Good Fortune in Hong Kong

March 9th, 2010

There are many interesting sights to see and adventures to be had when vacationing in Hong Kong. As a tourists; one would have the option of either taking in the authentic and traditional attractions and landmarks that Hong Kong has to offer, or they could choose to visit the more modern tourist attractions. Many visitors would prefer to stay at the best Hong Kong hotel they can locate.
For those who are into antiques or have an affinity for the ancient styles and ways of Hong Kong then a trip to the Wong Tai Sin Temple would be a must see. The Wong Tai Sin Temple is the most popular temple in all of Hong Kong. It was created in the image of an ancient Chinese palace. The area is extremely rich in Chinese culture. There are two other famous temples in Hong Kong as well, Po Lin Monastry and Man Month Temple.
For those vacationers that like to be in a new environment but still want to have a familiar feeling then they can visit the Hong Kong Disneyland. This Disney Land resort is located on the Lantau Island. While Mickey Mouse and friends are all included there is definitely a sense of Chinese culture infused into the experience. For those who are interested in seeing new things they can check out Ocean Park. Ocean Park is another famous theme park in China. In addition to the theme park it is also home to a huge aquarium and one of the top marine life education centers as well. It happens to be one of the largest ocean parks in the world.
Victoria Bay is another great vacation destination. Victoria Bay is the third largest harbor in the entire world and the largest harbor located in China. This area has tons of ferries, cruise liners, cargo ships, and row boats for people to get off of land and into the water.

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A Little Wine Tasting in Seattle

March 3rd, 2010

With almost everything checked off on my list of things to do in Seattle, I decided to just stroll around. I passed the quaint wine and olive oil shop and the sign in the window said something about wine tasting. That was good enough for me! I walked in and looked around for a minute, then walked up to what seemed like the wine bar where wine tasting took place. The shop was called La Buona Tavola, and was run by this extremely outgoing guy, David.

I was at the correct place were I could sample wine, David poured me a wonderful wine from Italy. I was just in Italy last week, so this brought back good memories. The wines at the La Buona are all from family owed and run vineyards. David actually goes to the vineyards and spends a good amount of time with the families and thoroughly checks out if the wines these family run vineyards are the wines he wants to see at his shop. I found each wine I tasted to be of a high-quality and learned that most of the wines he buys have produced only a few cases! That told me that these wines were out of my price range for sure! But, I was so delighted to meet someone would loves wine to much to cheapen it’s qualities.

Feeling a bit spirited after the wine tasting, I headed back to my hotel in Seattle,so I could take a little nap before heading back out to explore some more. By-the-way, I booked my hotel at this site, I found this site to have the best hotels with the best prices.

On my way back, I would pass some restaurants and if they posted their menus outside, I read what they had to offer. I was great to see so many restaurants using local produce, geo-friendly products and organic foods. There was one restaurant in particular that I’ll have to come back to after my nap. It was the restaurant of the chef I met when I was back in the wind shop. He dropped by to pick up some of Davids better stock.

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Ensuring Privacy with Your Blinds

March 1st, 2010

Privacy is a big thing these days. Everyone keeps very much to themselves and, as a result, we often do not even know who our neighbors are. We drive straight into our garages , shut the door, and go inside without any interaction with those who may be outside. It is not that we do not like people; we just want and value our privacy. Home is our refuge away from the rest of the world. One area of the house that largely affects that need for seclusion is the windows. Big panes of clear glass, windows can allow just about anyone walking by to see inside. If your current window treatments are just not cutting it there are a few things that you can do.
Some types of sheer or lightweight shades may seem effective during the day; however at night, when the lights are turned on, your house becomes a fish bowl for anyone in the neighborhood to see in. Shades are very effective at reducing the amount of uv rays that come into your home so do not rule them out completely. Because they come in a variety of styles and fabrics, choosing something in a darker, thicker material would go further to maintaining your privacy. For an even more effective way to ensure your privacy, consider wood blinds . They allow zero visibility from the outside when the slats are closed and restricted visibility when they are open. They also create a very classy yet simple look.
In an age where identity theft is not a matter of if but when it is no wonder we hold on so tightly to our privacy. As we attempt to create a safe, protected environment for our families the fabric we put on our windows can often make all of the difference.

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Singapore Love Story in Progress

February 27th, 2010

This would be a suggestion for a nice romantic getaway.  Going to another country is always the perfect way to make things more interesting.  For one thing, there’s a pressure that gets taken away.  In a new place, there are many expectations that tend to follow us around that seem unable to cross borders.  This is very good news, especially for people who are typically nervous.  Wanting to know outcomes is a sign of an anxious personality, and traveling in new lands always means giving up this need to know, and it’s a great way to learn how to give into the flow of it all.

That’s something that’s also a good lesson for romance, because when you’re with another person, sometimes it does feel like a foreign country.  There’s no way of knowing, and no one around to translate.  In Singapore, however, the majority of people speak English, so there’s a chance of being understood, and it’s safer than love, perhaps.

