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Archive for October, 2010

Five Things You Must Do In Barcelona

The second largest city in Spain and the capital of Catalonia Barcelona is one of the most visited cities in Europe. With millions of visitors ever year the city is accustomed to a massive influx of holidaymakers backpackers and city break visitors throughout the year.

With such a large number of people landing at Barcelona Airport ready to see the sights the city has developed a fantastic variety of tourist and cultural attractions. Take a look at the top five below and ensure that when you visit the beautiful city of Barcelona that you enjoy the best that the city has to offer.

Barcelona is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea but is not considered to be a beach holiday resort as it also boasts a cultural heritage the Collserola mountain range and an impressive cityscape. Many of Barcelona’s attractions lie within the boundaries of the city itself with many churches museums and parks to entertain couples and families on city breaks.

Possibly the most famous landmark in Barcelona is the Antoni Gaudi designed Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Commonly known as simply Sagrada Familia the church has been under construction since 1882 and is expected to be completed in 2026. This symbol of the Roman Catholic church is beautifully designed with a total of 18 towers to be completed representing the 12 apostles 4 evangelists Virgin Mary and the tallest tower of Jesus Christ.

Externally the Sagrada Familia is a sight to behold but the true beauty within will leave the visitor breathless. The scale of the project that Gaudi began comes to life when you enter and look up at the vaulted ceiling. Over a hundred years of architecture and design is at your fingertips with the current stonemasons still working on the project while you watch.

Words will not do justice to this fantastic monument and the only way to fully appreciate it is by visiting for yourself. Photos and videos merely capture a fraction of the wonder and beauty of the Sagrada Familia that gives stands as a cultural symbol for the city of Barcelona.

If culture is not your thing or maybe if you think it isn’t then take a trip to a cultural tourist and local attraction of epic proportions the Camp Nou. With a capacity to host nearly 100000 spectators the Camp Nou recently celebrated its fiftieth birthday as the home of FC Barcelona.

Football fans from around the world will probably not have seen a stadium of such scale in terms of history facilities size and atmosphere. FC Barcelona are one of the most entertaining soccer teams in the world with the likes of Lionel Messi Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o on the playing staff.

There are a variety of deals available for different needs and budgets so you can book accordingly and take advantage of hospitality packages or a simple ticketonly booking. Visiting the Camp Nou and watching FC Barcelona will be an experience you are never going to forget.

Art appreciators will be keen to visit the Picasso Museum and view almost 4000 of Pablo Picasso’s works first hand. Picasso’s work demonstrates a strong bond with the city of Barcelona from his time as an apprentice to many other key periods in his artistic career.

If you are unfamiliar with the work of Picasso take this opportunity to learn about the processes and ideas of one of the twentieth century’s most important figures. Take a look at some of his earliest works as well as a great collection of his prints that will leave you amazed by his style and technique.

Art and design are prevalent in all aspects of the city and are influential in Barcelona’s parks and public places. This tradition of the city is very evident in the beautiful Park Guell with its interesting architectural layout and design.

Park Guell was also designed by Gaudi showing that his influence on the city is far more eminent than just the Sagrada Familia. Free entry ensures that the park is busy and popular with both tourists and locals looking to relax and unwind in its relaxing setting.

Tourists can experience a wonderful panoramic view of the city from the park a perfect photo opportunity and breathtaking sight. Enjoy a stroll around the park at your own speed and get close to the skilled mosaics of the main terrace and dragon fountain.

Possibly the most interesting thing to do in Barcelona is a simple walk down the main street in the city centre. La Rambla represents the cosmopolitan vibrant and lively heart of the city with restaurants bars and many other things to do and see for tourists and locals.

La Rambla is the home of Liceu Barcelona’s renowned and celebrated opera house as well as a fantastic selection of market stalls at the Mercat de la Boqueria. There is always something happening from the harbour to the town square as Las Ramblas has adapted to its popularity with tourists.

You can often walk down the street and find various street performers with a multitude of talent as well as some with little or no talent on show. This is Barcelona and visitors to this glorious city must take a stroll down Las Ramblas to get a real feel for the city and its people.

