Recently in Four Points by Sheraton Category

There are walking tours and bicycle tours, but no tour feels quite as hip and European as one taken by Vespa. Left Bank Scooters allows you to explore Nice for hours by way of a spunky red two-wheeler.

Your guided tour begins in the heart of Nice - at the front door of the Four Points by Sheraton Elysee Palace - and continues for a glorious three or six hours, depending on your preference. But first comes a brief lesson in how to drive the scooters on French roads! Once you're comfortable, you'll zip over to the beachfront Promenade des Anglais along the lovely La Baie des Anges (The Bay of Angels) and take in some local landmarks, including the Theatre de l'Opera and Casino Mediterranée. From the coast, you'll head into the Vieux Nice (Old Town), where you'll get to explore galleries and sample traditional Niçois food. Your tour of the French Riviera then takes you beyond the town, up into the mountains on a stunning drive that deposits you atop Mont Vinaigrier, which offers impressive panoramic views of the city below. The longer tour option then continues along the coast, through Villefranche-sur-Mer and into Monaco, where you'll see the Casino de Monte-Carlo, palace, port, and old city. Should you be reluctant to hand over the keys, take heart: For a small additional fee, you can keep your Vespa for an additional 24 hours.

[image via Wikimedia Commons]

Get ready to be blown away by gardens that are truly like nothing you've ever seen - they're underground. Sicilian immigrant Baldassare Forestiere came to America in 1901 to "escape the iron rule of his wealthy father" and to follow his dreams. And dream he did.

Forestiere spent 40 years chiseling away below ground, creating a hand-built network of rooms (including a chapel, kitchen, and bedrooms), courtyards, and passageways reminiscent of the ancient catacombs. He made no blueprints or sketches, and used little more than a pick, a shovel, and a wheelbarrow to chip away at the earth, clearing out and planting more than 10-acres worth by the time he was 44. He ultimately built three underground levels: at 10, 22, and 25 feet. Defying all logic, he planted plenty of fruit-bearing trees in his underground masterpiece, ranging from orange to grapefruit to fig to Zinfandel grapes. In addition to providing him with fruit, they also provided additional insulation, as he actually lived in the underground dwelling. Thanks to the many skylights he carved throughout the space, the Underground Gardens are actually quite light - and just a 15-minute drive from the Four Points by Sheraton Fresno.

This week is the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, and if your teenagers don't share your passion for Civil War history, there may be one way to get them hooked. Segs in the City's "Gettysburg Segway Safari" is a spunky tour that covers a lot of important ground.

Strap on your helmet and get ready for a 19th-century-flavored excursion. (Riders need to be at least 14 years old, and able to stand for an hour.) There are three tour options to choose from: The 3-hour Battlefield Explorer safari takes an in-depth look at the battlefield itself - the place that saw the largest number of casualties during the Civil War, and the site of what many regard as the turning point of the war: The Union army ultimately defeated Confederate Robert E. Lee's advances, ending his invasion of the North. You'll trace the defensive line set up by Joshua Chamberlain (that allowed the Union army to successfully defend a hill named Little Round Top), walk the wheat field, and climb the rocks of Devil's Den. There's a 2-hour option if you're looking for something a little shorter, as well as the Battlefield at Sunset safari that covers much of the same ground, just with a stunning sunset as your backdrop. From there, it's about a 25-mile ride back to the comforts of the Four Points by Sheraton Chambersburg - sadly, you won't be able to travel there via Segway.

A trip to San Antonio isn't complete without a trip to the Tower of the Americas. After all, it's not every day you'll have the chance to travel to the tip-top of one of the country's tallest observation hours - and eat, drink, and be entertained along the way.

Built as the thematic centerpiece of the 1968 World's Fair, the 750-foot-tall structure held the title of country's tallest freestanding observation tower until 1996 (Las Vegas' Stratosphere Tower now holds the record). The views are panoramic and the setting is swanky atop the tower, which houses the Chart House restaurant. Now owned by Landry's Restaurants, the previous restaurant and lounge space underwent an $8 million renovation, reopening in 2006. The seafood-heavy spot dishes up tasty items like Australian cold water lobster tail, macadamia-crusted mahi with mango coulis, jumbo lump crab cakes with caper butter, and pan-seared sea scallops in a soy-ginger broth. But what's on the plate has some pretty tough competition from the ever-changing view: The restaurant rotates slowly as you dine - look closely, and you should be able to spot the Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Downtown. If you're looking for something a little more casual, snack on fish tacos and enjoy a cocktail in Bar 601 - there are plenty to choose from, from the icy Prickly Pear Frozen Margarita to the appropriately named On Top of the World martini. Part of that pricey renovation also included the addition of the Skies Over Texas 4-D Theater Ride. The "sophisticated" ride takes you on a "high-flying trip across the Lone Star State" - probably something you'll want to check out before you have that martini.