A dinner in an Italian restaurant is always going to be a good move.  There may be two people in the world who don’t like Italian, and even if you’re gluten-free, chances are good that you’ll find something.  This is an important principle in a relationship, to find something you both like.

Another one of the pressures that we lose when we’re traveling has to do less with control, and more with anonymity.  Coming to a place where you’ve never been sometimes suggests that you may never be back, and with that comes a sense that you can probably be as free as you like.  Sometimes we’re not so free because we’re afraid we’ll look silly.  On a vacation, however, it doesn’t matter, and everyone looks silly, so it’s the perfect chance to find out who your partner is again, and have some lovely food.

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Beckett Does Dallas

February 25th, 2010

It could be the first of May.  It could very well be raining.  Dallas is the place where I will have to find something else to do with my time.  It is not a difficult thing, finding things, not in this place.  It might be difficult to settle in on a choice, however.  Every choice looks at first like it must be the best choice, because it is the only choice.  The moments go on, and more choices present themselves, and it’s starting to become apparent that there is no only choice.  Moments like these I will go back to my room, back in my Dallas hotel, and reassess the situation from there.

The room is nice.  There’s space in this room, almost enough to make it look and feel roomy.  This is perhaps just as it should be.  I have my doubts, anyway.  At the end of the day, I always have my doubts.  I have showered and I have also eaten something.  They tell me it is an armadillo and they laugh.  This is probably terribly terribly funny, and when I try to laugh, too, they don’t try to make me laugh any more.  I have been told that my smile is not a pretty thing to look at, and that it’s better if I just refrain.  That advice suits me well.  I would rather be thinking about the rain.

But it is not raining.  It is not raining any more today, nor tomorrow, is what they say.  I still have hope.  This is too much, this weather.  I can’t find my way around when everything is lit.  It is all for the best, because I have no place to go.  Because I have no place to go, I go to the opera, where I might be able to see myself on the stage, telling my story to myself, if it is in French.  It is not in French, it is in Italian.  I am lost, and there is nothing on the stage to remind me of me, and I realize, with sorrow, that I will perhaps never be able to wear buffalo horns.  Such things are not up to me, decided long before I set foot in Dallas, where I am inordinately happy, but not smiling, and not raining.

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Yemaya in Hartford

February 23rd, 2010

Coming into Hartford again, and remembering the things that we saw here before.  So much of what I know, and what I have to keep in the palm of my hand, is made up of pieces of things that I cannot explain to anyone.  And only you would understand.  When we were here, it wasn’t that long ago, but it seems like we were too young, and didn’t know anything, and life lived sweetly, in a Hartford hotel, where there was no care in the world, just something that felt like time moving across my wrist…

It was too long ago, and it wasn’t long enough ago, and we were young and older than anyone would have guessed.  I found you here, even though we’d known each other all our lives.  There was a show, there was music, and all our friends told us this was the best club, this was the one where you could move like they do in San Juan, and for a few moments I could see white sand falling from your mouth when you spoke, and the waves were in your eyes.  It’s grey here, greyer than I imagine, the kind of grey that I like, awake in the morning and again just before the light of day goes away…

This is why I can’t imagine Hartford without thinking of that mix of white sand and sun, and the blue of the sky and the water.  Those colors fall over everything, like a dream of Yemaya in her younger version Asesu, calling somewhere beneath the first layer of wave, wearing it like a blanket, while she is peeking into the hearts of her sleeping children to find out why they are still awake.  And I can’t tell her that we are always awake, because we never sleep.

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The Flowers of the New York Garden Conservatory

February 21st, 2010

One of the hidden wonders of Central Park is the Conservatory found just past the Vanderbilt Gate at the entrance of 5th Avenue and 105th Street.  It is an amazing experience to step from one of the busiest areas of the city, down into the fragrant and sheltered garden, which during the spring and summer months is filled with the delightful scents of the flowers in bloom.  This was the original entry way to the mansion owned by the Vanderbilt family, however that mansion was demolished in 1927.  The artistry found on the wrought iron gate is not to be compared, and is one of the finest examples of metalwork and skill in the state.

The glass conservatory was originally designed by the creators of Central Park, Olmsted and Vaux, however it was not until the new head gardener, Ignaz Pilat took over that it really flourished.  The glass house was eventually torn down and replaced with the garden that is still cared for today…this happened in 1934, at a time when the city was growing into the metropolis that it has become today.  The foresight to put in a beautiful garden, as with the many of the gardens throughout the city, give people a chance to escape the hustle and bustle, to hide a bit away from the cabs and buses, and just sit a bit in the beautiful outdoors.

Located close by, are many hotels, perfect for business travel or holiday plans, many are found here at www.newyorkcheaphotel.com. There are three sections to the garden, the North Garden, the Central Garden and the South Garden, all designed just a bit differently with their own unique styles and species of trees, shrubs, plants and flower gardens.  This is a must stop for anyone loving the botanical world, the world of peace, and the world of calmness and well being…in the most populated city in the country.

