If you had any doubt that the visionaries behind New York's Milk & Honey and PDT would go to the ends of the earth to spread their cocktail gospel, the opening of their latest venture--in Melbourne, Australia--should prove it.

Plush new bar The Everleigh recently opened its doors (at the top of a flight of stairs behind an unmarked street door) on the seedy-turned-suave strip of Gertrude Street. Under the watchful eye of mixology maestro Sasha Petraske, The Everleigh's cocktail list is heavily weighted toward Gilded Era libations such as the Old-Fashioned and the Rum Fizz.

In a town renowned for its fantastic swank-on-a-shoestring bar scene, this joint--sporting now-familiar touches such as hand-cut ice, cozy leather booths, and a whiff of the speakeasy--fits in like a waxed mustache on an old-timey barkeep. And, yes, there will be waistcoats.

Photo: Courtesy of The Everleigh

Ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger had Total Recall and Princess Leia begged for Obi-Wan Kenobi, we've been waiting for our hologram fantasy to become a reality. Now, at Paris's Orly Airport, we're one step closer: holographic gate agents.

An image of an airport employee beamed onto an acrylic silhouette greets passengers and displays gate information. Orly's virtual assistants can be found in Hall 40 of Terminal Ouest, the airport's testing ground for emerging technologies. These agents always smile, never take a bathroom break, and don't go on strike (yet). It's a strange new world, indeed.

Photo: Courtesy Aéroports de Paris / Jean-Pierre Gaborit

With all the partisan bickering and national debt doomsaying, it's hard to find a ray of hope in Washington, D.C., these days. Perhaps we can all draw inspiration from this quotation from Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." It was the impetus behind a new national memorial to the civil rights leader, which was to have been dedicated last Sunday, on the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. (The ceremony was delayed by Hurricane Irene, and a new dedication date will be announced here.) The first National Mall memorial to an African-American, the 30-foot granite statue depicts a resolute King staring toward the horizon encircled by walls inscribed with excerpts of his speeches. Let's hope some congressional leaders take a page from his book. We can dream, can't we?

And while you're in town...

Eat here:
Rogue 24
The new Rogue 24 restaurant has an open kitchen and serves up 24-course tasting menus that push the culinary envelope. That might mean a sliver of shrimp sausage atop a sphere of grits filled with corn milk or a lavender meringue with shaved foie gras smeared in berry jelly. Rogue indeed.

Stay here:
The Liaison Capitol Hill
A Pop art portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr., watches over the lobby of this Capitol Hill hotel; King is just one of the world leaders that the Liaison brings together both on and within its walls. The 343 rooms were made for comfort, with velvet and leather headboards and toffee-and-cream color schemes punctuated by turquoise throws and crimson pillows. Leaders from across the aisles come together at the rooftop bar and locavore restaurant Art and Soul. This is a D.C. liaison that won't land you in the tabloids.

Photo: Courtesy of Jason Rosenberg

Travel can be tricky these days, particularly if you have to leave your butler at home. Fortunately for the service-minded traveler, the Dorchester Collection's latest property, 45 Park Lane, opens in London on September 1. Although it will be the first completely new hotel to open in Mayfair in the past 100 years, it's pulling a trick straight out of the Gosford Park playbook: Every guest gets their own host.

Part personal assistant, part butler, part concierge, hosts will be assigned to each of the property's 45 rooms and suites. They'll greet you, escort you to your room for a private check-in, and arrange everything just so (expect a call prior to arrival). The overall effect is like staying at a well-located private residence, one replete with screening room, Wolfgang Puck in the kitchen (the in-house Cut restaurant is his first European venture), and rich Deco-inspired contemporary interiors by Thierry Despont. Capital holiday, old chaps.

Photo: Courtesy of the Dorchester Collection

In this era of austerity, nothing says excess like a private jet, right? California-based JetSuite, which runs a brand-new fleet of Phenom 100 planes, aims to change that perception by making the high life more accessible, even for those of us whose names don't start with Jay and end with Z.

Becoming a fan of the company's Facebook page gives you access to daily last-minute deals on flights such as San Francisco to Las Vegas and Austin to Houston. What kind of deals are we talking about? Try flights for as low as $499 one-way...for the entire four-passenger jet. SuiteDeals are released at the end of the business day Pacific time, typically for flights departing the next day. Spontaneous travel just got a whole lot more fabulous.

Photo: Courtesy of JetSuite