Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Italy Gained in Michelin Guide with a New Three-Star Restaurant



Italy has a new Michelin three-star restaurant today with the promotion of Osteria Francescana, Massimo Bottura’s establishment in Modena.

Italy now has a total of seven restaurants with three stars and 38 with two. Three stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey; two are for excellent cooking, worth a detour; one denotes a very good restaurant in its category.

Michelin & Cie. is the world’s second-biggest tiremaker, after Bridgestone Corp. It produced its first guide in August 1900, distributed free of charge (until 1920) and intended for chauffeurs. The guide contained practical information, including street maps and tips on using and repairing tires.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Attractions of Rome

Vatican Museums

These Vatican museums serve as a large store of the treasures of antiquity and the Renaissance, which took place in luxurious palaces, galleries and apartments leading to the Sistine Chapel. They occupy a portion of the papal palaces were built from 1200. The highlights include the Gregorian Egyptian apartments, Borgia, the Ethnological Museum, the Raphael Rooms, Pinacoteca and the Vatican library.

National Gallery

The Palazzo Barberini is one of the most outstanding baroque palaces of Rome. within and vision are the luxurious apartments and rococo decorative art gallery are part of the National Gallery of Ancient Art.

The Coliseum

Despite its present shell, the Coliseum is still the greatest architectural legacy of Rome. The elliptical bowl seating 50,000 which debuted in 80 with fighting involved sangrietos where gladiators and wild beasts.

Circus Maximus

The elongated oval of Circus Maximus, in his day, always a espacion than 250,000 seats of Ben-Hur-style gladiator action and was only surpassed by the magnificent structure of ancient Rome is the Coliseum. and was saqueda dilapidated by the Renaissance and medieval builders looking for marble and stone.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Real Madrid vs Barcelona Live - 10 december 2011







Hours away from the second el Clasico, did the Barca players have enough time to rest and rejuvenate from the first one? Will their love and passion for the game be enough to win or will lethargy and mistakes haunt the final? Find out what we think after the jump.
After a rather intense final moments in the last el Clasico on Saturday, I wonder can both teams match the crazy drama and energy of the final minutes, or will it be a cautious encounter from start to finish. Madrid have shown this season that they have the players capable of outscoring the opponent, and last encounter’s closing seconds are testament to that. Ozil has shown how much he’s grown this season by orchestrating Madrid’s attack. His entry changed the game at Bernabeu and he was influential in Madrid getting the equalizer. I think Madrid will pressure high and try to give Barcelona a really good challenge in this final.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Top Romantic cities of Italy

Italy is known for being one of the most romantic countries in the world where you can find several tourist spots to visit.
The historic cities are full of romantic atmosphere, accompanied by picturesque coastal towns of Italy and its beautiful countryside. These are the main Italian cities, lakes, villages, islands for romance.
  • Venice is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in Italy.
  • Lake Como, ringed with beautiful villas and resort villages.
  • Positano, on the Amalfi Coast, is one of Italy's most romantic destinations.
  • Portofino is a picturesque, half-moon shaped seaside village.
  • Verona is famous for the house and balcony said to belong to Juliet in the Shakespeare story, Romeo and Juliet.
  • Taormina has been one of Sicily's top travel destinations since it became part of the European Grand Tour.
  • If you prefer smaller more intimate towns on the coast try the Gulf of Poets.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Best Tourist Places of Europe

These are the best tourist places in Europe that you should visit.

The Roman Coliseum





This is one of the many interesting places to visit in Europe. The roman coliseum, was originally a huge amphitheater that could seat more than 50,000 people. It counts with the wonderfull ancient architecture, even in disrepair, this place is still a great place to visit in europe






Edinburgh Castle




Edinburgh Castle is other of the most touristic places to visit in Europe. It is over 1,000 years old and once you see this magnificent castle you’ll soon understand why more than a million people visit it each year. You can tour the castle, enjoy the views and visit the surrounding gardens as well.






Big Ben



This is the world's largest turret clock tower, Big Ben is one of the most recognized sites in London and there is no doubt that is one of the most interesting places to visit in Europe. Although there are potential public visits, looks spectacular especially at night when everything is illuminated.





Cathedral Notre-Dame




You can not visit France without going through the Notre Dame Cathedral where those who feel attracted by the review history of this place will make the most of this appeal and those wishing to enjoy the wonderful sculptures are in the right place.





La Sagrada Familia





Another place you should not overlook is the unfinished Sagrada Familia church located in Barcelona, ​​Spain, which was conducted by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí, and died before completing the structure. This is a beautiful place to visit.




Buckingham Palace





Buckingham Palace has been the home of British royalty is a major tourist attraction, and could not be a complete trip to Europe without taking time to visit the home of the Queen of England. If you make a visit in August and September could visit the state rooms of Buckingham Palace.







