Corey couldn’t make up his mind over what he wanted to do first. He agreed to travel with his mom on a business trip to Washington DC, and normally he resisted going with her because there usually wasn’t anything for him to do. However, when he was presented with the opportunity to spend four days in one of the luxury hotels DC he really couldn’t resist. Not only did that particular trip sound incredibly exiting, but his alternative was to stay with his aunt because his older brother Steve would be working nights that week. And it wasn’t that he didn’t get along with his aunt, he truly loved her. It was just that she didn’t own a television, and as mundane and superficial as that might seem, Corey couldn’t imagine spending a whole four days without being able to watch any baseball games.
So, it was settled. Corey would go with his mother to Washington and she thought ahead to make reservations to tour the White House and the Capital, but other than that she decided to wing it and also to let Corey decide his own agenda while she was at work. This was a new element in their traveling structure. It had been at least two years since her son had agreed to go with her and Corey was thirteen now and his mother felt he was ready to make some of his own travel attraction decisions. At first Corey thought this meant he could roam around the city and do what he wanted while his mother was in meetings, but of course that was only unrealistic positive thinking. Instead, his mother was willing to drop him off at a secure place for an hour or so, but really meant that he could pick some of the places they would visit together during her free time. In addition to some of the standard tourist attractions they attended a dance performance on Saturday morning given by the National Theatre. It was his mother’s idea, but Corey had a great time and maybe even enjoyed it more than she did.
So, for my first night in New York City, my friend took me to dinner for some spag bol and then we got a glass of wine afterwards. It’s so true what they say about New York, it never sleeps! It seemed like I could get anything at any time of the day, or at night for that matter. My friend made sure I made it back to one of the New York luxury hotels where he so kindly booked for me since I had no idea which hotel would suit my needs. He picked a perfect hotel. When he walked me to the lobby he told me to get a good nights sleep, because tomorrow he has tickets for us to see Kylie and then after that, he’ll take me top see a few more bands. But, before we go, he wants to take me the the Bronx zoo.
I thought when I came out here to visit him, he’d take me on the usual touristy tours, like the Statue of Liberty and some other hot spots, but that wasn’t the case. He made me feel very relaxed and ready for anything he might surprise me with.
Oh, I have to say I got to see Miranda (Helena Christensen) from ‘Sex and the City’ at a pub we entered, she was leaving and she offered us the table she just was sitting at! I couldn’t believe that she really is that skinny and pale. We just happened to ‘bump’ into her. What a thrill!
We had somewhat of a difficult time negotiating the streets, because there was this massive parade down 5th Avenue, it was Columbus Day. I had no idea New York loves to celebrate Columbus, but they do. But, what I really had no idea about was that I got to participate in the parade! My friend arranged for us to ride on the cars that had some official of the city in it. I’ve never been in a parade before, and let me tell you, it was so much fun. All I did was wave and all these people lining the streets wave back as if you’re someone important. It was so thrilling! What a unique surprise my friend had for me when I thought we were going to the Bronx zoo.
I think I’m going to have to come visit New York more often, and see what other surprises my friend will have for me.
Salt Lake City, Utah has a great number of impressive cultural attractions, landmarks and beautiful features. It is comfortably situated against the backdrop of fabulous mountain scenery. Audiences from all over the world were able to enjoy shots of the gorgeous geography in 2002 when Salt Lake hosted the Winter Olympics. That was an amazing year for this city and all of the hotels Salt Lake were filled to capacity during these historic competitions. The motto for these games was Light The Fire Within, which continues to serve as an appropriate saying for the city and residents of Salt Lake.
At the time of the 2002 Olympics, Salt Lake was the largest and most heavily populated area to host them. This record, however, was surpassed in 2006 when they took place in Turin. It will again be beat in 2010 when Vancouver will host these honored games. The winter Olympics are much different from those that occur in the summer and most of the observers have their favorite sport and competition for both. They also support and adore favorite athletes and Olympic champions frequently become national sports starts and heroes. Some of the most popular games associated with the Winter Olympics are figure skating, cross-country and Alpine skiing and bob sledding.
