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Best Things to Do in Rome

Best Destinations - Amanda - November 19, 2013

If you had a week it probably will not be enough time to soak in all that Rome has to offer. This is a city that was the centre of the European World two thousand years ago and still has as much of that allure as it did then today. They say “See Rome and Die” and with the number of spectacles the city has to offer there is some real truth to that. With so many things to do in the city some guidance most certainly can be helpful to direct you in the right direction. Some of the best things to do in Rome include.

trevi_fountain

Trevi Fountain
Piazza di Trevi | Rome
Built in the mid 18th century the Trevi Fountain is a great example of baroque design mixed with ancient Roman Mythology. The scene portrayed involves Neptune emerging from his pool flanked by his trusty Tritons. Roman folk lore says that if you toss one, two, or three coins with your right hand over your left shoulder different good lucks will be bestowed upon you. One coin means you will return to Rome, while two coins means you will fall in love with an attractive Roman, while three coins means you will marry that same Roman. Many feel Trevi Fountain is best seen at night when it lights illuminate the fountain and give it a luminous appearance. Trevi fountain is located near a high concentration of shopping, nightlife, and hotels so is quite easy to find.

Church of San Luigi dei Francesi
Via Santa Giovanna d’Arco 5
A great free attraction to visit in Rome is the San Luigi dei Francesi which features some great works by the Baroque artists Caravaggio. The three works Matthew and the Angel, Matthew’s Martyrdom, theCalling of St. Matthew attraction legions of art lovers each year to enjoy their great opulence. The church closes each day at lunch time and can be found in the Navona neighborhood near the Barberini metro stop.

Trastevere
Trastevere | Rome
If you want to get a sense of what Rome is like, beyond all the attractions and tourists, then head to the Trastevere section of town located just to the south of Vatican City. Trastevere has dozens of restaurants visited by real Romans and affordable shops as well as a great café culture. Walking over the Ponte Sisto leads to a truly stunning view over St Peter’s Basilica to the north and the Gianicolo Hills to the west.

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Touring Around Detroit

Stories and Travel Info, World Travel - Amanda - November 12, 2013

Some say that Detroit has gone on to hard times after recently declaring civil bankruptcy. Though this cannot rightfully be denied, it cannot be denied either that the home of Motown and the heart of automotive industry in the US still has things to offer to visitors. Becoming more and more a haven for artists there is a great art scene developing in the lower rent studios and art spaces around the city. A few different things to do in Detroit include.

Detroit-Institute-of-Arts

Detroit Institute of the Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Dating back to 1885 the Detroit Institute of Arts is a massive complex that includes 100 galleries, an 1,150 seat auditorium and a 380 seat lecture hall. With an extensive and well praised permanent collection that includes works such as Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait” and Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry.” The institute also regularly uses its auditorium to host different Friday night concerts as well as once a month brunches with Bach! Visitors to the institute compare it favorably with art galleries around Europe and the US in far larger cities. What is highly lauded is ipads being given to patrons so they can use them to learn more about the art they are viewing. The museum is closed on Monday and Tuesdays and is open from 10 am to 5 pm the remaining days. Admission costs $8 dollars for adults.

Motown Historical Museum
2648 West Grand Boulevard
From 1959 to 1972 Detroit’s Motown record label was a virtual hit making machine. With recording artists under their label such as the Supremes, the Temptations and the Jackson Five Motown helped create an entire genre of music that permanently changed the American music landscape. Now the Motown studios have been altered into a museum to commemorate this trend setting label. The original interior has been kept the same and tour guides can now walk people through Motown delivering tales of the studio in its hay day and the different stars that walked its halls. Perhaps, though the greatest moment to be enjoyed is actually walking into the recording studios where so much hit music was created. The Motown museum can be found on West Grand Boulevard in the Boston Edison Historic District, it is open from 10 am to 6 pm and admission costs around $10 dollars. The museum is closed on Mondays.

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More Reasons to Visit London

Getting Lost, Stories and Travel Info - Amanda - November 5, 2013

Home of the Summer Olympics of 2012, a thousand and one pubs, the Queen’s residence… this is London, England one of the world’s preeminent destinations. Reasons to come here are vast and personal to each person, but in a celebration of this city’s never ending energy and cosmopolitan vibe we will celebrate a few of them here. Still more reasons to visit London include.

West-End-London-England

Speaker’s Corner
Every Sunday Hyde Park in London hosts a weekly event called Speaker’s Corner. As the title alludes to Speaker’s corner is a chance for each and every person to speak their mind. A vastly entertaining event varied people – some well educated, some not – stand on milk crates speaking on topics dear to them which often connect to religion and politics. The joy of this event is learning about varied topics and doing some people watching while listening to the crack pots rant. What gives the event additional colour is that the talks are two sided as people from the crowd also involve themselves shouting things out. A trip to London will not glimmer quite as much as it can without a trip to speaker’s corner.

Camden Town
Bohemian London starts and ends in Camden Town. Filled with various markets and shops people descend to this part of the city to purchase funky clothes: goth, mod, eletroinca, rocker, jewelry, crafts, music, books and anything else the mind can think of. Camden has long been a location where many of London’s most up and coming bands play. There is also a great theatre and art scene here too.

