The Dutch entrepreneur behind Divorce Hotel, a weekend program for couples looking to end their marriages quickly, wants to introduce the concept to the United States.

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The Divorce Hotel, a True Weekend Getaway

Kate Krader ( @kkrader on Twitter ) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up. Compared to the fast-paced world of juicing and organic chocolate, not much happens in the land of ice cream sundaes. There are exceptions, like when Burger King sticks a couple strips of bacon in a chocolate-and-caramel sundae and starts test-marketing bacon sundaes around Nashville.   Personally, I’m less cutting-edge than the people at Tennessee BKs. And if I decide I need more fat and calories in my sundae, it’s going to come in the form of a brownie base, or more hot fudge, not bacon. For those like me, who live in an idyllic sundae past and aren’t ready to mash up their charcuterie plates with their vanilla ice cream, the following are some places to check out. Especially if you don’t want your dog to feel left out when you dig into your ice cream. Ever-So-Slightly Cutting Edge Sundae Bi-Rite Creamery – San Francisco, california Bi-Rite’s superdeluxe ice cream is made with organic dairy products from a local creamery. Their add-ins are cooked at the adjoining bakery; they even house-make graham crackers. So, no surprise that their sundaes rock the house. Sam's Sundae might just be the best. It’s made with chocolate ice cream with bergamot olive oil, maldon sea salt and whipped cream; I understand that olive oil in a sundae might sound dangerously close to bacon; I promise it’s not. Bi-Rite’s Sundae Party Kit comes with a choice of ice cream, sauces, toppings, sprinkles, whipped cream and eco-friendly cups and spoons. That’s enough sundae for at least 18 people (or less, if I’m there) and costs $95. San Francisco is lucky: They’re soon getting a second Bi-Rite in the NoPa neighborhood. Sundae for a Crowd Cabot's Ice Cream – Newtonville, Massachusetts This 40-plus-year-old ice cream parlor has a sundae that makes Bi-Rite’s party package look like a Weight Watchers Special. The Great Pyramid is served in a bowl that’s almost two feet in diameter. It’s packed with 60 pints of ice cream in flavors ranging from seasonal peach to coffee Kahlúa brownie, 12 quarts of toppings (including five varieties with the word “fudge” in it), whipped cream, marshmallow, nuts and cherries. It serves 175 of your friends. Sundae for Your Dog Bruster's Real Ice Cream – Arlington, Texas This nationwide chain has 140 different ice cream flavors in their rotation but offers only 24 flavors at any given time. Your choices could include Grape, Eggnog, Peanut Butter and Jelly and something called Chocolate Lover's Trash (chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks, chocolate-covered peanuts, chocolate butter toffee and chocolate Krispies). Here’s why the Arlington Buster’s location stands out. They serve one-ounce vanilla ice cream sundaes to your dog. For free! The sundaes are very small and nonchocolate (chocolate being not good for canines). Still, if you still don’t want your pet to have any dairy, just give him or her the sundae’s dog bone garnish. Sundae for an Adult Michael's Genuine Food & Drink – Miami, Florida As I was saying, I don’t necessarily need a lot of bells and whistles with my sundae – unless pastry chef star Hedy Goldsmith is involved. In which case, all bets are off. Her boozy Macallan Brownie Sundae layers Junk in Da Trunk Brownies (real name) with smoked vanilla ice cream, The Macallan 12 Years Old Toffee Sauce, spiced candied pecans, chocolate marshmallow and chocolate sauce. Hedy, just please, please, please don’t add bacon. More from Food & Wine Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S. America’s Best Donuts Ice Cream Sundaes Crazy Things People Do to Ice Cream Memorial Day Recipes

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Sundaes yummy sundaes (just please hold the bacon)

Senior Conservative sources say the party’s MPs will be allowed a free vote on legalising marriage for same-sex couples.

