Posts Tagged ‘Around’

I want to visit Nice,Monaco,Cannes,St.-Tropes,Monaco. Where should I stay,to get around easy to other cities?

I am planning to stay for 7-9 days. What else should I visit from this area? Where should I spend the most time? Should I rent a car?

The French Riviera – Travel and Tourism in and around Nice

Nice, with the principality of Monaco and Italy just a stone’s throw away to one side, and the ancient port of Antibes and the rest of the Riviera (with miles and miles of tourist-pulling beaches) as far as St Tropez on the other, is a popular tourist destination and also a thriving city with a fascinating history and an abundance of culture.

For many, visiting Nice outside the summer months is more enjoyable. It is less crowded, less expensive, but there is still more than enough to see and do. Nice is jam-packed full of museums, galleries, concert venues, theatres and a myriad of things to see and do.

To spend just a few days in this little corner of paradise, it soon becomes obvious why many artists and writers made it their home – from Renoir in the 19th century through to Matisse, Dufy, and Chagall in more recent times. Many artists lived here for lengthy periods, finding inspiration in the city’s varied seaside and mountain landscapes. Claude Monet was also a regular visitor.

But Nice is an ancient city with a history dating back almost 400,000 years. You can uncover some of this ancient history at the Terra Amata Museum. Later on, the Greeks established a trading post here which they called “Nikaia”, meaning “victory”. Later still came the Romans who established the town known as Cemenelum, the seat of government for the region.

From the Middle Ages right up until the 18th century, the area comprising Nice became a part of and then separated from many geographic entities and underwent many political upheavals. It was not until 1706 that Nice became a part of France. However just 7 years later, it was handed over to Victor Amedee, King of Sicily, and didn’t return to French ownership again until 1860.

There are many ways to see Nice and public transport is reliable and inexpensive. There is also a new tramway currently under construction and due for opening in 2007. But for those with time available, a walking tour is by far the best option. Stroll along the Promenade des Anglais and step back in time to the Victorian era along the palm tree-lined shore with some of the finest hotels, cafes and restaurants on the Riviera.

Many of the hotels along this famous five-mile stretch combine modern comfort with the splendor of the Belle Epoque. Typical and perhaps the most splendid is the exquisite Hotel Negresco, which quite nonchalantly houses four centuries of French art – worthy of a museum – for all to see. Go and take a look. Don’t be daunted by the doormen and hall porters dressed in traditional 18th century French attire. They will welcome you courteously with a smile as you enter the splendid lobby decorated in Louis XVI style.

Opposite the Hotel Negresco – being careful as you traverse the sometimes crazy palm-lined dual carriageway – you’ll find a beautiful, though rocky, stretch of beach. This extends as far as the eye can see and beyond. But fortunately the stones are smooth, making walking on the pebbles less painful than it might seem.

From the Promenade des Anglais, you can then make your way along the coast to the port. Here you’ll find the beautiful church of Notre Dame du Port, standing guard over the harbor, blessing seafarers as they leave the city. The port is always highly active and welcomes cruise liners from around the world.

The old town, known as Vieux Nice, delights visitors with its picturesque narrow streets and eclectic mixture of architectural styles. Several parts date back to medieval times.

One of the most interesting buildings in Vieux Nice is the Opera house. Built in 1885, it is a fine example of Second Empire architecture.

A few steps away is the Cours Saleya, a little like Paris’ Left Bank, with a myriad outdoor cafes welcoming locals and tourists alike. Don’t forget to try the local specialty dishes – they are numerous and all delicious. The nearby flower market, which on Mondays becomes an antiques flea market, sweeps up passers by into a symphony of sounds, scents and colors. Here you can also investigate other staples of Nice cuisine, such as figs, goat cheese, olives and even candied fruit. Don’t forget to try the local favorite known as “socca”, a savory pancake made from chickpea flour. It’s inexpensive, great with a beer, and beats a hot dog any day!

Dining in Nice ranges from the casual to the most elegant, with the city possessing some of France’s most renowned restaurants.

