The Badlands (0)
Posted 26 February, 2008 in USA travel
If you’re a geologist, a naturalist, or just someone that’s interested in a place a bit off the beaten track, then The Badlands, South Dakota is the place for you.
A mixture of spires, valleys, buttes and sharply eroded sandstone, this mixed prairie grass preserve is a great place to go whether you’re a fossil hunter, or just interested in natural beauty.
Badlands National park is a gorgeous place - with unique and unusual sandstone rock that layers in ways that has to be seen to be believed. The spires, and erosions formed over several thousand millenia make for a unique skyline. Vegetation and fauna sprinkle crevices and valleys, making for interesting walks, and of course, the badlands are home to all kinds of wild animals, from Bison that graze by the side of the road as you’re driving through, to Prairie dogs, Elk, Coyotes, and wild Horses.
City of the Arts (0)
Posted 19 February, 2008 in Canadian Travel
Toronto, capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario, is an art enthusiast’s dream. The city, the fifth largest in North America, is home to several major galleries and museums.
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is the largest in Canada with more than 40 galleries. The museum displays both art works and natural history items and has the largest collection of avian and mammalian skeletons in the world. The museum’s Far East Collection, the largest collection of far eastern artifacts outside of China, is anchored by the Ming Tomb, a complete seventeenth century warriors tomb and the only complete Chinese tomb in the West.
The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art was, at one time affiliated with the Royal Ontario Museum. This specialized museum is home to more than 2,000 pieces of ceramic art. Their collection features everything from pre-Columbian pottery to classic European porcelains of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Art Gallery of Toronto has strong collections of European and Canadian art. One of the main attractions of the Gallery is its collection of Henry Moore sculptures, one of the largest in the world. Henry Moore personally designed the exhibit space for this collection in 1974.
For more than thirty years the Textile Museum of Canada has celebrated international fiber art. Their permanent collection contains more than 12,000 textiles, from pieces as much as 2000 years old to modern designs, with samples from more than 200 regions of the world.
The Bata Shoe Museum is housed in a whimsical, shoebox-shaped building designed by architect Raymond Moriyama. The museum is home to a 4,500-piece, semi-permanent “History of Shoes” exhibit that highlights examples of footwear spanning time and the globe, from ancient Egyptian sandals to the sleekly sexy stilettos of 1990s. The Bata also has three additional galleries that display special exhibits throughout the year.
Bents Old Fort, Colorado (0)
Posted 12 February, 2008 in USA travel
Bents Old Fort is a reconstruction of a 1840s trading post. Now under the watchful eye of the National Parks Service, the original adobe fort was one of the few white settlements on the Sante Fe trail west of Missouri.
Although the Fort may not be worth a detour to many people, if you are in the area, and have any interest in 19th century US frontier history, Bents Old Fort not only shows the physical layout of how such an establishment was run, but also gives a good indication of the kind of natural elements the people who managed and traded at the fort lived with. With summer temperatures that can go above 100 F, and winter ones that can drop to 0 F during the day, the very brief quarter of a mile walk down the path from the arrivals area, to the fort gates, is a good indicator of how tough people had to be to cope with weather extremes.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (0)
Posted 5 February, 2008 in Canadian Travel
The bright red uniform jacket and broad-brimmed hat of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are a symbol of Canada recognized all over the world. The well-known red serge coat, black riding pants with their yellow stripe, and red-banded Stetson are not part of the regular daily uniform for these police officers. The red, white, and black dress uniform is, generally, only worn for civic ceremonies, public relations events, celebrations and memorials.
The RCMP is a singular organization, since it is simultaneously a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body. They provide total federal policing service to all Canadians. They are also under contract to provide policing services to eight provinces (all except Quebec and Ontario), the 3 Canadian territories, more than 200 municipal areas, 165 First Peoples communities, plus 3 international airports and several smaller airports.
Piercing Interest (0)
Posted 29 January, 2008 in Canadian Travel
Gasp Peninsula in Quebec, Canada is aptly named. Its name derives from the Mi’kmaq Indian word gespeg, meaning ‘end of land’. It is the end of an eastern Canadian peninsula, and, more interestingly, just off the coast lies Perc Rock, the far northern end of the Appalachian mountains.
