Grand Central Terminal is one of New York City's most iconic landmarks, and today it turns 100 years old.

The incredible feat of engineering originally debuted to the public as Grand Central Depot in October 1871, home to a massive steel and glass train shed that housed steam-driven trains. 

But after a fatal accident between two steam locomotives in 1902, the transportation hub was converted to a safer electric rail system.

Grand Central Station was demolished, and Grand Central Terminal was raised in its place, opening to the public on February 1, 1913. 

To celebrate its 100th birthday, here's a look back at the birth, past, and present of one of the world's greatest train stations.

Designed by John B. Snook, Grand Central Depot opened in 1871 and served three separate rail lines, each independently operated.

Each rail line had its own waiting room.

By 1900, it was known as Grand Central Station.

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This is the Hybrid Fire Grill by Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.

Why We Love It: Most grills allow you to cook with gas, wood, or charcoal, but not all three at the same time. That's where the Hybrid Fire Grill comes in. With its deep firebox, it enhances the heat of conventional grilling, and can slow cook at 150 degrees, or sear meat at 1,200 degrees.

The grill grates are customized with patterns designed specifically for grilling vegetables, fish, and meat, and the grill comes with a deep clean-out bin to capture the grease and debris from cooking that's much easier to handle than the standard, cookie-tray designs.

The grills are formed, welded, finished, and assembled in the Michigan-based factory, and each grill is custom-made to your specifications.

Where To Buy: Order through the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet website.

Cost: Range in price from $9,995 to $20,195 (depending on customer specifications).

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

DON'T MISS:  Tumi's New Travel Collection Will Keep You Safe From Electronic Pickpockets

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The following post was originally published by U.S. News & World Report. We have edited slightly for clarity.

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Overflowing closets, jewelry boxes stacked one on top of the other, unopened shopping bags scattered throughout the house—these are all telltale signs of a person with a shopping addiction.

Just as gamblers can't resist a trip to the casino, those with a shopping compulsion cannot stop themselves from frequenting the mall or visiting the websites of their favorite stores.

Although the addictions are significantly different, gamblers and shopaholics both surrender to a vice that can tear their finances apart.

The temptation to swipe one credit card after another is hard to dispel, despite the destruction a shopping spree leaves in its path.

Approximately 2 to 5 percent of Americans have a shopping addiction. For many, the consequences are devastating: More than 1 in 20 Americans have a shopping habit that jeopardizes their relationships or careers, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

[See: 10 Signs You Shop Too Much.]

U.S. News spoke to two reformed shopaholics, who shared their stories* of how they developed, grappled, and overcame their addiction.

Mary Hunt, founder of DebtProofLiving.com and author of 7 Money Rules for Life:

I was probably born with the propensity to become a shopping addict. I think it's a temperament. I wasn't able to practice it because I grew up in a very frugal family and didn't have the means to shop for things that weren't needs. So as a child, I always dreamed I was going to be rich one day and be able to spend money freely.

When I left my home in Washington to go to college in California, I got away from the tightly regulated life I had. The first thing I did was get a checking account. I had discovered a way I could spend money I didn't have by writing checks. I suppose deep down I knew it wasn't right, but it was exhilarating and satisfying. It gave me a high, a buzz, the feeling that I could get away with anything.

If I bought shoes at Nordstrom's, I'd have to buy a pair of every color. I felt the salespeople looked at me and thought, "Oh, how I'd love to be her and live this wonderful lifestyle," and that made me feel important. I had the same fantasy when I got my first gas card and had the option to go through full service.

While they'd fill up the car, I'd sit there and think, "Wow, this is what the queen of England must feel like. I have a host of people waiting on me, people tending to my carriage." I knew it was just a fantasy, but it was what I wanted. Of course, if I was with a friend I wouldn't buy anything. You never want to practice your addiction in front of someone.

By the time I got married I had access to credit cards. But after a while, I had this moment where I realized I was affecting other people's lives—my husband's and my kids'. I didn't want to disappoint my husband. I told him time after time that I wouldn't go on another shopping spree. I'd cut up the credit cards and close accounts, but it didn't last forever.

The pain of my actions was never great enough to make me give up compulsive shopping; there was always a tipping point. It came to the point where if I'm alone with plastic, I'm just a disaster waiting to happen. I loved my credit cards. They were my lifeblood, they were my oxygen, they were the tools that allowed me to be the person I couldn't be growing up.

After 12 years, I had wracked up more than $100,000 in unsecured debt. Even at the worst points, I would blame the debt on my husband for not making enough money to support my spending, which absolutely wasn't true. It wasn't his fault; it was mine. I blamed a lot of people other than myself.

