, professional animatronics and dozens upon dozens of the most well-trained and highly supervised actors, CRAZED ACTORS, whose sole purpose is to scare you to death.  Nightmare on the Bayou boasts, “the only haunted house in Houston with REAL ghosts,” and with its location right next to the graveyard…I believe them! 

Ghost sightings are frequent from both customers and employees alike.  Additionally, Nightmare On The Bayou is one of the only haunted houses in America with a WORLD CLASS Halloween retail store on site for your ease and convenience.

#12 13th Floor Haunted House offering 3 locations: San Antonio, TX, Denver, CO and Phoenix, AZ

What is the terrible secret hidden within the 13th Floor?  Superstition? Conspiracy? Or something much, much worse?  As legend has foretold, The 13th Floor Haunted House provides a gut wrenching ride to untold nightmares STRAIGHT DOWN! 

The 13th Floor Haunted House is a franchise haunted attraction located in multiple locations.  These attractions are a true testament to high action, in-your-face premium production value among all haunted houses.  Each attraction offers a massive haunted event, one as big as 40,000 square feet and another as high as 3 floors up!  Through the wickedness of its massive Gothic cemetery and into its horrifically fantastic haunted hotel, 13th Floor customers get to experience a barrage of special effects, animatronic monsters and impeccably detailed sets. 

Add to that some of the most talented group of performers in the industry, and you’ve got a top notch, first rate haunted house that’s second to none.

#11 The Bates Motel in Philadelphia, PA

For more than 20 years, The Bates Motel Haunted Hayride at Arasapha Farm has been making Philadelphia SCREAM! 

This event is one of the biggest haunted house events in America featuring amazing props, digital FX, terrifying actors, professional makeup, pyrotechnics and multiple attractions in one location including a massive corn maze, an infamous hayride and a horrific haunted house. 

The Bates Motel has been featured on multiple television shows and ranked as high as THE BEST haunted house in the nation by multiple media outlets including Hauntworld.com.  The Bates Motel dominates the Philadelphia market as well as every surrounding area.  People travel from miles away just to attend this haunting event.

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At Oregon’s Allison Inn & Spa, you can wake up to a view of Willamette Valley from your terrace, spend the afternoon sampling Pinot Noirs at local wineries, then retreat to the hotel spa for a “pinotherapy” treatment.

That kind of immersive experience has earned Allison Inn the No. 4 ranking among wine country hotels, based on Travel + Leisure readers’ votes in the annual World’s Best Awards survey. The winners come in lots of varietals, from opulent hotels to cozy inns, and turn up in established wine regions (South Africa’s Franschhoek, Argentina’s Mendoza) and less-expected destinations like Arizona’s Verde Valley and the Mount Etna area of Sicily, where that volcanic soil can work wonders.

Napa Valley, CA, certainly has experience catering to the wine-focused traveler. “Our customers come here to experience wine country from head to toe,” says George Goeggel, managing partner of Auberge du Soleil in the Napa Valley, one of the area’s first boutique resorts. “We try to embody the wine country lifestyle in all aspects, from a glass of wine at reception to the local bottles on the menu to the crushed grapes in our spa treatments.”

That sentiment rings true in Santa Barbara, CA, as well. “We estimate that 94 percent of our guests are wine lovers,” says Seamus McManus, managing director of San Ysidro Ranch, whose 1,600-bottle collection features an abundance of local labels. To satisfy their expectations, the hotel offers winery tours, hosts dinners with nearby vintners, and stocks local wines in each of its cottages. 

Not to be left out, the East Coast has its own properties among this year’s winners. Virginia’s rolling hills nurture The Inn at Little Washington as well as Keswick Hall, decked out with hunt-club prints and Chippendale chairs and host of regular themed wine dinners.

Even select urban hotels have caught on to the interest in wine tourism and offer guided day trips to wineries within a short drive. The renovated Four Seasons, Firenze, occupies a glorious frescoed palazzo with a pool and an 11-acre park. It makes a refined base for guided excursions into Chianti, 40 minutes away, or for tastings at the hotel's Winery restaurant (nearly 400 bottles at last count).