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Free gay marriage vote for Tories

VALLEJO, CALIF. — The first couple of years were ugly. After this working-class port city became the largest in America to declare bankruptcy in 2008 , crime and prostitution surged as the police force was thinned by 40 percent. Firehouses were shuttered, and funding for libraries and senior centers was slashed. Foreclosures multiplied and home prices plummeted. Read full article > >

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Vallejo, Calif., once bankrupt, is now a model for cities in an age of austerity

Guinea-Bissau’s military junta hands back power to civilians, six weeks after staging a coup that derailed presidential elections – but retains a position in the new cabinet.

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Guinea-Bissau army cedes control

A Lancashire couple who admitted locking up a 10-year-old boy in a converted coal bunker for more than a year are due to be sentenced.

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Couple locked boy in coal bunker

Six couples profiled in the first year of the Vows column look back at two decades of marriage — and divorce.

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20th Anniversary of the Vows Column

The highest court in Maryland allows gay couples to divorce, even though same-sex marriage is not yet allowed in that US state.

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Maryland allows same-sex divorce

Maryland’s highest court decided Friday that even though same-sex couples aren’t yet able to marry in the state, they do have the right to divorce. The Court of Appeals announced its decision in the case of Jessica Port and Virginia Anne Cowan , two women in their 20s who were married in California in 2008 and filed for divorce in Prince George’s County two years later. A circuit court judge refused to grant the divorce, writing that it would be “contrary to the public policy of Maryland.” Read full article > >

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Maryland court allows same-sex divorce

Mitt Romney did not rise on the power of his rhetoric. At the Detroit Economic Club in February, his speech was swallowed by its stadium venue, overshadowed by a gaffe (his wife’s “ couple of Cadillacs ”) and weighed down by leaden language. Early in the primaries, Romney’s attempts to wax poetic on the virtues of America — often by quoting patriotic hymns — were waxen. Read full article > >

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Romney at Liberty: The case for conservatism

Inspired by the lives of her own grandparents, who came to America from northern Italy in the early 20th century, Adriana Trigiani’s “ The Shoemaker’s Wife ” might be considered the ur-story behind her string of heartwarming family sagas. Free from the high-fashion brand names that infested the past couple of novels, this one is an old-fashioned, romantic tale of two star-tangled lovers, Enza Ravanelli and Ciro Lazzari. Beginning in the Italian Alps, the story travels by various routes to New York’s Little Italy, a Hoboken factory, backstage at the Metropolitan Opera, Minnesota’s Iron Range and the trenches of France. A love story, yes, but also a paean to artisanal work, food, friendship and family. Read full article > >

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Book World: Romantic journey with ‘The Shoemaker’s Wife,’ by Adriana Trigiani

1 . Letting gay couples get married redefines marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that, with few exceptions, marriage has always been about uniting the two sexes and linking mother and father to children. Change that, and marriage ceases to be marriage. Read full article > >

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Five myths about gay marriage

As German Gen. Erwin Rommel chased British forces across the North African desert, a stray Royal Air Force fighter crashed in the blistering sands of the Egyptian Sahara on June 28, 1942. The pilot was never heard from again. The damaged Kittyhawk P-40 — a couple of hundred miles from civilization — was presumed lost forever.

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‘Incredible’ WWII plane found

