Celebrity graves are a surprise tourist attraction here are some suggestions for paying homage to deceased icons….

There’s no hiding place for celebrities these days – even in death. A-list graves have been turned into public shrines for fans to pay their respects, and have become pilgrimage sites. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the US, particularly Los Angeles, where the city’s amazing cemeteries are now tourist attractions in their own right – and free ones too.

Currently top of the “grave hunters” hit list is Michael Jackson, buried last year at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, an hour’s drive from downtown LA.

The King of Pop might have approved of his final resting place – the Great Mausoleum, architecturally inspired by the Campo Santo in Genoa, Italy. Its 11 terraces are each named after a flower. Jackson lies in the Holly Terrace, alongside Hollywood legends Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.
Forest Lawn is concealed behind giant wrought-iron gates bearing the message “Cemeteries of today are wrong… they depict an end rather than a beginning”, and sits in 300 acres of rolling hills and replicas of early English Renaissance buildings.

 For those seeking more intimate Hollywood glamour, the Westwood Memorial Park is a tiny cemetery hidden behind the high-rises that line Wilshire Boulevard. Fresh flowers adorn Marilyn Monroe’s tomb in the “Corridor of Memories” and the pink marble stone has had to be replaced several times because of lipstick stains from the kisses of Marilyn’s ever-adoring fans.

Some might argue graveyard tourism is just another reflection of our celeb-obsessed times, but anyone with an interest in Hollywood history will surely dig LA’s cemeteries…

TOP FIVE US PILGRIMAGE SITES FOR 2010
Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale – see above                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Dakota Building & Strawberry Fields, New York City – John Lennon
Graceland, Tennessee – do you need to ask?
Fairmount, Indiana – James Dean
Seattle, Washington – Kurt Cobain

With a week away from the office what a better way to spend it soaking up some sun and sampling some souks in Marrakech….what an fascinating city I have to say, I have to agree with you there Jamie.

Even after six days I still feel like there is so much more to have been seen, but in temperatures nearing 50 degrees there is only so much a girl can do (the Unmissable office will be surprised to hear that I didn’t actually have cause to moan about the air con for once..)  I stayed at the hotel Riu Tikida Palmeraie, which I would highly recommend for a relaxing stay, along with the fabulous spa it’s a great getaway whether for a week or a long weekend.  And why go freestyle as I did when you can let Unmissable guide you through the Souks and Medinas of Marrakech by organising plenty to do on your client’s behalf, that way you’ll be sure to ‘Unmiss’ a thing about this captivating and enchanting city.

It’s great to be back mind you; at least I know goats head isn’t on the menu tonight! Although, there’s a lot to be said for some of the culinary delights on offer.  We can teach you a thing or too Jamie style if that works for you.

Last night, the Unmissable office competed at the Institute of Promotional Marketing’s annual Netball Tournament. They put on a very slick event and a lot of laughs were had all round (some at us). The evening was completed with yummy snacks and refreshments that were much needed after all the running around! Despite our valiant efforts a lack of experience showed through and we lost all of our matches.

Luckily, we were able to console ourselves with the fact that we simply cannot be great at everything. We may have had a thrashing on the courts and come home empty handed, but we are still the award winning Prize & Incentive Supplier of the Year, as well the current holders of the IPM’s Quiz Night! Brains not brawn obviously rule the roost here…

Fancy swimming in the clouds and looking at the Singapore skyline? Well here at Unmissable we can arrange this for you.  Head to the amazing Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore and experience swimming at 200m in the sky in a 150m infinity pool, which is the largest and highest in the world!  If you suffer from vertigo this probably isn’t for you, but for anyone planning a trip to Singapore this is a must.  You can also be one of the first to see spectacular views of Singapore from one of the largest gravity-defying cantilevers in the world.  The Sands Sky Park which soars on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel towers 200m in the sky.  Stretching longer than the Eiffel tower laid down or four and a half A380 Jumbo Jets it’s certainly an impressive space for visitors to feast their eyes on an unforgettable panoramic view. Marina Bay Sands is a luxury resort in itself.  With one of the  most premiere, luxury retails experiences of the world you can shop till you drop or enjoy one of the many restaurants they have which include casual dining, fine dining and the hotel features worldwide Celebrity Chefs too.  There really is everything one needs at this hotel.  You can even experience the South East Asian premiere of the Lion King which is coming to the hotel in March 2011. Contact Unmissable to find out more about this amazing experience.

