Chocolate Rave

If you’ve checked into one of the top Melbourne hotels, then why not also check out some of the top destinations for travelers to this 172 year-old city?  According to surveys, Federation Square is that spot.  In a list of twenty tourist spots, the square was first on the list, while, a bit surprisingly, the Melbourne Cricket Ground was last.  The survey asked several hundred tourists where they had been in their visit to the Australian state of Victoria.  Many millions of tourists a year visit the square.

Federation Square, more casually known as Fed Square is made up of a series of building intended for the arts and dining.  You’ll find here a museum, cinemas, art galleries, a public broadcaster, restaurants, bars, exhibition spaces and shops.  One space is covered and known as the Atrium.  The other is open, comprised of St. Paul’s Court and the Square.  Most of the precinct was built atop a deck of concrete over busy railway lines from 2002 to 2004.  In 2006, there was a major addition to the Fed Square: The Federation Wharf.

From the Wharf, you may book Yarra River cruises, exploring Melbourne along the river.  At least three different cruise operators use the Federation Wharf as their homeport.  The cruises will take visitors through Melbourne’s parks, gardens, docklands, and ports. Many of the cruises also specialize in corporate functions, weddings and engagements, birthdays, even the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, and Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties.

Other sites on the list included Queen Victoria Market, Crown Casino, Southbank, Great Ocean Road, Yarra Valley, Melbourne Zoo/Healseville Sanctuary, Melbourne Aquarium, Philip Island Penguin Parade, Soverign Hill, Dandenong Ranges/Puffing Billy, Docklands, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Observation Deck, Grampians, The Arts Centre, Mornington Peninsula, and The Snowfields.

Sydney is an extraordinary place to visit, with a spectacular city that offers something to do nearly every hour of the day.  And it’s so cool, too, where the events can be anything like the usual attractions, which can have a high appeal to the younger visitors, to the best in local underground music.  Sydney has had a marvelous history for contributing to world culture, and also witnessing some of the most exciting events in art and music in the past couple of decades.  It’s also perfectly located for the food lover, with access to fresh seafood, fresh beef, and fresh fruits and vegetables.  This all contributes to some of the finest dining in the world.

There are also a host of cultures that live here, and each contribute to its artistic and culinary identity.  For top restaurants, Sydney has plenty to offer even the most discerning traveler, and it can certainly be rewarding to be discerning when the stakes are this high.  They’re awfully high in the alternative art scene, too.  And some spectacular things have been happening here lately.  In April, 2009, a new space opened, the Red Rattler.  This is an official space in a warehouse that has non-profit status, which means that it can’t be shut down for not being official enough.

And the sensibility here is absolutely fantastic, and just what Sydney needs right now.  This is a space for alternative performance and culture, here for the community, and run by an unpaid staff of artists who are doing this because they care about the culture here.  It’s a great place for Rrriot, glam, goth, and everything in between to see and make new work in a space that’s open philosophically as well as physically.  There are many times in Sydney’s history when the culture at large took a turn, and was willing to take it, because of the kinds of daring like this, and it’s worth supporting and investigating, and word on the street has it that there’s a great New Year’s Eve party here, too.

The city of Baltimore sits next to the Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay. The water has been the refuge for local residents and tourists alike. This is a hard working city, of shipbuilders, business people, chefs and plumbers. In Baltimore everyone takes to the bay for rest and relaxation, either on fishing boats or kayaks or cruise ships, the water is way to enjoy this city. The Getaway Sailing Company offers classes for those who wish to learn how to sail, for all ages. This is a great way to not only have some fun, but to get a bit of the same experience those who have been sailing these waters for hundreds of years. The rich maritime history includes the building of ships during wartime, to the trade and import/export industry, to the fishing industry.

The instructors at Getaway love the water and it shows. They offer classes to beginners as well as those with a little more experience on sailing ships and they have been offering these opportunities for more than thirty years. All of the classes are small, and they own all of the boats that they use for the training sessions. They organize a Friday night social sail, as well as international adventures. Anyone taking courses at the school receive full access to the membership of the sailing club. The calm waters of the Bay are perfect for learning, and the sails are peaceful journeys along the Patapsco River, drifting past the historic Fort McHenry,  and on into the Chesapeake Bay.

This is also a great place for children to learn about and to experience the joys of sailing.   Each summer, five day excursions are offered for children, where they sail, and eat, and sleep aboard their boat.  The first day they stay in port learning about the Sonar 23 racing boat.  Then they head out onto the water to learn about the ways in which sailors navigate, stopping at various locations along the bay.  This is a great way for kids to have fun, to learn and to see the immediate results of that learning, by sailing their own boats and living like the seaman of history.  Sailing along the waters is great for all ages, and should really be experienced during any vacation spent in the city.

