Travel | Vacation Guides

Archive for January, 2010

City Of Detroit Landmark Enchants Guests With Dazzling Theater Productions

Envisioned by the Fisher Brothers as “the most beautiful building in the world” the Fisher Building in Detroit was designed by Albert Kahn in the early 1920s. The seven brothers were sons of Lawrence Fisher Sr. a Ohio carriage maker. Coming to Detroit the brothers founded Fisher Body Company which eventually was bought out by General Motors. Their aim was to create a building in Detroit that would express the Fishers’ appreciation of their new hometown.

When completed the Fisher Building interior included a variety of marble from places such as France Germany Italy and Greece. A barrel vaulted ceiling was decorated with cherubs and eagles. Along the building’s arcade visitors are met with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and in panels along the walls. Between 500 to 600 of the chandelier’s lights are replaced at a time. Visitors to the Fisher were greeted by men in white who would park their cars; free babysitting for shoppers complete with a carousel and nurses; and a lavish lunch in the famed Huyler’s L’Aiglon tea room.

In the Fisher Theater guests admired the Aztec theme and MexicanIndian art as well as banana trees and wandering macaws that audience members fed by hand. In the lobby goldfish and turtles made their home in a pond. Here performances by the house orchestra organ recitals stage shows and movies entertained guests. Following the Depression the theater mainly operated as a movie house.

In 1961 the theater was remodeled as a live theater under the management of the Nederlander Theatrical Corporation. The original 3500 seats were scaled down to 2089 to create a more intimate atmosphere for guests. The Nederlander family began their theater legacy with David Nederlander son of a Detroit cigar maker. David managed the Detroit Opera House where the likes of Barrymore Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson made appearances. He later operated the Shubert and Cass theaters which featured Jack Benny Gloria Swanson and Better Davis.

In 1961 David and his sons turned their attention to the Fisher Theater hosting many shows that were on their way to Broadway and building the country’s largest subscription audience. Today the Nederlander family owns theaters across the USA and in London England.

Today the Fisher Theater Broadway in Detroit features some of theater’s most popular traveling Broadway productions. For instance in January 2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Whistle Down the Wind” came direct from London. Proclaimed by critics to be “Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best show since ‘Phantom of the Opera’” the production is an uplifting musical about a young Louisiana girl and her siblings as they approach the first Christmas since the death of their mother. They find a mysterious stranger and convinced he is Jesus agree to hide him from the townspeople who are determined to find him. Based on a 1961 film of the same name the production made its Fisher debut in January 2008.

In February 2008 audiences thrilled to the feelgood production of “Mamma Mia!” Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs audiences enjoy the funny tale by writer Catherine Johnson of family and friendship as it unfolds on a Greek island. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson who composed the music for ABBA were involved in the development of the show from its inception. With more productions playing internationally than any other musical “Mamma Mia!” is a global smash hit and has won numerous Tony Awards.

About the writer:  Checker Sedan provides limousine Detroit service from the Detroit Metro Airport servicing the Detroit Metro region. Detroit travel has never been easier with limousine Detroit service.

Cheap Holidays In Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is the second largest of the Canary Islands. The closest to the African Coast Fuerteventura has a climate almost as hot and dry as Africa! Volcanic in origin Fuerteventura is thought to be the oldest Canary Island and last erupted thousands of years ago. Fuerteventura has become popular with tourists for the cheap holiday deals available and the yearround sunny climate!

Things to Do in Fuerteventura

You won’t get bored as there is a great deal to do in Fuerteventura and most hotels can arrange excursions to Fuerteventura’s attractions at quite a cheap price. The Zoo Safari is a must for anyone who loves animals birds and reptiles! The lt;bgt;Calderon Hondo Volcanolt;/bgt; also merits a visit to see the moonlike landscape and maybe to ride a camel around it! lt;bgt;Baku Water Park and Villagelt;/bgt; is worthy of a day of your time to try out all the wild water slides and the crazy golf!

Beaches of Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is known for its endless miles of vast picturesque beaches. You can get many lastminute cheap deals to Fuerteventura so there’s no excuse not to go and sample the beaches for yourself! Wide open spaces filled with white and gold sand and endless blue sea that merges with the sky Fuerteventura beaches are like unlike any beaches you’ve ever been to! Fuerteventura also offers every kind of water sport available surfing of all kinds diving pedaloes and glassbottomed boats the island even hosts wind surfing competitions!

Nightlife in Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is not as lively as lt;bgt;Tenerifelt;/bgt; where nightlife is concerned with most people preferring to go for a quiet meal a cheap drink and then back to the hotel. The island has a few clubs and quite a few bars that offer a lively night out but most hotels offer an entertainment programme so a better night is usually had within one hotel or another. Discos bingo quizzes and shows everything you need to have a good night!

Hotels and Restaurants

Fuerteventura has some lovely restaurants that provide sublime food for cheap prices. There are many fish restaurants around and it would be simply criminal not to try them as fish is Fuerteventura’s speciality! As for hotels most are relatively cheap but they still have excellent quality service and facilities. It’s worth shopping around to find the best deal you can on hotels who knows what you might get! At Fuerteventura you’re sure to have the holiday of a lifetime!

About the writer:  Mark Ian Nettlemill is an expert writer specialising in cheap Fuerteventura holidays and last minute bookings .

Cancun Safety – Is Cancun Safe For Travel?

There are a great many number of bad news coming out of Mexico related to crimes and drugs and the increase in the crime rates. The number of bad news has dramatically increased in the last year. But still Cancun is a great vacation spot and it is very safe as long as we take some precautions. Here are the most important Cancun safety points to make your next travel to Cancun Mexico as great as it could be:

• Don’t travel outside the tourist area’s light yourself If you are not familiar with the area stick withthe established tours which are reasonably priced. If you are staying in the Cancun Hotel Zone book your tour right from the hotel; although outside the hotels you can find better deals for the same tours! So for example there are great tours to XelHa and Chichen Itza if you are interested. We did not have problems when we traveled to Cancun and rented a car and that was two years ago. I think the situation now requires a bit more caution because of the general situation in Mexico.

• For females stay in the Hotel Zone especially at nights and go around in a crowd. We all hear stories about drugs that can be slipped into drinks females getting ride from unlicensed cabs and getting into trouble etc. So don’t do it. Don’t drink too much either and stay with your friends. Even better stick to the Hotel Zone and you should be fine as the standards are pretty high there. Also remember the legal drinking age in Cancun: 18.
• Be careful with their drinking water: Well that is a cliche isn’t it. But it is good to be safe and stick to bottled water whenever possible. If you are in a place that does not feel safe then stick to bottled drinks e.g. beer from bottle or can. I have found the Hotel Zone to be generally safe for drinks; I would be more worried in the city or in outlaying areas. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Cancun safety should be onyour mind when traveling to the paradise. It is no different from traveling to any other place you have to know what you are doing. Be safe when you travel to Cancun.

For a safe trip to Cancun please checkout theCancun Safetyblog post for additional tips on being safe written by a Cancun enthusiast. I read about Cancun for a whole month before going there the first time. So make sure to read additional Cancun travel tips by visiting http://www.CancunTravelog.com which is the authority source on tips and ideas for having a great and safe Cancun trip.

About the writer:  Steve is an entrepreuner and an author interested in sharing his insight.