Family Travel: Tour a Massive Handbag and Sleep in a Sandcastleby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 30 Jul 2008 11:00 PM It's a bird, it's a plane... no, it's a massive designer handbag and it's headed straight for New York's Central Park. Park managers say if you stroll through the popular Big Apple green space you'll be able to recognize it immediately. It'll look like a cross between a spaceship and a quilted purse, which makes sense since Chanel (the makers of the famous quilted handbag) commissioned the structure. The 7,500-square-foot building, which is made out of gleaming white plastic panels, will land in New York's Central Park on October 20 and remain there until November 9. The structure will house works by 15 contemporary artists who were asked to use the classic handbag designed by Coco Chanel in 1955 as inspiration. The exhibition is called "Mobile Art" and was conceived by Chanel's designer Karl Lagerfeld. If you're interested in touring the structure you will need to reserve tickets in advance (tickets are free, but are issued on a first come, first serve basis). The art displays have already traveled to Hong Kong and Tokyo, and after New York the portable purse-like structure will head for London, Moscow and Paris. According to show organizers, different works of arts including sculpture, photographs and videos are being shown in each city. SLEEP IN A SANDCASTLE Its designers are calling it a once in a lifetime opportunity. But, not everyone is clamoring to spend the night in the world's first ever sand hotel. You'll have to travel to Dorset, Britain if you want in on the sandy action. And be sure to bring along at least $20 if you want to make history as one of the hotel's first guests. You'll also have to act fast because you can only stay in the hotel, which includes beds made of sand, until the rain washes it away. The massive sand structure reportedly took 1,000 tons of sand and a team of four sculptors working 14 hours a day for seven days to build. It sits on Weymouth beach and is attracting thousands of gawkers. Though, not all of them are willing to shell out cold hard cash to sleep on cold hard sand beds that sit in twin and double bedrooms. Another drawback to the sand hotel is that it doesn't feature toilets or sinks. However, hotel workers say the views from the roofless structure are amazing. Planning a trip to New York? Check out these other Big Apple-related articles: New York's Must-See Attractions---The Statue of Liberty How To Eliminate Waiting in Long Lines For Lady Liberty Summer Travel: Tourism Heats Up in New York One More Reason to Visit New York City Traveling to New York? Think Broadway New York's Must-See Attractions---The Empire State Building Little People in the Big Apple: Central Park Zoo and FAO Schwartz Little People in the Big Apple: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Patriotic Travel Destinations-Taking A Cruise of New York Where To Get Your Chocolate Fix In New York Summer in New York: Superheroes Invade Gotham Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags Central Park, Chanel, new york, Travel Discuss this article
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