Tofino, BC Canada: Beach Paradise on Canada’s “Big Island”
February 13, 2008
Tofino, BC Canada: Beach Paradise on Canada’s “Big Island”
by: Hector Fuente
British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing tourism hotspots in North America. The reason, like so many other tourism Meccas, is landscape. In BC you will find high desert, mountains, long sandy beaches, lush rainforest, vast glaciers and everything in-between.
You’ve likely heard of BC, but there’s a good chance that you haven’t heard about the province’s fastest growing tourism destination: Tofino (tofino-longbeach.com). Located on the west coast of “Canada’s Big Island”, Tofino is home to long sandy beaches, world-class hotels, restaurants, and some pretty good surfing too.
Tofino gained fame in the early 90’s when logging in the region’s old-growth forests turned many of the locals into action-taking environmentalists. The logging continued and the locals grew more and more upset, and before anyone knew what happened, the Clayoquot Sound Blockade was the largest non-violent act of civil disobedience in Canadian history.
All of this media attention brought visitors to Tofino - lots of visitors. Today more than 1 million tourists pass through Tofino in a year. All of these people are crammed into a town with a year-round population of about 1700.
Valencia And Wine
February 12, 2008
Valencia And Wine
by: Peter Vermeeren
Valencia is famous for its wine production; many of its wines are exported overseas for use in restaurants, or for personal use. Valencia’s weather climate and soil consistencies form the perfect conditions for wine production.
Wine is a delicacy to be served with meals and on special occasions. Valencia is well known for its fiestas and celebrations throughout the year, so wine is often a part Valencia’s lifestyle.
Knowing which type of wine to select with your meal, or to give as a present is important, as you will want to compliment your dinner with the right wine, or surprise your guest with a wine that suits their tastes.
Essentially, there are types of wine and all of some of these are more suitable to certain types of foods than others. White wines usually go well with white meat dishes, such as fish and chicken, while red wines traditionally go with red meat and pasta dishes.
Generally, there are sweet and dry wines, which can be found in both white and red wine varieties. If you are looking for a sweet white wine you might choose a Riesling. Leaving the grapes on the grape vines for a longer period of time makes sweet wines.
Travel Phobia and Fear Of Driving
February 11, 2008
Travel Phobia and Fear Of Driving
by: Steve Hill
Travel phobia is a particular form of anxiety that may occur after a person has been involved in some kind of accident, maybe a road or rail crash. They may have escaped physically unscathed from the incident, however they might well have perceived it as a potential threat to their well being, physical health or indeed life.
Anyone suffering from travel phobia is likely to avoid travelling as much as is possible. If forced to travel by car, they are likely to prefer to be in control of the car, rather than be a passenger. During the journey they will be perpetually alert, scanning the road for potential accident causing situations. By the time they arrive at their destination, they are often irritable, tense and exhausted. This only serves to reinforce the phobic response.
Some individuals will refuse to even travel by car, bus or rail despite the drastic upheaval this will cause in their day-to-day lives. This avoidance is one of the reasons phobias are maintained as the sufferer is not exposed to the situations they fear and therefore cannot come to terms with their phobia.
A Cornish Walk - Pentire Point and Rumps Point
February 10, 2008
A Cornish Walk - Pentire Point and Rumps Point
by: Michael Hanna
There’s nothing that quite compares to a bracing winter walk. During summer, the sea might be more enticing, you can stop off for numerous ice creams en route and meander in shorts and t-shirt as the sun warms your skin; but at the same time, it’s hot, clammy, you’re often jostling for position on the busy coast path, and parking at the start of the route can be somewhat problematic. No such problem today. We snare one of many available free seaside spaces in New Polzeath, and our spot provides a great vantage point for reading a newspaper and watching the surfers in the water, before heading a couple of steps away to the Doom Bar of the Atlantic Hotel for a pre-walk coffee.
Cornwall has a fantastic selection of walks which make the perfect setting for a winter getaway. Why not stay for the weekend and relax in one of Cornwall’s holiday cottages (www.cornwalltoday.co.uk/Accommodation/CottageInCornwall.aspx) prior to your walk, and wrap up warm before you head out into the cold.
Cyprus - Discover The Amazing Holiday Island In The Mediterranean
February 9, 2008
Cyprus - Discover The Amazing Holiday Island In The Mediterranean
by: Mark Minding
Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, 113 km south of Turkey and 120 km west of the Syrian coast. The metal “copper” in English stems from the Latin work Cyprus. Large deposits of copper are found on the island. Geographically, Cyprus is in Western Asia.
Historically, Cyprus has been a bridgehead between Europe and Asia. It has interchanging periods of Levantine, Anatolian and Greek influences.
It was in 1960 that Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom. Still, U.K., Greece and Turkey retained limited rights to intervene in Cyprus’ internal affairs.
The Republic of Cyprus is the government of the island which is internationally recognized and controls the southern two-thirds of the island. Almost all foreign governments recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over all of Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriots, together with Turkey, oppose the Republic’s rule over Cyprus and call it the “Greek Authority of Southern Cyprus”. They control the northern part of the island followed by a military invasion by Turkey in the year 1974.