Visiting Barcelona should be an exciting fulfilling experience with so many interesting sights and sounds. These five things that have been highlighted are just the main mustsee attractions as with any length of time spent in Barcelona will uncover so many more amazing activities that make this city the perfect city break destination.

About the writer:  Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Heathrow Parking Stansted airport parking and Pink Elephant Stansted.

Festival In The Desert – An Annual Concert In Mali

Festival in the Desert

Although landscaped with sand dunes and rugged terrain the region near Essakane Mali is no cultural desert. This is the site of one of the worlds most unique musical events Festival in the Desert or Festival au Dsert as it is know in French.

Located two hours from the legendary Timbuktu the area welcomes visitors who travel to Festival in the Desert from distant lands to witness culture history and the arts. Although this soiree began in 2001 it is a Tuareg festival that is rooted in the rich history of these people. Tuaregs gather from surrounding areas to trade their wares play games race camels and display their poetic and dancing skills.

Since its inception this Mali music festival has grown tremendously attracting renowned Western artists such as Jimmy Buffet and Led Zepplin. Known also as the Timbuktu Festival many great local and regional headliners have graced its stage including Toumani Diabate Baba Salah Sekouba Bambino and Saharawi along with the late great Ali Farka Toure.

Accommodations for Festival in the Desert are provided in basic tents. Visitors feast on Saharan cuisine prepared on site at the Mali desert festival. This is all a part of the unique three day cultural extravaganza.

A tour of Festival in the Desert can be combined with other Mali tours. Mali travel details can be found on www.festivalinthedesert.org.

An overland Festival in the Desert excursion provides the traveler with a perfect opportunity to tour Bamako Mopti Dogon Country Djenne Segou and Timbuktu. Art and culture lovers from all over the world are now booking their flights to Festival in the Desert for January.

For more information on Festival in the Desert visit www.festivalinthedesert.org

Also go to www.festivalinthedesert.org for information on other festivals in Mali including Festival on the Niger.

About the writer:  Travel Specialist

Exotic Locations Of Californea

Situated in central California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range Mammoth Mountain is actually a volcano that sits just west of the town of Mammoth Lakes California. Mammoth Mountain remains to be one of the Golden State’s favorite mountain resorts for people of all walks of life and of all ages. Just a few hours drive from the grand metropolis of Los Angeles it is a welcome reprieve for the “Angeleno” city dwellers in search of nature and more healthy alternatives. The winter months at Mammoth are particularly bustling and there is a myriad of activities to choose from you may be happily stumped because of all the events and things to decide to do!

The snow of Mammoth is perfect for cross country and downhill skiing sledding snowshoeing snowmobiling snow boarding and how could we leave out snowman making! No matter what your level of athletic ability you will always have several options. For example if you feel that you’re a bit rusty with your skiing or you just don’t feel that confident getting into ski’s you can take a lesson or more at the resort. Individual and group lessons are always available during snow months so you won’t have to worry because you’ll be in the hands of experts. If you don’t have your own ski’s and equipment you can rent those on the site.

There are also ski tours given daily. The tours run about two and a half hours and is a guided ski tour designed to be entertaining great exercise and an overall informative exploration. If you’re more of a hiker/snowshoer pick up a trail map and off you go for one of the most amazing places for exploring scenic trails. Please be responsible and make sure to check the weather reports and most importantly to know the rules and regulations “the code” at Mammoth so you and those around you will be safe and sound while on vacation.

Because the XGames roll around at the end of January you’re bound to see world famous athletes training at Mammoth during the winter months. If you’re lucky and you keep your peepers open you’ll run into the likes of champions like: Mason Aguirre Tommy Czeschin Hana Beaman Kristi Leskinen Danny Kass Eddie Wall Tara Dakides and Mercedes Nicoll.

The summer months also offers incredible activities as well: mountain/trail biking fishing hiking swimming in the Mammoth Lakes bird watching birding golfing shopping scenic gondola rides rock climbing and sun worshipping. Summer months can be filled with vigorous activity or more geared toward relaxation or a combination thereof.

for details contact: http://tourbuzz.biz

About the writer:  working