Filed under: Arts and Culture, Learning, Europe, Spain, Budget Travel, NightlifeBarcelona, Spain, is full of fun things to do and interesting sites to explore. Luckily, the city features many experiences for the budget traveler with free museums, walking tours, beaches, parks, museums, dance shows, and more. Use this list to help you save money while still experiencing the best the city has to offer.
Walk down Las Ramblas
Las Ramblas is the most famous street in Barcelona, and often the first stop on many tourists' to-do list. Not only is the street lined with restaurants, bars, cafes, theaters, and shops; it's also home to various street entertainers, performance art, and colorful markets, making the street both fun and aesthetically pleasing. I love seeing all of the people dressed in ostentatious costumes trying to act like still sculptures (Note: Some of them look really real. I actually leaned on one not realizing it was a person!). Las Ramblas is also a bit historical, as the famous native painter Joan Miró, who died in 1983, helped to create part of the street. You can see one of his mosaic creations on the ground of the main center walkway. Continue reading 10 free things to do in Barcelona, Spain10 free things to do in Barcelona, Spain originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: parties and parades
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Learning, Festivals and Events, South America, Brazil, Nightlife, Women's Travel
What's Carnival in Rio de Janeiro without its lively parties and parades? Now that planning, packing, and logistics are taken care of, it's time to think about the important stuff: your social calendar. In this second installment of the ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio, we'll walk you through some of the main events.Continue reading The ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: parties and paradesThe ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: parties and parades originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
What's Carnival in Rio de Janeiro without its lively parties and parades? Now that planning, packing, and logistics are taken care of, it's time to think about the important stuff: your social calendar. In this second installment of the ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio, we'll walk you through some of the main events.Continue reading The ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: parties and paradesThe ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: parties and parades originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Saturday, February 4, 2012
Mancuso Rocks Whiteface GS for 11th Career Title
.....Lake Placid, NY (Ski Press)-Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso captured the 11th U.S. title of her career with a victory in the women's giant slalom to close the 2010 Visa U.S. Alpine Championships at Whiteface Mountain Tuesday."I actually haven't skied giant slalom since the Olympics, so it was nice to get back on my GS skis," Mancuso said.Mancuso was also the giant slalom champion in '09, '05, and '03. With 11 titles, she now moves past U.S. great Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most titles of any American male or female, breaking a record that has stood for 55 years.The weekend brought some closure to a season�in�which�Mancuso had long worked hard ."Coming back from a back injury I always had the goal of getting ready for the Olympics. Even going into last season it hurt. I wanted to keep trying. Just being able to see the reward of the plan paying off was really amazing," Mancuso said.Second place for the day went to Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, OR) who produced the fastest second run. Ross was also third in the super G and second in the combined at Whiteface.Malin Hemmingson of Sweden was third followed by U.S. downhill champion Leanne Smith (Conway, NH).The top U.S. junior was Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH) out of U.S. Development Team, though the fastest junior was Erin Mielzynski of Canada. J-2 Foreste Peterson (Berkeley, CA) of the Squaw Valley Ski Team was the next fastest U.S. junior followed by Abby Ghent (Edwards, CO) of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.The USSA Western Region took the 2010Tom Garner Regions Cup with 2,903 points, followed by the East with1,869 and Rocky/Central with 986.Tuesday also marked the final race for Kaylin Richardson (Edina, MN), a two-time Olympian and seven-year member of the U.S. Ski Team. She ran both runs of giant slalom in a puffy red one piece ski suit circa 1980, with her parents making the trip from Minnesota just to see their daughter's last event.Numerous athletes, including Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) now move directly to Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, VT for the annual charity slalom hosted by two-time Olympian Jimmy Cochran tomorrow.OFFICIAL RESULTS2010 Visa U.S. Alpine ChampionshipsLake Placid, NY - March 22, 2010Women?s Giant Slalom1. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 2:07.522. Laurenne Ross, Klamath Falls, OR, 2:08.113. Malin Hemmingsson, Sweden, 2:08.254. Leanne Smith, Conway, NH, 2:08.985. Megan McJames, Park City, UT, 2:09.17
Holiday in the City of Angels with Flights to Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a popular tourist destination in the United States of America The place is blessed with a number of natural attractions, historical monuments, resounding nightlife and full on shopping experience The luxurious ambiance appeals and tempts visitors from all over the globe
Le Vele Resort
*Summer Nights Special! *Le Vele Resort invites you to enjoy Two more nights with complements, when you stay five consecutive nights or more. *A relaxing moment just for you: Complements on all Suites rates. Free airport transfer to & from resort, free continental breakfast & a bottle of Champagne.
This special is valid April 1st, 2012-December 21st, 2012.
UPCOMING RATES:
Summer ? starting at $348.00 (Apr.1st ? Dec. 21st 2012)
Christmas / New Years - starting at $725.00 (Dec.22nd 2011 - Jan.8th 2012)
Winter - starting at $474.00 (Jan.8th 2012 - Mar.31st 2012)
This special is valid April 1st, 2012-December 21st, 2012.