Figure skating has been part of the Olympic games since 1908 and has been an official part of the winter games since 1924. The number of entries for this event are fixed by a quota, which is set by the International Olympic Committee. The singles events for both male and female include 30 performers each and the doubles 24 couples and 20 in pairs. Bob sledding made its official debut in the 1924 Olympics with the four-man event. The two-main even was added eight years later and women’s bob sledding was not added until 2002. Each game series every participating country is allowed to enter two sleds in each race category. There are strict Olympic standards and guidelines regarding the size and weight of these sleds.
The Christmas decorations are stored away, and everyone has just about recovered from two months of holiday celebrations which lead up to the grand-daddy of parties, New Years Eve. Now cities throughout the country can go back to their traditional, their smaller celebrations, festivals and events. Baltimore luxury hotels throughout the city are gearing up for the arrival of tourists for such smaller but well known occasions that occur in their city during the month of January.
So if you happen to be traveling through Baltimore on business, or taking a post holiday vacation, these are some of the events that are taking place that you may find interesting. The tenth annual parade and celebration in honor of Martin Luther King takes place at noon on January 18. Then the next evening beginning at 6pm the doors of the Charles Theatre will open and allow the first six hundred people in for free. This is an annual free movie night presented by the City Paper.
Also on the night of January 19th, one of the rituals of winter in Baltimore is in honor of their favorite son, writer Edgar Allen Poe. This is the night when just previous to sunrise, a cloaked person visits the graveyard at Westminster Hall where Poe is buried, and drinks a toast. This person is in fact known as the “Poe Toaster” The figure has been seen, walking using a cane with a silver tip, and leaving three roses on Poe’s grave, along with the Cognac bottle missing the contents of just that single toast. This has been going on since 1949. While spectators do show up, no one has ever seen the face of toaster, however it is believed that the original poster died in 1999, and passed on this ritualistic responsibility to another disciple before they passed away. Along with the roses and the Cognac, sometimes the toaster leaves a note as well.
For a less spooky celebration, the days of January 21 through 24, the Annual Baltimore Boat show takes place. More than five hundred different motor boats, yachts and fishing boats will be on display. This happens every year at the Baltimore Convention Center. And then at the end of the month and flowing into a bit of February, the city celebrates the Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week. This is a great time to be in the city as most of the restaurants will offer package deals, allowing the opportunity to experience the culinary delights of the finest chefs at a price that is extremely affordable. As you see, even though the holidays are over for the year, there is still much fun and celebration to be found throughout the month of January in the delightful city of Baltimore.
I grew up on the East Coast and was lucky to go on several field trips to the Statue of Liberty when I was a little girl. But, now that I’m married and have two children, I haven’t made it a priority to take them to see the statue when we go back to visit family. It just didn’t seem like an interesting draw at the time and there was too much else to do. Then, when it was closed to the public after 9/11, the statue completely dropped off our radar.
Then, in July, it was announced that the Statue of Liberty was re-opening to the public, I decided that it was time to take my family to New York and let them experience the importance of the statue. It took some planning on my part, making reservations at a New York boutique hotel, and booking tickets. The only way to get to the statue is by ferry and that costs $12.00 for adults and $5.00 for children. The tickets will also let us visit Ellis Island and Liberty Island. It cost me an additional $3.00 to venture up the crown. This tickets are for specific dates and time; the children need to be 4 feet tall and must be able to walk up all the 354 steps and walk back down; there’s no elevator. They limit groups to 10 people at a time, which makes for 3 trips per hour and 240 people allowed each day, so booking this trip was the tricky part, but I managed it quite well.