West End Theatres
A trip to London needs time spent in the city’s second to none theatre district. From the classics – like Shakespeare and Dickens, to the avant garde – like Samuel Beckett – any variety of theatre is performed here. People often look to the cheaper ticket wholesalers around Leister Square to secure themselves cheaper tickets to the show.  Seeing performances in, the world famous, west end theatre district is definitely one of the main reasons for visiting London.

Pub Life
People come to London to sit in a pub and watch the evening go by. There is no place that celebrates the pub to the same extent and enjoys so feverishly a good old drink after work on the week day than the pubs across England and in London. People come to the pubs to watch sports and spend their leisure time. More so than anywhere else the pub is a respected place to gather and not seen as a den of vice. When you come to London you have to get down to the good old pub too, and have a pint of the famous – if not tasty – English bitters.

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Reason’s why London is one of the Best City’s in the World!

Stories and Travel Info - Amanda - October 19, 2013

Visitors to London, England are sure to find something they like in this a cosmopolitan wonder land that mixes modern diversion with a full array of historical sites. Now the reasons for visiting the city are many, and in some ways are created by each individual who comes here, but this article endeavors to let out a few reasons we think you should visit London. Beyond the bevy of pubs and monuments there is a pathos in London that few, if any place, can match. Some of the reasons to visit London include:

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The Greasy Spoons
Okay, so we know that the world has gotten a lot healthier over the last decade. Burgers and fries are frowned upon while salads and organic vegetables are all the rage. All the latter can be found in London, but thank fully also can the former. There are plenty of great places to sit down and get a high calorie, greasy breakfast or lunch. What makes matters better is that the Brits don’t bother with feeling bad for eating this way, it’s just the way it has always been.

Fashion
London Town is full of edgy fashion. There is the traditional high street designer wears in places like Chelsea and Kensington High Street as well as a range of even more trendy, and thankfully cheaper options, in the North and East ends of the city. In the north, the bohemian fun of Camden Market is full of edgy clothes and printed T-shirts. While Bricklane in the easts upmarket inside of the old Truman Brewery is filled with young designers peddling their vintage wears and jewelry.

The Taxi’s
London Black cabs are a well known tradition in the nation’s capital. Having maintained a similar look for decades, it’s a full blown tourist spectacle to take a ride in one of them… just don’t go to far as taxies in London cost an arm and a leg.

Great Coffee
London is one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities! There are more than 400, 000 French men and scores more from around the globe. What this means is that you are assured to get a great cup of coffee… not some spewing blackness that you would get other places. Whatever you favourite way to have a cup of coffee there are scores of Italian, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Antipodean or French cafes to make it for you.

The Pub
No where in the world is the pub as adored as in London. Long the working man’s living room, people in London regularly enjoy a little bit of libation after work. Why not take some memorable London tours to find your favourite spot in the city – be it Camden, Soho, Covenant Garden… – and go into a good old boozer while you’re there, to enjoy some London ambiance as it was intended, down in the pub.

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Cusco the Gem of Peru

Best Destinations, World Travel - Amanda - October 10, 2013

Truly one of the most stunning cities of Peru, and South America for that matter, is Cusco. Filled with a variety of ancient temple, monuments and plazas on its own Cusco is a place that definitely must be visited. Combine all of this with Cuzco’s proximity to Manchu Picchu – the famous Inca capital – and you have a very special vacationing location indeed. Though most visitors focus on seeing Manchu Picchu it is a mistake not to enjoy the sights and sounds of Cusco as well! A few of the best things to do in Cusco include.

machu_picchu

Plaza de Armas
Portal de Comercio, Historic Center
Plaza de Armas’ long history stretches back to the time of the Inca Empire. The Inca’s originally built this square – which had been twice its present size – for ceremonies and festivals. The Inca’s considered the plaza to be the exact centre of their empire. Within this very same square the Spanish conquistadors constructed both La Compañia and the Cathedral which both were built in the location of the former Inca Palace. In contemporary times visitors to the city enjoy the combination of both Spanish and Andean history as well as the overall buzz and energy that is in the plaza. Plaza de Armas is located in Cusco’s historic centre and is easy to locate.

Machu Picchu
Remarkable Manch Picchu was not discovered by the Spanish for hundreds of years during their South American conquest. The aptly named “lost city of the Incas” is a matrix of temples, aqueducts, and gardens that were hidden away in the mountains and hills of the Peruvian country side. A few of the most beloved locations within Manchu Picchu include Funeral Rock, the House of the Terrace Caretaker, the Temple of the Sun – which has a wealth of fantastic Incan masonry and architecture, the Temple of the Three Windows, which offers fantastic views over Machu Picchu from its trapezoidal lookouts. Last but not least visit the iconic Temple of the Condor, which was the ancient symbol of the Incans of the heavens. There are two ways to get to Manchu Picchu, either you can take the 24 mile trek along the Incan trail or take a Peru Rail train closer to the site. Trains depart every 15 minutes from downtown Cusco. Visitors must pick up a ticket from the Instituto Nacional de Cultural office in Cusco or Aguas Calientes for around $42 US dollars. Visitors are welcomes to Manchu Picchu from 6 am until 5 pm.

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