My shopping addiction turned me into an ugly person. A liar, a manipulator. I'd lie to my creditors and my husband, but in my mind I wasn't lying—I was just being creative. I thought I was buying myself time to be able to pay the money back. But what was I thinking? I would have had to rob a bank to pay it all back.

Once I admitted to myself I had a shopping addiction, I was able to take a step back. I realized that who I am isn't measured by what I have or what I can buy. I had to realize materialistic things are the bane of my existence. I had to realize that I had a lot more control than I thought I had.

It took me 13 years to pay back more than $100,000 of unsecured debt, but I did it. To get back to point zero, I used a flow chart that I tucked into my wallet. I told myself I'd be adult enough to ask myself these questions before buying anything that costs more than $20: Do I need it? Do I need it today or can I wait? Do I already have something that would work just as well? If, say, it were an outfit for a party, I'd ask myself if I already have clothes I could wear to the occasion.

I used to be a mall rat; I'd go and just wander around. To change my habits, I started mapping out where I would go in the store to get what I needed. It was almost like I was putting on virtual blinders. I'd also park in front of the store, rather than just in the general parking lot. I'd walk in, buy what I needed, and walk straight out.

Talking about my addiction at first was hard—very hard. It was difficult for me to admit it, then it was rewarding to be able to help others, but now that I've done it, I feel talking about it has helped me the most.

SEE ALSO: These are the best and worst things to buy in February >

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Having recently forked out $20 million for a second floor-unit at 640 Park Avenue, billionaire private equity mogul J. Christopher Flowers may be trying to balance his books.

Flowers, who founded J.C. Flowers & Co., has listed his six-bedroom, seven-bathroom spread at 66 East 79th Street for $18 million, according to Streeteasy.com.

The price is $1 million less than what Flowers paid for the property in 2006. The unit is listed by Sami Hassoumi of Brown Harris Stevens, who was not immediately available for comment.

This is the first time that the duplex apartment, located on the 14th and 15th floors of the building, has been publicly offered for sale. The home, which was originally designed as the largest in the building, has traded only through privately marketed transactions in the past, according to the listing. It has a 30-foot drawing room, a formal dining room and a wood-paneled library.

Flowers bought the unit in 2006 from old school ad man Martin Puris, who penned BMW’s signature tag line “the ultimate driving machine.” That was the same year he made records for paying out $53 million for the Harkness Mansion at 4 East 75th Street. The Harkness property later sold to art world powerhouse Larry Gagosian for a loss in 2011. Gagosian paid just $36.5 million for the property, which he may turn into an art gallery.

Flowers’ new digs on Park Avenue reportedly have six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms as well as a gym and staff facilities.

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Sports Illustrated cover model Kate Upton has been notoriously snubbed by high fashion. 

Despite being one of the most popular models today, she's never walked in a major runway show.

The casting director of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show famously said Upton had "that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy." 

Upton's response? She doesn't need runway shows anyway. 

She told The Cut's Charlotte Cowles: 

“Fashion shows were just never part of my goals,” she said. “It’s not that I don't like them. It's just that I never really found the need to walk in them.” She giggled. “I might be really lazy. No, I'm just kidding. For some girls, the dream is to walk in a show, so I feel really happy for whoever is reaching their ultimate goal.”

Her remarks show a departure from comments that she made in Vogue last year saying that she'd love to walk on runways. 

Since that interview, she's made more appearances in Vogue and landed her first advertising campaign.  

But Upton said she's already accomplished her biggest goal. 

“My goal was always to get the cover of Sports Illustrated, and I got that,” she said. 

DON'T MISS: How Victoria's Secret Became The Most Popular Apparel Brand In The World >

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Between 2011 and 2012, more than 1 in 10 Americans moved cities.

Nearly half of college graduates move out of the states in which they were born by the time they turn 30.

Whether it is for better jobs, family commitments, or educational opportunities, Americans are becoming increasingly mobile.

Much of this mobility can be attributed to a tendency to switch jobs more frequently than Americans have in the past. Job hopping is the new norm among the American workforce, particularly for young employees, and many are choosing to work freelance or pursue startup ventures.

The average tenure of an employee has decreased (the median number of years an American worker has been at his or her current job is only at 4.6), and there has been an increase in the proportion of workers in jobs with less than one year of tenure.

As the traditional career paths change, Americans are increasingly in need of a way to compare cities and the many options available to them. These factors are worth considering before relocating:

1. Cost of living.

Cities vary widely in terms of their cost of living. For example, it is twice as expensive to live in Honolulu as it is to live in Memphis. Use a cost of living calculator to determine how your expenses will change as you change cities and what categories of expenses will increase in cost. Food may be more expensive in one city, but housing might be cheaper in another.