Seeing Nice by night, with the lights from the palatial hotels along the coast reflecting off the moonlit Mediterranean, is an almost surreal experience – a fantasy of light, sounds and savors. The city’s nightlife is also legendary, including cafes open to the small hours and nightclubs, discotheques and casinos – including the famous Casino Ruhl and the newly re-opened and sophisticatedly decadent Palais de la Mediterranee.

There is much more to see in and around Nice. But we hope that this is just enough to whet your appetite. Given a month, you would only just be able to touch the surface of this jewel of the French Riviera.

What’s on in and Around Nice This Summer

Spring Рthe Paris-Nice cycle race ends in style at the Promenade des Anglais in March and the Festin des Cougourdons celebrates local folklore. April is regatta time at the Baie des Anges, while the onset of summer is anticipated during La F̻te des Mai Рpicnic hampers at the ready please.

Summer – music lovers rejoice; the Sacred Music festival rings throughout the churches of the old town and free concerts take place thought Nice in June. Jazz is the order of the day in July, when Nice Jazz Festival comes to town, while Bastille Day is a huge celebration on July 14th. Meanwhile, August brings concerts in the Cloister of the Cimiez monastery.

Autumn Рbargain lovers should watch out for the F̻te de la San Bertoumieu in September, a huge market of traditional arts and crafts in old Nice. And October offers not only Halloween celebrations, but the return of the International Festival of Military Music.

Winter – February is carnival time in Nice and you can expect Mardi Gras and flower processions to liven up the French Riviera’s winter season. Closing parades will include bonfires and fireworks displays best seen from the Promenade des Anglais.

Of course, the Côte D’Azur is also home to Cannes‘ notorious film festival, when the razzle dazzle of the French Riviera is showcased in a week-long celebration of the showbiz world’s famous, infamous and up-and-coming. The event, this year celebrating its 60th anniversary, takes over the region between May 16th and 27th – a party not to be missed.

Some enchanted cruise: hopping around South Pacific

Some enchanted cruise: hopping around South Pacific
We were in Christchurch, the oldest established city in New Zealand, when we boarded a free tram that circles the downtown.

Read more on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Luxury Beach resorts around the world

The most magnificent  and spectacular Luxury beach resorts are found scattered all over the United States, Canada, Caribbean, South Pacific, Australia and Asia. At any one of the best beach resorts, one take escape from the harrowing hustle and bustle of city life enjoying the best beach vacations with family, friends or just as a honeymoon couple.

The Breakers Palm Beach in Palm Beach, Florida is one of the best beaches one can enjoy.  Internationally acclaimed, this is one of the best beach resorts as the oceanfront location is ideal for a getaway.  The bedrooms are tastefully designed and the weather makes it deal for holidaymakers to bask in the sun or simply soak in the luxury hotels beach activities.

One of the top beach resorts in Australia is Hayman on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. The best beach vacations with memories of scuba diving emanate from this hotel, which is one of the best Luxury beach resorts in the world.

Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy offers the best luxury beach resort overlooking the harbor.  Many wealthy families make this their summer playground and enjoy the water sports, which make this place one of the best beach vacations in Europe.

The Royal Palm Hotel in Mauritius is of the top beach resorts in the world.  The exotic sandy white beaches and cool breeze from the Indian Ocean makes this the best luxury beach resort for either relaxing and unwinding with massages or engaging in water sports like windsurfing, scuba diving and deep-sea fishing.

For an exclusive romantic getaway, Le Meridien lle des Pins in New Caledonia presents one of the best luxury beach hotels in the world.  Half way between Australia and Fiji, this luxury hotels beach of the French Procterate lies in the middle of the Coral Sea. The Melenesians are friendly, the food is exotic and the atmosphere permeates with old world charm.

The Elounda Beach Hotel in Crete, Greece ranks as one of the best beach resorts in the world.  At this luxury hotels beach, Thassalotherapy, a combination of seawater and sea air provides relief and rejuvenation for vacationers who wish to de-stress and relax.

The Copacabana Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is widely acclaimed as one of the top beach resorts in Rio.  The ultimate in luxury and comfort and celebrities and politicians make this their favorite getaway spot as it ranks as one of the best luxury beach hotels.