Perc Rock is one of nature’s true wonders, and one of the most photographed places in Quebec, possibly in all of Canada. The 375 million year-old rock is an enormous limestone slab, 295 feet (90 m) wide, 279 feet (85 m) high at its highest point, and an awe-inspiring 1476 feet (450 m) long. The rock’s name comes from the French word perc, “pierce”, so-called for the large opening that pierces the slab near the seaward end.
Let you in on a secret… (0)
Posted 22 January, 2008 in Accomodation
With a hectic schedule, most people are not able to plan for their vacation much earlier. We know that getting booked days or even weeks ahead is the best chance to avail the lowest rates whether it is for airfare or hotel accommodations. If you are planning to go to a place like Australia even on the last minute, you can now get last minute travel deals from different airlines and hotels in a particular vacation spot… I’ll let you in on the lastminute.com.au secret!
Going on a vacation does not need to be very expensive to experience the best a place can offer. First thing you need to do is get cheap plane tickets from a reliable place on the internet. Of course, when you talk about traveling you should have a place to stay. The best place for last minute travel packages is lastminute.com.au.
In lastminute.com.au, you will never waste your time jumping from a travel site to another. All your travel needs are catered on this website. You can get flight tickets and choose from different famous hotels like Burleigh Heads Hotels, Byron Bay Hotels, and Coolangatta Hotels or Manly Hotels. These are just some of the best accommodations you can get from the website at its cheapest booking rates.
The Napa Valley, California (0)
Posted 22 January, 2008 in USA travel
California is usually synonymous with beautiful beaches, beautiful people and the glitter and glitz surrounding the movie world, but there’s another side to this beautiful state, a gentler more natural side. The Napa Valley is within easy driving distance of San Francisco and offers a tranquil alternative to the bustle of the city.
One of the fun things to do in the Napa Valley is to take a ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train. As one of the top train rides in the world, you’ll enjoy a relaxing journey in lovingly restored carriages all dated pre-1950. Whether you enjoy a romantic evening meal in the dining car as you travel through the valley’s beautiful countryside, or you take the daily tour that allows a stop at two of the local vineyards, this is a local attraction that shouldn’t be missed.
Olympic Fans (0)
Posted 21 January, 2008 in Canadian Travel
International sports enthusiasts can visit the history of the Olympic Games in Canada, and get a glimpse of the future.
Canada hosted its first Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec in 1976.
The Olympic Stadium in Montreal features the world’s tallest inclined towers - it is 574 feet (175 m) high. The vision of the architect who planned the stadium was nearly impossible to achieve, however. The stadium’s retractable roof was not completed until 1987, more than 10 years after the event for which it was designed.
Romantic Italy! (0)
Posted 17 January, 2008 in Europe Travel
Have you ever thought about visiting Italy? There is something unique and different about a visit to Italy - this is a country that will catch the poorest of imaginations and leave you with the most vivid memories. It’s not hard to have a romantic time in Italy, the countryside lends itself to romance!
Rome (or Roma in Italian) is heart of the country, and is the capital, both of the Italy we know and love today and of the ancient Roman Empire; it is also the home of the Vatican, the center point of the Roman catholic Church. Rome inspires with its mix of history and current fashion Chic, making it a fascinating holiday destination for the fashion slave and history buff alike!
Rome has two airports: Fiumicino (FCO - Leonardo Da Vinci) and Ciampino (CIA) . You can find accomodation on the Hotels Italiano website, especially good if you are looking for lodging in the following places: Roma Hotel ; Firenze Hotel ; Milano Hotel or Venezia Hotel.
Drumheller (0)
Posted 17 January, 2008 in Canadian Travel
Drumheller, Alberta, in the heart of Canada’s prairies, proclaims itself “The Dinosaur Capital of North America”, and has the fossils to back it up.
Just northwest of Drumheller is the Dinosaur Trail, a 32-mile (50km) circular drive along Highway 838 that will lead visitors to, among other things, the Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology, and the World’s Largest Dinosaur.
The Royal Tyrell Museum has a wide array of exhibits. The Hexen Science Hall features an interactive display to demonstrate basic scientific concepts. In the Preparation Lab, visitors can watch scientists prepare fossils for study or display. The Burgess Shale and Devonian Reef exhibits offer a look at life under the waters of Canada’s prehistoric oceans. In the Cretaceous Garden, Museum guests can walk through living history, a garden filled with the same plants the dinosaurs ate.
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