When it came time for Sivan Pardo, 31, to plan her wedding to her 28-year-old fiancé Scott Renwick, she knew she wanted a “big fat vegan wedding.” “As Scott and I are both vegans for ethical reasons, it was very clear to us that we wanted our wedding, and everything around it, to reflect our ethics and values,” said Pardo, the founder and director of “The Vegan Woman” website. Pardo has been vegan for one year and a vegetarian since she was 12. There will be no animal-derived products served at her reception on June 1. Scott Renwick and Sivan Pardo She is hardly the first bride to use her wedding menu to express her beliefs. In 2010, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton famously served a vegan menu and gluten-free cake during her nuptials to Marc Mezvinsky to reflect her own dietary choices. Clinton did, however, also offer the option of organic grass-fed beef to omnivorous attendees. She is among the brides and grooms meeting their guests halfway down the aisle on menu choices in the interest of making their big day more harmonious. It's a fine waltz between “it’s my wedding and I’ll serve seitan if I want to,” and appeasing the average guest’s palate. The compromise is one that Jennifer Fugo was willing to stomach. She was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity in 2008, and two years later, opted against a gluten-free wedding. “At first I wanted the entire wedding to be gluten-free, however I came to realize that the cost was just too much to bear,” said Philadelphia-based Fugo. She runs the “Gluten Free School,” an online educational resource for the gluten-free lifestyle. While her guests noshed on traditional wedding fare, Fugo enjoyed a personalized gluten-free meal. And when it came time to cut the cake, there was a gluten-free, vegan cupcake waiting for her. For those with gluten intolerance like Fugo, the flour in a regular wedding cake would have wreaked havoc on her digestive system. Sick and bloated is no way to spend your wedding day. “Most caterers should be able to accommodate health-related dietary restrictions individually and create a special meal for the bride or groom without serving it to all of the guests,” said Chicago-based wedding planner Camille McLamb . “But ultimately, whether the restrictions are health-related or due to religious or ethical reasons, it's the bride and groom's day, and they should choose a menu that they are most comfortable with.” For Pado and her fiancé, the menu with which they felt most at home was entirely vegan. “We could not imagine having our wedding tainted with the suffering of animals for the sake of keeping some of our guests pleased,” she said. “Especially as we know how wonderful, rich and exciting the world of vegan cuisine is , and that all people really need to do is just give it an honest try.” Among the items the couple will be serving: eggplant rolls with sun-dried tomatoes and vegan cream cheese, mushroom risotto, coconut milk-based penne pasta with peanuts and chives and honey-melon soup with mango sorbet. Pado says she and Scott are constantly invited to non-vegan events, and though the non-vegan food and drink “saddens” them, they attend as a sign of appreciation for the invitation – and hope for the same mutual respect on their big day. “We hope that by inviting our family and friends to an event that is cruelty-free, they will respect us and our chosen lifestyle on our very special day,” she said. McLamb says the menu can communicate something about the couple to the guests. “I've had couples that served curry to reflect their Indian heritage and hushpuppies to showcase their Southern roots,” she said. “Dietary restrictions based on religion, ethics, or beliefs are no different; they highlight something that's important to the couple and personalize the wedding.” When Siobhan Kent married her husband Aaron, they wanted to personalize their wedding with one of their favorite foods – Southern barbecue. The mother of the bride, however, advised the couple that since their officiating rabbi kept kosher, the reception should reflect the same, even if Siobhan's half-Catholic, half-Jewish family only kept kosher on major Jewish holidays. “I wasn't a bridezilla by any stretch, but I wasn't too mature about being denied bacon on what was supposed to be the best day of my life,” said Kent. In the end, her mother’s opinion meant more than her persuasion toward pork, especially since her parents paid for the wedding. No harm done. The Kents ended up getting more than their fill of barbecue on their big day, it just happened to be in the form of chicken. “The kicker on the whole day was that the rabbi ended up not being able to attend, so this delicious kosher buffet was served to an audience where absolutely no one kept kosher,” she said. Ultimately, the people invited to a wedding should know the bride and groom well enough to understand their choices. McLamb says a wedding should be treated like a dinner party; if you go to a vegetarian’s house for dinner, would you expect a T-bone? If guests know the hosts abide by certain dietary rules, they shouldn’t expect to be served outside those. And if your second cousin twice-removed does end up complaining because there isn’t any schnitzel, McLamb suggests the bride and groom can simply reply, “'I'm sorry you feel that way, but this is important to us.' In the end, most people understand that the bride and groom's preferences reign supreme on wedding day.” No further explanation needs to be served. Take Our Poll

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Here comes the bride … and her dietary restrictions

Also bars civil unions for gay and straight couples.

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N.C. Passes Same-Sex-Marriage Ban