No matter which wine-country hotel you choose, one thing’s for sure: you won’t go home thirsty.

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Hotel Crillon le Brave, Crillon le Brave, France

The tiny hilltop town of Crillon le Brave lends its name to this 32-room medieval stone property with gardens, terraces, and spectacular views of vineyards and olive groves.

The concierge can arrange for day trips to the wineries of Côtes du Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape (about half an hour away), known for their Syrahs, Marsannes, and Grenache noirs. Or simply enjoy a local bottle and take in the sweeping scenery from the romantic terrace at the hotel’s restaurant.

Domaine des Hauts de Loire, Onzain, France

This handsome 19th-century hunting lodge is covered in ivy vines, furnished with antiques, and occupies 178 forested acres along the wine route in Loir-et-Cher. The restaurant, overseen by chef Rémy Giraud, serves the Loire Valley’s famed Vouvrays, Montlouises, and Touraines, though guests seeking a bird’s-eye view of the region’s châteaux can arrange for a private helicopter or hot-air balloon tour of neighboring vineyards, castles, and ancient cities.

Les Crayères, Reims, France

In the heart of the Champagne region, this 20-room Belle Époque château (a former family home) maintains an impeccable sense of classic style.

The wine cellar at the Michelin-starred restaurant counts 400 champagne labels, and the hotel can arrange visits to bold-faced sites like nearby Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin or the Moët et Chandon cellars, as well as the Notre Dame Cathedral.

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Los Angeles is a late-night city, known for its clubs and bars that hop well into the night.

But what are club goers to do when its 2am and they're hankering for a snack? Hit up one of L.A.'s awesome late night eateries, that's what.

The editors at Zagat put together a list of the 5 best spots for late-night dining in L.A.

The choices are all over the city and range from restaurants that serve inventive small plates to a fast food favorite to a very creative pizzeria.

#5 Lazy Ox Canteen

241 S. San Pedro St.

L.A.'s Little Tokyo harbors this hip little spot which features a changing menu of awesome small plates, like braised short ribs, roasted Japanese eggplant, and asparagus with chorizo and manchego.

#4 In-N-Out Burger

Multiple locations

The term "animal style" immediately conjures up images of In-N-Out Burger's delicious hamburgers doused in their house sauce. This West Coast fast food favorite is always bustling—even late into the night. 

#3 Tasting Kitchen

1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd.

Tasting Kitchen is a cool, upscale restaurant in Venice that serves creative Mediterranean dishes and inventive cocktails. It can be difficult to get into, but it's open late and always packed. 

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An enormous 27,000-square-foot home in Winnetka, Ill. on the North Shore of Chicago is on sale for $27 million.

The home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and four half bathrooms.

This walled and gated chateau was designed by renowned architect Richard Landry.

Welcome to Winnetka, Ill.

Upon driving up to the house, you're greeted by a large fountain.

The house is currently selling for $1,000 per square foot.

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Everyone needs a place to hang their hat, but not everyone has as great a selection of places as  hedge fund manager John Paulson, WSJ break it down for you in a video below.

He has two incredible New York City apartments and a lakeside Southampton estate called "Old Trees" that he bought for $41.3 million.

Check them out (via WSJ):

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For real estate agents looking to earn the coveted title of "best-selling" in their market, the strategies they should use are very different depending on where they work.

In some cities, it only takes a couple of dozen listings in the luxury market to earn the title of No. 1 (in terms of portfolio value), whereas in other places it takes hundreds of listings to compete for the top spot, according to The Wall Street Journal's Robbie Whelan.

How do brokers work their way to the top?

Whelan shared a few strategies they use:

• Luxury agents shroud most of their clients in a cloak of privacy. They wine and dine their clients to convince them that they are the best agent for the job.

• Agents in mid-size markets aggressively hit the online marketing world, and don't even necessarily attend every showing of a house because of the high volume of listings they have.

• Luxury agents generally take a 5 percent commission.

• Mid-size agents pursue families who are relocating, whereas luxury agents pursue clients looking for trophy properties. 

DON'T MISS: Some Real Estate Agents Will Go To Crazy Extremes To Sell A House

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