The Hotel Martinez in Cannes uses its private beach. The reception, extravagantly designed, has a serene ambiance and this ranks as one of the best Luxury beach resorts.

The Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinbfaru, in the Maldives, is a vacationer’s paradise.  One of the best luxury beach hotels, this is an ideal romantic getaway spot for couples who wish to bask in the tropical sunshine with warm gentle breezes wafting across the beaches.  This beach, situated in the North Male Atoll is the epitome of relaxation and calm.

What does “Midem in Jan.” means? “I get to Italy around Midem in Jan.”?

does it mean middle of January? I searched on Google and “Midem” seems to mean a different thing but I don’t understand! Help!

Can Form Training Turn The Economy Around?

Can form training really turn the economy around? And how does it improve your fighting skills? All good martial arts have some sort of form training. Form training allows a practitioner to exercise and study particular movements and techniques without any interference from the outside (an opponent or sparring partner). It also serves as meditation and relaxation from the daily challenges and craziness we encounter. If form training is done right, it greatly enhances one’s fighting ability. In a fight or a sparring match, neither fighter has the time nor the mental focus on the proper execution of specific techniques and movements. All you can do is “do your Best”. But if that “Best” is not good enough you will learn this painful lesson quickly. In traditional martial arts, the first thing a student learns are the forms. This has two reasons:

As a beginner, you have to learn how to step, how to punch and how to execute specific techniques
As an advanced practitioner or even as a Master of the art, you will find tremendous joy, enlightenment and help in practising your forms.

In fact, what does every Master do in order to stay on top of his game? They practise their forms. And that for hours… The beginner often finds this training boring and sometimes even unnecessary. That is quite understandable – hence the term “beginner”. A beginner is there to learn something that he doesn’t know yet. So, everything is new. And many times, a beginner cann’t (fore)see the importance of a particular exercise. That is where a beginner puts faith into the training and trusts the teacher that he will help the beginner along his path.

This faith and trust is another extremely important lesson to learn – it is a spiritual lesson that will serve the practitioner in many difficult situations for years to come. We are currently in a deep recession and many people are freaking out. Their are afraid of what will happen next. And these are people who are well educated and have high paying jobs. A very good friend of mine said it best to describe the current situation: “It is a test of character!”

Please let me describe this on a very basic model. I also want to say that I am not a stock broker or financial guru of any kind. Over the past twenty years we have experienced a boom and more and more people tried themselves in different investment categories. One of the first rules you may have heard was: “Buy Low and Sell High!”

That is a great rule and when you follow it you have a very good chance of being extremely successful, wouldn’t you agree? So, where is the difficult part? Why doesn’t everyone do it? And more importantly, what if everyone would be doing it?

So far that is the theory. In reality, we know that not everyone is doing it that way. The difference between successful people and not successful people is “Leadership.” Successful people are doing things that most people don’t do. What exactly does that mean? It does not mean that they eat at expensive restaurants and buy expensive clothes and gifts. That is not what it means. This kind of leadership almost equals rebellion. It is almost like as if they are looking around to see what most people are doing and then they do exaclty the opposite. For example: Do you remember a few months ago when the financial industry crashed and everyone was scared of buying anything? Warren Buffett went out and bought Goldman Sachs. What a great sign of leadership. And now ask yourself: Why didn’t you do it? Is it because you don’t have that kind of money? Or did you hesitate because of the negative influences around you? Your lack of faith and spiritual strength? What has to be there first? Money or Determination to a goal?

Well, maybe money was the reason. But Buffett aquired his wealth from doing the same thing on a much smaller scale, many times over. And with great discipline. If you don’t have that kind of money you can start on a much smaller scale. But you have to get started… And eventually, you will be successful in your own way. And you will lead the way, a new way. Today’s most successful and richest people started with a dream. It was their own dream of something that didn’t exist yet. And they made it happen despite all the obstacles. “Following Your Dreams” is used a lot nowadays but not many people seem to understand it. Follow your own dream and you can create your world and you can help other people create their world.

