Beach Vacations - Cayman Islands

This is the time of year when Wanderlust settles in: the holidays are over, the dark, cold days of winter are starting to get to us and spring is still far too many days away. But we’re feeling the pinch of holiday bills and the recession, so a 5-star vacation isn’t exactly in the cards at the moment. Indulge with us in some vacation porn as we embark on “Beach Week". We’ll bring you a fantasy destination everyday this week.

If money wasn’t an issue, we would head on down to the Cayman Islands for the Cayman Cookout January 16-19. Held at the Ritz Carlton on Grand Cayman, the event is hosted by hottie chef and fish man extraordinaire Eric Ripert (shown below). Eric is the owner/chef at Manhattan's Le Bernadin and also runs the restaurant at the Ritz in Grand Cayman. If we were going to the cookout, we would definitely attend Laurent Tourondel's cooking demonstration (he of the Steak BLT, Fish BLT, etc. fame) and the Champagne tasting. But we would spend most of our time soaking up rays and sipping banana daquiris on the beach.