These expenses will affect some consumers more than others, so be sure to think about your own situation. Do you need a car? Parking can be a hassle if you’re thinking about moving to Manhattan.

Would you like to own your own home? Cities vary in the availability and cost of homes for sale, and some are friendlier to renters.

2. Quality of life.

Cities differ widely in terms of culture, demographics, and quality of life. It’s important to prioritize and determine what aspects are most important to you and your happiness. The city’s diversity, age, walkability, and crime rate are all significant factors that can affect how comfortable and happy you are.

Explore your potential new city through travel guides, online forums, and a city life tool, where you can compare cities to each other according to various qualities.

3. Availability of jobs.

While some cities are better for job seekers than others in terms of growth and employment rates, you should take into account your own preferred industries. Some cities are hubs for niche industries. For example, Dallas and Fort Worth are close to the Telecom Corridor—a technology business center—while employment in the healthcare industry in Denver has increased by 23 percent over the past five years.

4. Quality of schools.

Parents may want to explore the public and private education options in the city—namely, to check if there are high-quality public schools or affordable private schools. Greatschools.com is a trusted, consumer-friendly resource that offers ratings of public schools.

Divya Raghavan is an analyst at NerdWallet, a website offering a cost of living calculator and city life tool to help consumers make informed decisions when moving cities.

SEE ALSO: 10 tourist traps that are actually worth the money >

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The U.S. Customs and Immigration Agency has been busy hunting down Internet sites pawning fake NFL swag.

The agency announced that it had tracked down and seized $13.6 million in fraudulent NFL merchandise from abroad.

ICE released screenshots of eight websites selling Super Bowl merchandise to fans. See if you can spot the websites illegally selling your favorite Ravens and 49ers gear.

2012nfljerseys.com - Selling Nike 49ers jerseys for a steal. Legitimate website or counterfeit goods?

ANSWER: Counterfeit! The domain name was seized by the ICE.

20jerseys.com — Offering Nike jerseys from tons of pro teams. Legitimate or counterfeit?

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We sent Kate Donnelly to Belize and Francis Ford Coppola's awesome Blancaneaux Lodge. Not surprisingly, it was a holiday straight out of a movie.

CAYO DISTRICT, Belize – There's something special in the air at Blancaneaux Lodge, Francis Ford Coppola's magically remote, secluded oasis, situated on 70 acres in the northwest corner of Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in western Belize's Cayo District. It's the warm familiarity you feel visiting beloved friends and family.

Which, in a roundabout way, I suppose I was. In my early film career, I met Francis and Eleanor Coppola on a boat trip down the Amazon River. Now thirteen years later, they were hosting me at the rustically charming hideaway that reflects their personal aesthetic. Funny how life works sometimes.

A quick Mayan Air puddle jumper lands on a dirt-strip runway. From there, I'm ushered on a horse-drawn carriage to a welcome "Jaguar Juice" concoction (local craboo liqueur, aged rum, and fresh pineapple juice) and a cool aromatherapy wet cloth. The charm cup runneth over.

THE STAGE IS SET

The main lodge is full of old school touches; creaky, dark wood floors; perfectly worn furniture; earthy tones with tropical pops; black and white photographs of ancient archeological digs; a ceiling fan repurposed from Apocalypse Now; a stone fireplace that's a great place to sip something warm. The staff is terrifically friendly (first name basis, please) and includes fun and informed guides (Eddie, Geraldo, and Jorge), the passionate conservation officer, Roni Martinez, and genuinely hospitable veteran manager, Bernie Matute.

I'm spoiled in Villa 7, the director's personal abode with sweeping views of Mother Nature. High-soaring, locally thatched ceilings meet open-air living areas, screened porches, native Guatemalan and Mexican wares (sourced by the Coppolas), family photographs, and cinema memorabilia (like a rare poster for the Coppola-distributed film, Perfumed Nightmare).

The bathroom features hand-painted tiles and a Japanese tub with delicious local soaps. I can easily access my private plunge pool. Views are supremely enticing — cue the tumbling waterfall, long wooden bridges, and strategically placed chairs overlooking the shimmering Privassion Creek. Although Wi-Fi looms, Blancaneaux beckons you to remain gloriously analog. I happily oblige.

AND...ACTION!

I'm riding the 7-year-old horse, Lightning, along the pine savanna and forest trail to Big Rock Falls, listening to our resourceful guide, Eddie. I make my Last of The Mohicans debut and jump in the cool waterfalls for a refreshing, invigorating swim.