Cape Town is amazing! It’s simply awesome and so different than Durban. It’s very trendy and everything feels so chilled, so cool. The pizza isn’t bad either. We got up the courage to acquire a car hire in South Africa, because we were tired of the expense of taking a taxi everywhere. Our first road trip was to Camps Bay, which is a stunning beach surrounded by mountains. When we got there, it was very windy, but we didn’t care, because the views were captivating, the sun was warm and our beers were cold.

We stayed at a backpackers hostel, which was very small, but the atmosphere was very alive. The staff was cool and there were some very cool guys as well. The next day, we joined up with two of those cool guys and we all hiked up Table Mountain. At first, we all thought this would be an easy walk, but we were very wrong. We had to climb over boulders, go through steep gorges, steer clear of huge bumble bees. We still had loads of fun though and none of us got discouraged. We felt like we really achieved something when we all reached the top. Talk about views! Wow! So breathtaking and surprising. It was a clear day, so we could see out over the whole city of Cape Town and the coast line.

We did take the cable car back though. When we got back to the hostel, we ended up saying good-bye to the boys, they had a train to catch in an hour, we offered to drive them to the station in our car hire, but they had already made arrangements with another couple of girls to take them there. Dang, we were usurped!

The next day, we drove to Cape Peninsula and visited Cape Point and then to Cape of Good Hope. It was another clear day. As we watched another spectacular sunset, my girlfriend and I looked at each other and smiled. We were in total heaven.

White Marble sculpted, rounded, carved and placed by and one piece at a time. Built for love the Taj Mahal in Agra India is a true masterpiece. It is a top wonder of the world and the beauty is unsurpassed. It was built by the Muslim rulers, the Mughals, and stands proud and grand along the Jamuna river. The best time to visit this beautiful building is at dawn or sunset. That is when it has a soft glow about it making it even more breathtaking. Emperor, Shah Jahan built this monument for his dear wife, queen Mamtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal translates to Crown Palace and is the massive Mausoleum that holds the grave of the beloved queen in the lower chamber. In 1666, Shah Jahan died and his grave was also added to the monument.

Thousands of men worked diligently on the Taj Mahal for 22 years, completing it in 1648 C.E. It cost 32 Million Rupees to build which is almost 1.3 million dollars today. Ustad Isa was the famous Islamic architect back in those days he was the one who designed and over saw the building. He kept good documents of the men who worked on the building, the materials used and were they marble came from. There were some famous craftsmen involved in the project including, Qannauj, Lahore and Multan all from Delhi. Baghdad Muslim craftsmen where also represented in Shiraz and Bukhara. They had specialties to offer.

Visitors find rooms at a heritage hotel, India has a few around the country, catch a nap and then head out to see amazing places. The Taj Mahal is the top visited site of the country. Tourists and locals alike take the time to stroll in the large garden which hase four pools reflecting the building. This is one place to take the love of one life.

Extending the life of your car is something that you can do on your own, in your own garage.  Even without training, there is a service manual that will instruct you on how to do the simple car maintenance, which cuts down on trips to the local mechanic, saves you money at the moment as well as saving money in the long run.  These simple actions will prevent break-downs in the future, which will lower your chances of spending much more on more expensive repairs.  One part of your car engine that is simple to check is the air filter.  A dirty and clogged filter will affect not only your gas mileage, but may cause your car to stall out from time to time.  This is a simple repair that is inexpensive, and should be done each fifteen thousand miles.

Checking the level of water in the radiator in the summer months, and antifreeze levels in the winter months will save you a lot of trouble.  These two liquids are necessary for the engine to remain cool in the hot times and prevent the water from freezing throughout your engine in the colder temperatures.  A Pontiac Sunfire repair manual will list the other fluids that should be checked regularly.  The brake fluid should be changed either every twenty four thousand miles, or each 2 years, whichever happens first.  A good way to keep an eye on this is to check the brake fluid each time you change the oil.  If you notice between those times, that the brakes are responding in a spongy manner, then you should check the fluid right away.

You will spend more time just checking the transmission fluid than changing it, as this only is necessary every fifty thousand miles.  If the water levels in your car battery is low, fill it with distilled water, and in the exception of the hotter climates, which tend to be much harder on car batteries, a good battery should last about ten years.  These are just routine checks on your car’s engine that are very easy to do yourself, and will extend the life of your car for many, many years to come.

The ability to listen is a dying art!  People are bombarded with information in this day and age and are often on overload.  Think about it – there are very few places that you find silence anymore.  Try it – switch of your TV, your computer and listen.  Is there silence??  Probably not…there is the sound of your refrigerator, the car passing in the street, children playing, your water heater switching on etc, etc  etc.

Have you noticed that when you overhear a conversation that its often a competition to see who can put their thoughts and ideas across first.  So rather than listening and responding participants don’t listen they just speak, and when they are not speaking they are tuned out and thinking about what they are going to say next.