And that brings me back to form training in martial arts. The form training is a great exercise for your mind and your spirit. It teaches you “Mind Over Matter!” When your body tells you: ‘i don’t want to do this anymore.’ you keep going. When your inner voice wants to test your mind and tells you: ‘This is boring. I don’t see any immediate results.’, you keep going. When life throws you into a difficult situation you keep going. When you loose your job you keep going. When life knocks you down you keep getting up. That is what form training teaches you. That is the lesson a Master learns and appreciates from his form training. And that is why you should do the same. It is the difference between a Master and a beginner, between success and failure.

It is extremely difficult to stick to your convictions and be determined to accomplish your goals when everyone else around you tells you “not to do it”, “you cannot do it”, “it is too risky” and so on. Just because other people are afraid of doing it does not mean it is wrong… as long as you believe in yourself.

Always remember that there is only room for one person on top of the mountain. But there are many mountains to climb. Pick one that nobody has climbed before and get started. If somebody already climbed your mountain before you then you will not be the first. You will always be behind someone. Find an empty mountain and do your best. Form training and martial arts training will help you along your way to the top.

For More tips and information, go to http://www.FreeSelfDefenseAdvice.com

All the Best,

Finding Your Way Around Nice France

Nice may sound like a small town to you, but the city is deceptively large with so much happening all the time.

Depending on where you decide to stay, you will never be too far from the beach. The summer months see thousands of tourists from around the world mostly from around Europe and the United Kingdom flocking into the city to soak up the sun.

You can fly in to Nice via the Nice-Cote d’Azur airport which is situated to the west of the city. If you are staying in a hotel, you should be able to arrange a shuttle to take you from the airport to wherever you are staying. If, however, you would prefer to stay in a self-catering apartment or in a holiday rental then you may want to hire a car to get around. If you have the freedom of a rental car then you can explore the city at your leisure and get to some of the more out of the way places.

You do not need to worry about getting lost if you do because with so many tourists frequenting the city every year the locals are more than happy to help with any queries.

There are structured tours that you can take. This may be advisable in the peak summer months so that you can see the Nice countryside from the comfort of an air-conditioned bus. The public transport system is also first world, so there are plenty of options available.

There are many attractions in Nice, but some stand out more than others. One such place is the Cours Selaya Flower Market. In this area you will not only experience the true French market atmosphere in a myriad of colours but you will also be exposed to some of the best restaurants and bistros that Nice has to offer.

The Vieux Nice (Old Nice) is where you will be able to explore the city on foot. You will find yourself in old, cobbled, narrow streets lined with apartments and shops selling absolutely everything from trinkets to fragrances. This area is also famous for its nightlife, with some of the best bars and clubs being crammed into this area. If you visit this place, you do not need a strict plan you should just go with the flow and enjoy the atmosphere as you go from bar to bar, each with its own unique vibe and style.

Nice is also a short hop away from Monte Carlo and Cannes, Once again, if you have hired a car, then you can plan a day trip or even spend the night in another city. If you want to get the best deals then the best thing to do is to book early.

We are taking Disney Cruise Lines around Italy in Summer of ’07, and…(see post for all info)?

We are taking Disney Cruise Lines around Italy in Summer of ’07, and we are wondering what are some good attractions to do in each port of call. Here is how the cruise’s itinerary goes (IN ORDER):

Barcelona, Spain (cruise starts there)
Palermo, Sicily
Naples, Italy
Olbia, Sardinia
Civitavecchia, Italy (Rome)
La Spezia, Italy (Florence, Pisa)
Marseilles, France
Villefranche, France (Monte Carlo, Cannes, Nice)

FYI, we only have a certain amount of hours to spend in each port of call. See Cruise Itinerary url below for details.

Also, what is a good hotel in Barcelona, Spain? We are thinking about staying in a hotel the night before the cruise departs.

NOTE: I do have a trip planner here on Yahoo, so please don’t respond with any of the entries I have put on my trip planner so far.

Here is the link to my trip planner:

http://travel.yahoo.com/trip?action=view&pid=648143

Also, here is the trip itinerary, according to DCL:

http://doiop.com/disney.italy

THANKS!