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It's a perfect time for a getaway in Michigan to see the gorgeous spring blooms. Here are four stays that I highly recommend.

A really special place is The Wellington Inn in Traverse City. It is an old mansion, now b&b with nine beautiful rooms. The inn keepers are wonderful and the inn is a few blocks from downtown where many of Traverse City's best restaurants are located.

Another place I love is Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa. They have everything at the resort including a beautiful new "Green" Spa and an outdoor Art Park with sculpture. Although it's in between seasons, Crystal Mountain is in Benzie County and there are many cool biking trails in the area, great access to Lake Michigan where rock hunting is now big as the winter brings new petosky stones on shore, and forests for foraging wild mushrooms and wild leeks. The locals there will be good about helping you out with going to the right places to look for mushrooms. I've been told to check out the south side of a hill after a rain as well as forested places where ash trees are abundant. See the following website to learn more about how to find the rare and covetted morels! http://www.northerncountrymorels.com.

A third place for a relaxing stay is the Grey Hare Inn on Old Mission Peninsula. It sits within a vineyard up a private road from one of the cool wineries on Old Mission. You can do a wine tour during the day close to where you're staying and probably hit all seven of the wineries there if you're up to it! There are some nice restaurants on Old Mission, too.

And finally, for a more active cultural experience highlighted by a world class art museum and Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, soon to feature a spectacular Chihuly exhibition, stay at the historic, elegant Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. My suggestion is to book a corner room in the historic part of the hotel, have cocktails and dinner at Cynus 27 overlooking the Grand River one night. Explore downtown Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the many art galleries, riverwalk and abundance of friendly sidewalk cafes, bars and coffee shops on day 1. Day 2 visit Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, just six miles east from downtown and splurge for dinner at the only 5-diamond restaurant in Michigan, the 1913 Room located at the Amway Grand Plaza.

These are my picks for this spring. Travel, Explore and best of all Dine at these places that dot the wonderful Lake Michigen coast of Michigan!

There's lots more at www.greatfoodandtravel.com

Savor Spring!....Sally

Grand Rapids, Mich. (April 17, 2010 10:00 p.m. EST)

The culinary team to represent the United States in the Lyon, France Coup de Monde de la Patisserie competition have now been decided.

The winners were announced at the World Pastry Cup U.S. tryouts which took place today in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education. The winners include:

1st Place: Jean-Francois Suteau, Executive Pastry Chef, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California

2nd Place: Bill Foltz, Executive Pastry Chef, L'Auberge du Lac - Casino and Resort, Lake Charles, New Orleans

3rd Place: Frania Mendivil, Executive Pastry Chef, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California

Alternate: Yoni Morales, Executive Pastry Chef, Ark at New York, New York Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

Congratulations to you all! These people will represent the United States in the Coup de Monde de la Patisserie competition which will take place January 22 - 26, 2011 in Lyon, France during the SIRHA-International Hotel Catering & Food Trade Exhibition. SIRHA is the first specialized exhibition in France targeting professionals of the industry of hospitality and dining out.

For more coverage on the World Pastry Cup U.S. Tryouts in Grand Rapids stay connected to the GreatFoodandTravel.com blog.

It was perfect weather for creating precision pastries at the World Pastry Cup U.S. Competition held today in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In preparation for the upcoming Coup du Monde de la Patisserie in Lyon, France next January, eight vetted competitors met today at The Secchia Institute for Culinary Education who hosted the event. Sixty-five degree temperatures and dry conditions were the perfect setting for the coveted pastry event that happens every two years. Only four of the competitors, three finalists and one alternate, will go on to the finals in Lyon to be held January 22 - 26, 2011. Twenty-two nations will compete for the title which was last won in 2009 by the French team.

The World Pastry Cup U.S. Competition, was attended by enthusiastic supporters of the Secchia Culinary Institute. Many of the competition goers were younger - 9 years old and under - vying for a view and an autograph from one of the esteemed judges. Kerry Vincent, who is well-known for her appearances on the Food Network program "The Food Network Challenge", is one of the judges for today's competition. Vincent's legendary persona, which is revered and feared by talented pastry chefs who compete on the Food Network program, also has a group of young supporters who thinks she's "just great". Vincent, dressed in classic pearls and her signature braided headband, explained that her fans, "both love me and hate me - I'm sometimes called the Simon Cowall of cake." While having a wonderful time talking to the crowd who showed up for the competition, Vincent also explained that the purpose of her participation in the World Pastry Cup Competition is to "find a person who will represent the United States in a world class way."

Competitors include Francis Mendivil, Executive Pastry Chef of the Beverly Hills Hotel; Andrew Logan, Corporate Pastry Chef of Albert Uster Import, Gaethersburg, Maryland; Jean-Francois Suteau, Executive Pastry Chef, The Beverly Hills Hotel; Joseph Panepinto, Pastry Chef and Owner of Panardo Pasticceria in Middle Village, New York; Yoni Morales, Executive Pastry Chef, Ark at New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas; Bill Foltz, Executive Pastry Chef, L'Auberge du Lac Casino and Resort in New Orleans; Loan Co, Assistant Pastry Chef, San Francisco Marriott; and Thierry Auyjard, Pastry Chef of Jimmy Duffy Caterer in Downington, Pennsylvania.

The competition is judged on many aspects including decoration, construction, ongoing preparation, and show-personship throughout the grueling six hour preparation phase. The final plated desserts and entremet (tiny cakes) were also sampled by the judges who scored them for balance of sweetness, contrasting tastes, texture, temperature and originality among many other attributes. Ten internationally known pastry chefs participated in judging the competition. They looked for subtle outstanding details, flaws, and overall workmanship in the creations presented by each of the competitors.

The competitors who move on to the final competition in Lyon, France will create three pastry creations as a team in the categories of sugar, chocolate, and ice carving.

Look for the results of today's competition in Monday's blog.