Are you a dedicated follower of fashionable travel?

The most fashionable cities in the world? Sorry, you/we don't live there, according to a survey condicted by VeryFirstToCom. on behalf of A2B, a manufacturer of electric bikes. But Australia's biggest city, Sydney (shown above in an MCT photo by Tom Uhlenbrock), did.

Here are the results, according to the press release:

1. Paris

Hotel: Four Seasons George V. Restaurants: Le Meurice Alain Ducasse and Taillevent. Nightlife: Hotel Costes, Silencio. Shopping: Rue St Honoré. Culture: Le Marais.

2. New York

Hotel: Loews Regency. Restaurants: Le Bernardin and Per Se. Nightlife: VIP Room. Shopping: Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Soho. Culture: Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

3. Milan, Italy

Hotel: Hotel Armani. Restaurant: Dolce & Gabbana Gold. Nightlife: Cavalli Club. Shopping: Quadrilatero d’Oro ("golden quadrilateral").

4.  London

Hotel: Rosewood. Restaurant: Le Gavroche. Nightife: Connaught Bar. Culture: The Tate, Southbank.

5. Barcelona, Spain

Hotel: W. Restaurant: ABaC. Nightlife: Eclipse Bar (W) and Boujis. Culture: Picasso Museum. Shopping: Passeig De Gracià.

6. Rome

Hotel: JK Place. Restaurants: Aroma and Metamorfosi. Nightlife: Bar della Pace, La Cabala.

7. Tokyo

Hotel: Peninsula. Restaurants: Joel Robuchon and Narisawa. Nightlife: New York Bar (Park Hyatt) and Velours. Culture: Ueno Koen, Mori Arts Center.

8. Los Angeles

Hotel: Bel-Air Restaurants: Mr. Chow, Chateau Marmont and Providence. Nightlife: Couture, Teddy’s Skybar. Shopping: Rodeo Drive, West Hollywood.

9. Amsterdam

Hotel: Dylan. Restaurants: Bord'eau and Vinkeles. Nightlife: Freddy's, Supper Club Bungalow 8 and A Bar (Intercontinental).

10. Istanbul

Hotel: Shangri-La, Bosphorus. Restaurants: Zuma and Cipriani. Nightlife: GQ Bar and 360 Bar.

11. Berlin

Hotel: Hotel De Rome. Restaurants: Tim Raue and Les Solistes. Nightlife: The Liberate, Paris Bar and Lang Bar.

12. Sydney

 Hotel: QT. Restaurants Marque and Tetsuyas. Nightlife: Blu Bar. Shop

ping: Surrey Hills & Darlinghurst.

All press release are sent by a firm, organization or cause wanting something. A2B is offering monthlong  package trips to all these, electric bikes included, for $134,000 per person, through the British travel company Colletts Travel (www.collettscollection.com).

Nobody ever said fashion was cheap.

In our area, A2B electric bikes are sold by Charlotte Energy Solutions, whose website  (www.charlotteenergysolutions.com), prices A2B's Ultra Motor model at $2,699.

You could just buy one and take a tour of exotic Stallings.

New option for a dog-gone vacation

If you and your pooch have lived in your present home for a while, you've undoubtedly met pet-owning neighbors while out for a walk.

And sooner or later, this topic always comes up: What do you do with him/her when you go on vacation?

Sometimes you can work out a dog-tending arrangement: Watch mine until next Wednesday and I'll repay the favor.

If nothing else, you could ask for a recommendation for a close-by sitter or kennel they trust.

But even in the best possible situations, dog owners get angst-y about leaving their pets with someone else.

Enter a new website called  DogVacay.

Go to their site -- http://dogvacay.com -- and type in your city if it doesn't pop up automatically.  Add your start and stop dates and see the list of available sitters.

A map lets you scroll around to those who live closer to you (if that's a concern).

Slide bars on the  search page let you select your price range (starting at  $35 per day in our area).

Check-off boxes help refine your search:

* Host's home -- or yours?

* Host home without pets -- or with pets?

* Apartment or house?

* Small, medium or large outdoor area?

There's also a "special skills" option if you have a special-needs dog:

* Certified for pet CPR or first-aid.

* Can administer oral medication?

* Can administer injected medication?

There are roughly 70 sitters ("hosts") available now in the Charlotte area; DogVacay has more than 10,000 nationwide, in roughly 2,500 cities.

Pet-owner reviews of their DogVacay experiences can be posted at each sitter's information page.

Aspiring hosts go through a vetting process with DogVacay, which says successful applicants must be passionate about dogs. There are interviews. References are required. A spokesperson for California-based DogVacay said only 15 percent of host applicants are approved.

DogVacay includes dog insurance; there's also a 24-hour customer service number either you or the sitter can call.

DogVacay takes 15 percent of  the sitting fee.

You make reservations through the DogvVcay site, which also has "Propose a meet-and-greet" and "Ask host a question" options if you want to go the extra step to make sure you've found the sitter you want.

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