UPCOMING RATES:
Summer ? starting at $348.00 (Apr.1st ? Dec. 21st 2012)
Christmas / New Years - starting at $725.00 (Dec.22nd 2011 - Jan.8th 2012)
Winter - starting at $474.00 (Jan.8th 2012 - Mar.31st 2012)
Top 5 Adventure Vacations
1. Snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake
EIL MALK, PALAU: Islands are wilder and weirder than continents. They're harder to get to, harder to spoil. Count me in. My best natural experiences take place on islands. And for me the challenge of getting there heightens the experience. True, I complain as loudly as anyone about security lines, tiny middle seats and overnight flights. But when I slip into Dominica's cool waters on the way to an underwater volcano or compete with grizzlies for salmon amid the evergreens of British Columbia, the thrill is doubled because I've earned it. Some of these five outdoor adventures can be reached in hours; some take days. All of them, for me, were eye-opening and jaw-dropping. And none more so than snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake on Palau's Eil Malk Island.
Millions of golden jellyfish floated around me in the dark green water like stars in a miniature galaxy. The jellies follow the sun on a daily migration, just as they have since the last ice age sealed this marine lake off from the rest of the South Pacific. ?Be very careful around them,? the guide from Fish 'n Fins said. ?Swim gently.? He wasn't worried that the jellies would sting us ? their venomous defenses have been dampened over time in this aquatic Shangri-la. Rather he worried we might damage their delicate forms with a careless kick. So I floated through those strange glowing stars, careful not to disturb an underwater universe that has existed unchanged for more than 12,000 years.
2. Fly-Fishing with Grizzlies
BRITISH COLUMBIA: The autumn sun danced on the river; snowmelt swirled around my waders. A mellow day of fly-fishing was unfolding in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest ? and then the grizzly bear charged. Dan Caldwell, my guide from the King Pacific Lodge, pulled out his ?bear popper,? a kind of anti-grizzly hand grenade. ?Get your bear spray out.?
Dan had convinced me to take this all-day adventure after I announced that fishing was dull. To prove me wrong, we'd flown to this unnamed river in the lodge's private helicopter, doors off and the smell of the ancient pines flooding the cabin. We'd been catching and releasing trophy-size coho salmon for hours ? until the bear arrived.
The grizzly closed. I fumbled with the spray. Two hundred yards, 100, 50, 10. Then the bear stopped. He snorted, shook his head and turned around to join his buddy. Dan laughed. ?Still think fly-fishing is boring??
3. Sea Kayaking the Na Pali Coast
KAUAI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: ?If you're scared or seasick, this is the point of no return,? said Steve Preibisius, our guide from Kayak Kauai. A half-dozen of us novice sea kayakers were floating in the swell off Kauai's Ke'e Beach. I was scared and seasick, but before I could confess, Steve gave a hoot, dug his paddle into the green water, and we were off on what paddlers affectionately call ?the Mount Everest of sea-kayaking trips.?
The sheer beauty of this roadless wilderness cured my queasiness. We ducked into misty grottoes. We surfed our kayaks on the 12-foot rollers coming in from Alaska. We cooled off under a waterfall and ate lunch on a beach beside a snoring monk seal while the staggering cliffs rose nearly a mile above us. By the time we slid our kayaks ashore at Polihale State Park eight hours and 16 miles later, my cheeks ached from smiling so much.
4. Swimming Inside a Volcano
CHAMPAGNE BEACH, DOMINICA: ?I'm taking you swimming inside an active volcano,? Derek Perryman said as we jumped into Dominica's most unusual snorkeling spot. I'd spent a week diving the island's lush reefs with Derek, the owner of Castle Comfort Lodge, and on one of our surface breaks he brought me to the waters off Champagne Beach for an experience I'd never forget.
The water was refreshingly cool on the surface, but when we dove down 20 feet to the stony seafloor, I could feel the soft tickle of heated bubbles percolating out of a field of rusty orange boulders. All around us curtains of silver bubbles rose, a relief valve of sorts on an island with the densest concentration of volcanoes in the world.
Derek showed me a dive computer that displayed the ambient 82-degree water temperature. Then he stuck it into a bubbling vent. Within seconds it climbed to 120 degrees. That's hotter than most people like their champagne, but in Dominica it was still the coolest drink around.
5. Biking Central Otago
SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND: For a few thrilling minutes, the sheep-flecked sides of the Poolburn Gorge in Central Otago vanished as I hurtled headlong into a train tunnel on my mountain bike. This was my second tunnel of the day, and it curved, so there was no proverbial light at the end of it. Overwhelmed by darkness, I hopped off my bike, flipped on a flashlight and began walking.
It was early winter, and I was riding the newly opened Central Otago Rail Trail, a century-old railway repurposed as a national biking and walking trail. Trail Journeys, which offers guided and independent tours, had hooked me up with a bike, flashlight and picnic lunch, and shuttled me out to spend an afternoon pedaling from Auripo Road to the village of Lauder, an easy seven miles. Many summer riders take three days to travel the entire 93-mile-long trail, overnighting at country inns.
My heart leapt for a second when another light came bobbing toward me through the black tunnel. A ghost train? Happily not. Just another rider out on the rails.