Wrangler recently sent a group of their top sales staff on a jolly to Las Vegas, organised by Unmissable. The group came from all over Europe, only meeting each other when they arrived at Heathrow. Judging by the photo, it looks as if they got on okay! Apart from enjoying the thrills & spills of a roller coaster tour & some fantastic dinners each evening, the group were pretty much free to spend their days as they wished, shopping, sightseeing & sampling the legendary Vegas nightlife.  Wrangler even provided the group with some denim to wear so that they looked the part.

Here’s a bit of feedback from one of the group:-

Hallo Angela,
I just wanted to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this very great trip! It was more than great it was a blast of emotion and impressions!!! It was very good organized and all the Wrangler people were soooo nice. I thought maybe you would like to see some pics.

Not only can we arrange damn good prizes here at Unmissable but it also seems we are pretty good at romance. We sent some lucky winners of to beautiful Sorrento on a glamorous short break staying at the Hilton Sorrento Palace and it seems some of the Italian passion rubbed off on the couple as it turns out Lee got down on bended knee and proposed to Louise.

A big congratulations from all of us here at Unmissable and we’re happy we were able to be a part of their happy occasion in providing the beautiful setting.

Perhaps the happy couple will follow in the footsteps of Colleen and Wayne Rooney and tie the knot in Italy also!

When Elizabeth Hurley is invited to an event, you can usually assume she’ll be one of the best dressed on the guest list. Attending the Elephant Parade auction at the Royal Hospital Gardens in London on Wednesday night, the 45-year-old model put on another stunning red carpet performance in a hot pink dress. Instead of her trademark slashed-to-the-thigh gown, the Austin Powers star was wearing a cowl-neck fuchsia floor-length dress and silver high-heeled sandals Joining Hurley at the glitzy bash at the home of the Chelsea Pensioners was husband Arun Nayar and her good friend Trinny Woodall.  Style guru Woodall, 46, also adopted a similar dress code to her friend by teaming a pink and purple vintage-style silk gown with a pair of silver shoes. 

While the charity event attracted many Chelsea locals like Hurley and Woodall, also in attendance was Hollywood veteran Goldie Hawn, socialite Tamara Beckwith, who wore a flowing white Issa dress, model Lisa B and young royals Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Having flown in from the United States specially to host the fundraiser, Goldie, 64, rolled back the years in a floral tiered gown. The Private Benjamin star is an official patron of the Elephant Family charity, who are raising money to protect the endangered Asian elephant.
The charity was founded by Mark Shand - the younger brother of Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall.

Over the past few weeks, over 250 elephant sculptures - each decorated differently by a host of famous names including Diane Von Furstenberg, Paul Smith and John Rocha - have been placed all over London at tourist spots such as outside St Paul’s Cathedral or Trafalgar Square. 

As we’ve previously mentioned, we have sponsored an elephant, Whizz, but alas we do not have room for him in our little Battersea pad.  Let’s hope he goes to a good home….

We recently sent some winners to Kenya on a two centre holiday - firstly on safari then for a bit of R&R on the beach.  They sent us some amazing pictures and this is what they had to say:

Hi Lesley,

I won the PG Tips Kenya safari competition and returned back yesterday, and I had to drop you a line to say thank you for organising it all. It went so smoothly and I had an amazing time!!

Both the hotels in Mombasa and the Safari in Tsavo West were out of this world. In fact I had such a fab time, I’d 100% definately go back and visit Kenya.

Again, thank you for organising the entire thing, and here is a couple of nice little pics I took - one of the view from my breakfast table on safari, of Mt Kilimanjaro, and one of the residents in the hotel in Mombasa. Enjoy.

Kind regards,
Alex