Win a FREE Weekday Night at Blue Door!

To celebrate the launch of the Blue Door Blog, Facebook and Twitter pages, we are opening our doors to you, our blog readers! Just in time for the start of a new spring/summer travel season, we're offering giveaways that we're sure you can put to good use: free weekday nights at Blue Door on Baltimore and nightly discounts!

Planning a visit to Baltimore and are searching for the perfect spot? In need of a free night away from everything? Wanting a romantic night away from the kids with a peaceful ending? Maybe you have guests coming into town who need a great neighborhood place to stay?  We think you will find what you're looking for at Blue Door!

To enter to win a free weekday night at the Blue Door, simply 'like' us on Facebook and post a comment on this post letting us know that you did! But, the fun doesn't end there. For every 50 comments, we'll add another free night to the drawing, increasing your chances of winning! So, encourage friends and family to enter the giveaway to turn up the volume.

Not convinced to enter yet? Well, we want everyone who enters to receive something special! If you are not one of the free night winners, by entering this contest, you will receive a 10% nightly discount off our regular rates for the entire year of 2011. Sweet, right?! Just use promo code "BLOG" when making your reservation.

To "like" Blue Door on Facebook, simply click the link below:

Now post a comment on this post letting us know you "liked" us! Don't forget to include your email so we can contact you if you win.

We'll be choosing our free night winners on May 15, 2011, so make sure to visit us again to see if you've won! We'll be announcing the winners right here on the Blue Door Blog!

A Maximum of 6 free weekday nights for 6 lucky winners will be offered for this promotion. Weekday night certificates may also be used as cash towards weekend or multi-nighty stays (two night minimums may apply). The 10% discount is to be applied against regular published nightly rates and may not be combined with other discounts applied to early-bird, last minute, or other promotional/discounted rates.

Travel Tip: Water Taxi

Many of our weekend guests ask us for the best thing to do for the one full day they have to enjoy Baltimore. We think the Water Taxi affords guests the most fun, diverse access to Charm City. Just eight blocks from the Blue Door to the terminal in Fells Point, with a scenic walk that takes you through several development periods of Baltimore’s famous row house neighborhoods.

The best part? A $12 fare allows you to ride the water taxi for an entire day. You can get on and off as many times as you wish! Experience the cobblestone streets of Fells Point, then head off to the Harbor east for the new trendy shops and eateries. Hit the Inner Harbor for the Aquarium, Science Center, visitor center and tons of places to shop and grab a bite to eat. From there, hang out in the Mount Vernon cultural district, home of the first George Washington memorial statue, Main Library, the Peabody Library, Basilica, and many ethnic restaurants.

Or, you could head to Canton past the marinas and into and its great O’Donnell Square area and stop by the Castle/Chester street pier for some fresh crab on picnic tables. Next, cross the harbor to Fort McHenry, famous for the War of 1812 and the writing of our National Anthem. Backtrack to the Inner Harbor stopping at the American Visionary Arts Museum and Federal Hill for a panoramic view of the Harbor (Don’t forget your camera).

Complete your day with a snack or dinner back in Fells Point. Had enough activity? A short cab ride brings you back to your room at the Blue Door where a treat and relaxation awaits.

For more information in planning a stay in Baltimore, please check out our website Trip Planner Page.

Blue Door Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

As promised, from time to time we will be sharing some of our favorite recipes right here on the Blue Door Blog. Today, we bring you our BLUE DOOR Chocolate Coconut Macaroons. Cecelia’s Dark Chocolate recipes are the rule (not the exception) for our evening turn down service. With your room lights turned down and bed covers made ready for the evening, we present a small tray of cookies and fruit upon your return to the Blue Door.  Baking these lovely macaroons at home is a great way to bring back Blue Door memories! If you haven't booked a stay with us yet, here's a little homemade taste of things to come each evening! Enjoy!

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4 large egg whites (4ounces), at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup cocoa
½ cup flour (cake or regular flour)
2 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
 
In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar and salt. When this mixture is warm to the touch and frothy, remove from heat and stir in vanilla, cocoa, flour and coconut. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place small mounds (use the large side of a melon baller) of the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a minute, and then place on a wire rack to cool fully.

These cookies may be frozen for several weeks so that you may enjoy a single batch as you may like or as a Blue Door memory strikes you.

Click here for Blue Door Chocolate Coconut Macaroons recipe page.

Meet Cecelia!

Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Cecelia, your other inkeeper at Blue Door on Baltimore. Last week, you met Roger and now I'm stopping by to answer the same questions. Don't forget, if you have any additional questions for us, don't hesitate to ask them in the comments!