Later, I stroll the organic garden, an impressive 3.5-acre spread of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs (excess bounty is shared with Blancaneaux's other Belize property, Turtle Inn). Equally impressive is the small hydroelectric plant that harnesses energy from Privassion Creek to supply the resort with clean, renewable power. Blancaneaux is miles ahead on green curve. All this eco-love makes it easy to escape the modern world's tangled wires and mass-produced ways.

The nature activities — the Mayan ruins, the Jaguar Project, the scarlet macaw spotting — could fill a whole other postcard. In fact, they did: Read about Eco Belize.

Relaxation beckons. Options introduce themselves in various forms: a retreat to my hammock, a plunge in the freshwater infinity pool, a cool foot soak, and an idle dip in the U-shaped hot pool. Then, the pinnacle of relaxation is unleashed: The magic hands of Thai masseuse Prasert Thaweeser who performs miracles — true miracles! — as I'm wooed and rocked by a mind-blowing stress recovery wrap with herbal tea and honey, scrub, and massage.

Still, a girl's gotta eat.

CRAFT SERVICES

Early morning birds serenade me out of slumber. I spike my heart with a 77-step sprint from Villa 7 to Montega Restaurant. (Yeah, there's a lot of sevens on this trip.) Usually, I'm a coffee girl, but the cleansing ginger tea is stimulating. I have fresh fruit from the organic garden, yogurt and granola, and traditional Johnnycakes — biscuit-like cornmeal flatbread which pair well with butter, syrup, and honey. But the top breakfast prize goes to the traditional Mexican chilaquiles, fried, house-made corn tortilla chips cooked with eggs, chiles, and cheese, with a few douses of Marie Sharp's hot sauce. Good morning, habanero pepper.

My first lunch includes ceviche with shrimp, organic vegetables, lime juice, and freshly house-cut tortilla chips washed down with a glass of pinot grigio. (Coppola is a man of vineyards as well as cinema and hotels.) Another day, it's a pizza and a cold local Beliken beer. Day three, a refreshing cup of gazpacho and sweet basil pesto linguine with grilled shrimp (and a few bites of my friend's calzone). Dessert? The creamy, smooth flan. (Naturally.)

Early evening cocktails commence with bubbles. I skip the flute and opt for the Sofia Blanc de' Blanc can. Dinner is a warmly lit, family style affair, full of food and ripe with laughter. We try our hand at making crudités, my pal slicing the day's bounty to my voyeuristic delight. The main culinary assault is an abundance of pasta — samplings of spaghetti alla carbonara and spaghetti aglio e olio pepperoncino, pizzas like Tu Vo Fa' l'Americano, and (old-school sweetness alert!) Mrs. Scorese's lemon chicken, a dish Francis borrowed from his pal Marty's mom, who "drowned the chicken in lemon juice," then added plenty of garlic, olive oil, and fresh oregano. (Here's the recipe.) Specials include fresh seafood — shrimp, conch, and lobster washed down with one of the rotating threesomes: Coppola's claret, rosso, and bianco pinot grigio.

The authentic Guatemaltecqua Restaurant is small and intimate. Starters include a little delight called cebollitas, grilled green onions served on corn tortillas with local dry cheese and a slice of lime, followed by warm bean soup. Camarones alla Guatemaltecqua is a hearty, soul-soothing bowl of seared shrimp, bacon, green corn, sweet pepper, zucchini, and cream. Dessert are rellenitos, plantains filled with sweetened black beans. The last night, I'm wowed by a Belizan BBQ feast of a few deliciously simple ethnic dishes. Empanadas are a traditional Mestizo dish; rice and beans are a Creole dish traditionally served at home on Sunday. I grew up on Kansas City BBQ, so I dress my grilled chicken with a proper smothering of homemade BBQ sauce. I set my bar high and it passes the test.

Under a culinary jungle spell, I saunter out into the dark night under a canopy of bright stars resembling a Lite-Bright kit. Wide-eyed and alive, I'm taken with another flawless day and savor my evening stroll back to slumber, where a turndown of low-lit candles, a soft comforter, and warm water bottle beckons. Yes, this is living.

A SECRET ON LOCATION

The Enchanted Cottage, once owned by author Ian McLeich, author of Native Orchids of Belize, is the hidden gem at Blancaneaux. I detest labels, but this hideaway falls in that perfect mod-rustic-romance category thanks to its lighting, decor, gourmet kitchen, and infinity pool. By day, you can see for miles above the treetops. Night ushers yellow hues of cozy candlelight bouncing off the stone. It's secluded enough for a seductive getaway (think Scotch and toasty fires) or writing your first novel (think Scotch with pen and paper).

Without appearing formulaic, it's easy to see why a writer would establish such a coveted spot to turn off the world. Channeling Daphne du Maurier, the first words of my novel will read, "Last night I dreamt I went to Blancaneaux again."