Tower Bridge





This bridge has held up since 1894 on the River Thames in London, on the sidewalks of the bridge you can see wonderful views of London. no matter when you visit the Tower Bridge all the time there will be something good to see.

Monday, November 28, 2011

The Top 10 beaches to visit in Europe

1. Cala d'en Serra, Ibiza

Ibiza's most famous beach is the long, white-sand crescent of Salinas, dotted with hip bars and beautiful people. Cala d'en Serra is one that gives you the best of both worlds – a tranquil, secluded bay with its very own sandy beach.
Stay at: Can Marti, an agroturismo on a working organic farm that produces its own electricity using solar panels. It's a 15-minute drive from the beach, in a remote valley. + 34 971 333 500; canmarti.com. Doubles from €130.

2. The Curonian Spit, Lithuania

A narrow finger of land poking into the Baltic Sea, the 98km-long Curonian Spit is one of Europe's more unlikely beach destinations. Reached by a 10-minute ferry crossing from the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, this peninsula of shifting dunes and pine forests, where wolves and moose roam, is largely undiscovered by foreign tourists.
Stay at: The Kursmariu Vila in the village of Preila. The wooden guesthouse won't win any prizes for interior design but the welcome is warm and you can sit out on the small wooden pontoon in the back garden overlooking the lagoon with a glass of cold beer and a plate of bream prepared in the family's own smokehouse. Baltic Holidays (0870 757 9233; balticholidays.com) tailormakes holidays to Lithuania.

3. Caños de Meca, Spain

The beach at Caños de Meca curves inland from the Cabo de Trafalgar. Canos de Meca has become a well-known hippy hangout on Spain's wind-whipped Costa de la Luz. The beachfront is wonderfully underdeveloped, save for the dreamlike La Jaima, a giant tented structure that cascades from the road down to the sand. Inside, you'll find a superb oriental restaurant and killer mojitos, and, when the mood grabs the locals, impromptu parties that spill out on to the beach.
Stay at: Los Castillejos, which has bungalows sleeping two from €50pn. loscastillejos.com.

4. Barleycove, County Cork, Ireland

The beach, with its surrounding dunes and lagoons, is a designated 'special area of conservation' – look out for cormorants, mute swans and herring gulls, and a landscape dotted with wild pansy, lady's bedstraw and pale dog violets.
We found it by accident on a long drive out to Ireland's most south-westerly tip on the Mizen Head peninsula (worth a trip to see the cliff-top lighthouse). The nearest towns are the picturesque fishing village of Crookhaven and charming Goleen.Both are grand spots for a post-swim pub warmer and pack of Tayto crisps.
Stay at: There's a holiday caravan and camping park right near the beach or you could stay at Barley Cove Beach Hotel or hire self-catering cottages.

5. Cap Ferret, France

Cap Ferret sits at the bottom of the The Lège-Cap Ferret peninsula, a long thin stretch of sand, pine trees and 10 small oyster villages, an hour's drive from Bordeaux. On the wilder Atlantic coast, the dunes and beach eventually evaporate in a shimmering heat haze and the sand is so fine and so deep it squeaks under foot and faces the towering Dune du Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe. Here parents and children wade through tidal pools and salt marshes hunting for crabs with Monsieur Hulot-style nets - a remembrance of summers past.
Stay at: Hotel Oceane, 62 Ave de l'océan, Cap Ferret, +33 05 56 60 68 13. Simple cabin-style rooms arranged around a courtyard just a few minutes' walk from the beach. Doubles from €51.

6. Scopello, Sicily

Scopello, on the west coast of Sicily, couldn't be more idyllic if it tried. A pretty stone village, complete with old men in black berets and a sweet gelateria. A 20-minute walk away is a tiny cove with sand the colour of vanilla ice-cream and minty clear water. It's overlooked by a disused tuna-processing plant (the area is famed for the Mattanza, the annual ritual slaughter of tuna off the Egadi islands) and towers of rock.
Stay at: Nearby agriturismo Tenute Plaia from €130 per double B&B, +39 0924 541476, plaiavini.com.

7. Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, Wales

It is the beach where, after trailing single file up an overgrown sandy path that scooped us up on to a grassy headland, we all stopped to coo at the gorgeousness of the little U-shaped golden cove.
It's hard to reach as it is only accessible via a path through woodland from Parkmill, or down from Penard, so was pretty much deserted, and, in high season, it's never as busy as the Gower's bigger, more popular stretches of sand. On the cliffs above is Penard Castle, a ruin offering a perfect picnic shelter with Michelin-star views, and from here, if you can face the walk back up.
Stay at: Eastern Slade Farm Campsite, 07970 969814, from £8-12 per pitch per night, depending on size of tent.