How long did you envision owning a B&B?
Never crossed my mind. This was all Rog’s idea.
 
What are your top three favorite things about owning Blue Door?
Meeting different people, living in a city, and shopping for unique amenities to offer our guests.
 
What is your very favorite thing to cook or bake?
Anything chocolate!

Outside of your responsibilities of owning Blue Door, how do you spend your time?
My primary job outside our home is teaching yoga and pilates, and working with private clients. I also offer yoga and personal training session to our guests. Nothing starts the day better than yoga on our rooftop deck in the summertime.
 
What's your favorite activity for a "date night" in Baltimore?
My favorite date night is a play/movie.

Where have you travelled?
We have been to the Mexico, Caribbean (that is my favorite place to be), Florida, and Hawaii for vacation.  When I worked for HP, I worked all over the US and Canada, worked in Mexico City. I also visited England, Scotland, Wales, Austria and Japan for work as well as Italy (specifically Rome, Naples and Sicily with my parents).

 
Where would you like to travel that you haven't yet?
I would like to travel the world by cruise ship (but I am not sure Rog is willing!).
 
What is your top travel tip?
Always remember to carry the important stuff in your carry-on because you never know when your luggage will get lost. Don’t sweat if you lose your luggage, you can always buy what you need.

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Stay tuned over the next couple weeks for recipes for some of Blue Door signature deserts as well as travel tips from true professionals!

Meet Roger!

Hello! I'm Roger. My wife, Cecelia, and I are the owners of Blue Door on Baltimore. We're excited about starting this new adventure in blogging. One of my favorite things about owning the Blue Door is getting to know all the interesting people who pass through our doors. So, if blogging allows me to keep in touch with our guests and extend the friendships we built, even better, I'm in!

For our first few posts, we thought it would be fun to introduce ourselves to all of you. We already have bios on our website, so we thought, what info have we left out that would help blog visitors to get to know us even more? We put together this brief interview to fill you in.  Please feel free to comment with additional questions you may have for us. Enjoy!

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How long did you envision owning a B&B?
Shortly after owning a home on the Jersey Shore -The first of our 11 years  in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey we learned that having a house at the “SHORE” was an invitation for guests. We seemed to always have, and were quite comfortable with, folks coming and going at all hours in our home. Many first time B&B guests find this quite curious. Friends and family arrived for some quality beach time and nieces and nephews visited for 2-week sailing programs we were involved in. I guess these visits conditioned us for the ownership part of B&B life. We perfected many of our breakfast recipes with our visitors that way. It also did not hurt to having a Hotel background while working my way through college. Guess it was destiny.
 

What is your very favorite thing to cook or bake?
The quick answer is anything that will bring delight to our guests. Making custom egg dishes for our weekday guests and coming up with creative menus for our three course weekend guests sets my time and activity in looking at cookbooks, food magazines, and of course FoodTV. Some of my more favorites have to be our baked French Toast dishes, Amish Cinnamon Bread, omelets, and fruit dishes.
 

Outside of your responsibilities of owning Blue Door, how do you spend your time?
Love to sail. One of the reasons we picked Baltimore for our Bed and Breakfast is it’s access to a good harbor and the Chesapeake, so that our sailboat could come along with us on our B&B adventure. Also tinkering with musical instruments, having played in several jazz and musical groups in my younger years and through college. I am currently trying to learn the guitar and my newest, Blues Harmonica.  I think I am better at wind instruments having played saxophone for many years, the Harmonica is very fascinating to me and travels well on the boat.
 

What's your favorite activity for a "date night" in Baltimore?
A good meal out, a movie, or a sunset sail
 

Where have you travelled?
While in my corporate live I traveled most of the country plus internationally to the UK, Italy, Germany, Singapore. Our personal travel tends to go toward cruise ships and islands in the Caribbean in order to escape the winter cold and for Cecelia (snow). Have also been to many parts of Canada and Hawaii.
 

Where would you like to travel that you haven't yet?
Would like to take a personal boat extended cruise (couple of years) to explore the intercostal waterway, Florida and the Gulf States.
 
What is your top travel tip?
Travel Lighter. Don’t fret about leaving some of your very necessary gadgets and travel items home for one trip. Sometimes a trip with just you, your companion, and the place you are visiting are all you need. If absolutely needed, it is usually readily found at your destination anyway. Especially at the Blue Door!

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For our next post, Cecelia will be answering the same questions! Make sure to check back!