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Fly: All international flights to Belize arrive at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) in Belize City. American Airlines flies direct from Miami and Dallas; Continental flies direct from Houston and has one direct flight from New York on Saturday; US Airways, from Charlotte; TACA Airlines, from Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York; Delta, from Atlanta; and Tropic Air, from Flores and Guatemala City

Drive: The hotel is a 2 ½ hour drive from BZE. Or you can charter a flight into the Blancaneaux airstrip.

FIND IT

Blancaneaux Lodge
Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve
P.O. Box B, Central Farm
Cayo District, Belize
+501-824-3878

See lots more photos on Fathom >

This post originally appeared on Fathom. You can follow Fathom on Twitter@FathomWayToGo, share your travels on Facebook, and sign up for their weekly wanderlusty newsletter.

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We're finally hearing about the fallout from a massive cheating scandal that shook Harvard University's campus last summer, in which 125 students were investigated for plagiarism and other academic misconduct surrounding their final exams.

More than half the students who were investigated by the school's administrative board have been required to withdraw from the college for a period of time, Boston.com reported.

Of the remaining cases, around half received disciplinary probation, and the rest were dismissed, according to the news website.

Harvard's Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences informed members of the school community about the results of the board's investigations in a campus-wide email.

School officials said in August that they had discovered suspicious similarities while reading through students' year-end take-home exams over the summer. The cases were heard by the school's administrative board and decided throughout the fall and winter, Boston.com reported.

All of the students involved in the incident were in the same 279-person undergraduate course, Government 1310: "Introduction to Congress."

SEE ALSO: The Biggest College Cheating Scandals

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Parents are forcing their children to commute for up to 10 hours a week to get into the most sought-after private schools in Britain, a head teacher warned today.

Pupils’ lives are being made a misery because of the “bunfight” for places at the most sought-after fee-paying institutions, it was claimed.

Jane Grubb, headmistress of Bedales prep school in Hampshire, said children were being required to travel long distances – or drilled for months to pass entrance exams – when they should be spending time enjoying themselves.

The comments come amid a desperate scramble for places at the top private schools.

Tutoring is increasingly popular in preparation for the 11-plus and Common Entrance – the traditional entry exams for state grammar schools and private senior schools.

One study last year suggested almost half of families in some parts of the country paid for private tutors to prepare sons and daughters for school entrance tests.

But Mrs Grubb, the head of Dunhurst – the prep school attached to Bedales senior school – said that many parents were also prepared to send their children on lengthy commutes to secure places at some establishments.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, she said: “It starts when children are as young as eight. By the time they get to 10 they are spending two terms doing old exam papers to try to get into these places.

“Parents genuinely want them to be happy but they need to put their heads up and see what other life there is. The 10 hours they spend commuting could be spent getting more sleep or seeing their friends.”

Dunhurst and the Bedales senior school educate boarding as well as day pupils.

But Mrs Grubb said parents living in London often failed to consider sending their children to a boarding school outside the capital after getting “swept along in the panic” of gaining access to a top day school.

“There is a high density population and only a certain number of good schools,” she said.

“I can’t imagine parents want their children studying into the night and having personal tutors and writing off two years of their childhood. But some do because they don’t know there is something else out there.”

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The heirs of the late banker Herbert Allen, Sr. have just sold his swanky, '70s-style penthouse on the Upper East Side to an undisclosed buyer for $20 million, according to The New York Daily News.

The Park Avenue pad occupies both the 30th and 31st floors of the co-op building on 733 Park Avenue. It comes with three landscaped terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows in the foyer, and a private elevator.

Allen was once one of the wealthiest men on Wall Street. His son, Herbert Allen Junior, now runs the boutique investment bank Allen & Co. and hosts the company's annual tech/media/finance conferences in Sun Valley each year.

Allen Sr. originally bought the UES penthouse for $526,500 in the '70s when the building was still new, according to The Daily News. The penthouse was listed with Fox Residential Group, and the buyer will remain unknown until the sale is registered next week.

A curved staircase connects the 30th and 31st floors of the penthouse. The floor-to-ceiling window is the first thing you see upon entering.

Source: Fox Residential Group

The living room has antique parquet de Versailles floors and a wood burning fireplace.

Source: Fox Residential Group

The formal dining room can easily sit 20, according to the real estate listing.

Source: Fox Residential Group

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We've seen an absolute explosion in "foodie culture" in recent years — chefs are now celebrities, people can't stop photographing their meals, and food festivals are some of the hottest tickets around.