8. Sopot, Poland

A pristine beach so vast that it never gets crowded, even in high summer. Once the playground of the Prussian aristocracy, the city has been Poland's most fashionable resort for almost a century. And since the end of the cold war, it has become its party capital, too, with a superb clubbing scene and a busy, boozy bar culture. Try Club Mandarynka in town or Copacabana Beach Club, which started life as a beach shack and is now an all-night disco complete with swimming pool.
Stay at: Villa Sedan (+48 58 555 0980; sedan.pl). Doubles from £45.


9. Egremni, Lefkada, Greece

There is a reason why Greece has so many blue flag beaches – with over 15,000km of coastline. Egremni beach on the Ionian island of Lefkada is a perfect example. Climbing 350 or so steps down a dramatic cliff face deposits you on a long, pristine beach. The water is that perfect Mediterranean blue, almost as if it had been painted, and the pebbles get finer as you near the water's edge until they feel like sand.
Stay at: Vassiliki Bay Hotel, a three-star, 24-room hotel near a fishing village, and a good spot from which to explore the island's beaches. hotelvassilikibay.gr.

10. Warnemünde, Germany

It's not the most perfect beach in Germany but Warnemünde offers a great holiday experience for anyone wishing to sample Deutschland's bracing Baltic coast - a white sandy beach, old-fashioned wicker chairs, known as Strandkörbe, and smoked fish. During my visit I asked one sun-browned kiosk-owner why he swam trunkless. He paused, then replied proudly: "In East Germany, we didn't have trunks." Even in summer the sea - known by Germans as the Ostsee- is bitingly cold. For me, a five-minute dip was enough.

Will tourism in Europe be busy next year?



It's hard to say this far in advance with the world economy and all, but I would think that tourism in Europe will be just as busy as most other summers. Especially after all the money woes this last summer that kept people from traveling as much as they would have otherwise. That sounds like a great travel plan. Have you been on extended backpacking trips before?

Hotels will definitely be more expensive if they're available at all in and around London during the Olympics. Most people book those rooms more than a year in advance. Prices are likely to be around the same as they are now by next summer depending on currency values. We just hit a nice high on the dollar vs euro, but there's no telling what the exchange rate will be by next summer.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Tours in Europe - Food and Culture



There’s more than one way to say hello in Europe. No two countries are the same, and the different languages and cultures make the continent amazing.

Enjoy the super friendly Irish hospitality and foot-stomping rhythms, listen in to the lively conversations in Spain or Italy, or sit outside a café with the Paris locals. Be ready to barter for a bargain in Turkey’s markets or jump in a black cab in London and see if you can get a great tale out of the driver.

Fashionistas will love the style and glamour of Paris and Milan. Art, music and design fans will love Madrir, Venice, and Stockholm. And London is a Royal watcher’s dream.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Tourism in Venice - Best Places, Restaurants, Hotels




Museums in Venice:

Museo Civico Correr
Ca'Rezzonico
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Galleria dell'Accademia
Venice Museums Pass

Climate in Venice:

According to the Köppen climate classification, Venice has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is 2.5 °C (36.5 °F), and for July this figure is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 801 millimetres (31.5 in).

Airports in Venice:

Venice is served by the Marco Polo International Airport, or Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo, named in honor of its famous citizen. The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast. Airport is connected by land to Venice main island (Piazzale Roma, the bus terminal) by the ACTV lines (for example line 5 aerobus) and by sea to Venice, Murano and Lido by Alilaguna lines.

Restaurants in Venice:

Grand Canal
Vini da Gigio
Alle Testiere
Harry's Dolci
Al nono risorto
Shri Ganesh
Corte Sconta
Acqua Pazza
Osteria Antico Dolo

Hotels in Venice:

HOTEL CASTELLO
HOTEL CARLTON ON THE GRAND CANAL
HOTEL SAN GALLO
FLATS IN VENICE
HOTEL ADRIATICO
HOTEL ACCA
CORTE DI VILLA COLLOREDO
VILLA PARADISO

Monday, November 14, 2011

My Favorite European Destinations



1. Budapest, Hungary

Old World charm. The city is divided into 2 parts by the blue Danube, which are Buda and Pest. Not as commercialized or expensive as the other European cities. Home to many of the famous warm baths in Europe like Szechenyi Baths and Gellert Baths.

2. Copenhagen, Zealand

Wonderful Copenhagen, beautiful and clean city, wonderful people! You can go on and on and on walking the pedestrian only streets that goes on for blocks.

3. Prague, Bohemia

Gorgeous city, cobblestone streets, old world, preserved architecture. The city is getting more and more tourists each year but still worth a visit! It's definitely cheaper than London or Paris. Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, views from on top of Prague Castle overlooking the city, all are incredible.

4. Venice

In my opinion, one of the most, or if not, the most beautiful city in the World. It's romantic, it has amazing architecture, and it's for art lovers.

5. Vienna, Austria

Very clean city. Known for its beautiful and rich music from the works of Mozart and Strauss. The city itself has a lot of class of its own.