New Moon has such a hold on the world right now that even Martha Stewart admitted to having dreams about Robert Pattinson. The movie's cast hasn't been helping matters either with a media blitz that has taken them around the world, but let's not forget where it all started, in Vancouver.

The "New Moon" movie was filmed in Vancity last spring and its stars seemed to make the most of their time there. Check out a few of their favorite spots and find out how you can see them all for yourself:

Have you been watching the Olympic countdown on Vancouver2010.com? With less than three months to go before the Winter Olympics, we've already seen promos for the "Today" show's trip to Vancouver in February, but Tourism Vancouver wants to make sure that Matt, Meredith and Al aren't the only ones in town for the games.

Tourism Vancouver's Olympic Sweepstakes is offering up three prizes for people who sign up for their monthly newsletter. The gold prize—relating to Olympics medals, of course—is a deluxe Olympic package including tickets to alpine skiing and the closing ceremony, plus plane tickets and a hotel room. Not that Silver and Bronze are too shabby either, with hockey qualifying tickets and a Wii up for grabs.

While you plan your trip to Vancouver, you can follow along on the torch's journey with an interactive map. It's in Prince Edward Island now but may be coming to your town soon, if you're lucky enough to be in Canada.

Related Stories:
· Sign up for the Tourism Vancouver monthly newsletter here. [TourismVancouver.com]
· Is It Time To Start Booking Rooms For the Vancouver Olympics? (YES.) [HC]
· LGet Thee To The Jetty: A Perfect Plane Spotting In Vancouver [Jaunted]

[Photo of the Olympic Village under construction: roland]

While Thompson Hotels is busying itself with "Thompsonizing" The Hotel Sax in Chicago, they shan't forget about our neighbors to the North.

When we last checked in with Thompson Toronto, it was June and they were hinting at a 2010 opening. Judging from Thompson's past hotel opening delays we figured Summer 2010 would be a kind estimate. But Thompson co-owner Stephen Brandman has told us they are looking at March 2010 and they seem very confident in that date.

Now, the old adage says "March comes in like a lion but goes out like a lamb" yet we say that with the Thompson's penchant for soft-openings, TT will come in like

It's official; filming of Eclipse in Vancouver is coming to a close. On Tuesday, the movie's director, David Slade tweeted, "Just one week and a few days to go to complete principle photography, the finish line seems still so far." It probably can't come soon enough for Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart who get stalked daily by fans and paparazzi. A higher up at Summit (the film's production company) told E!, "Civilians are flying in all over the world to hunt down whoever they can find. It's bad. Literally [Rob and Kristen] have no choice but to stay inside."

It's gotten so bad, the couple has reportedly holed up together at the Sheraton Wall Centre and spends most of their time watching movies or listening to music when they aren't filming. It sounds like they have a pretty sweet set up though so we don't feel too bad for them. Apparently, they have two separate hotels rooms joined by a door plus a third suite on the same floor where they can watch TV on a huge flat screen.

Photo by stevendepolo via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Here’s one for traveling pastrami-lovers everywhere.

“Save the Deli” follows author David Sax around Europe and North America in search of a shrinking number of Jewish delicatessens—and, though the project was driven by fears for a declining institution, the result seems to be a hopeful one.

In a letter to potential readers posted on Amazon, Sax addresses the “heresy” of his search for the deli in such unlikely spots as Salt Lake City or Brussels:

Three years ago, when I began working on this book, I too had fallen prey to the misguided notion that great deli was only confined to New York and Montreal. Anything outside those cities had to be a pale imitation. I, like many Jewish deli lovers, was narrow-minded, could see and imagine no further than the local delicatessen I frequented…a village simpleton who knows nothing beyond his little shtetl and the salamis therein.

But as I hit the road, in search of the story of delicatessen in American and around the world, I tasted revelation after revelation.

Publishers Weekly describes these revelations as “joyful moments in this otherwise elegiac travelogue,” and notes that the book’s “well-crafted portraits don’t string together perfectly, but individual chapters shine.”

Last year we blogged the great bagel debate. Now, Gadling weighs in on another staple.

Will Twilight mania ever end? Based on the number of Twi-hards traveling to Vancouver to see the cast filming Eclipse, it won't end anytime soon. Just this past weekend, fans waited for hours outside of Bella's house on 28 Ave in Surrey while the movie's stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson filmed inside.

But for some fans, standing on the street in a Vancouver suburb isn't how they imagined their first encounter with Robert Pattinson. Maybe they'd prefer a luxury spa date instead? Apparently, the world's sexiest vampire enjoys getting pampered too. Pattinson has been spotted several times at the the posh Vida Wellness Spa at Sutton Place Hotel.

Throughout the economic downturn, Porter Airlines has been doing everything right. They’ve impressed travelers with their service, expanded to new routes, and have served Toronto City Centre Airport without too much competition. Well that’s about to end as another airline wants to get a chunk of the air traffic from the city’s smaller airport. After all, the airport is a little more convenient to all that downtown business.

Air Canada Jazz is looking to return to end Porter’s dominance over the airport’s commercial traffic. Jazz used to come and go from the downtown airport until early in 2006 when they suspended their service, claiming they had been evicted by a firm that was in cahoots with the CEO at Porter Airlines. However, the exclusivity agreement between Porter Airlines and the airport ends early next year, and Jazz is ready to once again roll down the runway.