We sat down with Lee Schrager, the founder and face of the New York City and South Beach Wine & Food Festivals, to try and understand the phenomenon.

We discussed the power of the Food Network, the "unaffordable luxury" of dining out, and his favorite eats in NYC.

Produced Business Insider Video

SEE ALSO: South Beach Wine & Food Festival Founder Tells Us How To Navigate The Scene Like A Pro

SEE ALSO:  The Secret To Making One Of The Tastiest Sandwiches In New York City

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Thursday night, hundreds of members of the technology elite—founders, investors, hustlers, hackers—gathered at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall for the sixth annual Crunchies Awards, a ceremony which celebrates private-stock valuations and product launches instead of box-office scores and film premieres.

When a handful of tech blogs launched The Crunchies five years ago, the notion of an awards ceremony for startups modeled after the Oscars seemed like a self-mocking joke—and indeed, few took it seriously at the time.

Fast-forward to 2013, and it's clear as day that the tech world has stars like Marissa Mayer, Mark Zuckerberg, Aaron Levie, Brian Chesky, and Kevin Systrom. And arguably, the digital products they launch on the world are far more important than the ephemeral celluloid narratives of Hollywood.

We donned a tuxedo, brought our cameras, and took our seats.

First stop: a pre-party thrown by Menlo Ventures, the backer of Uber and Fab. Wall Street Journal reporter Evelyn Rusli shared a moment with Box marketer Ashley Mayer.

Sarah McBride from Reuters talked to BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen.

Menlo also backed Getaround, founded by Jessica Scorpio.

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G2 Partners managing director John de Neufville turned two triplexes (purchased in 2002 for $2 million) into one massive bachelor's pad and sold it for $17.3 million, according to WSJ.

Sure it was a great investment, but this place looks really hard to part with.

It's huge but that's part of why de Neufville sold it — because he thinks the house is too massive.

From he WSJ,

"I didn't feel like I needed to live in a 7,000-square-foot house by myself," Mr. de Neufville said.

That means he's said goodbye the hot tub on the roof, the huge gym, the wine-tasting room, 6 bedrooms, five full and two half bathrooms, two kitchens and six working fireplaces.

Sothebys' Jeremy and Robin Stein had the listing.

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Strip away the concierge, heated pool, and freshly made beds. Lose the velvety bathrobe that “mysteriously” ends up in your luggage. In fact, pare the hotel down to just one element: its bar.

Party Earth is betting you’d still want to go to the following historic hotels, just like Hemingway, Picasso, and countless other famous drinkers did.

Le Bar du Hôtel Le Bristol: Paris

112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris

Opened in the 1920s, Hôtel Le Bristol quickly became a hangout for fashion barons and successful artists, including Dalí, Picasso, and Coco Chanel.

Le Bar du Hôtel le Bristol, the hotel’s marble-floored drinking den, is staggeringly grandiose, studded with chandeliers and flowery sculptures, while the seasonal courtyard is where today’s see-and-be-seen laze about their summer days sipping €35 cocktails.

Travaasa Hana: Maui

5031 Hana Highway
Hana, HI 96713

Regularly voted one of Maui’s top resorts, Travaasa Hana is an all-in-one retreat, offering everything from spa treatments to net fishing to a stylish restaurant overlooking the sea.

Granted, Hemingway never slung any of the bar’s delicious mojitos (Travaasa didn’t exist yet), but he adored the stunning Hamoa Beach down the road.

Grab a pitcher to go and hit up this black lava-lined pocket of paradise.

The Empire Hotel Rooftop: New York City

44 West 63rd Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10023

The Empire Hotel may not be the fanciest lodging in all of NYC, but its exclusive rooftop bar is still a hotbed of sultry fashion shows and celebrity after-parties.

Big names have been coming to The Empire Hotel Rooftop since the 20s, but whether visitors grab a spa treatment by the pool or dance the night away to DJs, the views of the Upper West Side make everyone feel like a star and one of the primary reasons this is viewed as one of the top bars in NYC.

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If you resolved to master your home bar in 2013, look no further; take cocktails from basic to brilliant with indispensable bartending techniques that go beyond shaking and stirring.

From rimming glasses with salt or sugar to dry-shaking egg whites to add to light and frothy cocktails, these nine skills will add flair and flavor to cocktail hour.

1. Strain

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This post originally appeared on Oyster.com.

Las Vegas hotels are known for being over-the-top, and that includes everything from the casinos to the restaurants, from the pools to the ensuite bathrooms.

Whether they’re larger than the average New York City apartment, or have gilded accents everywhere, Las Vegas bathrooms do not disappoint. Check out the most luxe bathrooms we’ve seen during our travels in Sin City.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Managed by the swank Morgans hotel group, the Hard Rock is off the Strip, but it knows how to throw a party. The 1,300-square-foot Celebrity Suite has a phenomenal marble bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi tub and walk-in shower.