We were one of the first people on the ferry the day of our outing. We had to wait about an hour before we got our turn to climb the stairs inside the statue. We took full advantage of using the free ranger guided tour, which we were glad we did, because this way we didn’t have to read all the panels with information, all we had to do was listen and climb. Before we started our climb, we had to check in and they provide lockers for us to stash all our belongings. Basically, we could only take a camera and a cell phone. No food or drinks, so I made sure my children were well hydrated before the climb.
My children, two girls, were so thrilled with the tour! Before we started the climb to the crown we visited the museum, another perk of the Crown tickets, which hosts full scale replicas of the Statue’s face and foot! Amazing site, the toe was bigger than my seven year old daughter! My entire family made it up to the crown without any problems and no complaints. The view from the crown is stunning.
When we got back to our hotel, my two girls told me that when they have children, they will arrange to take them to see the Statue of Liberty. I almost cried.
There’s not a lot that you can’t find in Singapore. That’s what happens when you’ve been a major world port for centuries, you get to know people. Singapore is extremely well-connected with the world at large, and at times the culture here is so far ahead of the rest of us that it seems to be the world at large. There is a splendid sense of multi-cultural dimensionality here, where the major influences, Chinese, Malay, and Indian, meld with other influences from Asia and the rest of the world. Pop culture is big here, of course, and in large part that’s due to the close ties to Japan, where most of the best of the world’s pop culture originates. There is also a spectacular taste for fine art, excellent design, and beautiful things in general.
When checking into your hotel in Singapore, most guests don’t think about learning belly dancing, but that might just be because they haven’t looked. There are many different studios where you can learn this old art form, and become part of what seems to be a craze here. But that may be an exaggeration, because it seems as though many things become crazes here, and that might actually just be a reflection of the amazing array of things you can find in this city state.
However, there’s no doubt that bellydance is here, and it’s likely been here for a very long time. Singapore is a place of many layers, and there’s always more than what meets the eye. It’s possible to explore every surface for years without knowing the existence of the one that lies just beneath it, and that’s one of the most exciting things about contemporary Singapore. In bellydance, the art form certainly originated in the Middle East, and has gone through multiple modifications since it first began. It’s impossible to know for sure exactly when, and exactly why, it began, but for participants as well as observers, it’s simply a good thing that it is here.
Spaetzle and beer are some of the treats that Bavaria has given to the world to enjoy. One of the best places to enjoy these treats is from an old village cafe, below the window, of one of the quaint hotels Augsburg Germany has available. This is a wonderful city to get a good dose of Bavarian style hospitality, food and ambiance. Augsburg is the third largest city in the Bavaria area of Germany. It is the second oldest city in all of Germany and it still has much of the charm that it had through its many years.
The restaurants in this city are still serving up the Bavarian Cuisine. Germans as a whole have a lot of pride in their communities and families and so they still love to cook up the foods that where created in this area. There are many different ways to make Schnitzel, Spaetzle and of course the wonderful sausages. Schnitzel is a dish made of fried meats like veal, pork or beef. Spaetzle is thick homemade noodles that are often topped with cheese and onions. Then of course there is the snack foods like soft pretzels.
All of these dishes are a perfect compliment to the wonderful wheat beer that this area is famous for. Lederhosen is what they were when they are serving up the weiss beer, like Franziskaner, at the Oktoberfest in Munich every year. It really is a must experience if you can make your plans to visit anytime between mid September and the first of October. The city is turned into a big carnival filled with vats of beer ready to be gulped. It has been going on for over hundred and seventy five years now and it is good people having some good fun. So hopefully you have a chance to stay in this area for a week or so there is much to food and beer enjoy as well as many nice people to meet.
Many people are becoming more aware of just how their actions affect the environment. Through bringing their own grocery bags to the market, to recycling, to purchasing electric cars, people are taking care with the choices that they are making. One way people are choosing to do this in their own home is in regards to their fireplaces. Gas burns more efficiently and cleaner than wood. Now wood burning fire places must meet EPA standards, but even as recent as a few years ago, the wood burning models were not very efficient.