When customer service staff are being trained one of the hardest lessons to teach is how to listen.  How to listen and empathize – not just to speak.  Try it the next time you are a participant in a conversation try to listen to what is being said.  Observe more than the words – observe the body language and tone of voice.  That is how you learn.  And a major rule of customer service is to know your customers.  Treat them with courtesy and respect.  Tip brought to you by the leaders in customer service software.

Ruthann loved American history and she particularly loved colonial American history. So naturally when her good friend Edith invited her along on a business trip to Virginia Ruthann eagerly accepted. She had wanted to visit Williamsburg for many years and had just never had the opportunity, or maybe the timing just never seemed right. However, last summer when Edith mentioned the trip, it seemed like everything just melted into place. And before she knew it she was on a plane and she and Edith were happily settling into their rooms in one of the Virginia luxury hotels.

One of Ruthann’s historic interests was in the witch trials that occurred for the first and only time in this country, although America was still a colony in 1692 when the trials occurred. She tried to talk Edith into making the road trip up to Salem, Massachusetts to visit the site of the trials as well as the museum and some of the old houses and buildings. Edith was interested in going however she insisted that they just didn’t have time on that trip for an eleven and a half hour road trip, one way, especially when New York was directly on the path and they would definitely want to spend some time there. Ruthann finally gave in and agreed that this trip just wasn’t the right time to head further up the coast and they should just enjoy as many of the sites and landmarks they could in Virginia.

As it turned out the two friends were able to spend one full day and evening in Colonial Williamsburg and both of them were incredibly impressed with original period buildings and greatly enjoyed their tour. They spent a lot of time in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and both of them purchased prints to take home and frame. They also enjoyed the jazz ensemble that was playing outside the Kimball Theatre. They found out that the ensemble was composed of students from the near by College of William and Mary. They also enjoyed a colonial meal at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern after deciding that if it was good enough for George Washington, it is reported to be his favorite, it was good enough for them.

Boulder, Colorado has special meaning for me. I have family in Boulder, but I haven’t been there in a very long time. My parents took my older brother, younger sister and me on a road trip from Nebraska to Boulder when we were kids. Course that can be a trip in itself with three kids cooped up in the back seat of a car. Yes, three kids, two windows, so someone was always in the middle and you hated for it to be your turn sitting there and giving up the window. And this was long before Ipods, hand held video games or built in TV sets. My mom would try to keep us entertained by playing guessing games and she was really good at it. I learned, many years later, it was as much for her entertainment as ours since she really didn’t like being confined in a car for hours on end either. But she always made sure we had some of our favorite toys, little sandwiches, homemade cookies and other fun snacks. Us kids are adults now and of course Mama has gotten older too, but she hasn’t changed much over these years when it comes to road trips, only now she just comes right out and tells us we have to play guessing games with her to pass the time. The homemade cookies and our favorite snacks are still handy. Some things never change.

But Boulder certainly has. I would love to visit again and this time I would really appreciate this unique town nestled at the base of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Maybe I would go skiing or hike the trails of the beautiful Chautauqua Park. I’m sure I would attend the International Film Festival and the Filmmaking Festival. During my stay, the many hotels Boulder offers would afford me the comforts and amenities to make sure this was another memorable trip. Yes, I believe I will revisit Boulder.

One of the world’s great jewels, India is only exotic if you haven’t been here.  It is an enormously diverse country, rich with histories and cultures that interweave and break and reconnect in an endless loop of variations.  There are stunning natural areas, and most of the larger cities have their share of ancient temples that are wonderful day excursions, and a lively urban scene, demonstrating the sophistication and complexity of the country.  There are thousands of good reasons to visit, and even more reasons to return.  It is like a reflecting pond that simply gets more complex the more you look into it. India is a fantastic place, and there are many attractions here for visitors of all ages.

There are plenty of magnificent accommodations in India, 5-star hotels being the finest the industry has to offer.  When old-world hospitality and the height of new-world convenience and design are the only way to travel, this is a good option for you.  You’ll still find yourself enjoying the many variations of the country, and probably fall in love with its baffling complexity.  There are many who try to articulate the complexity, and many who succeed in various ways.  Indian writers are often more successful at articulating an Indian consciousness rather than a suitable description of the country.

That consciousness might be less elusive than a place is rather telling about the place.  The country affects the inner lives very deeply, there is no question about that, but there is perhaps no other place who affects its diaspora in exactly the same way.  It is interesting to look at the writings of V.S. Naipaul in this light.  The Nobel prize winner was born in Trinidad to indentured servant parents who were from India, and he traveled all over this country as well as the African continent.  His writing does reflect this country as much as Trinidad, and sometimes the heart of his work is an attempt to shrug off nationhood altogether, as a way of spiting the pervasive effects of indoctrination.