Mandarin Oriental

A new breed of Las Vegas luxury, with 392 elegant rooms and some of Vegas' best service, the Mandarin Oriental is a quiet haven on the glitzy Strip. Every room comes with a stunning stunning light-and-dark-marble bathroom and freestanding tub.

Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino

For the price, the Golden Nugget is a steal, provided you don't mind staying in Vegas' older downtown neighborhood instead of the newer, livelier Strip. In exchange for giving up the prime location, guests can enjoy clean, well-appointed rooms, excellent service -- and a top-notch pool complete with a shark tank. Rush Tower, opened in November 2009, is home to beautiful suites with big, decadent bathrooms.

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The American economy loses $250 billion as a result of counterfeit products each year, according to a recent report. Despite the impact, only a fraction can be detected and confiscated by the government.

Jump ahead to see the counterfeited products >

Approximately $1.26 billion worth of counterfeit goods originating overseas were seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2012. Each seizure averaged $10,450 worth of counterfeit goods.

The three most confiscated items in 2012 were handbags and wallets; watches and jewelry; and wearing apparel and accessories. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 most counterfeit items seized in 2012, based on their retail value.

The value and the number of seizures changes dramatically each year due to the products sold and the success of CBP operations. The value of handbags and wallets seized in 2012 rose 142% compared to the previous year. Therese Randazzo, the director of the Intellectual Property Policy and Programs Division for the CBP, explained that CBP officials may seize knockoffs of more expensive brands in one year than in another.

The value of product seizures also fluctuate as a result of different methods of smuggling counterfeits into the U.S., which ultimately impact what products get seized.

Only a decade ago, most counterfeit goods were shipped from overseas via large containers and then sold in the country. An increase in online shopping has changed that, Randazzo told 24/7 Wall St.

Now, counterfeiters are selling these items through websites and shipping them directly to the consumer, making it that much harder to track and seize. To combat the new techniques, the CBP has begun targeting and shutting down websites that facilitate these transactions.

It is important that federal enforcement agencies account for the online shift in the counterfeiting market, Lev Kubiak, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Center said in a statement.

“Attacking criminal activity at every point along the international supply chain, to include websites, manufacturers, shippers and shipping routes, border entry points, distribution networks and payment methods, is critical to” CBP and Homeland Security Investigations enforcement efforts, he said.

More of these counterfeits originate from mainland China than any other country in the world. This is due in part to the fact that China is the largest manufacturer of so many products — most of which are made cheaply. Adding to this, enforcement of intellectual property is also particularly weak in the country. Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Taiwan rounded out the top five countries of origination for counterfeits seized by CBP.

While it is an effective measure of government activity, the report fails to capture the full-scale of counterfeits in the U.S. This is because the CBP does not include seizures of items originating in the U.S., digital piracy, and counterfeits that are not seized.

In the case of software piracy, for example, counterfeiting costs U.S. companies billions alone in lost revenue. However, because the CBP does not measure digital transmission, which represents the vast majority of software piracy, the scale of the theft is underrepresented.

Based on information provided by the CBP, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 most counterfeited items seized by officials based upon the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). We also looked at the number of times the item was confiscated in both 2012 and 2011. We also looked at the top five countries of origination for all items seized to reflect how much of each item came from a particular country.

These are the 10 most counterfeited products in America.

10. Toys

Value: $13.6 million
Pct. of total seizures: 1%

The federal government is holding onto a few gifts from Santa. The CBP seized $13.6 million worth of knock-off toys in 2012, down nearly 38% compared to the previous year.

Approximately $10.5 million worth of toys seized in 2012 originated in China, by far more than any other country.

Toys were also the most smuggled item from Taiwan in terms of value, with approximately $1.7 million worth of the items seized in 2012.

Randazzo noted that a wide range of counterfeit toys have been seized, although the seizures of counterfeit bicycles have increased as of late.

9. Labels/Tags

Value: $26.3 million
Pct. of total seizure value: 2%

More than $26 million worth of labels and tags were seized in 2012, down nearly 80% from the $127 million worth seized in 2011.

About $7.3 million worth of seized labels and tags in 2012 originated from China, while more than $3 million worth came from Hong Kong.

Randazzo said she believes that the large drop in the seizures is merely due to the lower value of the labels and tags and the amount seized in each case.

However, the 796 seizures where labels and tags were confiscated was up from 706 compared to 2011.

8. Computers/Accessories

Value: $34.7 million
Pct. of total seizure value: 3%

The total value of counterfeit computers and accessories seized in 2012 was more than 50% higher compared to 2011.