The home may be filled with a haze of smoke, that irritated the eyes and the lungs, but through the years many elements of design have changed. So while all wood burning stoves and fireplaces must be certified, many still are going for the convenience of the gas fireplace. There are two options, the blue flame and the yellow flames. The blue flames do not even need a vent system. This is an attractive option for those living in small places or without the means to install a vent system. The logs are less realistic to the yellow flamed fireplaces, but the convenience may make this a more viable option for some.
The yellow flamed fireplaces will need a vent system which includes a chimney, which will need a good sweep once a year, just as you would with a wood burning fireplace, but the fire and the logs are more realistic. Except for the wood smell, you really can not see any visual difference between them and the real wood burning fire. Gas inserts will take care of pre-existing wood fireplaces. They are easily installed and will result in a warmer heat. Some of the inserts can be installed in many different places, even if you do not have an existing structure, giving you the option for a gas fireplace in the bathroom, the kitchen or the bedroom. The ambiance a fire gives, makes the decision to install one of these models, an easy one to make.
It is always a pleasure to find something new in Singapore, and this eclectic and lively city is always moving and changing, so there’s always something new. It’s one of the most exciting parts of visiting Singapore. It’s almost as if this unusual city state were a measure of contemporary life, because it seems to run a bit ahead of the pace of the rest of the world. There are many fascinating things here, and one of the most fascinating things is that if you return a month later, there’s even more than before. There is a very lively local cultural scene, and there are also plenty of international entertainments always coming through. It’s also a wonderful place to explore restaurants. Singapore won’t disappoint, and even the most world wise traveler will love the tastes here.
Outside the restaurants, there is a terrific scene, or series of scenes, and it’s pretty fascinating to try to find your way around. If you’re looking for shiny attractions that will appeal to a broad cross-section of people, there’s plenty to see and do. If you’re interested in local or international art, there’s also a very lively scene happening here. If you’re looking for goths, or punks, or tattoo culture, there’s that, too. There may not be as much punk as you’d expect from a thriving urban culture, and there’s reasons it’s hard to find here, but with folk celebrities as outspoken as Chris Ho, there are signs that point the way to something pretty interesting.
He works as a dj, and can often be seen spinning under his name, and he also has a very interesting following under his other moniker X’Ho. He makes records, and he rants a lot, and his rants, like some of his heros such as Jello Biafra, are very clever. This is classic punk sensibility, where there is a message, and there is an intelligence to the whole design. For those who don’t usually like the products of the subculture, this won’t be your favorite personality in Singapore, but it’s hard not to be very glad that he has the courage to exist, and the sense of humor to pull it all off.
There are many things that are exactly right about Singapore. It’s a fantastically cosmopolitan city state that has most everything anyone could ever want. If you’ve come looking for a great seafood restaurant, then you’ve certainly come to the right place. Singapore has a lovely and wonderful array of great restaurants that serve up some of the best and most tasty recipes in the region. Some of the most innovative chefs in the world are here, playing with notions of tradition and ingenuity, to constantly reinvent tastes as well as rejuvenate classical favorites. It’s a great place for chefs, because the supply of seafood is fresh and plentiful, and there are so many other ingredients that are available here because of its unique place in the world.
Singapore culture, generally speaking, is very interesting, and constantly in flux. The unique history of the place means that there are multiple cultures conversing with each other regularly here, and it has a lot to offer the rest of the world, too. A great case in point is the Nanyang Art and Food Festival. This is held in Xiamen, China, and offers the culinary and cultural offerings of Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand, and centers all of their best dishes and works of art in one place.
This took place at the Xiamen Culture and Art Center, and was conceived of as a way of fostering understanding between the nations through some rather delicious methods. Here, you can see the splendid works of creative inspiration from Singapore artists as well as other cultures, and also sample the fine cuisines. You can be sure that some of the best seafood offerings were on display here, giving even more proof of Singapore’s excellent reputation in world food culture.