EIL MALK, PALAU: Islands are wilder and weirder than continents. They're harder to get to, harder to spoil. Count me in. My best natural experiences take place on islands. And for me the challenge of getting there heightens the experience. True, I complain as loudly as anyone about security lines, tiny middle seats and overnight flights. But when I slip into Dominica's cool waters on the way to an underwater volcano or compete with grizzlies for salmon amid the evergreens of British Columbia, the thrill is doubled because I've earned it. Some of these five outdoor adventures can be reached in hours; some take days. All of them, for me, were eye-opening and jaw-dropping. And none more so than snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake on Palau's Eil Malk Island.
Millions of golden jellyfish floated around me in the dark green water like stars in a miniature galaxy. The jellies follow the sun on a daily migration, just as they have since the last ice age sealed this marine lake off from the rest of the South Pacific. ?Be very careful around them,? the guide from Fish 'n Fins said. ?Swim gently.? He wasn't worried that the jellies would sting us ? their venomous defenses have been dampened over time in this aquatic Shangri-la. Rather he worried we might damage their delicate forms with a careless kick. So I floated through those strange glowing stars, careful not to disturb an underwater universe that has existed unchanged for more than 12,000 years.
2. Fly-Fishing with Grizzlies
BRITISH COLUMBIA: The autumn sun danced on the river; snowmelt swirled around my waders. A mellow day of fly-fishing was unfolding in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest ? and then the grizzly bear charged. Dan Caldwell, my guide from the King Pacific Lodge, pulled out his ?bear popper,? a kind of anti-grizzly hand grenade. ?Get your bear spray out.?
Dan had convinced me to take this all-day adventure after I announced that fishing was dull. To prove me wrong, we'd flown to this unnamed river in the lodge's private helicopter, doors off and the smell of the ancient pines flooding the cabin. We'd been catching and releasing trophy-size coho salmon for hours ? until the bear arrived.
The grizzly closed. I fumbled with the spray. Two hundred yards, 100, 50, 10. Then the bear stopped. He snorted, shook his head and turned around to join his buddy. Dan laughed. ?Still think fly-fishing is boring??
3. Sea Kayaking the Na Pali Coast
KAUAI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: ?If you're scared or seasick, this is the point of no return,? said Steve Preibisius, our guide from Kayak Kauai. A half-dozen of us novice sea kayakers were floating in the swell off Kauai's Ke'e Beach. I was scared and seasick, but before I could confess, Steve gave a hoot, dug his paddle into the green water, and we were off on what paddlers affectionately call ?the Mount Everest of sea-kayaking trips.?
The sheer beauty of this roadless wilderness cured my queasiness. We ducked into misty grottoes. We surfed our kayaks on the 12-foot rollers coming in from Alaska. We cooled off under a waterfall and ate lunch on a beach beside a snoring monk seal while the staggering cliffs rose nearly a mile above us. By the time we slid our kayaks ashore at Polihale State Park eight hours and 16 miles later, my cheeks ached from smiling so much.
4. Swimming Inside a Volcano
CHAMPAGNE BEACH, DOMINICA: ?I'm taking you swimming inside an active volcano,? Derek Perryman said as we jumped into Dominica's most unusual snorkeling spot. I'd spent a week diving the island's lush reefs with Derek, the owner of Castle Comfort Lodge, and on one of our surface breaks he brought me to the waters off Champagne Beach for an experience I'd never forget.
The water was refreshingly cool on the surface, but when we dove down 20 feet to the stony seafloor, I could feel the soft tickle of heated bubbles percolating out of a field of rusty orange boulders. All around us curtains of silver bubbles rose, a relief valve of sorts on an island with the densest concentration of volcanoes in the world.
Derek showed me a dive computer that displayed the ambient 82-degree water temperature. Then he stuck it into a bubbling vent. Within seconds it climbed to 120 degrees. That's hotter than most people like their champagne, but in Dominica it was still the coolest drink around.
5. Biking Central Otago
SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND: For a few thrilling minutes, the sheep-flecked sides of the Poolburn Gorge in Central Otago vanished as I hurtled headlong into a train tunnel on my mountain bike. This was my second tunnel of the day, and it curved, so there was no proverbial light at the end of it. Overwhelmed by darkness, I hopped off my bike, flipped on a flashlight and began walking.
It was early winter, and I was riding the newly opened Central Otago Rail Trail, a century-old railway repurposed as a national biking and walking trail. Trail Journeys, which offers guided and independent tours, had hooked me up with a bike, flashlight and picnic lunch, and shuttled me out to spend an afternoon pedaling from Auripo Road to the village of Lauder, an easy seven miles. Many summer riders take three days to travel the entire 93-mile-long trail, overnighting at country inns.
My heart leapt for a second when another light came bobbing toward me through the black tunnel. A ghost train? Happily not. Just another rider out on the rails.
Lapland skiing holidays Travel Finland holidays Finland skiing holidays
Sierra Nevada brewery in Asheville
32 years after its founding in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada comes to the East.
Lapland skiing holidays Travel Finland holidays Finland skiing holidays
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