Yet these products were only seized 833 times in 2012, down from 1,069 back in 2011, meaning that the average seizure value was much higher in 2012.

More than 90% of the products seized originated from mainland China or Hong Kong, with the value totaling $18.3 million and $13.4 million, respectively.

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One of Laura Martone’s favorite New Orleans jazz clubs is the Spotted Cat, which offers cachet—it’s been featured on the HBO show Treme—without high prices.

“Despite the awesome music, patrons are almost never charged a cover,” says the author of the American Nomad travel blog. “And the one-drink minimum is totally reasonable.”

See The Best U.S. Cities for Affordable Getaways >

That kind of easy-on-the-wallet atmosphere helped New Orleans place in the top 10 of America’s Most Affordable City Getaways, according to Travel + Leisure readers. In the annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, travelers ranked 35 cities for qualities that span the price spectrum: from fine dining to street food, from luxury shopping to flea markets.

Finding deals is a priority for plenty of travelers who wish to trade in staycations for a real vacation again. “I think there’s a lot of pent-up demand from people who have been working more hours and taking less time off,” says Tim Leffel, author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations.

So what makes a city a great value? Reasonably priced hotels and restaurants, certainly, as well as enticements such as budget-friendly theater tickets, free museums, or low gas prices. The survey’s winner, Kansas City, has an average nightly hotel rate of about $100 and also won the T+L survey for cheap, mouthwatering barbecue.

Kansas City’s airport offers relatively low airfares, too, as does another top-five city: Puerto Rico’s San Juan. To offset the high prices of poolside cocktails, the island city offers the nation’s top-ranked street food and walkable streets in Old San Juan.

The ability to explore a city by foot also boosts its affordability. That may explain why sprawling Dallas/Fort Worth—which has reasonably priced hotels, but ranked as the least pedestrian-friendly city in the survey—scored poorly for overall affordability.

Small costs—a taxi ride here, a club cover charge there—add up over the course of a trip and can turn off a traveler to a particular city or venue. Leffel agrees with a recent survey that revealed how much travelers dislike one particular fee: paying for Wi-Fi at a hotel. “Charging for Wi-Fi is as silly as charging for hot water,” says Leffel. “Even millionaire entrepreneurs will skip a hotel that charges for Wi-Fi, just on principle.”

This post originally appeared at Travel + Leisure.

No. 1 Kansas City, MO

Dinner for two in this midwestern city can cost as little as $25, especially if you choose a spot such as Arthur Bryant’s, one of the restaurants that helped Kansas City win the barbecuecategory. The survey’s most affordable city also entices travelers with its low airfares—no one airline dominates Kansas City International Airport—and freebies, such as tours of the Harley-Davidson Plant and Boulevard Brewing Company.

See all the America’s Favorite Cities survey results.

No. 2 Salt Lake City

Voters like this Utah city for being mellow and tidy—and it’s easy for skiers to streamline expenses here. The city’s Super Pass, a lift ticket starting at about $65 a day, gets you into Alta, Brighton, Snowbird, and Solitude and includes a free bus or light rail ride from downtown. Still others come here to explore the 10-acre Mormon complex of Temple Square, the state’s most popular attraction.

No. 3 Nashville

In the No. 2 city for live music, you can access the Nashville Sound for free, and without even trying very hard. Check out the legendary Tootsie’s or Robert’s Western Wear downtown, where you’ll pay no cover early in the day, or see who’s playing onstage in stores such as boot shop Peter Nappi or Grimey’s New & Preloved Music. Voters gave Nashville a thumbs-up for its wallet-friendly burgers, but you can also get a James Beard Award–winning meal of southern comfort food at Arnold’s Country Kitchen for about $10.

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The best place to watch the Super Bowl is probably from the stadium itself, but the second-best place is a cozy, bear-like man cave.

Think about it: plush armchairs, all your friends around, and your favorite game day snacks without ever having to leave home. Sounds pretty good.

Our friends at Estately.com tipped us off to some homes on the market that feature some awesome man cave basements and lounges.

Here are 15 you'll wish you were relaxing in on Superbowl Sunday.

The country-style man cave in this Graford, Tex. home features a relaxed setting where you can kick back with a beer and admire the cool guitars on the wall in between plays.

Click here to see the listing on Estately >

Take the elevator down to the media room in this Arlington, Tex. home and make use of built-in electronic screens and remote control drapes.

Click here to see the listing on Estately >

This man cave is like a real cave at this home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Head outdoors to the covered hot tub and soak while you watch the game on a wide-screen TV.

Click here to see the listing on Estately >

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