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Car Issues in Dayton

February 17th, 2010

Dayton’s in Dayton, Ohio! I’ve been blessed with sunny skies and it’s 75 degrees outside. It did rain a little this morning, but that’s okay. I;m on my way into Dayton, I hit rush hour, but what was really freaky was the hood of the Nova rental car I was driving, flipped straight up and went up against my windshield. Apparently, the rivet in the hood hinge broke loose. I was fortunate and managed to pull over quickly. I got the hood secured for the moment and proceeded cautiously to my destination.

When I checked into my hotel, I asked the gal at the reception desk if they know where I can find the certain company with which I used to rent my car. She was extremely helpful, as a matter of fact, she called up the car rental company and told them my dilemma and the company said they would deliver a new rental car right away. I had no idea that when I used the Internet to book my room in Dayton that I picked a great hotel; a very helpful and great hotel. If you ever plan to visit Dayton, visit this site first. You won’t be disappointed.

The rest of the day, I spent at the Expo Center checking out the car show and talking to some vendors. When I got back to my hotel, my new rental was waiting for me. I took it to a drag strip to see a Pontiac race, but before I reached the drag strip, I was rear-ended. I can’t help but wonder if there’s some reason I can’t get to where I’m going, unless something happens to my rental car. This time, when I pulled over, I called up my rental company and asked if it was possible to get a new rental, pronto. They were at first a little weary of me, understandable, but when they found out I had bought the extra insurance, their response to me was to ask me how soon I needed one?

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Rivercruise in Florida

February 15th, 2010

If you’re traveling in the South of Florida and happen to find yourself in Ford Lauderdale, you might like to take a ride on the Jungle Queen Riverboat.   Some people have been known to like the ride so much they suggest you go twice, once in the day and once at night.  It’s a sightseeing cruise up the New River, past downtown Ford Lauderdale, and the basin for great yachts.  A tour guide gives you the history and facts behind mansions and plantations you’ll see on the river, and at the JungleQueen’s Tropical Isle, you’ll see rare trees and exotic birds and monkeys.

I recommend this trip, in part, because some friends of mine went last august, when they were on a two week vacation to Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Key West, where they checked into a variety of hotels along the beach in Florida.  When they came back, claiming that this riverboat was the most entertainment they had for the money they spent (they were clearly money conscious, because they went off-season specifically to save).  The tour guide, they said, was funny and interesting, and they were able to reserve chairs at the front of the boat, so they’d be able to see everything on both sides.  If you go, that may be something you want to do.  They talked about the Junglequeen Island as well, and said the food was pretty good and lots of it; you can even order alcohol there and keep the souvenir glasses.

My friends took the night trip, because they commented at how few bugs there were out on the island, and how they liked the entertainment.  They noted that they were especially impressed by the juggler, so congratulations to that performer!  They also noted that if you have kids, you may want to bring something along to entertain them, as riverboat travel can be unpredictable at times.  They said if a train comes along during the boat ride, you may have to wait as much a half hour for the drawbridge to open up.

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A Coffee Pot in Greensboro Area

February 8th, 2010

Across the world, there’s a fascination with coffee and coffee pots.  When coffee shops began really proliferating in the 1980s, I thought it might be a fluke event, a kind of fad popping up, but it became obvious as the disapproval of bars and taverns grew, the acceptance of coffee spread like so much spilled espresso.  Throughout America, you’ll find homages to coffee, from Tacoma, Washington, to Greensboro, North Carolina.  Not only will you find the accustomed corporate coffee shops (as well as the independents, hanging on for dear life), you’ll find entire buildings and giant reproductions of the coffee pot.  The oldest such monument to caffeine may be found near Greensboro, in Old Salem.

North Carolina contains a three city metropolitan area, consisting of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, known as the Piedmont Triad.  In this area, you’ll discover over in Old Salem, a twelve foot coffee pot made of metal that dates back to 1860, one hundred and fifty years ago, intended to act as an advertisement for a silversmith.  It’s clear that this nation’s love affair with coffee is an honest one, as you might find by taking a look at all the other structures intended for revering the coffee bean: Stanton, Iowa has two water towers, one shaped like a coffee pot, the other like a coffee cup, the former 120 feet high, the latter 96 feet high; Lexington, Virginia, Tacoma, Washington, and Bedford, Pennsylvania, all have two-story buildings shaped like coffee pots.

While you’re in the city, take a look around; there’s a number of interesting places, such as the Greensboro Historical Museum or the Guilford Couthouse National Military Park. If you’ve had enough of coffee and are simply looking for a place to sleep, then you might stop in at one of the hotels in the Greensboro area and relax in comfort and style.  However, if you can’t sleep, then there’s sure to be a coffee shop nearby to keep you company.

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