Mastering The Masters
February 9, 2008
Mastering The Masters
by: Donna Garcia
Master’s Passes
Each April, the world’s best come together to tee off for their place in history, at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA. After a chilly winter break, the Master’s kicks off the beginning of a new season for professional golfers. With Dogwoods and Magnolias in full bloom, perfectly manicured greens lined with tall stately Georgia Pines provide the picturesque backdrop for the greatest and most prestigious event in golf.
Winning the Masters will change a golfer’s life forever. Many of the greats have shined here including Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods. And some have unexplainably gone and never experienced victory - most notably Greg Norman, who has played in five Master’s tournaments and never won.
But as beautiful as the Augusta National Golf Club is, most of us just dream of the chance to play the course or even be a spectator. Tickets are sold out months in advance and “waiting lists” are rumored to be in excess of ten years. So how do you get your ticket to the greatest tradition in golf? Here are some tips on how to get there and some “dos” and “don’ts” from people who know.
Tips for aving Money on Food At Walt Disney World. Orlando
February 8, 2008
Tips for aving Money on Food At Walt Disney World. Orlando
by: Jane Williams
Food at Walt Disney World can be outrageously expensive and, in some cases, of poor quality. It can make a very large dent in your vacation budget if you don’t plan ahead.
Picnics are not really the solution. You are not allowed to bring your own food into the theme parks.(the exception being the two water parks where you can and should take a picnic with you) People do seem take food into the parks, and I have never seen anyone challenged. I guess the watchword here is “be discrete”If you arrive at the gates with a large cooler and
picnic hamper you are inviting the Disney people to take action.
1. Get a good breakfast “Off -World”
Fantastic breakfast deals abound on Hwy 192. Deny’s and International house of Pancakes have a number of locations serving really good breakfasts. Some smaller restaurants and big chains like Sizzlers serve a breakfast buffet where you can really stuff yourself for a few dollars. My personal favorite is Cracker Barrel who dish up traditional Southern cooking. A good breakfast will set you up for a hard day at the parks and prevent mid morning hunger pangs.
80/20 Guide to Chinese Pronunciation — Part 1
February 7, 2008
80/20 Guide to Chinese Pronunciation — Part 1
by: Kah Joon Liow
“Just give me the basics!”
That’s what this Chinese pronunciation guide is all about.
It’s all that you need to know Chinese pronunciation to get by.
The 80% that’s important.
To speak Mandarin, the first thing to learn is Chinese pronunciation of words using the system known as pinyin.
Pinyin is the Romanized Chinese phonetic system and is the most effective aid to learning Mandarin today.
(Romanized means using English alphabets.)
Pinyin was invented in the 1950’s so that anyone, especially English speaking people, could learn Chinese pronunciation easily.
Most of the letters in pinyin have the same sounds as letters of the alphabet - with only a few exceptions.
It’s really a very practical pronunciation system.
Can you imagine an English speaker trying to pronounce Chinese characters without pinyin?
(By the way, pinyin is less complicated that the other forms of Romanization for Chinese pronunciation, Wade-Giles and Yale.)
First, “The Four Tones”
Chinese is a tonal language.
Each Chinese character is a syllable with a fixed tone.
The Beaches of Portugal
February 6, 2008
The Beaches of Portugal
by: Diane McCalley
I admit it - I’m a beach freak. I love traveling to beaches all over the world because, to me, every beach has its own personality, yet, all have that same quality I love - the ability to instill instant calm. That’s right, even those rocky, craggy beaches with the hard waves crashing on the rocks can instill instant calm.
Someone asked me the other day if I had to choose just one beach to visit, which one would it be? The Algarve in Portugal popped into my head. Okay, it’s not one beach, it’s an area (the southern most part of Portugal to be exact), but The Algarve is so diverse, it truly offers whatever beach is going to fit my mood.
First, a little geography. Heading west, the western tip of The Algarve is the end of continental Europe. In fact, in ancient times the area was felt to be the edge of the world. So, when you’re soaking up the sun on the beaches of The Algarve, it’s fun to just imagine yourself at the edge of the world.
The Great Smoky Mountains - America’s Treasure
February 5, 2008
The Great Smoky Mountains - America’s Treasure
by: Shari Hearn
Okay, everyone who’s visited the Great Smoky Mountains in the past year raise your hand. That’s right, all 9,000,000 of you! And, if you’re not one of the 9,000,000 who visited within the past year, you owe it to yourself to visit this year.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, part of the Appalachian
Mountains, is located along the border between Tennessee and North
Carolina, and covers 521,621.15 acres of land (both Federal and non-Federal lands).
Open all year round, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers an incredible range of activities for visitors. Besides touring the area by car, you can take your pick of fishing, camping, hiking (over 800 miles of trails), horseback riding and nature viewing.
Five forest types dominate the Great Smoky Mountains, consisting of more than 130 species of trees, including red spruce, Frasier fir, yellow birch and mountain-ash. 4,000 other plant species live in the park. You’ll find wildflowers, mountain laurel, flame azalea and rhododendron, so be sure you take your camera everywhere.
